Reviews of Black by Comme des Garçons
Its just fantastic, its rubbery, tarry, smoky, slightly vanillic, black licorice. Perfect winter scent more or less. If you want something similar to Le Labo Patchouli 24 or Louis Vuitton Nuit de Feu, this is it right here, and more complex at that.
It’s a lazy holiday here and I finally sat down. Hadn’t meditated in months. We burned some copal incense afterwards. The whole apartment smells of a quiet ceremonial grounds in the highlands. (That’s where we’d be if we didn’t have to stay in the city). So I pulled out my favorite smoky scent to cement the vibe.
Among all the offerings in the CdG incense line that I sampled, this one stuck out from the get-go. I couldn’t get enough. Something weird, uneasy, and addictive about it. I went through a 2-ml vial and immediately wanted more. So I got a full bottle, which at $1/ml is great value.
This here is a witches’ brew of burning black pepper, warm tar, fluffy licorice-scented vinyl, and sparkling charcoal embers. It’s dark and deep, for sure, but somehow remains airy and light throughout. As the pepper and incense wind down, they meld with the base notes of vetiver roots and cedar wood. And then they hum, deliciously, on and on and on…
Among all the offerings in the CdG incense line that I sampled, this one stuck out from the get-go. I couldn’t get enough. Something weird, uneasy, and addictive about it. I went through a 2-ml vial and immediately wanted more. So I got a full bottle, which at $1/ml is great value.
This here is a witches’ brew of burning black pepper, warm tar, fluffy licorice-scented vinyl, and sparkling charcoal embers. It’s dark and deep, for sure, but somehow remains airy and light throughout. As the pepper and incense wind down, they meld with the base notes of vetiver roots and cedar wood. And then they hum, deliciously, on and on and on…
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Black comes storming out the gate with blackpepper, burnt green woods, incense, and a clear black rubber accord blended in. Birch tar and licorice come into play fairly quickly. The opening stanza is very polarizing but keeps you sniffing for more. Once the initial eye opening smells settle in, the fragrance rides closer to the skin giving wafts of some burnt wet woods intermittently but ultimately dries down on my skin to a fragrance that is cedar and vetiver at the forefront with those woods playing mostly in the background. This strikes me as made by a perfumer who loves dark fragrances of yesteryear but put this together with modern sensibilities. Kudos for CdG doing something that isn’t just another mainstream attempt at the masses, and for putting something together that’s a bit of nose candy for those whose nostrils have experienced many different flavors. This is one of those fragrances that people should not blind buy. I like it, and will give it more wearings to determine if a full bottle is on the way. FWIW, my wife wasn’t too impressed by the opening but has been mainly indifferent to the drydown and yet acknowledging that she likes the cedar accord that her nose has honed in on. 👍
If obsidian shards could be cooked and thus release an aroma, they would smell of CDG Black. This is black pepper incense, plumes of forest smoke, cinder cone daydreams and licorice-scented vinyl records that would play public service announcements on conservation. Black is that delicious Maillard reaction on toasted marshmallows on a campfire, sands sweetness, sans gooey.
Peppery charcoal pillows, glowing embers at dusk, comforting warm tar on a cool, shivering night: this is what Black feels. The trigeminal nerve tickling black pepper eclipses the smoke in its heart, embedding itself into rubber: Never, ever had a lover who put the pedal to the metal and burn rubber on me, Charlene, oh, no—kinda rubber. It would make Bvlgari Black and Jacomo de Jacomo blush.
It mellows into creeping root stalks of vetiver, toasted oat morsels, and the most realistic driest sauna cedarwood accord—heavenly. CDG Black is a fragrance for the books, my favorite smoky scent.
Peppery charcoal pillows, glowing embers at dusk, comforting warm tar on a cool, shivering night: this is what Black feels. The trigeminal nerve tickling black pepper eclipses the smoke in its heart, embedding itself into rubber: Never, ever had a lover who put the pedal to the metal and burn rubber on me, Charlene, oh, no—kinda rubber. It would make Bvlgari Black and Jacomo de Jacomo blush.
