Dark

9/10. Very Cool Dry Dark Chocolate. This is the only chocolatey-patchouli scent that I would wear. This is Cool, Calm, Collected, and Tall, Dark, & Handsome all in one bottle. This scent opens with a dry dark chocolate for the first 5 min (reminiscent of that baker's cocoa powder), then settles into a leathery-patchouli scent in the mid that is bitter, which lasts for like an hour. Further into the dry down as the bitter leather patchouli wears off, you can pick up the sweet vanilla and hazelnut, topping off the rest of the wear with a light sweet experience. It's quite lovely and very cool imo, yet strange that patchouli is not listed--because it's definitely in there. I sniffed this scent early in my perfume journey and did not like the leathery dry down, as it was too sharp then, so it was a pass. I revisited the sample that I have recently and realized that Akro Dark may be the coolest chocolate scent out there right now. I am currently loving this one. I don't have any chocolate in my collection, but if I were to add one, it would have to be dry, unique, and far from the sweet gourmands out in the market right now. I'm going to compare Akro Dark with Une Nuit Nomade Suma Oriental, which is another perfume with chocolate and patchouli notes. Suma oriental has a wonderful opening that is chocolatey-patchouli, boozy and robust, but it dries down sour to my nose and too masculine, sweaty, damp, like BO, which I would not enjoy wearing. Akro Dark stays dry the entire wear, even when the leathery-vinyl nuances come through. Akro Dark is a very cool & unique chocolate scent that gives off gothic vibes, yet is rich & delectable with nuances of coffee and peanut butter. I think this perfume is very wearable for both day and night during autumn and winter as the chocolate here wears dry and never overwhelming or cloying. I have a full bottle on the way and am looking forward to wearing more during autumn and winter this year. It leans a bit cozy, too, making it so likeable. Happy that I revisited this one. Unisex. Not blind buy safe. Must test.

This is a hugely memory inducing parfum for me. As some have said, it really does smell at times like cigarette ashes, but I find it a crucial part of the experience, and not at all offending. Mind you, I am not the one to spray liberally - one to two sprays is enough for me of any scent. I think Dark might cause a headache if sprayed more than that. The memory that makes me love this parfum immensely is a day from childhood, visiting my grandparents, my uncle reading me Tintins and Lucky Lukes after the lunch. Both my uncle and my grandpa smoked these cheap and very strong filterless cigarettes called North State (Nortti) that British American Tobacco sold in Finland in the 80's. In addition to the cigarette smell, the indoor air of my grandparents was saturated with coffee and my grandma's flower parfums. Now, I don't claim Dark smelling like flowers or coffee, but it does bring me back those memories more vividly than anything else. And it combines the memories with my deep love for the darkest, most delicious Lindt chocolates from the Excellence and Creation lines. On my skin Dark lasts approx. 7 hours. It has quickly become one of the scents I love the most in my collection. As many have said before, this is NOT a sweet gourmand and not safe for blind buy. But if you are interested in trying, get the sample set from Akro website and take a whiff - the larger sample set also has Bake which is more of a sweeter gourmand, and very lovely, too. I find Dark more unique, though. For reference: I am 50ish-year-old woman, living in a colder climate, and my favorite parfums are Goutal's Rose Absolue, Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille, Armani's Cuir Amethyste and Initio's Blessed Baraka. Greetings from Finland! Edit 13.6.2024: Thank you so much for the likes! I do hope my review helps when you ponder if this scent is for you or not.

I was lucky and got free sample. Akro Dark was love at first sniff and FBW from go. Convinced Dark was my number one all time fave chocolate gourmand I tried to purchase a one ounce bottle from the Akro Website, only to be let down, receiving the message they don’t ship to my area. (USA? Ummm...okay) Briefly waylaid, I kept diligent watch on eBay for a rare stray bottle and was finally rewarded with my very own 100ml last April. The scent is everything the sample was, except doesn’t seem to have quite the longevity. I can detect all the notes mentioned, but also as someone else stated, a dark animalic leather. It just slays me dead, love it. Sadly, my husband isn’t as big a fan as I am. After wearing it to bed one night, the next morning he told me he didn’t really like what I was wearing, and that he smelled something “agent orangish” about it. So, not a partner pleaser, and one of my most expensive perfume purchases. That’s fine, I’m still enamored. I think I smell like Willy Wonka’s dominatrix, whip in one hand, chocolate hazelnut truffle in the other. One last mention. My bottle leaks. It purged liquid from the atomizer after I used it, to the point it ran down the side. It was a hassle to decant into another bottle, as the sprayer pump is a slightly larger size than my decant fitting. I ended up having to spray into a new bottle through a funnel. Not fun and hugely wasteful, but my hands smelled amazing.

I was always very curious about this brand and its creations since the creator of the fragrances is one of my favourites perfumers ever! Dark is a high quality gourmand fragrance. It’s dark, cacao-heavy, dry with smokey touches! Opens up with a high quality ,rich, dark, bitter chocolate note along with a faint touch of booziness. Imagine the most premium dark chocolate bar, that is how it smells like! After a while I’m getting a raw cacao powder along with some gorgeous hazelnut accords which give a little bit of sweetness without being overly sweet in anyway. I love this combo, it works perfectly together! Also I’m not getting any cinnamon but I can definitely catch some hints of vanilla. In the drydown the scent becomes dry, dark, smokey along with earthy, green and slightly woody vibes. There must definitely be a patchouli note in there even if it’s not listed. Overall I have to say that I’m very impressed about this scent. I love how the perfumer manages to make a chocolate dominated perfume with a dark character, without being overly sweet! It’s definitely a full bottle worthy if you are looking for a semi gourmand high quality perfume. Perfect choice for the colder months! Projection is pretty good and the longevity is definitely above average! Scent: 9/10 Longevity: Long Lasting Sillage: Strong

... Totally hypnotizing aroma, absolutely worthy of the collection and the pleasure of all GOURMANDIE. On skin it opens with a very powerful aroma of cocoa beans, hazelnuts with all their husks, a few sweet almonds and a pair of coffee beans, all well mixed and placed on a pan on the direct fire, until you feel how each bean begins to brown, and the hazelnut husks begin to burn and detach, at which point a small portion of muscovado sugar is added along with a vanilla bean. No I'm not really writing a recipe for some delicious dessert, it's exactly what I perceive every time I use it. If your nose is almost like a hound, you will be able to perceive the almost imperceptible touch of sweet tobacco and a few patchouli leaf beads, at least you will feel them the first times you use it, with use your nose gets used to it and after 4 or 5 uses you will no longer feel it. Packaging : 7/10 Duration : 15/10 Sillage : 20/10 versatility : 3/10 Is it worth the price? : definitely YES.