Bvlgari Man In Black Essence

The Journey to my centre of the Earth My signature fragrance up till 2 years ago was Boss #1. Halston Amber for Men along with Bvlgari Man in Black succeeded up till 3 months ago. I chose the fragrance MIB Essence recently and the reasons seemed obvious to me: - It is the type of scent that pleases me the most, but some other fragrances do it also. - I am really in love with the bottle, but some other fragrances do it also. - It's quite versatile and wearable for my taste, but some other fragrances do it also. - It has an above average performance but some other fragrances do it also. - It's a magnific scent to use at leisure, but some other fragrances do it also. - It has an attractive pricing for the "package", but some other fragrances do it also. - Easy to order so far, but some other fragrances do it also. - It is quite unique, but some other fragrances do it also. - It's an obvious choice when I don't know what perfume to use, but some other fragrances do it also. - It's the only one that fulfills all the conditions above, and no fragrance I own does that. - If I would be Robinson Crusoe I would choose this fragrance to salvage from the wreckages. When I first bought it, I confronted it head to head with the original MIB. They are somewhat similar in the opening, but Essence has more "muscle"and the drydown goes into a different direction. The spices and the woods of Essence have been turned up significantly and there is a cocoa heart note that remembers me of Valentino Uomo. Essence is drier, less sweet but with a less strong and more elegant booziness. The MIB musk note seems to be almost absent in Essence and I don't miss it. It has some very much appreciated common vibes with Pure Havane, SpiceBomb Extreme, Valentino Uomo and CH Men Privé. It does not have a very much loved oud soft vibe, but I rely on other specific perfumes to get the non versatile oud note when I feel in the mood for it. This is a perfume that I usually use for my own personal pleasure, not caring much for "ladies praise" although it happens in a reasonable amount. It's a very mature fragrance - I am in my 50's - and not intended for youngsters. As appropriate seasons, late Fall, Winter and early Spring are obvious choices, although I wear it at night independently from the season we are in. It projects intensely for the first two to three hours. Overall I get a longevity of more than 9 hours with three sprays on skin - left, right and back of my neck - and two sprays on clothes - my shoulders. Maximum sillage is around six to eight feet. It's quite unique and so far I never met anybody using it at the same time as I. THE JOURNEY Upon first spray, the fragrance reminds me of Pure Havane due to a cherry tobacco dirty and loud scent. As Man in Black Essence does not have a tobacco listed note, I imagine that my nose is fooled by the boozy rum note blended with oriental spices and bitter orange (this one resembling a dusty floral note), resulting in an intense dirty seductive tobacco vibe. I cannot identify individual spices and it may be just a mix of cinnamon, clove, vanilla, pepper, mace, nutmeg... I do enjoy the opening a lot. This booze and oriental spices accord leaves a stunning scent trail and a statement of "I am here !". The development heart fades slowly the boozy rum note, while the bitter orange & dusty florals keep escalating, toning down the spices. A sensual cocoa & soft leathery vibe is quite present at this stage, while the woods (orris for sure but maybe guaiac also) start to reveal it's alluring character. After one hour or so the scent opens up with balsamic, dark and tonka sweet woody notes. The oriental spices are equally matched and balanced with the sweet dark woods. As I am a dark woods scent lover, I can only state that the begining of the drydown It’s really a very pleasant one. The calm finally arrives with the drydown full development. The scent ambiance is one of a creamy, sweet & dark woody body with a soft leather undertone. A skinscent is still detectable still by the 9th~10th hour. The fragrance journey offered us an impressive boozy beginning, a glorious oriental & cocoa heart, and a sexy dark woody dry down. Compliments and admiration are guaranteed from both sexes. The journey is now completed with ample satisfaction. Bvlgari Man In Black Essence is an olfactory happiness switch, my signature switch. Scoring my signature scent: ___________________________________________________________ Scent opening: 10.0 Scent Dry Down: 10.0 Longevity (h): 9.0 (up to 9~10 hours with 3 sprays on skin) Sillage (ft): 9.0 (6~7 ft with 2.5 h of good projection) Versatility: 8.0 (Above average pending for colder temperatures) Usability: 8.5 (High; Not suitable for any hot temperature event) Compliments: 7.5 (Agreable, elegant, alluring, but not a compliment champion) Uniqueness: 9.0 (almost unique, but is a flanker of MIB) Quality: 9.5 (above average quality, good cap & lock on sprayer) Presentation: 10.0 (a matter of opinion) Price: 8.0 (€ 40 for a 100 ml tester + taxes) ___________________________________________________________ - Average: 8.95/10.0 between 7 and 8 => above average; between 8 and 9 => recommended; equal or bigger than 9 => don't miss it; Opinion on this admirable Essence: Very good presentation and overall very pleasant scent, elegant, making a nice choice for being different, and with a lot of class! Above average performance. Pricing still a bit expensive. During 2019 the on line price will certainly come down a bit more. Recommended? Yes. Blind purchase worthy? Yes. Music: Emerson, Lake & Palmer - "Lucky Man"

