Black Velvet Cafe

This is so amazing. The initial blast is pure dark chocolate of the most bitter variety. Oud, woods, coffee, and apparently patchouli join in soon. It's fairly simplistic, at first glance, and there aren't many notes. But the notes are so saturated in dark brown and sepia tones that the pure volume of synesthetic color of this perfume lends its own form of complexity. (This perfume is definitely very dark brown; "black" in the title is a misnomer.) I have gotten so many compliments while wearing this, including from an older lady in my church (she caught and loved the patchouli note) and a blues-rock singer whose hand I shook after her show, and she loved the oud and wood notes. Once, my brother didn't realize I was wearing perfume and he was worried about an electrical fire since he thought he was smelling melted plastic. I'm pretty sure only a certain body chemistry and/or personality can pull this off. To the detractors: I've tried to smell the aspects of this perfume that you don't like, and I can't find any offputting note except for possibly Iso E Super in the far drydown, and even then, I don't catch it all the time. The first time I ever smelled this, I was mystified and captivated at the same time, and I'm every bit as enchanted by it now than I was when I smelled it for the first time in 2018.

Black Velvet Cafe marks yet another interesting entry from Sarah McCartney via her house 4160 Tuesdays. It very much hits on its intended encapsulation, an antique wooden cafe with lush velvet interiors. It rings sophisticated, woody, and timeless, and calls to mind such a room and the things in it. Its notes consists of tobacco, oud, leather, coffee, and according to some sources, chocolate. The effect is particularly a woody one and not that sweet, conjuring what such an environment might really smell like. The chocolate, if it's there, is a subtle, dark chocolate, and the coffee surely leans toward the earthy and bitter rather than sweet. The overall mix might surprise some people, as the notes are well-blended together that fans of all of the notes might not disappointed to see their favorites featured. The presence of oud and coffee, for example, does not make them prominent. Again, the effect is of a woody interior, antique or perhaps rustic, not necessarily dirty but at least worn in, saturated, time-tested. Performance is great, as with most entries of hers that seem to be geared more toward cold weather wearing, like this is. Pricing is $110 for 30ml EDP so not bad at all, especially if you regard it as a nice departure from the norm as I do. 8 out of 10

Its not often I am in the mood for this I will admit but man, when I am its exquisite! There's nothing I own like it. I guess I like the idea of coffee more than the actual stuff itself; the dark bitterness, a quaint cafe and some terribly intellectual books, november fog creeping outside the windows... This encapsulates that dark academia feel to me, I love it even if I don't live it constantly. It starts with a punch of straight up espresso for me and dark gloomy woods quickly join. I don't get much oud, but I'm not here for that. The patchouli adds a darkness in the background. I can see how this is polarising but the blurb and name is very accurate. Having tried this on a friend or two (both are now addicted) I can happily say it projects well and on me, it lasts ages! Worth testing first but a solid 100ml winner for me, I adore Sarah's creations!

Gosh I love love love this! For me the “black cafe” refers to black coffee and the velvet refers to how smooth it is. There is nothing that reminds me of an actual metropolitan cafe. Rather it is all about the farmyard - the pungent fungicide being washed out of a spray tank, barley straw and molassed chaff in the stable and disinfectant in the milking parlour. And tannins tannins tannins. The reason I like this so much is because it will absolutely not make a passer by think you smell fantastic. They might instead wonder if you’ve accidentally leant on a fence just after it was sprayed by wood preservative or possibly subconsciously feel reassured you’re hygienic. It is the sort of smell that enhances the right personality (hopefully mine!) So heartbreaking they are retiring this one.

This is a wake-up call for all coffee lovers and the ones liking oudh, as it punches you on the nose wearing a navy coloured silk velvet glove as it puts a smile on ones face straight out of the bottle. It settles down soon after, but it remains in you olfactory perspective for a very looooong time. Elegant but not overbearing like lots of oudh can be, still pungent enough to be noticed, by a wearer mainly. Word of caution: as with most oudh of a barnyard variety, please do not overdo it (unless you are walking down the "promenade" on Brompton Road, pass Harrods, on Saturday evening). Viva forever Sarah McCartney🌟 (!!!) one true unassuming genius of a scent scene of the Big Smoke.

Nice one, somewhat reminds me of Bojnokopff by Fort & Manle, it doesn't smell like it, but has the same type of mood. This one uses a much dirtier animalic oud note though.

