perfumgenie

I was a musician for many years, and certain smells from that world never leave you: freshly pressed records, warm tube amplifiers, and shellacked wooden stages. That warm tube amp scent with is heated dry wood, metal, and wiring is seared into my memory. I get all of those things and then some from this scent.

~The opening of Black Lacquer hits immediately with a dazzling vinyl accord, sharp, glossy, synthetic before sinking into a dark floral heart wrapped in wisps of dry resinous woody smoke. I love that opening, but it’s when the sweeter floral note starts to surface that the fragrance really locks in.

~As it dries down, Tom Ford’s designer brand polish comes through. Black Lacquer smooths out into a dark, woody incense. It's much less raw, more controlled but still, I find it very appealing. Beautifully done perfumery, and one of my personal favorites in my collection. Another thing to note, is the cadence of the wear experience. I find it rises and falls at just the right times.

Le Soir opens with that unmistakable Play-Doh accord I’ve come to recognize from Hypnotic Poison, Bois d’Arménie, Cuir Beluga, Bvlgari Black (older batches), Luna Rossa Black, and a few others. Here, though, it fades quickly and reveals the deep, heady lavender Caron is known for. This lavender comes across smoked, balsamic, and slightly camphorous...very similar to the effect you get in Amouage Reflection 45, which shares some other qualities. Cypress follows not long after, bringing an acidic, mulch like sharpness I still sometimes confuse with cedar. Here it weaves with the lavender in a dizzying spell before being smoothed out by this soft, fluffy tonka. I’ve come to realize I'm a tonka and coumarin lover.

After an hour or so, the scent settles into a powdery orris–violet blend with a big dose of oak barrel wrapped in light smoke. Through all these shifts, that lavender thread never leaves. Gorgeous.

Cargo De Nuit....Silvery musk, woody notes, mineralic notes all like fine threads of scent woven together in a thin sheen silken fabric. Futuristic, hazy yet oddly familiar with the cozy and soft coumarin shavings.
This is an elevated more focused and structured Luna Rossa Black. What even is it? Hard to describe other than pretty words.


The high ratings are justified, though the price is just absurd.
9/10 and only knocking a point for the price

The leather is worn in, traveled, the overall composition feels a bit rugged, even natural. You're on the road here...I love the sunny bright citrus opening with herbal and grassy touches. But, the leather appears with some spice darkening the composition making it an extremely well rounded fragrance. Wise, mature and modern with a classic feel. This is more rural than metro. Appropriate for any season, but Spring and Fall would hit with its spiced nuance. My favorite from the J. Cavallier LV line.

This is beautiful, dry and meditative but also very classic is structure..woody bergamote and moss. I sense vanilla and orris lingering in the dry California climate. Palo Santo has a creamy, oily smell but here it is dry. It's my favorite of the Celine's I've tried.

My issue with this scent lies in its lackluster performance vs the price. Yes it's classy, luxurious, refined and honestly incredible smelling, but it vanishes in an hour. For $400 bucks at least give me a little more than a skin scent version of an Eau de Cologne? It's advertised as an Eau du Parfum.