I had bought the Encre Noire by Lalique (bottle on the left) from Nykaa in late 2023 and the one on the right, received today, from FridayCharm. Both cost me around 3.5k.
The boxes in which they came seemed pretty identical which is why i didn't bother adding the pictures.
As you can see, there are clear differences in the texture & quality of the cap, the nozzle shape & appearance, the release of the atomizer (& thus the spray pattern), even the corners/edges of the bottle from Nykaa look more L-shaped while the one from FC looks slightly curved.
As for the smell... they seem pretty similar, both open with an alcohol blast but to my nose, the Nykaa one quickly changes to the very aromatic, rich, dark, vetiver scent that we are familiar with & love Encre Noire for. As for the FridayCharm one, it takes a while to lose the harsh alcohol odour, and what comes next seems a bit darker, more leathery than earthy. There's still vetiver in there but it smells darker somehow and not as aromatic.
I don't know what to make of it. Did Lalique change their bottle/cap & reformulate Encre Noire? I shall be testing & comparing the juice further in coming days but the stark contrast in their presentation right off the bat caught my eye and i couldn't help but wonder if later one is fake.
I do purchase from FC now and then, and haven't run into such issues before which is why i am not rushing to judgement right now.
If you have any experience in this matter, please feel free to share 🙂 thanks in advance.