Black Sugar

My third Aquolina fragrance and I'm not disappointed. First experience was Gold sugar.A whipped cream,lemon vanilla cake fluff in a bottle.It's like lying down on the softest sponge cake ever with a white mildly sweet frosting. Second,was the queen.Pink sugar.A cotton candy,caramel and vanilla bomb. And now,this.The smoky,the sweet,the mysterious Black sugar. Black sugar reminds me so much of Halawa/Halva/Tahini fudge.If you're not familiar with it,it's an arabian dessert.It smells like when eating that.The oud gives it that woodiness on paper but on my skin,smells almost nutty!It's like white chocolate.Rittersports White chocolate with the hazelnuts.Its so delicious! Yes,it does have the Pink Sugar DNA but on the dry down on my skin,it's not Pink Sugar at all!It's berry,woody-hazelnutty and vanilla! I'm lucky enough to have the skin chemistry that doesn't make it smell like pink sugar on the dry down after a couple of hours of wear. To me,it's a different scent on the dry down from it's mother. Spray it on clothes,then it'll be a different story.If you do spray it on clothes,expect the dry down to smell like pink sugar hours after.I've tested it and it does smell like PS.So I do recommend testing it on your skin and see how it develops. Fair warning that you do get the burning tire smell on the initial blast and during the couple of minutes it resting on your skin.You have to have the proper skin for oud or leather to blend in well within your chemistry.I smelt oud on some people back then and it smells like sneeze.I smelt leather and if it blends within your skin,it'll smell so damn sexy.I acquired a bottle of Carner Barcelona Cuirs and it smells like piss on my skin. But this one.The leather,the oud,the vanilla with a hint of raspberry all plays along well together like a well written symphony that had a bad start. Having this is the only time I got to smell that "burning smell" that they say they get from Pink sugar.Smells like its gonna be a fucked up caramel but then..Tada!It ain't. Black Sugar is a bad-ass all dark clothing but with a cute demeanor type of person. I'm really surprised how most of Aquolina's fragrances work well with my skin chemistry.I'll try the Steel Sugar or the Simply Pink next time! Edit:This is such a long lasting scent!I've already toned my skin with micellar water and I can still smell fuming a nice soft sweet cloud around me.I've sprayed this 7 AM before I went to school,have walked 2km back home,toned my face and neck(Too lazy to wash my face the moment I got home) and now it'a 9 PM and it still lingers. I've grew fond of Black Sugar.It's just so wonderful.I know it's risky to wear such heavy fragrance under the heavy heat and certain times when it's humid.I just love it.It unfolds beautifully on my skin.

