Quick answers
History
Black Currant Extrait applies the Matière Première philosophy: every perfume is built around a single central natural ingredient, used at the highest possible dosage, whose facets are revealed without drowning it. Here it is French blackcurrant absolute.
Aurélien Guichard, a Grasse native from seven generations of perfumers, picks blackcurrant as a bridge between French and British cultures for this exclusive made for Harrods. The blackcurrant bud, sharp and green, unfolds into a dense, fruity, almost animalic absolute.
Around that heart, Indonesian patchouli, rose oxide, a leather accord and Bangladeshi oud build a chypre architecture, dark and textured. The extrait gives blackcurrant a rare depth, far from the surface tartness of the fruit.
Olfactory pyramid
Matière Première builds its perfumes around a central ingredient. Here are the materials of Black Currant Extrait, as the house describes them.
From green bud to oud, everything leads back to blackcurrant: the house reveals its facets, from sharp to dark.
Olfactory profile
Black Currant Extrait opens on blackcurrant in full truth: the green, tart bud, biting and almost sulphurous, far from a sweet liqueur. This is a frank blackcurrant, green and alive.
The heart thickens the material: French blackcurrant absolute, dense and fruity, takes on the metallic facet of rose oxide. The fruit turns fleshy, almost animalic, without ever slipping into syrup.
The chypre base anchors it all: earthy patchouli, a leather accord and oud give blackcurrant a dark, textured depth. Longevity is excellent, as an extrait should be, the sillage sustained. A unisex fruity chypre for the cool season, to wear at night.
"Every perfume is built around a single central natural ingredient, used at the highest dosage, whose facets are revealed without ever drowning it."Aurélien Guichard, founder of Matière Première
Key characteristics
When and where to wear
Black Currant Extrait is a cool-season fruity chypre. Its density and its base of leather and oud call for cool air and the evening; it is an extrait of character, to wear sparingly.
Wear references
Seasonal fit
| Season | Fit | Critical notes |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | ★★★☆ | The green blackcurrant finds its place. |
| Summer | ★★☆☆ | Too dense and dark for summer. |
| Autumn | ★★★★ | Ideal season for this fruity chypre. |
| Winter | ★★★★ | Leather and oud reach their full range. |
Context fit
| Context | Fit | Wear recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Evening | ★★★★ | The fruity chypre shines. |
| Formal events | ★★★★ | An extrait of character, made to make a mark. |
| Office | ★★☆☆ | Too concentrated for strictly professional use. |
| Everyday | ★★☆☆ | Reserved for chosen moments. |
Similar perfumes
Black Currant Extrait's fruity chypre has relatives among niche fruity chypres and blackcurrants.
| Perfume | House · year | Why it is close |
|---|---|---|
| Mitsouko | Guerlain · 1919 | The reference fruity chypre, built on peach. |
| Coromandel | Chanel Les Exclusifs · 2007 | An ambery patchouli, the same woody depth. |
| Oud Wood | Tom Ford · 2007 | A smooth oud, a cousin of the extrait base. |
Common questions
See also
Sources
- Matière Première, official site
- Now Smell This, Black Currant Extrait
- Fragrantica, Black Currant Extrait entry (complementary reference)