Created in 2011, Réglisse Noire is the first fragrance put out by 1000 Flowers, the indie niche line of Canadian perfumer Jessica Buchanan.

Réglisse Noire opens with spicy, pungent white pepper, which is soon joined by an aquatic ozone note. It is the interplay between these two opposites that makes this opening so unique and reveals Ms. Buchanan’s perfume-making chops! Mint and shiso leaf follow giving a fresh herbal backdrop to the heart – oh, the heart! First, star anise appears, spicy and gently anise-y from anethole, and as it blooms from the heat of your skin, black licorice appears, amping up the anethole and deepening it – think sambuca, pastis, or absinthe. A note of ginger emerges, warming things up and adding a zingy freshness that prevents Réglisse Noire from getting too sweet or too cloying. Allspice is here, too, and adds more spicy warmth, while cocoa gives it a deep, dark fullness and a slight bitterness, too. It all rests on a base of vetiver, cedarwood and vanilla, softened by musk creating a drydown that is like no other.

In many ways, Réglisse Noire is a well-crafted play of opposites – light and deep, sweet and bitter, cool and warm – but I’m not inclined to overthink it. This is a totally unique and softly sexy scent, and I just want to enjoy it.

Notes: White pepper, ozone, mint, shiso leaf, star anise, ginger, licorice, cocoa, allspice, vetiver, cedarwood, vanilla, musk.