Black Sugar is a get together of the notes I usually try to avoid: incense, oud and leather. but strangely I really like this one. there's a dark, dry, smokey woody note very dominant in it but it's nothing like the usual oud note in other perfumes which I hate. this is all I smell here: the mentioned dark, dry, smokey woody note+leather which feels like burnt rubber sometimes+vanilla and Pink Sugar's burnt sugar/cotton candy DNA which I love. you might think such a mixture might smell awful but it doesn't. it smells interesting and addictive! Black Sugar is like a more grownup, darker, unisex version of Pink Sugar. I hope they bring it back because it's very unique. what makes this special is the blend of Pink Sugar's DNA with the more masculine notes so no other perfume can smell really similar. this isn't something I wear occasionally but I sometimes crave it specially in really cold weather and I'm so glad that I have it in my collection. they really need to bring this one and Chocolovers back. BTW I could pink up more raspberry, burnt suger thing six years ago when I first bought it but now I can pickup less sweetness. maybe my chemistry has changed or maybe it's because my Black Sugar is aged.anyways I still like it a lot.it also has impressive longevity and sillage. twelve hours after spraying a puff on my wrist, I can smell a dark, smokey vanilla which is to die for. یه نت چوبی، خشک، تیره و کمی دودی اینجا هست ولی شبیه عود تو عطرهای دیگه نیست(من از عود تو اکثر عطرها متنفرم). واسه من بلک شوگر ترکیب اون نت چوبی و غالب و تیره و کمی دودیه با بوی چرم که گاهی اوقات در ترکیب با رایحه دودیه عطر،یادآور بوی لاستیک سوخته ست+وانیل و بوی شکر سوخته/پشمک(ژن جذاب پینک شوگر). شاید فک کنید ترکیب اینا باید چیز افتضاحی بشه اما نیست. خیلی باحاله و یجورایی اعتیادآوره. واسه من یادآور دخترای بایکره طرفدار سبک گوتیکه. یه دختر بایکر رو تصور کنید که یه عطر شیرین و پشمکی زده، ترکیب بوی عطرش با بوی سیگارش و کاپشن چرم سیاه و لاستیک موتورش فضای بلک شوگر رو تداعی میکنه امیدوارم این عطر رو برگردونن(هم این و هم چوکولاورز رو) و امیدوارم هم این هم کل عطرهای این برند تو ایران هم موجود شه. بلک شوگر عطر خاص و جالبیه،رایحش فراموش نشدنیه و هیچ عطری کاملا شبیهش نیست.ضمنا بنظر من یونیسکسه و میشه همراه با خیلی از عطرهای دیگه استفادش کرد. دقیقا همین رایحه رو اگه یه تولیدکننده نیش داده بود بیرون احتمالا خیلی پرطرفدارتر میشد. موندگاری و پخش بوی خیلی خوبی هم داره. دوازده ساعت بعد از اینکه یه پاف رو دستم اسپری کردم کماکان میشه یه رایحه وانیلی-دودی تیره و محشر ازش حس کرد

After my other successful aquolina blindbuys(pink sugar,gold sugar,blue sugar)I went for this one and ordered it from a foreign website and after two months of waiting,finally received it three days ago. it looked like a very risky blindbuy.I hate,hate,and HATE oud.leather is a risky note for me.I love it when paired with something sweet and something powdery,in other cases I dislike it.I usually dislike incense too When I first sprayed it I was shocked.my man commented immediately(he usually waits for me to ask him):OMG!what a disgusting,heavy,dirty scent!please have mercy and never wear it again! I could smell pink sugar's raspberry cotton candy gene somewhere burried beneath loads of dark,bitter,dirtyish notes(probably oud?!) I didn't give up on it.I can still remember how much I was shocked when I first tried pink sugar and then I started to adore it.I also remember blue sugar was on top of my dislike list for a while and I felt sick when I first tried it Well,I was right.same thing happened here but fortunately it didn't take too much time like my experience with blue sugar.after three days of full wear,I still don't like black sugar's opening but it soon calms down to a divine drydown.it's too good to be true.I can sometimes detect a hint of fruity,burnt sugar thing of pink sugar but it's mostly pure vanilla heaven with a slight Smokey undertone and a touch of leather,good leather.for me good leather is like leather in Armani code cashmere or Dior homme family.bad leather is leather in shalimar or any other animalic,intense version of leather.I can sometimes smell something like burnt plastic but actually it's not bad.for me black sugar is a dark vanilla-sugar scent or a gourmand with a dark undertone.a sexy pretty cheek in a black leather jacket,smoking cigarette and I prefer it to it's sister,a pretty girly cheek in a short,pink skirt It's still a modern scent.a gourmand,just a bit more mature than pink sugar All in all I'm very very happy to have it.it worthes two months of waiting.it's cheap,has a gorgeous bottle and very good longevity.sillage is huge when first sprayed but it soon calms down to something easily recognizable for others but not overpowering I will definitely repurchase if I see it around.now I've learned not to spray it near hubby.I spray it in my room and wait for ten minutes.then I receive comments such as you smell sexy and yummy ❤❤❤❤❤