It mellows into creeping root stalks of vetiver, toasted oat morsels, and the most realistic driest sauna cedarwood accord—heavenly. CDG Black is a fragrance for the books, my favorite smoky scent.
Heavily smoked woods ... burnt tar that's been baking under the sun ... and the dark savory-sweetness of licorice underlying everything. This one was always a fun fall scent for me, and one of my favorites from the brand.
This fragrance opens with a smoky, birch-incense scent, along with notes of leather and cedar. It's undoubtedly one of CDG's best fragrances, and it's personally one of my top 20 favourite fragrances of all time. The smoke here is thicker and more peppery than what you'd typically find in Aventus, but I'm just using it as a reference point to help explain the smokiness.
However, if you're not a fan of black licorice, you may find the combination of birch tar and licorice to be slightly off-putting. Despite this, the fragrance is still a smoky, birch-dominant scent with a bit of sweetness coming from the olibanum and licorice. The smoke feels natural, with no abrasiveness or scratchiness, and it's the type of smoke that you want to inhale instead of turning away from.
This scent has an umami smokiness that has moderate performance. However, for some reason, I got a bit nauseated by the licorice note. Maybe I associated something bad with the licorice smell because I didn't have this issue when I first bought it. Additionally, the performance wasn't up to my standards, so I ended up selling my bottle. Nonetheless, I still think this is a fantastic fragrance, and I wanted to buy it at first sniff. If you can find it, I recommend giving it a try.
However, if you're not a fan of black licorice, you may find the combination of birch tar and licorice to be slightly off-putting. Despite this, the fragrance is still a smoky, birch-dominant scent with a bit of sweetness coming from the olibanum and licorice. The smoke feels natural, with no abrasiveness or scratchiness, and it's the type of smoke that you want to inhale instead of turning away from.
This scent has an umami smokiness that has moderate performance. However, for some reason, I got a bit nauseated by the licorice note. Maybe I associated something bad with the licorice smell because I didn't have this issue when I first bought it. Additionally, the performance wasn't up to my standards, so I ended up selling my bottle. Nonetheless, I still think this is a fantastic fragrance, and I wanted to buy it at first sniff. If you can find it, I recommend giving it a try.
I wanted something that smelled like Neutrogena T-Gel shampoo. This does the trick! Added bonuses include: fair price, a handsome bottle, and excellent performance. I usually wear a spray of this to the solar plexus, under a shirt and a sweater, and get small, potent whiffs of smoke and incense for hours. Recommended.
A dark gothic rooty vetiver scent in the opening blended with birch tar, patchouli, and other resins. CDG Black smells smoky , balsamic, woody- camphoric, like the gradual decline of a pine resinous forest in the twilight. The rooty vetiver is noticeable in the opening for longer than an hour until the birch tar becomes more noticeable but the game is between the vetiver and the birch tar. like cat and dog chasing each other. An enjoyable fragrance with moderated projection, not too strong but also not too weak, you won't choke people around you. The quality is ok not as good as Black Tourmaline by Olivier Durbano for example or Amouage or Arabian Aoud fragrances. More on the masculine side in my opinion and for both day and night use.100% recommended if you like moderated incense fragrances and looking for a winter scent to add to your wardrobe. Since eventually this fragrance will be discontinued by CDG in the future, better invest in something similar easily available and on continuous flow.
OUTSTANDING!!!!!!!!! The very best incense outside of Giorgio Armani Bois d' encens.
CDG Black is a gem for those that enjoy dark incense driven or resinous birch tar notes. I like this style a lot and Black checks all the boxes for me. Reminds me of Amouage Memoir Man, but less challenging. Doesn't have the sillage or longevity of Memoir Man, but is easier to wear out of the gate. To my nose, the pepper is not prominent and only shapes the incense and resin notes. Black does somewhat conjure a Catholic Cathedral as other reviewers have mentioned, but only adds to it's comforting effect IMO. A wonderful casual, cold weather scent. Thumbs Up.
my all time favorit
love the smell, the intensity - everything
can´t stop sniffing my own skin after applying this one :-)
longevity could be improved though
love the smell, the intensity - everything
can´t stop sniffing my own skin after applying this one :-)
longevity could be improved though
Opens with resinous smoke, like the remains of a just extinguished campfire of green logs. Except that the scent seeps into your skin without stinging your eyes or inducing a cough.