Carlos from Brooklyn Fragrance Lover said that only 3000 bottles were made. But I have the feeling it are way more than that, because it is available at many discounters in Europe. Current prices are around €60/100ml. Fragboy Stewie said that Essence and the original are almost identical in scent, but just the bottle design is different. I normally trust his nose, but I guess even the best noses can be wrong once in a while. I think he has to try them out once more, because you almost instantly smell that they are different. I compared it head to head with the original MIB. They are 'quite' similar in the opening (read: they have the same vibe), but Essence is much more potent and the drydown goes into a different direction. In Essence the spices and the woods have been turned up significantly and there is a faint cocoa note. Essence is much drier, less sweet and the booziness is fainter. I do not get the musk and the florals. I am selling my original MIB bottle, because of performance issues. I read that people are getting mixed performance with the original. Essence however, does not have any performance issues, at all! I need to wear it a few more times, before I can give this a rating. I think the scent has to grow on me.

I like this ok, but for the prices it is going for, and the performance that it has, I would not recommend it... I think there are far better frags you could pick up that perform better, and easier on the pocket. It's really a shame too... I really like the smell, but the performance is disappointing. I'd just buy Man In Black, which has much better performance in my opinion, and it's not discontinued, and selling for some insane price. If they could have found a way to make this perform, it would have been a total banger. _________________________________________________________________________ EDIT: I was able to test this some more, and have really grown to become infatuated with it. It obviously isn't a beast, but it lasts a very long time on skin, and I find myself smelling it over and over. I was able to get a bottle on EBay for a reasonable price, so I jumped at it. I would not pay insane prices for this, as I stated above, but if you can get it without paying through the nose for it.. jump at it. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (9/10)

Yeah that's great, perfect for date's and others special occasions, but very similar to og Bvlgari Man in Black, this the perfume is not worth its current price of a discontinued perfume, you get a more masculine version of the original, a little more spice, no one will notice the difference in the aftertaste, come on only one reason to buy this one: Fancy bottle, but who will overpayed twice only for cool bottle? I Bvlgari Man in Black (And in general the entire line) enjoyer, so i love it so much, but i prefer og version little bit more. But honestly I can't say anything for sure, cuz the trial version of the original version ended a long time ago. Conclusion: Perfect fragrance, worth to try it, but not worth to overspending on it, better get the regular Bvlgari Man in Black. Rating: LONGEVITY: 9/10 (PERFECT, I prefer a perfume that will not stay on my clothes for months, and at the same time emit a smell no worse than from the very beginning) SILLAGE: 7,5/10 SCENT: 10/10 OVERALL: 9/10

This is a spectacular boozy, spicy oriental - emphasis on the boozy. I agree with the reviewer who said it's boozier than original MiB, but I also agree with those that say it's a more mature version as well. Overall is it softer, more floral, and "warmer" than MiB (likely that cocoa accord others have picked up on) - at least on my skin. Original MiB and this would make a great day/night pairing - or use this as a standalone evening or date fragrance. This does have a classic cool/cold-weather structure - I'd imagine in warm weather the boozy side of this might be a little too much. On the review below discussing the 3k bottles - I'd actually believe that. If many thought, as I did,. when seeing it in the store that it was original MiB in a collector's edition bottle they likely would pass on it. If each discounter wound up with a stock of 200-300 bottles I can see how it might have been pretty cheap initially at each as they price it to move.