Really weird, this one... Wood, coffee and mud. But oddly comforting. Needs a sweet touch of something. I might try some layering experiments if I have the patience... or I might just pass the sample on.

Did not like this. It smells like mold/ must on me...moreso as the dry-down continues. It's a scrubber for me. Maybe I can find something to layer my decant with (so I use it up creatively)

Fughing disgusting. Smells like a cross between dirty carpets and an old vacuum cleaner that has sucked up one too many dog hairs. Who wants to smell like this?! Sarah McCartney has a gift for gourmands, not for ouds. She should stick to what she does best, or get better at ouds, cause this is just plain repulsive.

Fughing disgusting. Smells like a cross between dirty carpets and an old vacuum cleaner that has sucked up one too many dog hairs. Who wants to smell like this?!

From reading the reviews I was worried this wouldn't be feminine enough for me, and I was absolutely right. I find it very very masculine, and really medicinal smelling. It definitely evokes a certain scene - a café interior on a wet and gloomy day. This cafe is housed in an old English Tudor style building, all uneven floorboards, low ceilings and wooden beams. The well-worn room is intriguingly low-lit, filled with sagging leather furniture, and a haze of smoke hangs in the air. A hit of dark roast, bitter black coffee reaches my nose. Unfortunately although I love to drink my coffee like that, as a perfume it's just too harsh and manly for me.....BUT then inspiration dawned, and I've found that layering this with the sugary sweet coffee scent of Black Opium makes a truly wonderful blend I can really really enjoy! It's probably absolute sacrilege in the world of niche perfumery to do such a thing (sorry Sarah!) but the sweetness of BO tempers the dark bitter medicine of BVC, which in turn lends BO a hell of a lot more interest and longevity, both of which it sorely lacks on its own. The two together are just divine! I am so glad to have found a better way to wear both, and I'm loving this little Frankenscent.

The blurb says "Picture a secluded corner in a subtly lit café, with black velvet furnishings and smooth coffee." The reality is a dark smoke filled cafe (perhaps in a Moroccan souk) with ancient wood furnishings and over brewed coffee that will keep you awake for 4 days. Smoke from a shisha drifts in. It sounds pretty horrific (and if you just smell it on paper it is) but the drydown on skin is somehow warm and welcoming...and considerably less pungent. Projection is pretty good and longevity is not quite off the charts but close. This isn't an every day fragrance and I reckon my two little samples will see me through the winter but I feel an order for one of their 30ml bottles will be made pretty soon. Not a safe blind buy but definitely worth the price of a sample.

Bought a 50ml bottle when it was going cheap thinking the notes sounded terrific. Unfortunately I don’t pick up much but leathery ashtray. Absolutely no coffee for me and it doesn’t really develop anymore from there. Personally, having bought a few from this house, they all remind me of being in the hippie shops from my teens. Enveloped by incense sticks. Like I could just buy three essential oils and I’d smell the same as the frags never seem to go anywhere - what you smell upon first spray is what you’re going to still be smelling two hours down the line. This is just my experience and I really want to enjoy this brand but I’ve been fairly underwhelmed thus far.

This is just amazing. It's just SOOOOOOOOOO REAL , and so intense. The longevity is crazy, the sillage is amazing. At last a perfume that has oud and coffee, it's bitter AND DOESN'T HAVE ROSE ! stop using oud with rose people, its boring ! this is outsanding. i don't care if it's wearable or not, i LOVE IT . You will never find anything like that, it's one of a kind/

This is in obvious opposition to the feminine, that I am typically drawn to, but oh, how I've been snagged by this! It's so moody; and envelopes it's user in a thick blanket of muddy mauve. It beckons to warm by the embers, as it burns off the remnants of a thick and melancholic Newfoundland fog. This is the feeling it gives me.

Another shocker from this company. I just don't understand how these perfumes get any positive reviews, they are so poorly constructed, almost like somebody is reading a manual and learning as they go. They have no distinct phases, no transition, poor blending and just smell bang average.

What an amazing fragrance! Oud, coffee, tobacco and spices. Sort of familiar, but unique at the same time. Possibly the highest sillage of any perfume I've tried, but by no means overpowering. Absolutely gorgeous

So sad. This just smells like straight leather on me, it was unbearable and my coworkers kept asking why I smelled like a new car...

Scrubber! I don't understand how this is even closely considered a perfume. Overbearing heavy leather/oud.