Ink

Ink is my final Akro sample to try (Bake is too new to have been included in my discovery set), and it is another excellent rendering of an "addiction", as is the theme of Akro's scents. Ink is a really creative concept that has been brought to life beautifully by master perfumer Olivier Cresp. Best known as the nose behind myriad designer bestsellers, here at his own brand Akro is where his creativity is allowed to truly shine, not being constrained by the brief from a profit-driven corporation. I have been impressed overall with the scents for Akro, but Ink is inspired by a much less obvious and more challenging addiction than say, coffee or cannabis, and it is successfully realised. Ink is, well, inky from initial spray. Dark and mossy, it has a leather undertone, reminiscent of an exploded pen in a handbag. It smells like an inkwell for an old-fashioned calligraphy pen to my nose, and the leather also brings to mind the tattooist's chair, bringing the theme fully to life. I have been in tattoo studios - accompanying friends while they were getting piercings, and once to get a tiny tattoo when very young. This scent is reminiscent of the studio - ink, leather, plastic, a hint of a chemical undertone - Ink is an excellent olfactory artwork. The ink effect is given by dense, mossy notes - perhaps oakmoss and vetiver - and leather-y, tar-like birch. The leather is dry and subtle, not smoky at all. There is a woody quality that emerges as it develops, complementing the mossiness. Peppery spice follows, giving it a lift and complementing the dark woody-mossy accord nicely. I get a slight rubbery/plastic-y, chemical undertone, Bvlgari Black-style, but it only contributes to the image of the tattoo studio, while complementing the leather accord. It dries down to become a musky leather skin scent. Sillage and longevity are moderate. An olfactory artwork that is as unusual as it is excellent, I am very impressed with Ink. Unisex and transeasonal, it is somewhat wearable despite its edginess. One of my favourite Akros. This would make a great gift for a tattoo aficionado. 4.5/5.

Mmmm. I love this kind of scent. Office Siren... A little strange. Skin-like and bitter office smell, absolutely suitable for daily wear as it is quite neutral and inoffensive. I’d happily sit next to someone wearing it on a plane or bus. There’s a faint resemblance to pen ink or perhaps printer cartridges. To me, it’s evocative of a 90s or early 2000s office building, with IBM RPG code flickering on CRT monitors of beige desktop PCs, dust in the computer vents, and lots of lots of paperwork to do. It is leathery, plasticky, oily and papery. It feels like the color black. Or navy blue. It suits tattooed as much as it does someone in an office suit and expensive watch! Because it is so industrial, inky, and skin-like that makes it one of the most unisex perfumes I’ve tried. I suppose there’s a vague resemblance to Zoologist Squid, but Akro Ink is certainly its own thing. There’s also something of Prada Luna Rossa Black here, definitely less masculine, but just as versatile as it's hard to think of a scenario or season where this wouldn't fit. Nothing like Scotch Peat by Strangers Parfumerie, more like Fat Electrician. While not loud enough for formal dinners or statement moments (for that, I’d reach for Squid or O Hira) it is very nice. You wear it for yourself, not the rest of the room. Your coworkers might not smell it unless you’re sharing a chair ;) I can see why people find it disappointing, but I also think the ink note is better and more prominent when on skin compared to on a test strip. Considering buying this. Wowza!

Ink was a love at first sniff for me after trying a tester, and I knew that I wanted a full bottle and found a 100ml tester at a discounter for $59 shortly after the hunt. I don't have any tattoos,so I don't have a reference for what tattoo ink smells like. Ink opens with what I perceive as a fountain pen, ballpoint pen, or fresh newspaper ink, but the top note dissipates and blends nicely into the fragrance after about 15 minutes. This is a really airy fragrance for a vetiver and birch tar based fragrance because of the jasmine that is perfectly blended at just the right amount and lifts the fragrance. I am not a big fan of jasmine in men's fragrances, but in the case of ink, it really is the heart of the fragrance and what makes the fragrance special, as it completely blends with the other notes, enhancing the heavy dose of smokey vetiver and slightly animalistic birch tar. There are no discernible notes that overwhelm Ink, and it continues on to the drydown as a really nice birch, vetiver, and undiscernible jasmine, and the ink top note is no longer perceivable to my nose. The projection is medium and not a room filler, and you get wafts of sillage throughout the day. Ink is a very comforting and enjoyable fragrance to me, as a lover of birch tar and vetiver. The smoky vetiver and the great blending make Ink a smooth, enjoyable, and easy wear. The longevity is good, and it's about 8 hours. Ink is a simple and expertly blended fragrance that is not boring, in my opinion.

I was really surprised by how differently Akro Ink is perceived – almost every nose picks up something else. I knew right from the first sniff that it’s a polarizing, love-or-hate fragrance, but I didn’t expect this level of division. What puzzles me is that crowds rave about Encre Noire, yet many of those same people dismiss Ink as “too strong” or “too unusual.” Some even claim it’s more overpowering and eccentric than Akro’s Smoke – for me, it’s the exact opposite: Smoke feels unwearable, while Ink embraces me with a slightly sweet, inky warmth that makes me feel like a solitary visionary (a true maverick).😎 Where Encre Noire (I own the À L’Extrême flanker) makes me feel like a vampire emerging from a damp crypt after a hundred years – almost suffocating, with its rotting-wood and wet-earth darkness – Ink gives me a sense of uniqueness, even comfort. To my nose it’s not the “disgusting thing” (one self-proclaimed expert called it down below). If you ever loved Bvlgari Black, Ink might partially fill that void: both share a similarly unique, almost industrial aura, a touch of sweetness and modern niche character that makes it surprisingly wearable.

At the beginning it's plasticky, machiney, and medicinal-sterile, very atmospheric. I tattoo for fun and can mentally walk myself through the steps of sterilization while inhaling. Up close it's very like a printer ink cartridge. I haven't smelled a tattoo ink like the note in this, it's much more reminiscent of sticky ballpoint pens to me, but tattoo inks also vary in smell quite a bit by brand and formulation, so maybe Akro-style tattoo ink is out there somewhere. The more identifiable atmospheric notes fade quickly, and it becomes surprisingly safe and wearable--a cold-temperatured vetiver, pleasantly creamy and synthetic. I really like fragrances like this, with startling, strange openings which are tamed into something distinct and charming.