Death by Cold Cave & Blackbird

I was so ready to dislike this one. It feels gimmicky, it’s a collab with Cold Cave, and it’s black. The description says “This fragrance contains black dye and will stain clothing. Please wear all black to avoid this and most problems.” Trying so hard. As a person who wears mostly black and has been goth-adjacent for about 15 years, this was a bit cringe even for me. But oh my god I love this scent. When writing my personal spreadsheet review, I only wrote one sentence: “I smell f*cking fantastic.” I don’t even know how to describe it, because everything blends together so well. I guess it smells a bit dank, like a neglected basement (or a cave, according to the official description. That’s warmed up by leather, a little incense, some cozy spices (my partner didn’t get the spices at all, but everything seems to turn warm-spicy-sweet on me). Sometimes it smells exactly like weed, sometimes I get notes of Indian mustard oil. Regardless of what it’s doing that day, it always feels like it belongs on my skin and I keep finding myself smelling it to see what it’s up to. It lasts longer than most of Blackbird’s scents, and I love smelling it on my shirts the next day. This is the only Blackbird scent that I would love a full bottle of. I’ve already finished the tester, so I’m really looking forward to it because I always want to smell like this. Perfect fit for fall-winter, and I’m curious to see what it does in warmer weather. EDIT: I got a full bottle and still love it. It’s absolutely my go to for fall, warmer days in winter, and colder days in spring. It feels like 50*F and cloudy. Perfection. I get compliments on it regularly.

I just love how intriguing this one is. It's so natural it's unnatural. Earthy, like wet soil in the forest after rain. Burnt sage, leather jacket. It does exactly what it says on the tin. Once it settles, to me it smells of antique shop, burnt rubber like some whiskeys, a hint of coal, wooden wardrobes and cupboards like my grandma used to have, full of quality wool and leather. Not a fan of this one in winter even though it's cold smelling. Maybe it turns me off that it smells too green. I love it in summer; it just works when a rainstorm hits or when you're sitting beside a fire in the woods. It's smokey in a burnt way and I think the freshness of the sage actually makes it very suitable for a warm night out - the good restaurant kind. In autumn it smells like it just belongs. The wet mineral kind of scent feels like it's about to rain. It's herbal rather than spiced, which is a welcome change in heavier perfumes. It's strong and specific, so I can't recommend it to everyone. But I love it and if you like the genuine smells of a forest walk you might too.

I love this strange, enigmatic fragrance. At first you get a cool, clammy hit of marble dust and damp, wet earthiness, then it mellows a bit with the smoky incense smell and the mellow herby quality of the dried sage. This is a gothic, romantic fragrance that is best suited for wearing with black clothing (it stains anything else), boots, and facial piercings, in smoky rooms, dark corners, curiosity shops, basement dungeon parties, and on late night walks. It's not overpowering or off-putting, but it is distinctive and long lasting, a cool, creepy rush of earthy, herby magic to carry with you throughout your day. It's far more sophisticated than the fragrances you'd get in an actual witchy or hippie shop, more the refined fragrance of an eternal vampire who has kept up with the times. I'm a business casual goth so this is the perfect way to sneak a little bit of edginess into my work day, paired with an all-black suit or patterned black button up and a few industrial chains.

You are lost in a rainy forest and stumble into a cave for shelter. You seek dryness and warmth, but the stalactites are dripping mineral-rich water while the cold seeps into your bones as you lie on the mossy floor. Someone has been here before you, yet your isolation remains. The scent of burnt sage is the only trace of warmth, but it offers no comfort. There is no hope. You have accepted your fate. Smell: 10 Longevity: 7 Versatility: 7 Uniqueness: 9 Value: 7 Layering compatibility: 9 Overall: 8.2

Icy sage decay. It’s great. As the review belows discusses, it’s basically just sage, leather, and mineral notes. It feels cold, it feels aloof, unapproachable. It’s very sharp and herbal, but the overwhelming feeling is that is is, in fact, like a cold, dark, damp cave.

This is really growing on me. At first sniff I thought “Well this is disgusting.” It also stains skin and clothes blue, so be careful! But as it dried I found myself intrigued. It is literally the smell of a cold cave. Incense reminds me of catholic school. It’s not for me. But I can see why someone might want to wear this. MIGHT. I find this collection so sad and lonely and not nearly hopeful enough. I want to smell like a cupcake or a beach ball. Not like a cold cave. Everyone should sample this collection though IMO. My husband and I had a lot of fun trying these scents out. They’re a great fit for someone... just not me.

This is definitely not going to be for everyone. Up front it's quite industrial, rubber and vinyl coming to mind, with maybe a hint of car exhaust. That settles down after a bit. I do get a bit of sage from it - dried, but not burning. And perhaps some more pine/patchouli. It's oh-so Goth, but without the typical incense-ness. I imagine I'd have been the belle of the ball wearing it to some Darkwave warehouse party in 1996.

🖤 Subtle hints of rose (similar to Blackbird's Ai incense), but this is so much darker; dank with damp moss and soil, lichen, and wet stone. Cave-esque - intriguing, mysterious, and alluring. Love it!

Deathly and dank, all I can say to describe it. I’m riding into death’s sunset but at least I smell better than him while I do it. This is a personal fuck you to death himself.

