Chambre Noire
Eau de Parfum, Olfactive Studio (2011)

A leathery kind of peppery wood fudge.
There are hints of fruitiness and violets which give it the feel of an ‘Eau de Cartier Ambrée’, but that’s giving it too much praise.

Oiled leather, dusty books, and incense. Heavy and mature. Not the kind of fragrance I like to wear, just too serious and unpleasant. It does smell refined and powerful so it surely has a solid fan base.

Very good projection and all-day longevity with just minimal sprays on my skin.

Opens up a bit like Lalique Hommage a L'Homme before moving into that familiar niche/artisan "dusty leather" accord.

I don't really understand why folks would compare this to Bentley for Men Intense. They feel worlds apart to me.

Chambre Noire, to me, does everything that Bentley for Men Intense did, only better. It's more rounded, it's more refined, the plum note is juicier. The base notes are more subtle, top notes more vibrant, and most importantly, the incense doesn't come off smelling like something caught on fire.

I can't get excited by this, nor spend precious time on an extensive review. Zero's review below speaks for me, nearly word for word. A stange kind of fruity violet, something like vegetal life from another planet, offsets some rather pleasant woods. No development worth the name.

Chambre noire is a well-made spicy, woody and ambery leather with good quality and very pleasing smell.

At the opening I can smell a warm and semi sweet boozy amber mixed with slightly smoky/musky leather followed by some spices. also I can smell a fruity note in the background that smells like figs. everything is smooth and well blended and nothing screams at you. there is also a mellow powdery feel in the background that adds more character but not too much. it's warm and sweet but not sugary and not even creamy. it's spicy but very smooth. it's smoky and leathery but more like sprinkle of leather on top not a rough LEATHER! it's slightly powdery but it doesn't remind you of baby powder and finally a little fruity with oily kind of feel mixed with it.

In the mid the fruity part gets a little stronger while smoky feel is still there and a little easier to detect but now it's more incense with peppery feel rather than that musky leather at the start. the overall smell and feel in pretty the same but there are minor changes as I've described.

In the base sandalwood shows up and adds a dry woody smell to this mix and at the same time mutes the fruitiness and the sweetness noticeably that makes scent more bitter and more manly but still in a smooth way.

Projection is average. except 15 minutes of the start that projection is above average the rest of it is average and mostly close to the skin and longevity is around 5 hours.