Colonia Ebano

I'm tempted to say that this is probably one of the best official encounter perfumes there is. What I mean by official encounter is any meeting of importance outside of family/friends ties. Beautiful, powerful, warm scent totally outside of sweet floral and fruity notes. It is a warm woody perfume that keeps the timber smell all the way through. Cut a fresh branch of an evergreen tree, put it to your nose, and there you are with a dark, bitter, resinous scent that goes on and on. The bitterness is augmented with vetiver, pepper and patchouli. Honey makes is at more sweet wearable bitter scent, but is is not a base note, so to the end you really just smell more or less bitterness and dirt of the patchouli. First hours though are just mellow bitterness with a soapy quality to it. It has also a very Xmassy vibe to it as you basically smell as a fir for about six to seven hours. You will blend beautifully in with the misteltoe and fresh-cut branches of spruce. The perfume has a solid versatility, but obviously also limits. It is not for teens, it is not fresh, its is not a summer party scent, it is not a date scent if you are young. This perfume gives you more sense of grit, stating you mean business and in a civilized manner, so it is not for a rebel. I read here that it resembles perfumes of the late 70's and 80's. There is definitely a factor to it, and as it was an era when the perfume should counter stench of cigarettes and alcohol, the power was indeed in demand. Today, the power of the perfume stays, but it is perceived many times as an overkill, because when you don't stink, there is nothing to beat. I would not consider Ebano as a particularly heavy scent, but more of a wanna-be reminder of those times. Combination of quality, elegance and power you'll get here, will give you a silent boost and a sense of well-being impossible to monetize. This makes it easily one of my latest favorites.

This fragrance is a nice cologne. And sometimes a ‘good’ or ‘nice’ Cologne is a perfectly exceptionally appropriate fragrance to wear. We don’t always need to be traversing the seven opulent myrrh Oud amber heavens on Aladdin’s oriental carpet or blazing with sweet gourmands, citrus or sea salt. This smells refined expensive traditional warm captivating very masculine and authoritative. And here’s what it smells like - upon entering an antiquarian book store steeped in the scent of its own creaking oak beams you make a beeline for the leather bound books published in the 1700s. Scrolling through the darkened stiff dusty pages you happen across thick and spiced honey bizarrely oozing from the bind and you take a hard sniff. There is also a feeling of slightly charred or very antique wood but overall it’s surprisingly warm and cozy. It is as if the perfumer took Tom Ford’s Noir Anthracite, diluted it for more acceptable daily wear and mixed in a hearty warmth from honey. This is what I would imagine the inner cloisters and corridors of the British houses of Parliament might smell like... and many of the ministers within probably smell like this too. It also reminds me of the scent emanating from a freshly opened tin of honeyed pipe tobacco . Where the youthful ambitious (but unseasoned and mildly insecure) might buy TF Tobacco Vanille, their fathers go for Ebano - because they know they’ve already got it / made it and know who they are. It’s a different composition, a generation above TF TV, but in the same family. Longevity and projection are modest but then this isn’t meant to be a garish spectacle but rather a quietly confident statement. At drydown it does resemble somewhat of a traditional barbershop scent, a very civilised and pleasant terminus for this olfactory journey.

Ebano is a great fragrance, in fact, my favorite of the entire house. I just realized that despite owning this fragrance for 2 years and buying a backup bottle last year, I have never written a review. This is my go-to scent for Fall and Winter months. This is aromatic with a dark, beautiful ebony wood. It has a slight touch of resins. This is an executive fragrance for days when you want to feel like a boss. Ebano is for someone in a position of authority. However, it is not an austere cologne. The touch of honey gives this creation a warmth and approachability factor. This is a great dad scent. Too bad it’s discontinued and did not get it’s own EDP line. I get about 4-5hrs of longevity and decent projection for the first hour and a half than it sits closer to the skin.

Very sophisticated scent for formal occasions. I tend to use it in my professional meetings all year round. I've to be honest, I did not like at the beginning. I had a sample and could not find it that special but then at some point this year I decided to buy a full bottle and I became addicted. It screams elegance without being offensive.

"Smells old school, but new. Smells so seductive." Said a female co-worker of mine. You'll know exactly what she means when you smell it. This is right up my alley, bought it immediately after I tested it. For grown men. Its really woody yet fresh and sweet. BTW less is more.