The camphorous aspect of the black pepper blends with a gentle anise and sweet olibanum to give off a more rustic and meditative incense vibe rather than liturgical, which is made even more natural by the charcoal-like birch tar. It then settles into a gentle and sweet, but still dark and smoky incense that surrounds you like a cloak. The silage soon settles, but it has reasonable longevity and (as suits its nature) becomes a cosy skin scent.
It may not be for everyone, but this has become one of my all time favourite comfort scents, as it perfectly balances the sweet, resinous and smoky aspects with the ideal silage to privately enjoy it. Very highly recommended and it will always be a part of my collection.
The camphorous aspect of the black pepper blends with a gentle anise and sweet olibanum to give off a more rustic and meditative incense vibe rather than liturgical, which is made even more natural by the charcoal-like birch tar. It then settles into a gentle and sweet, but still dark and smoky incense that surrounds you like a cloak. The silage soon settles, but it has reasonable longevity and (as suits its nature) becomes a cosy skin scent.
It may not be for everyone, but this has become one of my all time favourite comfort scents, as it perfectly balances the sweet, resinous and smoky aspects with the ideal silage to privately enjoy it. Very highly recommended and it will always be a part of my collection.
Comme des Carçons Black (2013) is pretty much the modern masculine fragrance for the vintage purist "cologne guy" roughly in his forties or fifties, the man who hoards hundreds of discontinued varieties or first-edition bottles of venerable but currently-made male fragrances all dating between the 1960's and early 1990's (aka "the golden age"), and the kind of person who unwaveringly believes older is better and favors the most hirsute accords of perfume's yesteryears over anything else. This is not a person who tolerates sweetness, transparency, or almost any degree of levity in their perfume, as they want only the stiffest, most aromatic, and sometimes dryest or animalic notes in their scent. Well guys, you can put those old bottles of Jacomo de Jacomo (1980) down because Comme des Carçons has you covered. Now don't get me wrong, I love that stuff too, but I'm not shy around the 21st century's modern sweet tobaccos, scratchy citric woods, or syrupy ambroxan bombs if they're handled properly, and Comme des Carçons Black is certainly none of those things. I don't think this is a strict homage to another era, it just recycles and intensifies some of the values found in masculine fragrances from the past then places them almost cynically in a perfume claimed as being unisex.
In fact, Comme des Carçons Black is truer to its name than perhaps any "black" flanker or themed scent has ever been, evoking the smell of burnt rubber, ash, woods, pepper, tar, and scorched earth. Black is the successor to Jacomo de Jacomo that Jacomo Anthracite Pour L'Homme (1991) wished it was, and even out-blacks Amouage Memoir Man (2010) and the later Tom Ford Noir Anthracite (2017). Scorching Madagascan pepper and bleakly dry bergamot open Black, which quickly moves through anise and birch tar in the heart. The bed of Black is murky olibanum and vetiver mixed with cedar and a rough jackboots leather note that makes fans of modern fresh masculines go "yikes" upon meeting it. Hints of burnt rubber come and go, making you smell quite brutish and imposing as the appreciable sillage trail wafts about. Fans of birch tar or severe treatments of vetiver are liable to be all over this too, as it is one of the smokiest fragrances I have ever encountered, housed in a plain black bottle unlike the usual ones used by the house. Wear time is pretty long but this stuff is so staunchly and traditionally male-leaning that it only feels appropriate when worn to a Moose Lodge meeting or a biker lounge. Something like this could pierce a hot day with how piquant it is, but I feel fall and winter serve the fragrance best.
