The “Renaissance” world tour may be over, but Beyoncé is still showcasing the depth of her talents across industries. As previously reported by theGrio, in July, Beyhive members discovered a hidden page on the star’s website that revealed her plans to step into the luxury fragrance industry.
Though many loyal fans immediately and blindly placed their pre-orders in July, this week, Beyoncé officially announced the release of the anticipated fragrance via Instagram.
“Beyoncé Parfums presents CÉ NOIR,” the “Renaissance” singer captioned the post. “Pre-order now on http://parfum.beyonce.com for shipping in November and in time for the holidays.”
In addition to revealing the fragrance’s name, which roughly translates to “It’s Black,” Beyoncé also revealed the perfume’s packaging. When news of the new scent surfaced over the summer, the website only included vague details about the longtime scent-maker’s first foray into luxury fragrance, including it being “encased in art.” As Beyoncé revealed in an Instagram post on Wednesday afternoon, a silver-foiled box houses the scent, which comes in a sculptural, reflective chrome bottle engraved with her name and “Cé Noir” on its face.
“I wanted something to be monolithic, and I wanted something to have a little bit of intimacy,” she explained. Pointing out a circular window in the bottle’s chrome finish, she added that it allows users to “see inside the soul of the perfume.”
This summer, Beyoncé fans painted stadiums across the country chrome as they pulled out their most creative and unique outfits to watch the star perform in her Renaissance world tour, which she referred to as the “House of Chrome.” While Cé Noir’s silver bottle represents the tour’s color palette, its reflective finish also alludes to Beyoncé’s belief that her fans themselves were the visual art to accompany “Renaissance.”
In honor of that fanbase, “Renaissance” tour attendees in Inglewood, Calif., San Francisco, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tampa, Fla., Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., and Washington, D.C. received a special preview of the mystery scent while waiting for the show to start — including this writer. As the website describes, the fragrance has notes of rose, clementine, jasmine and honey, Namibian myrrh and amber, which combine to create a fresh floral scent with sweet undertones.
“I actually spray this during the show — a few times,” she discloses in the video. “Gotta keep it fresh!”
Given the bold, unapologetic energy of the “Renaissance” album, one might expect the fragrance it inspired to have that same olfactory impact. However, Cé Noir, co-crafted and designed by Beyoncé during a years-long process in France, felt like the perfect balance of sweetness, florals and freshness. While that is my personal interpretation of the scent, as with any fragrance, it may smell differently to and on others.
To smell for yourself, “Cé Noir” is currently available for pre-order on parfum.beyonce.com, retailing for $160. Shipping is scheduled to start on Nov. 20, and, as noted, pre-orders should arrive in time for the holidays.
Updated: Wednesday, 10/25/23 at 4:00 pm ET: Soon after the publication of this article, Beyoncé posted an unboxing video to Instagram in which she spoke about the fragrance. The article has been updated to include her comments.
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