Ébène

An absolute masterpiece, one of the greatest green perfumes of all time. The last reviewer before me describes it perfectly, there is nothing to add, only superlatives. On one hand I consider it overlooked and underrated in the history of perfumery for the masterpiece that it is, on the other hand I am selfishly glad that it didn't get the status of a Kouros or Patou or you name it. You can still find a bottle here and there on Ebay, for a premium price, but less than what you would pay for a Roja or Boadicea, and this one puts any Roja in a corner and draws circles around it. Only a few select connoisseurs know about this gem and I am glad if it stays that way. In any place, from a luxurious patio of a steakhouse with an ocean view, to a luxury bar in Hawaii or an upscale country club, wearing this you will smell different than anybody else. This one gives you distinction and confidence, the whiffs and whaffs that come out of it are simply outstanding. It doesn't change much, in my opinion, and it doesn't need to , as from the very first blast of mint and greens this thing screams perfection. Alongside with Tsar( which, unfortunately, in most of the heavy oakmoss old formulations lost the magnificent top notes) this one is my two-way split number one of all time. Tsar, the green-velvety, jammy, mossy king, and Ebene, the green, minty, woody emperor

This is one of the best there was. Perfectly my type of cologne, this is Pour Monsieur in all its natural glory, just like Givenchy Pour Monsieur, Monsieur Rochas, Monsieur Carven, Monsieur Julian Jill etc, this is the peak in perfumery imo.

The leather note in the base is rounded off with a very subtle mint from the start. I tested an original sample and I'm thrilled with how long this vintage scent lasted. Very good. Fragrance 9/10, longevity 8/10, sillage 7/10.

This is wonderfully green, geranium, carnation, pine, oakmoss. The closest could be Geranium pour Monsieur, but I like this more. One of a kind. Just found and bought another 50ml of this at a very good price, so nice.

a pure jewel on the history of perfume, unfortunately it's almost impossible to get it, i use to wear it a lot when i was young, please balmain house try to creat a ebene again, pleeaaasseeee a new ebene......

At the end of 2017 I opened a second 125ml-spray that I kept locked since 1986. Perfect as magic. Unbelievable. People want to know what perfume I'm wearing. Unfortunately it's my last bottle.

i wonder why it's out of production???? it's a true gem and the scent it's so unique and sexy! give us back this masterpiece NOW!!! we want ebene back for God damn sake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I still have in my collection a 125ml-spray produced in 1987 or so and, it is amazing, after 24 years it smells for 40-50 minutes on skin. Fantastic fragrance, really a masterpiece.

A true masterpiece now discontinued go and ask why? Very close to aramis tuscany per uomo but more minty & greenish! Bamlain must release again ebene.

Please, give us back this masterpiece NOW!!!

Ebene is one of those eighties fragrances, makes discontinued time, highly sought after by collectors, who maintains that demodé touch because of the cluster of notes that are no longer used today, also by how this composition was made, starting with the use of restricted oak moss and notes used as the mugwort also is linked to a long list of aromatic essences, all that, at least, is no longer used as well. The opening is citrus and brief to quickly install a very, very aromatic scent full of spices. Here you begin to detect background the woodsy scent of "pine needles" (central axis of development) that reminds me of the famous "Pine", but this is less fresh, more complex and with a strong note of aldehydes which causes a strange, original medicinal scent bittersweet coming from the bottom and produces the characteristic aroma so particular that has Ebene and acquires meaning when dry quality in the final stages of development. During the middle notes, still he feels that aldehydic aroma, a mixture of floral notes where the carnation the best part is worn, very soft notes added to the woodsy background pine and patchouli, feeling this darker and more complex due to the contribution of moss feels oak, leather and a sweet spot contributed by amber. During drying the fragrance becomes much more serious, dark, full of balms, leather and beautiful note that longer as "rare" mossy oak seen much more intense and vivid clarity, this produces an effect fern lines dark, very beautiful, the smell reminds me of something as peculiar as smell a leather jacket stained with motor oil and grease. The composition is good, also the length and the correct wake. Ebene is nice, well done, is obsolete, is ochentero and has lots of character, the character of an aromatic fern, the character of a motorcyclist wearing jackets stained leather, a scene that is already part of a past where such complex fragrances and you baroque as this disappeared as it did the dinosaurs or the Cro-Magnon. Rating: 7

Purchased this vintage fragrance because of the uncles raving about it in the comment section. I got to say; These uncles know their damn stuff! This is a beautiful leather chypre, with something mysterious and floral in the mix! It's a lovely melange of forest greenery & aromatic herbs. While you're anticipating the arrival of leather, you're visited by something in the middle notes that reminds me of Habanita by Molinard. It might be geranium and/or rose. Ever so slightly powdery. The dominating anchor during the whole stay is spearmint and I think that's what makes the whole fragrance unique & its own. The image this scent gives off is: It's a dry, hot early morning in the woods. A gnome has taken shelter under some fern. He's laying in the moss, watching a couple of young village girls pick forest flowers while giggling profusely. He is annoyed because he has to shoe the horses at a nearby stable, but he can't show himself to the humans. Finally his tiny anger energizes him with enough courage to rush past them. As this green, little blob of mischief races by, the girls get startled and throw their flowers in the air. This fateful, magical morning interaction creates the fragrance Ébène!

