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Black Pepper & Sandalwood

7.1 / 10 49 Ratings
A perfume by Acca Kappa for women and men. The release year is unknown. The scent is leathery-woody. Projection and longevity are above-average. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Leathery
Woody
Spicy
Smoky
Animal

Fragrance Notes

LeatherLeather CivetCivet MuskMusk OudOud VioletViolet ZalkribtulZalkribtul
Videos
Ratings
Scent
7.149 Ratings
Longevity
8.340 Ratings
Sillage
8.037 Ratings
Bottle
8.752 Ratings
Value for money
5.812 Ratings
Submitted by Feylamia · last update on 09/28/2025.
Source-backed & verified

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to
Complex (Eau de Parfum) by Boadicea the Victorious
Complex Eau de Parfum
Leather of the Complex by The Dua Brand
Leather of the Complex
Elaborate by Boadicea the Victorious
Elaborate

Reviews

6 in-depth fragrance descriptions
Aquamonza

10 Reviews
Aquamonza
Aquamonza
Helpful Review 4  
relationship status: intricate.
"Fascinating, but intolerable" seems to be the tenor. I explicitly confirm:
Cold smoke. Burnt ash. The animal disintegrates to dry dust when touched.
Yes.

And – No. Is it just the wrong touch? This ashes glimmers and quivers. If you give it time, listen to it, you qietly hear the animal - and you never know whether it is comfortably purring or growling.

Sexy? No. No veil of honey, no cushion of amber; the given violet is obviously metaphorical and illustrates the feeling after the header.
Unisex? Absolutely - with the curiosity and the courage to think the unthinkable, to want the impossible, to wear the unbearable.

"Intricate" generates a sillage, which can not be underestimated, and has an impressive longevity – and that is on the skin. On clothing it lasts 24 hours plus, particularly when just sprayed medium to larger rooms can easily be irradiated. Thus respectful dosage is recommended. This is answered in the course of hours with increasing purring, but without ever the teeth to hide: it’s the chest hair under the turtleneck and gray worsted yarn.

If a fragrance can last for two years to open and unfold its beauty, it must be a very special one. Not only patience is required, not even above all. It's luck.

And that has its price.
Updated on 10/25/2017
0 Comments
Apicius

1328 Reviews
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Apicius
Apicius
Top Review 15  
Unbearably wonderful!
Have you ever tested a perfume for €520? First straight ahead, then right around the corner, past Louis Vuitton, into the flower department, and behind that you will find the perfumes - that’s what the friendly salesperson shouted to me as I asked for directions in Quartier 206 on Berlin's Friedrichstraße.

The perfume department of the department store is elegant - more on that another time. There are the fragrances from Boadicea the Victorious. I purposefully asked for the Oud perfumes - which unfortunately cannot be ordered as samples at Ausliebezumduft at the moment - and found what I was looking for. Four were shown to me, and Intricate made it onto my skin.

This perfume is outrageous - I have never experienced something so herbal, so bitter. Oud is already a strong note, but here it is overshadowed by a bitter-spicy leather aroma. It is definitely not the clean bovine nappa from Montale's Oud Cuir d‘Arabie or Neil Morris’ Leather Garden. It is the rustic, musty wild leather note that timidly greets us in Montale's Leather Aoud and is more pronounced in Askew by Humicki & Graef. I did not like it in either of those perfumes - it reminded me too much of rotting tanning waste and unwashed jeans. But here, I like it very much. This leather note has also been pushed to the extreme. Incredibly intense, three sprays on my skin almost induce a gag reflex. Drier and more powdery wild leather is unimaginable. With woods, iris, musk, resins, and oud, a grandiose accord has been created here.

There is no special development; it ends as it began. This creaky accord can unfortunately only be described through proximity. As an exceedingly herbal men’s fragrance, it conjures images of cold cigar ash for me.

Is that still beautiful? No, but fantastic!!!

The longevity is problematic. Like a cheap, generic perfume, it is strong and intense at first, very intense even. And then everything fades within three hours to a subtle skin scent. This makes dosing quite difficult for the customer. How does one deal with this? I think one will dose as usual, but should then walk around for a while with a clothespin on their nose. This extremely herbal scent can really induce nausea if not applied properly, and there is a constant danger of overdoing it. One would forever tire of Intricate.

This is exceedingly demanding and completely unsuitable for the perfume novice. Intricate requires engagement from the wearer. But there are indeed people who would rather spend hours tinkering with a delicate automotive classic than sit in the latest Volkswagen. And with the mindset of a passionate car enthusiast, one should approach this perfume.