Again, that "when a man smelled like a man" or "when oakmoss, leather, sandalwood and vetiver ruled the world" kind of fraghead could really get down with some Comme des Carçons Black (just don't tell them it's from 2013), but people less intent on staying within the lines of old-school straight-faced masculinity might still like Comme des Carçons Black if they enjoy aloof fragrances. Indeed, you'll smell like a cross between a Victorian chimney sweep and a NASCAR pit crew member with a dash Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet (1901) and Puig's Quorum (1982) mixed in, which is an extremely appealing vibe if you're interested in visiting the Seattle Eagle for the atmosphere but don't want to be groped without a hello. I can see why John Waters has an affinity for Comme des Carçons, but in the case of Black, this is over-amplification of yesterday's masculinity to unapproachable levels of abstraction. Ironically, that makes Black feel more artistic in a modern way than it otherwise lets on, but just misses the mark of being trash culture chic. Comme des Carçons Black is definitely not blind-buy material, and even the most faithful lovers of smoky or rubbery perfumes need to sample this before taking the plunge. This stuff makes Ralph Lauren Polo (1977) look like sissy water by comparison. I like it, but I'm also a bit afraid. Thumbs up.
In fact, Comme des Carçons Black is truer to its name than perhaps any "black" flanker or themed scent has ever been, evoking the smell of burnt rubber, ash, woods, pepper, tar, and scorched earth. Black is the successor to Jacomo de Jacomo that Jacomo Anthracite Pour L'Homme (1991) wished it was, and even out-blacks Amouage Memoir Man (2010) and the later Tom Ford Noir Anthracite (2017). Scorching Madagascan pepper and bleakly dry bergamot open Black, which quickly moves through anise and birch tar in the heart. The bed of Black is murky olibanum and vetiver mixed with cedar and a rough jackboots leather note that makes fans of modern fresh masculines go "yikes" upon meeting it. Hints of burnt rubber come and go, making you smell quite brutish and imposing as the appreciable sillage trail wafts about. Fans of birch tar or severe treatments of vetiver are liable to be all over this too, as it is one of the smokiest fragrances I have ever encountered, housed in a plain black bottle unlike the usual ones used by the house. Wear time is pretty long but this stuff is so staunchly and traditionally male-leaning that it only feels appropriate when worn to a Moose Lodge meeting or a biker lounge. Something like this could pierce a hot day with how piquant it is, but I feel fall and winter serve the fragrance best.
Again, that "when a man smelled like a man" or "when oakmoss, leather, sandalwood and vetiver ruled the world" kind of fraghead could really get down with some Comme des Carçons Black (just don't tell them it's from 2013), but people less intent on staying within the lines of old-school straight-faced masculinity might still like Comme des Carçons Black if they enjoy aloof fragrances. Indeed, you'll smell like a cross between a Victorian chimney sweep and a NASCAR pit crew member with a dash Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet (1901) and Puig's Quorum (1982) mixed in, which is an extremely appealing vibe if you're interested in visiting the Seattle Eagle for the atmosphere but don't want to be groped without a hello. I can see why John Waters has an affinity for Comme des Carçons, but in the case of Black, this is over-amplification of yesterday's masculinity to unapproachable levels of abstraction. Ironically, that makes Black feel more artistic in a modern way than it otherwise lets on, but just misses the mark of being trash culture chic. Comme des Carçons Black is definitely not blind-buy material, and even the most faithful lovers of smoky or rubbery perfumes need to sample this before taking the plunge. This stuff makes Ralph Lauren Polo (1977) look like sissy water by comparison. I like it, but I'm also a bit afraid. Thumbs up.
HARSH; like some kind of dark incense. Sure, it has a scent, but my take is that it's not something humans want to go around smelling like. It would make a better candle than EDT. Too bad longevity and sillage are so good for a fragrance I will not wear. Of course all this from a guy who likes Eucris by Trumper.
The notes that stand out me during the various phases of this fragrance are wood, incense, pepper and birch tar...but , as i find with a lot of scents from CDG , this is more about the visions and feelings it brings out... Throughout various times i get...hot tar and asphalt road that a muscle car just did a burnout on...smoke billowing out a coal chimney...abandoned factories...cooking BBQ on a charcoal grill...and yet , despite all this blackness , the scent is tempered with a subtle underlyinng sweetness...interesting fragrance...definitely not a blind buy...recommend sampling this one first...
