Fragrances that one hears so much good about for years, praised everywhere and by various people as masterpieces, but which one still cannot get under the nose despite all efforts, develop over time a certain mystical aura, adorned with an imaginary halo.
And when the day finally comes when the long-held wish unexpectedly comes true, the disappointment is often great: no mythical aura, no halo, just a mundane scent, neither better nor worse than many others.
Not so with 'Or Black' by Pascal Morabito: this fragrance has actually met, even surpassed, my already high expectations.
But what did I expect?
After all the hymnal descriptions, I envisioned a deep dark, brown elixir, with rugged leather notes, plenty of incense, lots of resins, strong tea nuances, and a voluminous bitter-mossy Chypre base.
But lo and behold, it didn't turn out to be that opulent: 'Or Black' is not one of those infamous "powerhouse" fragrances from the 80s, even if some consider it so.
It is worlds apart from 'Antaeus' or even 'Kouros': no room-filling, overwhelming, and domineering appearance, no penetrating sweetness, and no excessive animal presence. Instead, 'Or Black' presents a scent that, while having stature, neither pushes its wearer and their counterpart against the wall nor dissipates into the vaporous, insignificant due to excessive modesty.
For its time, it is surprisingly restrained.
At the same time, 'Or Black' is also idiosyncratic, especially when considering when the fragrance was released: 1982, now thirty years ago. When I sniff it today, I don't have the slightest feeling that it is a somewhat aged fragrance, but rather a quite modern, somehow contemporary one.
Yes, 'Or Black' was ahead of its time, probably by miles.
Strangely enough, the scent reminds me of another fragrance that was also quite ahead of its time: the incredible 'Yatagan' by Caron. On the other hand, 'Or Black' also reminds me of a still very relevant work by Andy Tauer: 'L'Air du Désert Marocain'. As if the entire olfactory escapades of the 80s and 90s had not existed, 'Or Black' draws a red thread from Vincent Marcello's masterpiece of the 70s to the modern masterpiece of the young Swiss autodidact. While it lacks the penetrating animal component of the former, as well as the dark ambered, oriental side of the latter, what connects them is a distinctive leather Chypre structure with dry-woody accents and a certain spicy sharpness. Therefore, it could be described with the term aromatic leather Chypre, with a more or less pronounced twist towards the oriental.
'Or Black' also indulges in a clearly recognizable Coumarin note, taking a small step towards Fougère, so that some - like Luca Turin - might also refer to it as such ('dark fougère').
In any case, here - similar to Guerlain's 'Derby' - the genres overlap, and a clear categorization is difficult.
In any case, it is not particularly significant whether the fragrance is based on an aromatic leather Chypre or a 'dark-fougère' structure; what is more characteristic is the leathery-smoky heart with its distinctive Ylang-Ylang accents. This unusual triad shapes and dominates the fragrance without being carried and overshadowed by a base typical for its time and those significant leather Chypres of Patchouli/Moss/Castoreum.
Here, the floral-leathery-smoky heart is allowed to develop into the depths of the base without the latter developing a special life of its own and excessive volume.
However, this also means that one can easily get the impression that the longevity of 'Or Black' is only short-lived, especially when comparing the fragrance with others from its time.
But that is not entirely true: intensity, sillage, and longevity are rather classically crafted, thus orienting themselves more towards fragrances like Givenchy's 'Vetyver' or Chanel's 'Pour Monsieur', which are characterized by initially noticeable presence, followed by lasting but above all discreet presence. Men's perfumes of this category were not designed to compete with women's perfumes in a room-filling manner - they took a step back and let the lady go first.
'Or Black' is one such late descendant of these classically proportioned men's fragrances, but for this somewhat "extreme" scent (this attribute is often applied to it), this cut was probably still the means of choice at the beginning of the 80s.
Today, however, as we experience completely different fragrances - especially in the niche sector - 'Or Black' seems, at least to somewhat experienced noses, no longer "extreme" at all. Yes, one might even regret that it does not develop a larger volume, but as mentioned: Jean-Louis Sieuzac apparently did not want to create a fragrance with a divine name and atomic radiation, but rather an elegantly idiosyncratic, dry-spicy work in a classic manner.
Much better than "extreme," the attribute "avant-garde" fits this fragrance, and as is often the case with truly avant-garde fragrances, they hardly achieve widespread distribution. Hardly anyone has created such great "crowd-pleasers" as Jean-Louis Sieuzac: just think of 'Opium' or 'Fahrenheit'. On the other hand, there are also slow sellers like 'Bel Ami' or hardly advertised lone wolves like 'Or Black'.
In general, the marketing: has any fragrance by a well-known designer ever been less advertised and distributed more restrictively? One might suspect that 'Or Black' is not meant to achieve significant distribution to maintain its status as an idiosyncratic outsider.
Whatever the case. The fragrance is currently only available as an EdT refill in Pascal Morabito's Paris boutique, while the Eau-de-Parfum in the exclusive, silver-plated "Collector" bottle has long been "non-disponible."
Long story short: a masterpiece!
Top Notes 
Leather
Pepper
Bergamot
Heart Notes 
Sage
Benzoin
Cistus
Base Notes 
Tonkin musk
Vetiver
Amber
Oakmoss
Can777
Minigolf
Lox
Yatagan