I’m wearing Aquolina Black Sugar (from my wardrobe) tonight. It smells exactly like burnt marshmallows and black licorice being run over by a car’s rubber tires that are peeling out over hot asphalt. I quite enjoy this one and so does my BF. I am only on the fence about it because it is so sugary. I do prefer the opening to the drydown because it is more burnt smelling, and granular, if that makes sense. It mellows out some in the drydown. The closest comparison in the reminds-me-of’s above is MFK Oud; but the only thing they have in common is the type of oud, perhaps, and a touch of sweetness to the MFK, but there is no burnt quality in MFK Oud at all, no granular sugar, much less sweetness, and there is a bright almost slightly citrus-y quality in it. They are only similar in the drydown, but the similarity is remote. MFK Oud is a fairly linear nice quality smoothly blended oud/patchouli scent, and Black Sugar is more rough. I understand the Bvlgari Black comparison, I suppose, due to the shared rubber tire note and the vanilla, but it lacks the oud, the burnt quality, and the granular sugar, and it is far, far smoother than Black Sugar. If the Bvlgari is different, VCA Midnight in Paris is even further removed and has very little in common with this scent, as that is yet smoother than Bvlgari Black. Mancera Aoud Vanille Is also far smoother than Black Sugar, with more vanilla, and has that Montale/Mancera cola/peppery synthetic dna with a more masculine quality. The only real things it has in common are that the Mancera has some oud and vanilla. But the oud is different and the scent is very different overall.

A comment to hithorys' and Lady Rain's review. The word rubber has by no means be 'misused'. If rubber (burnt or otherwise) is the impression that reviewers have, then it is unreasonable to argue with their subjective perception of that particular note. Reading your review (hithorys) I assume that you do not smell the burnt rubber note, but it does not negate the fact that others do. It just shows that we all perceive scents differently and one cannot be sure to get the same impression of a scent that others do. Writing a review can be helpful to others in a broader sense but it is still a highly individual affair that can be used by others as a guide only. In the end your own nose does what it wants and will translate a scent to you the way it chooses to, regardless of how much you would like to command it otherwise. In that sense we are at the mercy of our noses and are not to blame for any differences in 'translation'. As to Lady Rain's review, I don't think that "the opening smells like burning wood, which is oud" (despite how true that is) would necessarily elicit more courage by some to try the scent than 'burnt rubber' would. I perceive burnt rubber mixed with oud myself in the opening blast and after a few minutes the rubber disappears. I love this scent. So, that tells me that I like oud, and again, if reviewers have the impression of rubber (burnt or otherwise) in the opening than that is probably how their noses translate burning wood (oud) to them (at least on initial spray) and that needs to be respected.

I haven’t written a review for so long but now I have to being amazed by this sky high quality/price ratio. What kind of magic is this? I bought the 100ml bottle for like $15, and now I’m thinking of buying another just in case it gets totally discontinued. It’s a very wearable oud and incense scent with a touch of leather and warm vanilla sugar. It’s definitely more sophisticated and adult-like than the rest from the same line (they all smell like dessert-ish teenager scents). I’d say adding oud is a risky move for such a brand, because I find oud being easily offensive to “common” people’s noses. However, this one is amazingly friendly because of its super sweet vanilla undertone, which makes the oud and leather more lively and approachable. It’s a pretty linear scent with a vanilla dominant dry down, and I quite like it that way. I feel like some brands nowadays purposely make their scents unnecessarily complex, but what do I know lol. Overall I really like this one, I just wish it was a little less sweet :P but well, that’s what makes it different from all the other mainstream oud scents so I really shouldn’t complain. Plus, the price is unbeatable and the packaging is quite chic and lovely.

After much debate and research whether I should purchase this fragrance, I went for it. Don't regret it at all! This is the sweet, smoky, resiny gourmand I wanted. I prefer this to Pink Sugar, which isn't as complex or dark. The Pink Sugar DNA is present, as the 'core' of this fragrance, but it is shrouded in a smoky, resin, leather cloud. The initial spray has the very bright citrusy PS blast with a lot of fresh leather, but it dries down to a much softer, older, leather after a few minutes (plus all that good smokiness). I don't get a 'burnt rubber' out of the leather, but I can see how if someone had slightly different skin chemistry it could swing to rubber rather than leather. I'm a big fan of incense, myrrh, so I was happy for this Aquolina Sugar twist. The one note I don't get is the raspberry, I mainly just smell a citrusy note (bergamot?), and I don't get any fruitiness. Which I actually prefer, me and 'red berry' notes often don't get along. Longevity is good--easily all day. Similar to the longevity of Pink Sugar. The sillage is a bit lower than Pink Sugar, so you won't blast everyone in a 20ft radius, but it still is a very decent moderate to high sillage.

