Bvlgari Black Bvlgari 1998

Every time I see this fragrance in the stores, it is almost always placed in the male fragrance department. For people that don't follow fragrance like a religion, one would assume that it is a male fragrance rather than unisex.

I was compelled to try Bvlgari Black after reading that it was a popular and unique fragrance which women seemed to enjoy wearing. As a fan of everything unique, I tried this in a store yesterday. I was not game enough to spray on my skin, so I tried it on a tester card.

There was an immediate blast of sharp rubber and leather, which left me surprised but not repulsed. However, in only a few minutes the scent changed to a sweet honey and car tyre rubber scent. I was horrified by this combination. Before this fragrance had become repulsive, I would have suggested that Bvlgari Black was a unique and masculine perfume, but the sweetness of the honey made it, in my opinion, far too sweet for a man and too disgusting for a woman to wear.

I've never had such a bad reaction to fragrance in my life. With every sniff I would shudder, gag and almost pass out. Perhaps this is one of those love it or hate it type of fragrances. There is no doubt that I absolutely hated this.

EDIT:
I have re-visited Black, and I must say it isn't as bad as how I had perceived it two years ago. It's still rubbery and sweet, however the scent is much more pleasing to my now trained nose. I have removed this fragrance from my dislike list.

Black is one of the few fragrances I would call outright sexy, and one of the few in which a prominent vanilla accord doesn't get cloyingly sweet. I get only a whiff, if that, of the various woods and florals listed: to me, this is almost entirely rubbery leather tinted with vanilla, and grounded by a warm musk that doesn't steal the show or invoke sweat or laundry detergent. I find it perfect for the cold season, and have no idea yet how this behaves during warm weather, but I'm really curious to find out! My only complaint is that the leather isn't quite as intense as I would have hoped, but at EdT concentration this is only a minor concern.

The bottle and packaging complement the juice perfectly, which is a rare enough occurrence that it warrants a separate mention. It is black, stylish and self-assured from box to drydown, and it is absolutely GORGEOUS. Black is an outstanding example of genius in simplicity. Sex and style often seem irreconcileable in perfume, but with Black Annick Ménardo has achieved that, and more. On top of everything else, Black is widely available through online discounters for very reasonable prices at least in Scandinavia and Finland, so keep an eye (or nostril) out for it.

Addendum: In light of Omni's review, there is a sci-fi feel to this, definitely. I don't know about Terminator, but maybe Pacific Rim.

In the Bulgari line-up are quite some tea scents, one of them is BLACK, evoking the smell of Lapsang Souchong, a Chinese black tea dried over pine wood smoke, a note which is very dominant in this perfume.
This smoky note, also identified as rubber or tire, stays on strong for a long while until the vanilla note shows in the dry down and and adds a slight sweetness and powdery touch. I do not get any floral notes.
It is very suitable for the monsoon period as it does not fades so easily as other perfumes, but I wonder if the humidity (around 60%) amplifies the smoked tea note.

At first spray you do indeed get the unmistakable smell of rubber tires. This will surely not appeal to everyone. Me, I like it. Perhaps this is because one of my favorite memories from my rural mid-American childhood is rolling myself up inside the cavity of a discarded tractor tire (these always seemed to be just randomly lying around), and having my friends roll me around in it, or, better yet, send me flying down a hill.

(Come to think of it, lots of probably toxic smells make me nostalgic for my late sixies/early seventies youth: hot tar, leaded gasoline, mimeograph fluid and rubber cement, to name a few. Surely sniffing these things was not good for me, but, hey, that stuff smelled good.)
But I digress....

Back to Black. Along with the rubber, I get a slightly powdery woody note (the tea?) and a bit of leather. Nothing floral here to my nose, and I can't really pick out the bergamot, but maybe that is what makes this scent lighter than you would expect from the notes. This is not industrial strength rubber, but actually quite tame and well behaved.

The vanilla starts to emerge rather quickly to lend some sweetness and smoothness, and the rubber note becomes a tad more leather-like. The smell that you get about ten minutes after spray remains pretty stable for the duration of the scent.

All in all, this is a unique fragrance that I feel is appropriate for both sexes. Rest assured, though, this is not a "weird" scent, but one that actually settles into a very wearable, light leather/vanilla. Oh, and the hockey puck bottle makes a great paper weight

Sexy and sweet leather that sometimes smells like burnt rubber with vanilla, which is great.

Classic and innovative when was released. This is probably the main inspiration of VCA Midnight In Paris.

I only wish it had more lasting power. Unisex. Worth it.

Updated January 2014