From February, 2015:
Lots of darkness going on here, very befitting of its name. A heavy does of coarse black pepper and thick, smoky incense. The smokiness is enhanced further by Black's core of birchwood and leather. The leather's of the retail fashion variety here, not animalic or particularly rugged, and it's kind of obscured within the bracing, potent cloud of peppery smoke that precedes it. The birchwood provides its trademark tar note, and when combined with the licorice, there's something of a bitter, medicinal quality that lurks in Black's shadows. But really, this is all about black, peppery incense--a spicy campfire kind of smell that is warm and more in line with nature than industry. Once the pepper begins to settle down, this could be considered one of those cozy, snuggle-by-the-fire types, especially when you take its relatively reserved projection into account. Overall, I like Black and think it's a good fragrance. If you're a fan of Gucci Pour Homme, Norne, Sombre Negra, or Comme des Garcons 2 Man, you'll probably like this too, though it may feel a bit redundant.
Thumbs up and definitely worth checking out if you like the woody-incense genre or have a black pepper fetish.
Lots of darkness going on here, very befitting of its name. A heavy does of coarse black pepper and thick, smoky incense. The smokiness is enhanced further by Black's core of birchwood and leather. The leather's of the retail fashion variety here, not animalic or particularly rugged, and it's kind of obscured within the bracing, potent cloud of peppery smoke that precedes it. The birchwood provides its trademark tar note, and when combined with the licorice, there's something of a bitter, medicinal quality that lurks in Black's shadows. But really, this is all about black, peppery incense--a spicy campfire kind of smell that is warm and more in line with nature than industry. Once the pepper begins to settle down, this could be considered one of those cozy, snuggle-by-the-fire types, especially when you take its relatively reserved projection into account. Overall, I like Black and think it's a good fragrance. If you're a fan of Gucci Pour Homme, Norne, Sombre Negra, or Comme des Garcons 2 Man, you'll probably like this too, though it may feel a bit redundant.
Thumbs up and definitely worth checking out if you like the woody-incense genre or have a black pepper fetish.
Hey! CdG Black smells familiar to me, yet also unique.
The licorice is of the anise-like black variety here, and it along with the incense, pepper, and birch tar give the fragrance a distinctive, sharp yet pleasant sweet spiciness that's legit! CdG Black has a burnt quality to it which is intriguing in itself. Cedar and vetiver - as used in other CdG scents - add a mellowing influence but don't douse the brightness too much.
Medium sillage, good longevity, and overall an energizing scent that smells "right." Great job, CdG! :-)
The licorice is of the anise-like black variety here, and it along with the incense, pepper, and birch tar give the fragrance a distinctive, sharp yet pleasant sweet spiciness that's legit! CdG Black has a burnt quality to it which is intriguing in itself. Cedar and vetiver - as used in other CdG scents - add a mellowing influence but don't douse the brightness too much.
Medium sillage, good longevity, and overall an energizing scent that smells "right." Great job, CdG! :-)
After the peppery - anisic - boozy rush of the intro it could be possible to talk about the many nuances there are in Black, but this would probably be misleading because they're really no more than a sideshow.
Black doesn't take long to settle into its groove of burnt cedarwood and rubber with a sweet marshmallow undertone. The cedarwood is the principle actor here, and its also a basenote - and we'll see why this is important later on.
Cedar is paired with a smoky note - which may well come from cade oil and birch tar, but the woody core also smells like it contains an empyratic grade of cedarwood oil (which the amateur can buy in head shops in the UK) and this oil has a remarkably similar smell of blackened wood and rubber to that which is found in Black.
The best part is this early main phase where the rubbery and smoky notes add a frisson of danger, but the rubber soon fades away (which is characteristic of the head shop oil) and leaves only the smoke clinging on. The smoke then merges with rising incense and bitter powdery iris notes, which do nothing to change the direction of the scent, or its desiccated texture. These secondary notes are essentially replacements for the more interesting modifiers that preceded them.
For a while Black is driven by a contrast of bitter smoke and sweet fruity notes, but as they fade out and the internal dynamics unwind it loses a lot of its mystique, and once this transition point is reached the profile doesn't change that much anymore. All thats left is a slow and linear decline of the incense, smoky and sweet notes from around the burnt cedar which, eventually, is left standing on its own with just a whiff of licorice.