Tbh, the reviews scared me a bit. I was picturing burning rubber, gagging, barely getting through the opening... But this isn't what happened at all. I first smelled the original Pink Sugar. No doubt it was there. I think I just picked it out so readily because I'm very familiar with Pink Sugar. But what was ultimately more noticeable was the oud attempt. It really did have a sort of burning rubber/oud thing going on, but in a very pleasant way. I liken it to riding a flaming tire down an asphalt road while wearing a leather jacket and eating a raspberry lollipop haha. I can't really explain why, but I was really really digging it. I think a lot of these Western oud scents dial back the oud so much that you can barely detect it, or it doesn't smell anything like pure oud. I've smelled pure oud, and in fact, I have a very small vial of the real thing. Does this perfume smell like that? Well, no, but it smells more like oud than many other high end scents that are supposed to smell like oud but don't because they think Westerners won't like it. I get it. All in all, the smoky/leathery/fake oud mixed with the berries just works. I can't explain it, but it does.

Black Sugar had been a Want of mine for quite some time - and a fabulous Fragrantican gifted me <3 this beauty. I have never worn a Oud before, that I know of... so being a Oud newbie, hard for me at this time to describe that note, except to say deep, exotic, even rustic ? On first spritz, very smokey of incense, and the rubbery hot note - so striking, combined with the right off deep and different to me Oud. Smoke and fire fierceness lasted on, an hour or so,the sillage high. A natural leather and vanilla took their places - the vanilla straight from my pure vanilla extract bottle, brown, sweet, smooth,tempting. A scent you can taste. Black Sugar started to to smooth out, but there is no mistaking the incense and Oud smoldering. I like the raspberry note - I have come to love raspberries and strawberry notes in a dark fragrance. A bite of juicy sweetness weaving through a dark veil. 12 hours later, the presence lingers, much softer, not too sweet,and alluring. It`s fascinating to me how Black Sugar evolves, how intense it really can be. I would not have guessed it. I will continue to wear, explore, and take notice of other`s reactions .

I was thinking so long about blind-buying Black Sugar, I even dreamt about it once, but when I finally had my bottle and sprayed for the first time I was disappointed and thought it smelled like burning rubber tires and cough syrup. Maybe because it was really cold when my bottle was shipped and it had to rest for a while, or maybe because I had to get used to it, I think differently now. Yes, it's smokey and maybe even a bit rubbery, but not like burning plastic anymore. I don't think it smells distinctly like oud, but it's very woody and somewhat leathery. And yes, there are these syrupy raspberry and vanilla notes that evoke a memory of the original Pink Sugar, but while that one really smells like cough syrup to me, in Black Sugar the sweetness mellows out into the darker notes quickly. Together, the sweet and the bitter notes give me an impression of a very exotic fruity scented incense. This is a really strong scent, very long lasting and more suitable for cold days and evenings in my opinion. I see that it becomes harder to find and has gone up in price a little, so if you want to try it, do it now!

Black sugar imo has a niche quality. This is one of the best cheapies I've bought. Im not a fan of pink sugar. I had a bottle of gold sugar but only thought it was ok. Black sugar is so unique! I love the leather,oud,insence combo. I don't get any rasperry. At first spray its a strong black leather jacket and insence! Minutes later the oud and vanilla join in. It's a very dark, deep, sexy fragrace. Hours and hours later it dries down to a smoky dark boozy vanilla. It's sweet but not cloying and it feels very wild. Someone who is not into perfumes would feel uncomfortable wearing this. It's an attention grabber. Im amazed at the longevity! I layer alot and today i layered Black Orchid with Black sugar. 12 hours later Black orchid is gone from my skin and guess what... black sugar is still on my skin and still very noticeable. Sillage is also impressive! 6ft of sillage , after settling on the skin it can be smelled from 3ft away and stays like that for a couple hours before being closer to the skin. Im so impressed with this perfumes performance and scent that i just ordered a back up bottle.