As is well known, I do not think much of perfumes that exceed a price of €200. Usually, there are equivalents for €100. Many arguments can be made against Intricate: no real development, mediocre longevity, a one-dimensional accord, difficult to dose, extremely herbal and on the edge of wearability. And yet: after a few hours, this scent has swept away all objections.

Should I add Intricate to my wish list? Maybe a Santa Claus will find me who gifts me this perfume!

------

Addendum on longevity: On my skin, Intricate becomes bearable after a few hours and does not last excessively long. On clothing, it clings for days!
1 Comment
Ergreifend

530 Reviews
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Ergreifend
Ergreifend
Very helpful Review 14  
Hormonal Imbalance
Intricate smells to me like spoiled meat that has been lying in the blazing sun for far too long.
An animal that had a hormonal imbalance and thus emitted an extremely strong odor. People who have smelled that once know exactly what I am talking about. This smell embeds itself deeply in the senses and does not fade away.

There are associations with sewage that explode thoughts.
Then a heavy rain full of violets. Civet clashes. I am pondering, and it swirls all sorts of thoughts through my head. It turns the inner order upside down.
Animalistic blows crash through.
It dusts my body, it suddenly feels so dry.
I have to clear my throat; on one hand, it disgusts me, on the other hand, I am completely indifferent towards it. So, as the scent continues to present itself.
Unfortunately, there is not much more. It just sweats along, emits a few thuds, and clumsily sinks into the sea of violets.

For me, it is unfortunately unbearable, and I cannot imagine for the life of me where one could wear such a scent. We perfume lovers truly have very peculiar relationships and habits with perfumes, but this one fits into no drawer that I dare to open from time to time.

Longevity and sillage are noteworthy. Strong, as expected from BtV.
Not for me, but it surely has its admirers and also those who engage with it more lovingly than I do.
14 Comments
DonDonDon

8 Reviews
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DonDonDon
DonDonDon
12  
First Strike + The Morning After.
Electro waste, scented with diesel. Burned-out engine rooms. Plastic stumps, melted, charred, cooled. The aura of fuel. Detroit, car graveyard. Ruhr area, junkyard. Dredgers exposed to the tides, rusted cabins. Kerosene fire. Technology from the seventies, irreparable. Missing insulation. Empty oil tanks, inside, bitumen, asphalt. Soot residues, circuit boards, scorched. Blue asbestos panels in damp basements. A spilled canister. A time of lead. A dome of smog.

Once upon a time, there was a dark dream in which breathing was dangerous. The women knew a remedy, applied their good powder, took away the children's fear. The morning after. From afar, the steel heart of the cities beats. Picture books recall animals and plants.
3 Comments
Kasmodiah

12 Reviews
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Kasmodiah
Kasmodiah
0  
The Big Brother
As APICIUS wrote here, actually unbearable. A blow to the snout. And to my shame, the scent develops extremely positively on my skin, leathery-pumatic I would say :-) When I ordered my Amour de Palazzo at Essenza, the nice staff included a rather generous sample of this fragrant delicacy. And my God, it doesn't actually smell that complex now, but it is very, very addictive. All the ingredients, I bet that not all components are listed up here in the top notes, are and seem to be harmoniously balanced in a pleasing, nose-flattering ratio. There was an artist at work, in the truest sense of the word. I don't know his little brother, the Complex, yet. But that will happen soon.
The only repulsive thing about this essence is the price. It can really send shivers down your spine. Maybe someone will take pity on me :-))
1 Comment
More reviews

Statements

7 short views on the fragrance
1
After a pungent spicy/animalic opening, this challenging, cold and metallic smoky-leathery fragrance, settles to a dusty musky-woody base.
0 Comments
1
Help! There is a lot of smoke! The smoke at the "high level". I have seldom experienced the scent being so dry and leathery.
0 Comments
26
20
Animalistic civet
Sneaks through the spice bazaar
Stops at the oud stand
Seller recommends
Dusty-dry leather vest
Pays with musk currency
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20 Comments
21
22
Harsh, animalistic leather sets the tone
Civet rubs against it
Over time, dry
Violet becomes noticeable
With a smoky depth
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22 Comments
3 years ago
10
9
Rugged, dark green leather - personally, I’m bothered by the overpowering violet note that dominates here. Civet doesn’t help either.
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9 Comments
5
3
Complex on steroids. Much deeper than Complex. Animalistic leather and violet. Dark green. The oud plays a supporting role. Very good scent!
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3 Comments
5
For me, alongside its BtV twins, it's now an icon that has grown dear to my heart over the years. Sharp civet leather.
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0 Comments
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