It smells very woody. I have taken the direct comparison between Ebene and Balafre. Sillage of both is very large. I like more the smell of Balafre. However Ebene lasts much longer. 1 week +

An air of mystery, understated classical masculinity, simmering and suave, the splendor of Ebene de Balmain has reached legendary status in certain circles. It's status as a unicorn to collectors has further pushed this appeal, and fortunately for me, I happened upon this lovely vintage, sealed, where the price was mercifully not astronomical. From the first spray I immediately understood the magic, and was so very grateful that, in spite of its age it exhibited no signs of degradation whatsoever. Almost a hybrid between fougere and chypre style, Ebene opens like the former and dries down to more the latter. The top notes, nearly intact in this bottle, are a profusion of aromatics lifted with aldehydes, evoking the ether of the forest, reminiscent to that of the beloved Caron Yatagan, but here we have a pastel mint and a flourish of anise amongst the classic artemisia and various green herbs and woody spices. The heart has a pronounced pine harmonizing with geranium and carnation: all my favorite aromatic notes combined, manifesting rapturous delight in me. The sillage during this phase is phenomenal for could very well be a nearly 40 year old bottle for all I know. Whiffs and wafts suggest a dark, musky leather softened ever so lightly with tonka, and a foreshadowing of that chypre base, mossy and ambery. Holy Evernia Prunastri, the dry down is gorgeous, too. For all its limpid, quenched herbs and florals early on in the development, the base is dry and dusky, the green pine needles on the trees are now the pine straw that lie on the forest floor, with that leather ramped up, a revved engine of sensuality, a subtle seduction in the shadows. Traces of anise and carnation remain and entre nous, things are beginning to get very sexy here. Yowza. Ebene is a real treasure and a vintage for the books.

I have not smelled this fragrance but i want to comment on "today's" scents...Today everyone wants to be UN noticed..Scentually correct. My beginning fragrances was in the 70s and 80s..which were big and assuming. Now we are "told" to not be too much of anything..I say lets go back to some big and more interesting fragrance blends.Tlhe new "power" fragrances are all mostly synthetically headache inducing and low quality. People seem to want to smell like cotton candy and citrus...I dont get the point of most of whats being produced today. The niche or nieche end of designer fragrances are like what used to be the norm of the scents of an age of yesteryear.

I would say Ebéne is more like the first Van Cleef Pour Homme or Jules, also Ho Hang Club, Oscar de la Renta pour lui, than Tuscany ph. (and yes captain) Ebene is a nice alpha man leather fragrance of the 80s, living between Savannah and the office. Warm, sensual, savage, dark, musky. I do sense mostly leather smoother by tonka aldehydes and carnation, plus a large corolla of aromatic herbs and seeds. It is a splendid composition. a bit grand-daddy in motocicle but good. The drydown is gorgeous less leather more woody bergamot. Remembers me also a bit Samarkand by The Body Shop

I just tested this perfume just now in my collection to determine if my perfume has turned. (it's already amber in color) but to my amazement, it still projects a pine-like greenish minty vibe. I love it! The oakmoss is pure not synthetic, the mossy smell is very pleasing to the nose. The spices are also present. What I love about this is you can distinguish the notes individually but somehow blends with other notes in the composition. This is as manly as it gets. Can get anything manlier than this. This is one of my cherished and only true vintage in my collection.

If you haven't tried this, you must. The only problem is It's so rare that I, who collects oldschools for 20 years, first time tried it one month ago. What a complexity, density, natural oakmoss and bunch of green notes, perfectly balanced and with strong performances, really gorgeous. It goes above 500$ for bottle, but if you look that some niche mainstreams cost that price, this one is much more worth that money.

This fragrance is like a blend of TF Ebene Fume with a hint of TF Fougere d'Argent. To my nose, it's close enough to Ebene Fume that it would be redundant to own both. PS. Unlike what others have said, I'm not so sure that this is a rare fragrance. It's part of Balmain's discovery set.

Pierre Balmain Ebene. One of the supreme fragrances of all time. A beautiful, brisk, aromatic classy fragrance that is very versatile. Extremely rare these days. But for those fortunate enough to own or to have experienced it, a real treasure.