Trudon may reign as the world’s oldest candlemaker, producing exquisite handmade creations for the likes of Louis XIV, the Palace of Versailles, and Napoleon Bonaparte, but its presence in the fragrance world continually merits a closer look. The heritage brand’s latest entry riffs on the Mortel, a sensual fragrance that blends frankincense, myrrh, and benzoin.
Mortel Noir conjures a more mystical presence from the outset thanks to its packaging: a stark ink-black box adorned with Bastien Coulon’s nightmarish illustration of an artist plunging into the abyss. The brooding visual and sleek matte black bottle foreshadow the olfactory pleasures waiting inside: perfumer Yann Vasnier’s winning Mortel blend, but tinged with rapturous kicks of black pepper and Somalian incense that bring the heat yet bend it into intoxicating new shapes.