I received a sample of this in a swap and purchased it within an hour of putting it on - FOR ONLY $13! This is the quintessential no brainer!!! Judge me if you want for buying a women's perfume, but look at the notes! Vanilla, leather, oud, incense, raspberry, myrrh, sandalwood... and its name is Black Sugar. It smells EXACTLY like it sounds! This is absolutely as unisex as it gets!!! Why this is in such a 90's style "pretty-pretty princess" bottle and labeled only for women is FAR beyond me!!! More importantly, its LOW PRICE TAG is far beyond me! For me, this is similar to Derek Lam's Something Wild (not clone, but similar), but the Derek Lam costs $175. This fits that bill exactly for me. For only $13. THIRTEEN! I'm SERIOUSLY questioning my life right now... this is sooo good! Also - I wore Elizabeth and James Nirvana Bourbon last night, and this overlapped Bourbon VERY well! I'll likely layer the two to extend the life of my Bourbon! I'm pretty sure this will layer very well with many oud fragrances as well.

This lasts and projects extremely consistently - better than just about anything else that I own! Usually, if you find a scent that lasts, it's too loud in the beginning and quiet in the end, but Black Sugar produces the perfect amount of sillage consistently through the day. I applied it at 8:30am, and now here it is at 4:45, and it's still projecting like it did an hour after I put it on! The last half of its 12 hour life is where the oud really shines through the sweetness, and wow is it nice! The smoky incense + oud combo is similar to Lattafa Raghba, but this is much cleaner, while still retaining a dusty oud vibe. The deep vanilla firmly sets this scent right beside Mancera Aoud Vanille and Elizabeth and James Nirvana Bourbon in my collection, so ladies, don't let me scare you away from this one! I'd love to smell this on a woman just as much as I love smelling it on myself! This is one of the best Fall scents I've ever encountered. It almost makes you excited for Fall, even if you live for Summer!

Mmmm Black Sugar. Smells like Pink Sugar put on a leather jacket and hosted a seance. I found it suggested on Mercari for $50, so I allowed myself a very impulsive blind buy for that price. I've been dying to try this. I already wore the original Pink Sugar throughout my teens and 20's so I expected that Pink Sugar profile, but edgier. And that's exactly what it ended up being. I'm impressed. I get the Bvlgari Black reference... I've owned that one, too! Black Sugar is NOT a dupe of it, but imagine Black Sugar being this: 3 parts original Pink Sugar to 1 part Bvlgari Black. That rubbery smokiness in Bvlgari Black is the dry-down to Black Sugar. The raspberry and vanilla is very prominent in this blend with incense, leather, and myrrh. Wild that they could take one of the most iconic juvenile gourmands and give it some sex appeal! Ftr I still love Pink Sugar, always will. It just doesn't have a place in my arsenal as I've gotten older. But Black Sugar? By ALL means, this one's right at home with me. Love.

Got this in at work today so I finally got to try this out must say this is nice, can't say I've ever been a fan of Pink sugar, I'm a sweety lover but Pink sugar always is a bit much for me...Now this has no exception b/c when you first spray it, yea it does scream at you a bit && it did stifle me at first, however its, its uniqueness that makes me over look it, first spray you really get the Oud note with the leather which idk kinda dirty's up the scent && adds a masculine quality to it && you pick up those sweeter undertones that make it quite nice. As it dries down more of the sweeter tones emerge and what you get is that classic pink sugar base. Longevity it top notch && silage isn't bad either, I see this as a fun nice going out scent perfect for the gourmand lovers on those colder winter months. I let my momma smell it && she said hmmm smells like it has oud in it, so yes the oud is detectable. So yea not bad! try it out if you're interested. :) Overall: 8/10

