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Le Bolshoï Black Swan Guerlain 2014

8.1 / 10 52 Ratings

A popular limited perfume by Guerlain for women, released in 2014. The scent is floral-citrusy. The production was apparently discontinued.
Pronunciation Compare Limited

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Main accords

Floral

Citrus

Powdery

Woody

Creamy

Fragrance Notes

Lemon

Violet

White musk Cedar

Cedar

Jasmine

Mandarin orange Rose

Rose

Vanilla

Lily of the valley

Sandalwood

Bergamot

Milk

Perfumer

Thierry Wasser

Ratings

Scent

8.152 Ratings

Longevity

7.236 Ratings

Sillage

6.434 Ratings

Bottle

8.147 Ratings

Submitted by Michael · last update on 01/17/2025.

Source-backed & verified

Interesting Facts

This scent is exclusively available in Moscow.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Reviews

5 in-depth fragrance descriptions

05/04/2015

Myhorses
33 Reviews

Myhorses

Santal a la Guerlain

A brilliant interpretation of santalwood note in the only that only Guerlain can do it and I'm writing this thinking at Samsara.
My expectations were around a perfume full of drama with something black inside but , instead , a splendid creamy soft santal with a comforting vibe. One of the best santalwood releases in my opinion
Good longevity , great silage

01/11/2021

10Scent 9Longevity 8Sillage

Gandix
181 Reviews

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Gandix

Top Review 39

What is a black swan? - For me

For weeks, or rather months, I have been reading statements and comments about this fragrance.
I rarely compare scents, I consider each one on its own, including this one.
I read here:
Missed the point...
This swan is not black, but white...
Too nice for dark splashes...
Harmless...
Nondescript floral scent...
That may be true for each individual tester..
But missed the point?
What is the black swan, and what does it mean to me?

In mythology, a black swan symbolizes disaster, impurity, the dark side.
But why? - Out of fear, ignorance, the anxiety of people in the past.
There are indeed black swans, the mourning swans,
but only their plumage is black, they are not impure, they bring no disaster.
There are also white swans, which are born with dark feathers, but when they grow up,
their plumage is snow white.
They are just as pure and proud as other swans.
And that is what the 'Black Swan' symbolizes for me.
It shines for me in fascinating beauty.

The swan glides in perfect tranquility across the lake....
Silence surrounds it...
In the moment when I wear it,
the fresh citrus-milk note at the beginning
symbolizes a cold, Russian winter...
the lake is almost frozen,
everything is covered in snow,
gently and quietly, snowflakes fall upon the swan...
Deepest winter....beautiful.
But the cold does not bother the swan,
for it spreads its own warmth with its gentle powderiness,
melting the ice beneath it.
Soft woodiness of the frost-covered trees around it.
A hint of blooming flowers in spring lingers in the air.

For me, this ugly duckling
has become a beautiful white swan,
in a scene like in a fairy tale, that enchants.
One of the most beautiful fragrances I own,
and I am proud to have it.

03/02/2021

6.5Scent 7Longevity 6Sillage

Mörderbiene
46 Reviews

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Mörderbiene

Top Review 20

Fluffy Swanling Short Comment

In Black Swan, one of Guerlain's highly exclusive little treasures, I perceive a lily of the valley note as the red thread running through the fragrance, initially accompanied by wonderfully refreshing citrus notes. This is somewhat creamy, yes, gourmand-like, perhaps the sandalwood vanilla base is already playing a role here, but overall it is incredibly invigorating.
Here, I think less of black or even white swans, but rather of the small, sweet, playful swanlings that are neither white nor black and are all fluffy, frolicking behind their swan mother through the water.

After about ten minutes, these citrus notes fade away far too early, leaving the lily of the valley note, which is then piggybacked by a huge swanling caricature named musk fluff.

That's it, not much more happens - except that at some point along the way, the lily of the valley gets lost and now and then a sweetly creamy sandalwood vanilla peeks shyly out from its hiding place.

This fluffy musk monster seems to be Monsieur Wasser's favorite animal, as it can be found in many of his fragrances: Cologne du Parfumeur, various newer Aqua Allegorias, ...
I could wring the creature's neck!

05/11/2023

7.5Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

Serenissima
1226 Reviews

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Serenissima

Very helpful Review 12

White and Black - Good and Evil

It seems quite simple: The distinction between black and white, the right decision between both extremes.
Of course, the white, the bright, the light is the good, and just as naturally, the black is certainly in league with the devil and smells foul - or perhaps particularly enticing!

In the meantime, we know that it is not so simple, and the dark, black-tending side can be particularly alluring; it is usually more interesting anyway.
Against the fascinating depth of black, white can sometimes seem quite one-dimensional, not to say boring.