Opens with straight sage and black pepper. This is backed by a synthetic rubber or vinyl accord that lingers as it dries. The dry down is almost singularly cannabis on clothes and slightly more herbal and earthy on my skin. Becomes a skin scent fairly quickly. If there is any leather it is very faint and fleeting. It is black and I imagine if you opened bottle and spilled it would stain but after being atomized it's a non issue (for me). If you love sage, pepper and cannabis this is a must have for you.

Really does smell like a cave! A bit too green to be my own personal scent but does smell lovely. Edit: Okay, I changed my mind. I love it. Might go on and buy a bottle. Update: Bought it. Don’t like it anymore. Should’ve listened to myself the first time.

Abandon all hope, all ye who enter here. This was the sample I was most excited to try when I ordered the full sampler pack from Blackbird because of the theming, and boy I am not disappointed. This is probably the most divisive scent from the entire company as well, but I am in love with this scent. It smells EXACTLY like how I imagine a *slightly* romanticized dungeon from the elder scrolls games or from a dungeon crawl in Dungeons and Dragons. It is deep and dark, not in the romanticized villain way Hermann a mas Cotes by ELDO is dark, but more dank and pungent. This seems to be an exploration as to how sage, leather, and mineral notes interact with each other, and I think if nothing else this is a mesmerizing piece of olfactory art. It starts with this heavy and almost medicinal blast of sage that comes off very spiritual and mesmerizing, but you certainly have to like sage to like this fragrance. Then after about 10 minutes on my skin it calms down to this constant battle between sage, leather, and mineral notes as to who will overpower the other; ironically creating a stalemate. As I reached hours 5 and 6 the sage started to take a backseat to the other two notes, an odd citric like quality coming from the light sage and dusty leather, almost creating a suede like accord. This part of the scent is probably the most mainstream and wearable on a day to day basis, but it took 5 hours to get to that point so it might not be worth it for the average person. Then as we reach hours 8 and 9 the cloud of dusty leather that I carried around with me finally shrinks down to just where I can reach with my arms; this is the most potent blackbird scent, no contest. Then as I reached hours 10-11, it was a beautiful suede and mineral note mix that is just stunning. This is the part of the scent that I got the most compliments on as the little bit of dusty leather that was there before has blended with the sage. At this point in the scent I had many people draw comparisons to Cowboy Grass by DS & Durga, but I didn't really smell the sage as much as they did. It was even there, however faint, after I took my evening shower and was getting into bed. Then, as I got up in the morning I got the slightest whiff of it, but I must've been anosmic to it by that point as I got nothing else from it. Final thoughts? Weird. Through and through this is weird, but it keeps pulling me back in. This will turn heads, even for the bad reasons, but it takes some confidence and cold weather to pull this off. I had a lot of questioning looks thrown my way when people caught a whiff of my fairly large trail on the 82 degree day as it was cloying in the heat until about hour 5. I really enjoy this though, a perfectly grungy fall and winter scent that is just as cold as the day around you. I just ordered a sample set of all of their incenses as well, will edit this review when I compare the perfume and incense! Overall: buy this if you like weird whiffs like me or you are searching for a good sage scent. Smells a bit like if you layered the aromatic sage opening of Cowboy Grass by DS & Durga on top of the super mineral-like L'Air Barbes by 19-69 (Both great scents on their own. Check them out!), and a healthy dose of leather. TRY BEFORE YOU BUY THOUGH BECAUSE THIS IS DEVISIVE.

Wet concrete. Mulch. Leather. This is possibly the weirdest perfume I’ve ever smelled. I kinda dig it but kinda not. It’s interesting to say the least. Edit: my husband *hates* it. Says it smells like industrial cleaner. Ah well. To each their own.

Smells like pine, musk, turmeric, patch, marijuana. Very busy scent. I love Blackbird scents but this is a miss for me.

Too culinary. Just herbs and smoke

I am attracted to scents that have a dark edge to them. I thought this would make a fun mini to put in a fall box for a friend. The sample presentation turned out to be a small sprayer that was half filled, not really giftable. I ended up trying it out on myself. There was absolutely nothing but pure burning rubber tire smell to it. As the day went on, it never changed, no subtle notes coming through. Thankfully it only last a couple hours. Thankfully I never sent it to my friend.

pure strong sage smell. i think it's actually the intensity of the sage itself that gives this a synthetic, rubber scent. grungy, herbal, unpleasantly sharp and abrasive. i really expected to love this, i like mineraly scents and leather but this just gives me straight sage and plastic. there's nothing subtle or interesting about this scent to me

Yeah... it’s skunky. F*ck you too, sage

This is a very incredible fragrance that is not typical. It is best layered with other fragrances, adding a depth that is outrageous and absolutely mysterious. Yes it has notes of wet mineral, sage, dark berries, perhaps cumin, incense, and maybe oakmoss. This is a dive into true creativity and the essence of perfumery. It's beyond.

this scent is quite nice from a distance; the leather and sage combine to make something smoky and resinous. up close, however, there's a strange acrid smell that reminds me almost of mustard seeds?? i had hoped this would subside but it's been over two hours; seems it's going to stick around for the entire duration of wear