“Susan meets a lively young man in a bar. He cares about her and tells her that lightning might strike her. She is in love but separates without getting his name. Unbeknownst to her, multiple cars hit the man in a possible fatal collision. Death arrives at Bill’s home in the boy’s entire body, explaining that Bill’s passionate speech piqued his interest. Given Bill’s expertise, experience and wisdom, Death says that as long as Bill is driving on Earth, Bill will not have to die. By creating a name on the spot, Death is introduced to the family as Joe Black.” - Meet Joe Black.
Why did I choose that movie to introduce you to
Warm Black? Because “Meet Cherry Black” is the first thing that came to my mind when I smelled the cologne, and “Meet Joe Black” just fell right. Right off the bat, this perfume from Zara is a bomb made of smoked tobacco and delicious vanilla dipped in sour black cherry liqueur. It smells like a vanilla pod dipped in something dark, like a spicy whiskey. I bought it blindly during the first lockdown, and its striking name intrigued me enough to order the entire collection, namely
Agate Black and
Navy Black. Although it differs significantly from
Potion Eau de Parfum, this perfume has the same initial impact and vibe. The spicy accord prevails, and the vibration is equivalent.
Warm Black welcomes me with an immense cloud of spicy cherry liquor. For a moment, it is like smelling into a jar of cherries under spirit. An explosion of the syrupy and medicinal accord, similar to Fabbri’s morello cherry, used to fill ice cream and desserts. That accord confuses with a cough syrup edge: opulent, slimy, oily. It tells me immediately who is commanding, with its dark and dense character. I have the original 2020 bottle, and for me, it isn’t easy to catch the tangy ginger because of the sugariness of the fruity accord, a sort of dried berries mixed with something spicy and resinous. I can’t take my nose off my hand because that aroma is intriguing, attractive, and poisonous. Take this mixture and add some freshly ground pepper and clove pods. Warm Black encompasses all this in the opening notes. It is a welcoming scent, and the opening suggests me of a Cuba Libre cocktail or something similar to a dark alcoholic drink with cola tinges. I cannot believe how much I love this opening. Often, I reapply just to experience the opening once more.
Should I dwell on the extraordinary combination of notes of suede, viscous tobacco, and deep and intoxicating vanilla that this beautiful scent emanates abundantly appreciably? The tobacco follows the prominent spice blend at the top. Its nuance is moist and sweet, like cherry tobacco, with no sign of smokiness. Think of Sweet Dublin, a unique Dublin Danish mixture that contains only the finest tobaccos, which, when blended, give a mild, sweet, and satisfying smoke as if they flavoured it with Irish whiskey. Instead, I need to get the spicy and leathery saffron, not the way I get in the Middle Eastern creations. Most of the time, it is warm tobacco from the start. The aroma leans towards a more feminine flavour, because the tobacco is sweet and leaks the smoky aspect. Don’t expect this to be a sweeter, more straightforward vanilla or smoky, dark tobacco; it’s definitely tobacco and vanilla.
Combined with the woods of the bottom, the scent has even a slightly ancestral church-like feel, that slightly incensed and resinous smell. The vanilla touch is perfect; it never overwhelms. It’s always there, providing an underlying sweetness, linking everything together. Vanilla comes through along with the tonka bean, but I get a little of cypriol, it says in the notes. Ultimately, the labdanum adds a hue of leatheriness, but just a hint and nothing comparable to other ZARA leather-based fragrances,
True Leather Men, just to mention one. What it left on my skin is dark and spicy, with hints of powdery vanilla.
Warm Dark is a luxurious spicy oriental, with the perfect balance of vanilla, spice, and tobacco. I don’t have
Tobacco Vanille Eau de Parfum and have never smelled it, so I cannot say that the smell reminds me very much of it. Though Warm Dark is a straightforward decision, no brain! It is a fragrance for colder climates, so I prefer it for winter or late autumn nights. The performance is moderate; perhaps the longevity is average, but so is the performance of many recent batches of designer fragrances, so no complaints from me. It is a compliment-getter and attracts so much attention. I’ve received many while wearing it. It’s a genderless perfume and would be a fantastic fragrance to wear to a date night, a social and joyful event, or an outdoor party. This is another ZARA hidden gem, nothing but positive vibes here.
I'm basing my impressions and review on a bottle I've owned since October 2020.
-Elysium
Tobacco
Vanilla
Ginger
Sejano
Elysium
MrHonest
RobbieX
Amberspicy
Haliscsharp
HubertG
PedroCabral
CoraKirsch
Dawg