Let’s take the two protagonists from Tchaikovsky's ballet "Swan Lake": the two graceful swans!
How delicate and romantically pitiable does the white Odette appear in her love for Prince Siegfried (between us: quite a bore!), as she gracefully glides across the stage as a swan; especially her 32 pirouettes (I have only ever counted 28 in my enthusiasm) in the third act of the ballet are always fascinating.
Yes, the beautiful and pure: She has our hearts. Or perhaps not?
For with what flair does Odile, the black sister, enter the stage, stirs up the gala society, and leaves behind wonderful unrest, dismay, and plenty of conversation!
She has the attention - at least on stage!

So it is not surprising that Thierry Wasser dedicated a composition to this black troublemaker for the Guerlain fragrance line "Le Bolshoï".
Well, "Le Bolshoï Black Swan" does not reach the grand experience of Tchaikovsky's ballet music and some performances; but to assume that would be rather presumptuous.
Perhaps Jacques or even Jean-Paul Guerlain could have achieved this, had we been able to ask them.

This fragrance gala begins with lively fruity citrus freshness (bergamot, lemon, and mandarin); the guarantees of Guerlinade, jasmine and lily of the valley, both white, rich, ripe, and sensual, prepare the stage for a "great fragrance rose," as we have expected here.
So once again, the three classic "noble ladies" of the great Guerlain fragrance spectacle are gathered.
Violet bravely and charmingly ventures into their circle, dark violet and almost just as noble in its powderiness. But it does not come alone; it brings a special feature with it:
No, not the rich and quite expected vanilla and musk notes; they are already there: It wouldn't work without them!
No, violet has brought along a well-filled jug of milk; or is it cream?
Sounds strange at first, but here it makes the fragrance progression not only floral-powdery but also provides a creamy wonderful richness and thus deepens the sensual aura.
This also somewhat covers the little barbs of sandalwood that often brush against my senses, although I actually like them very much: Their masculine (testosterone-laden) animality is often exactly what a fragrance composition lacks before it drifts into superficiality or, as mentioned several times here, into boredom.
Well, here sandalwood becomes milky-creamy without losing its masculine charm and can thus play a fragrant counterpart to my beloved cedar scent.

Guerlain's "Le Bolshoï Black Swan" invites with a fitting sillage and sufficient longevity to a fragrant evening.
Following this invitation to the Bolshoï Theater is worthwhile; but we do not find "Black Swan" in one of the opulent boxes there; Thierry Wasser has not succeeded in that.
But I would place "Black Swan" in the upper half of the new generation of Guerlain fragrances; well-composed and wearable, this creation is definitely.
I would say it is a collector's piece; but doesn't that generally apply to the classic "Ballet Russes" as well?
So he has done everything right with this fragrance composition.

Perhaps we will see each other soon in this theater and meet Odile and Odette there, all wrapped in "Black Swan".
"Mesdames et Messieurs: Mon respect comme adieu!"
Or a bit more casually:
À bientôt! See you!

08/19/2020

Mogwai
15 Reviews

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Mogwai

Helpful Review 4

Black Swan or rather white?

Bright, friendly, dreamy scent cloud.
Light and delicate like the fluttering of a butterfly

One spray, I smell nothing.
A scent cloud forms and unfolds, like foam from a can.

It is a wonderful soft-creamy mild lemon sweetness, the lemon scent that arises when a lemon peel is grated, without any fruit acidity.

I think of the little red lollipops that used to cost 2 pfennigs, with a light green stick.
Dipped such a lollipop into a vanilla cream pudding, a bit of lemon zest on top and a little Bebe cream.
That's what comes to mind with this scent.

The fragrance is as gentle and light as butterfly wings touching the skin.
Wonderful, a dream cloud, bright, it has nothing that I can associate with the word Black.

Black Swan is very reminiscent of Une ville, un parfum Moscow
The Black Swan is perhaps a bit sweeter.
Moscow is a bit heavier.

Moscow, the big sister
Black Swan the little one
Prima Ballerina also belongs to this family

After about 2.5 - 3 hours, the similarity to Moscow becomes even more pronounced.
This mild creamy delicate lemon note and the warm gentle vanilla.

Yes, the three are related, Une ville un parfum Moscow, Black Swan, and Prima Ballerina.
Close your eyes, grab one of them and scent yourself, you can't go wrong with that.

Black Swan
bright fine noble
delicate-creamy mild-lemony restrained-sweet
dreamy cloud scent

Statements

18 short views on the fragrance

Verbena

5 years ago

7Scent 7Longevity 6Sillage

On point in sweet edelweiss. Too nice for dark speckles in the plumage. More like a hopping jackdaw than a Bolshoi. The ballerina doesn’t even sweat. What a shame.

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