Luna Rebel's review is spot on! I personally feel that if more people who like dark, smoky fragrances were to try this the ratings would soar. Those in the typical Pink Sugar camp may well be unimpressed. It's sweet all right, but not recognizably 'sugar' until drydown. There's a REASON it's primarily marketed in the middle east! The western market may not be equal to the stunningly strong opening or the darker vibes throughout. To put this into perspective, some of my favorites include Habanita and Tabu. While not claiming classic status for Black Sugar, it fits in perfectly with these stunning beauties. The opening especially is so reminiscent of the past that I feel I've discovered a 'new' vintage! I'm head over heels. Think Blackest leather touched with raspberry and cushioned under it all with pillowy sweetness.....WOW. Summary - If you love the sweeter side of darkness and can tolerate a hint of oud, Black Sugar is not to be missed! SIX STARS

I bought Black Sugar as a blind buy, and I’m so glad I did. The first thing I want to mention is that, unlike Pink Sugar, this is definitely not a fragrance that everyone will enjoy. It has a lot of character. Many people describe it as unisex, but to me, it has a mysterious femininity. If I had to describe the scent, I’d say it’s deep, dark, and unusual. Strangely enough, it always reminds me of Lady Gaga’s Judas music video. The longevity and projection are both excellent. It may not last as long on my skin, but on my clothes and in my hair, I can still smell it until they’re washed. The only downside is that it has been discontinued. Since it’s no longer in production and I fell in love with it, I decided to stock up. My bottles were produced in 2014, making them around 12 years old, yet the fragrance hasn’t changed at all. If you’re drawn to mysterious, dark fragrances, I think you’ll absolutely love this one. 🖤

This starts out smelling leathery and sweet, then fades into a wonderful woody vanilla. The top notes (leathery and sometimes burnt rubbery) aren't my favorite but I love the dry down! It also lasts and lasts (I could still smell it 12+ hours later!!!). Can't believe this outlasts any expensive EDPs I have ever tried! Crazy long lasting EDT! How is this possible?! Generally I think the sillage is moderate unless you just sprayed it, then it is pretty heavy. I would avoid other people for a few minutes after you spray it since it's pretty strong (they may not appreciate that "burnt" type smell...Haha). I saw other people mention on here that it reminds them of Halloween or fall or marshmallows roasted over a campfire. It makes me long for Autumn and Halloween every time I sniff this perfume! My favorite time of the year <3 It's amazing value for the price! Definitely give this one a try :)

This perfume really knocked me off my feet. I didn't really know what to expect when I blind bought this, despite having read all the reviews and looking at the notes. Some people say it has a 'rubber' element to it or a 'plasticy' note but I don't really get too much of either. I can kind of see it a little but I think it's just the initial spray being so strong. Once this settles down though, it becomes such a smoky delight. I love the quality of this, I find it to be pretty top notch. The woody and leathery qualities are really my absolute favorite, it's not like anything I own. I'm not huge into leather or smoke notes in fragrances just fyi, so this is a brand new world to me. This is sweet, smoky, tame, mysterious, a little cuddly and a little naughty for good measure. I will wear this scent with pride and turn heads as I pass by.

Black Sugar is very aptly named. At first whiff I am overwhelmed by this burnt rubber note which fortunately only lasts a few minutes. The rubber recedes into the background and the vanilla, raspberry and sandalwood come to the foreground and melt with the myrrh, oud and leather into a sweet and very yummy potpourri that keeps me sniffing my wrist. I just got a sample of this and I am fortunate enough to be able to get a hold of a full bottle as well. Black Sugar is what I had hoped Gold Sugar would be and is to me like Cuir de Lancôme's harmless, casual sister. BS, with all the leather, oud and myrrh, is actually a very wearable and soft scent imo. I don't find it loud at all. I am wearing this at the moment as the temperatures soar in my neck of the woods. This is a truly beautiful scent I will wear any time of the day (or night).