NB
After trying this on clothing - instead of underneath it - I've changed my view of this. I like the burnt wood, licorice and incense, and I'm giving it thumbs up.
Black doesn't take long to settle into its groove of burnt cedarwood and rubber with a sweet marshmallow undertone. The cedarwood is the principle actor here, and its also a basenote - and we'll see why this is important later on.
Cedar is paired with a smoky note - which may well come from cade oil and birch tar, but the woody core also smells like it contains an empyratic grade of cedarwood oil (which the amateur can buy in head shops in the UK) and this oil has a remarkably similar smell of blackened wood and rubber to that which is found in Black.
The best part is this early main phase where the rubbery and smoky notes add a frisson of danger, but the rubber soon fades away (which is characteristic of the head shop oil) and leaves only the smoke clinging on. The smoke then merges with rising incense and bitter powdery iris notes, which do nothing to change the direction of the scent, or its desiccated texture. These secondary notes are essentially replacements for the more interesting modifiers that preceded them.
For a while Black is driven by a contrast of bitter smoke and sweet fruity notes, but as they fade out and the internal dynamics unwind it loses a lot of its mystique, and once this transition point is reached the profile doesn't change that much anymore. All thats left is a slow and linear decline of the incense, smoky and sweet notes from around the burnt cedar which, eventually, is left standing on its own with just a whiff of licorice.
NB
After trying this on clothing - instead of underneath it - I've changed my view of this. I like the burnt wood, licorice and incense, and I'm giving it thumbs up.
This is a good, basic sort of woody scent, the sort of thing CdG has as a specialty. Starts a bit sweet. Develops smoky, woody notes with a noticeable licorice aspect. The leather and wood give a gentleman's club atmosphere. Eventually the scent resolves into a simple but pleasant wood chord, of good longevity.
I get mostly liquorice and fireplace or burnt rubber... it reminds me a bit of Tauer scents. It's interesting and I kind of like it but the burnt smell gets annoying after a while.
My wife says that it smells of Christmas.
My wife says that it smells of Christmas.
Remember in Taxi Driver when Travis Bickle burnt all the flowers he sent to Betsy, but they were sent back 'cos Betsy thought he was a nutter? That scene is how this smells - evocative, dark, menacing, tragic.
The black pepper smacks you in the face like Mike Tyson smacking you in the face if he were drenched in Black Pepper. Which he isn't. Or i assume he isn't. Who knows? But if he were then this would be the general effect.
A tremendous fragrance whose accords lend it something distinctly unique. It's not for everyone granted, but if you can search past the pepper and the tar and then appreciate the combination and the balance, you will be hooked.
The black pepper smacks you in the face like Mike Tyson smacking you in the face if he were drenched in Black Pepper. Which he isn't. Or i assume he isn't. Who knows? But if he were then this would be the general effect.
A tremendous fragrance whose accords lend it something distinctly unique. It's not for everyone granted, but if you can search past the pepper and the tar and then appreciate the combination and the balance, you will be hooked.
Absolutely wonderful! A sharp blast of black pepper opens things up…and it just keeps getting better! With all of the blackness, it carries itself deftly, never overwhelming. This is never smoky, but dusty, like ashen coal? As things warm up, frankincense, licorice and cedar smooth things out. I've experienced birch tar overshadow when used, but not here! This is modern in construction, but very familiar in execution, and more versatile than one might think. I need to get a bottle! Thumbs up!
CdG made their own Body Kouros? Great!I love a good cedar and licorice. If this had rose as well that would really ice the cake for me.
Performance of Black could stand to be a bit better but it's an all-around likable scent which seems to unify the themes of Body Kouros, Bvlgari Black, Eau Noire, and Wonderwood. Just lovely.
Performance of Black could stand to be a bit better but it's an all-around likable scent which seems to unify the themes of Body Kouros, Bvlgari Black, Eau Noire, and Wonderwood. Just lovely.
Incense, pepper and woods done RIGHT! The leather and licorice is an added bonus folks! The Birch tar gives this a nice zesty feel. 7.5/10