Perfume Review: Aroma M Geisha Noire

Aroma M was founded by Maria McElroy and her Japanese-born husband Shiniya Yokota. As an artist, Maria McElroy always had a passion for colors and textures, and, according to her, “blending fragrances in a bottle is like mixing colors on a palate (…)The scent becomes pigment, the body becomes the canvas. The nose responds to scent like the eye to color” (From the Aroma M press release). As a very “visual” person myself, I often perceive scents in color, and I think that many of us often if not always mentally “translate” scent into color. The fragrance line that names its scents according to the color they convey was instantly appealing to me. My favorite among Aroma M fragrances is Geisha Noire. It is said to have aroma-therapeutic properties; it “combats stress, clears the thought processes, undoes the inhibitions, assists in meditation and prayer”. In other words, it is a comfort scent. It has the same soothing, centering, soul-easing effect on me as Angelique Encens or Miyako. Geisha Noire is a warm, “opaque “, perhaps not completely black but definitely very dark black-brown scent, in which amber rules the composition. It is not, however, an amber “soliflore”, a genre I don’t appreciate at all. The note here is brightened by spices, enriched by incense and sandalwood and sweetened by a certain languid, vaguely edible note that I can only describe as smoky honey. Geisha Noire is a leisurely, tranquil, meditative and warm blend, a true delight to wear on a chilly, bleak winter day. It is available on AromaM.com and Luckyscent.com, $40.00 for a 1/4oz oil roll-on bottle.