I can't help it. If a perfume is dark, sweet, ambery and powdery, most chances are I'm going to love it. If it reminds me of Shalimar in its better days and formulations, chances increase even more. Since Geisha Noire by Aroma M is all of the above, the bottom line of this review is obvious.
The Aroma M line was created by artist Maria McElroy who spent seven years in Japan, studying Kodo, the ancient art of fragrance, Ikebana, Japanese flower arrangement Koto, Japanese harp, Shiatsu massage and Zen Buddhism. Her appreciation for Japanese culture and aesthetics inspired her to create the Geisha perfume line. I can't say I get the Japanese reference in Geisha Noire, since I think of it as very French, in the tradition of Guerlain and maybe the powderiness of vintage Je Reviens (the good old stuff).
Notice the reference to days gone by and big classics? Geisha Noire is not the perfume for the pink and fruity crowd or anyone who scoffs at smoky vanilla with a dramatic leather drydown. After the powder and vanilla calm down, the scent becomes significantly darker, in a sex bomb way. I can see why on the wrong skin this would be baby powder extraordinaire, but those who miss the real orientals of yore and perfumes that spoke of heavily curtained boudoirs should give it a try.
The Geisha Noire perfume oils ($40, 8ml) are available from Luckyscent as well as from Henri Bendel and New London Pharmacy in NYC. Geisha Noire also comes as an EDP ($80, 50 ml), but I haven't tried this version.
Handtinted albumen portrait, Japan, ca. 1900 from ookadi_dou on Flickr.
The Aroma M line was created by artist Maria McElroy who spent seven years in Japan, studying Kodo, the ancient art of fragrance, Ikebana, Japanese flower arrangement Koto, Japanese harp, Shiatsu massage and Zen Buddhism. Her appreciation for Japanese culture and aesthetics inspired her to create the Geisha perfume line. I can't say I get the Japanese reference in Geisha Noire, since I think of it as very French, in the tradition of Guerlain and maybe the powderiness of vintage Je Reviens (the good old stuff).
Notice the reference to days gone by and big classics? Geisha Noire is not the perfume for the pink and fruity crowd or anyone who scoffs at smoky vanilla with a dramatic leather drydown. After the powder and vanilla calm down, the scent becomes significantly darker, in a sex bomb way. I can see why on the wrong skin this would be baby powder extraordinaire, but those who miss the real orientals of yore and perfumes that spoke of heavily curtained boudoirs should give it a try.
The Geisha Noire perfume oils ($40, 8ml) are available from Luckyscent as well as from Henri Bendel and New London Pharmacy in NYC. Geisha Noire also comes as an EDP ($80, 50 ml), but I haven't tried this version.
Handtinted albumen portrait, Japan, ca. 1900 from ookadi_dou on Flickr.
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