Eighteen formulas, poured to order.
Everything is filled from the cabinet behind the counter. Extraits are poured the morning you collect them; eaux de parfum are bottled weekly in batches of forty.
Seven notes, one accord.
A formula is not a list — it is seven materials pulled into one body. Each drop below is a note of Santal Noir 07; move the blend and watch where one stops and the next begins.
- Bergamot peeltop · 6%
- Neroli absolutetop · 9%
- Orris butterheart · 11%
- Sandalwoodheart · 24%
- Vetiver rootbase · 14%
- Labdanumbase · 21%
- White muskbase · 15%
Iris Poudre 14, on the turntable.
Once a month one flacon goes onto the studio table: three softboxes, one light walking a circle around it, and whatever dust is in the room. This is the same stand we photograph the collection on.
- Glasshand-cut, 8 facets
- Volume50 ml
- Stopperpolished stone, gilt collar
- Aged4 years in the cabinet
- This month28 flacons, numbered
Engraving included until the end of the month.
One room, one bench, no shortcuts.
NOIR ATELIER opened on Ambre Lane in 2009 with a second-hand organ of ninety vials and one formula that worked. The bench is still in the back room, three metres from the counter, and everything on the shelf was mixed on it.
We do not chase a season. A formula goes on the shelf when it holds for eight hours on three different people, and comes off when the material behind it stops arriving in the quality we bought it for.
Fittings are unhurried on purpose: an hour, six blotters, coffee, and no obligation to leave with a bottle. Most people come back a second time before they choose.
Three hundred fittings, one complaint about the coffee.
I went in for a gift and left with an hour of my life I did not expect to enjoy. Selma had me smell six things, said no to four of them for me, and wrote the two down for next time.
Third refill of the same flacon. It costs less than a new bottle and the glass has a chip in it now that I would rather keep than replace.
They told me the one I liked would not suit my skin and asked me to come back in a week before deciding. They were right, and I still think about that.
18 Ambre Lane, Old Quarter.
Between the bookbinder and the tailor, one flight up from the tram. The door is heavy; push it. Fittings are by appointment, the shop itself is open to anyone.
| Tuesday – Friday | 11:00 – 19:00 |
| Saturday | 10:00 – 18:00 |
| Sunday | 12:00 – 16:00 |
| Monday | closed, bench day |
- A18 Ambre Lane, Old QuarterVallory VL-3140, second floor
- T+1 (555) 062-4418Answered while the shop is open
- @atelier@noiratelier.exampleRefills and engraving: reply within one working day
An hour at the bench.
Six blotters, one cup of coffee and no obligation to buy anything. If you leave with a flacon, the fee comes off the price.
- 1Tell us roughly what you wear now — or what you cannot stand.
- 2We pull six materials from the organ and narrow them down with you.
- 3You take the blotters home for two days. Skin decides, not the counter.
- 4Come back, choose, and we pour and engrave it the same week.
Fitting fee $45, deducted from any 50 ml flacon bought within a month.
Before you come.
Anything else, call the shop — someone at the bench will pick up.
Do I need an appointment?
For a fitting, yes — it takes an hour and we only run three a day. To buy, smell or refill something, walk in during opening hours.
How long does an engraved flacon take?
Engraving on the collar is done while you wait, about twenty minutes. If the extrait has to be poured fresh, allow two working days.
Can I bring an empty flacon back?
Please do. We rinse, dry and refill any of our own 50 ml flacons for $180 instead of $245, and the glass lasts far longer than the scent inside it.
What if the scent does not suit me later?
Within thirty days we will rebalance the formula on the bench at no cost, or swap an unopened flacon for another in the same range.