Monday Musing over a Perfume Bottle: Magie Noire by Lancôme
Hi ladies,
Happy Monday! Are you ready for a wonderful week ahead? Well, ready or not Monday is here. Last weekend I browsed the mall for inspirations since (a) I live very near the mall now and (b) that's what women do so guys, please don't ask me why :) All of the sudden, I saw a cute bottle of perfume at Lancôme counter that I haven't seen in such a long time. I picked it up and sprayed a bit to my left wrist then went on with my mall walk routine. Usually, I am very picky with perfumes and have a quite sensitive nose. Most perfumes do not seem to impress me that much and after 2, 3 hours, I get tired of them. So the ones I actually use smell like water or baby powder, the type that is not obnoxious enough to give me a headache.
However, the most unpredictable thing happened after I sprayed the perfume to my wrist: by the time I reached Victoria's Secret, my nose was jammed to my left wrist as I inhaled in the perfume! Normally, if the perfume is intolerably bad, I would head straight to the restroom and scrub it down. Rarely does a perfume make me jam my nose to my wrist like that and I am wondering why.
It turned out the perfume is nothing new to me, it's Magie Noire (Black Magic in English) from Lancôme. My mom used to wear it in the 80s as her night time perfume and I used to think that she smelled awesome! (She still does, by the way, but has moved on from Magie Noire to Trésor and that's another story for another day.) You see, in the 80s heady oriental perfumes were all over the place and Magie Noire is one of them. I used to rub a bit of it on my hair but it never smelled good on me, like most spicy, heady oriental perfumes never do.
However, rumors has it that Lancôme actually changed the formula of Magie Noire when re-releasing it after discontinuing it for a while. As I recalled, the version my mom used in the past was much spicier and headier than the one I tried in the mall. It was so spicy that it could knock an elephant dead from fifty miles away. I remember the air around her (and my aunts and grandma) filled with spice once she applied Magie Noire. And as the name implied, the perfume has some magical and alluring factor in it. Whoever use Magie Noire does look more mysterious and glamorous than usual. And when used at night time, wow!
I always think of Sophia Loren and Brigitte Bardot whenever I smell Magie Noire: glamorous and uber feminine women that exudes sex appeal out of their pores. It definitely is not a perfume for young girls (hence I did not like it when I was a kid.) As it is so distinct and special, I would think of it as a special event perfume to complete the look. Believe me, you do not want to wear Magie Noire when going grocery shopping: it is too much!
Not only Lancôme changed the formula, the bottle also changed from time to time as well. As I remember correctly, the bottle in the 80s was black like this one:
Image from QB
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Happy Monday! Are you ready for a wonderful week ahead? Well, ready or not Monday is here. Last weekend I browsed the mall for inspirations since (a) I live very near the mall now and (b) that's what women do so guys, please don't ask me why :) All of the sudden, I saw a cute bottle of perfume at Lancôme counter that I haven't seen in such a long time. I picked it up and sprayed a bit to my left wrist then went on with my mall walk routine. Usually, I am very picky with perfumes and have a quite sensitive nose. Most perfumes do not seem to impress me that much and after 2, 3 hours, I get tired of them. So the ones I actually use smell like water or baby powder, the type that is not obnoxious enough to give me a headache.
However, the most unpredictable thing happened after I sprayed the perfume to my wrist: by the time I reached Victoria's Secret, my nose was jammed to my left wrist as I inhaled in the perfume! Normally, if the perfume is intolerably bad, I would head straight to the restroom and scrub it down. Rarely does a perfume make me jam my nose to my wrist like that and I am wondering why.
It turned out the perfume is nothing new to me, it's Magie Noire (Black Magic in English) from Lancôme. My mom used to wear it in the 80s as her night time perfume and I used to think that she smelled awesome! (She still does, by the way, but has moved on from Magie Noire to Trésor and that's another story for another day.) You see, in the 80s heady oriental perfumes were all over the place and Magie Noire is one of them. I used to rub a bit of it on my hair but it never smelled good on me, like most spicy, heady oriental perfumes never do.
However, rumors has it that Lancôme actually changed the formula of Magie Noire when re-releasing it after discontinuing it for a while. As I recalled, the version my mom used in the past was much spicier and headier than the one I tried in the mall. It was so spicy that it could knock an elephant dead from fifty miles away. I remember the air around her (and my aunts and grandma) filled with spice once she applied Magie Noire. And as the name implied, the perfume has some magical and alluring factor in it. Whoever use Magie Noire does look more mysterious and glamorous than usual. And when used at night time, wow!
I always think of Sophia Loren and Brigitte Bardot whenever I smell Magie Noire: glamorous and uber feminine women that exudes sex appeal out of their pores. It definitely is not a perfume for young girls (hence I did not like it when I was a kid.) As it is so distinct and special, I would think of it as a special event perfume to complete the look. Believe me, you do not want to wear Magie Noire when going grocery shopping: it is too much!
Not only Lancôme changed the formula, the bottle also changed from time to time as well. As I remember correctly, the bottle in the 80s was black like this one:
Image from QB
The current version is so clean and simple that I did not recognize Magie Noire at first. Since Lancôme revised this perfume and made it less spicy, it is more tolerable to me and I actually like it since it is very distinct. In a jungle of fruity floral perfumes, Magie Noire definitely stand out. I find a tiny drop of this perfume last a very long time, as most Lancôme perfume do.
As much as it is a fabulous perfume, to me Magie Noire is like an old friend. Whether I like it or not, my taste in perfume is influenced from my mom's choice of perfumes when I was growing up. The 80s was indeed a wonderful time to grow up in and I am glad Magie Noire brought back this perfume.
Currently, Magie Noire is priced at $55 USD for a 2.5 fl oz ETD and that's the only version Lancôme offers. I will probably get it once Lancôme has a round of gift with purchase.
Well, that's one of my favorite perfumes in the past. How about you? Do you have any favorite perfume when growing up? Please let me know, I'd love to hear about them.
Take care and stay gorgeous,
Your Makeup Blogger
As much as it is a fabulous perfume, to me Magie Noire is like an old friend. Whether I like it or not, my taste in perfume is influenced from my mom's choice of perfumes when I was growing up. The 80s was indeed a wonderful time to grow up in and I am glad Magie Noire brought back this perfume.
Currently, Magie Noire is priced at $55 USD for a 2.5 fl oz ETD and that's the only version Lancôme offers. I will probably get it once Lancôme has a round of gift with purchase.
Well, that's one of my favorite perfumes in the past. How about you? Do you have any favorite perfume when growing up? Please let me know, I'd love to hear about them.
Take care and stay gorgeous,
Your Makeup Blogger
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