Black Saffron Absolu

I picked this up two days ago and ended up wearing it for two days straight. As a big fan of Black Saffron, I can confidently say this is a clear step up. It’s more balanced, smoother, and simply smells better to my nose. What I really appreciate is how easy it is to wear — this is far more versatile than the original and works very well in summer, especially in air-conditioned offices or closed spaces. Out of the entire Absolu collection, this is easily my favorite. I would personally choose this over the regular version because it’s more wearable and less challenging, while still smelling high quality and interesting. It also got me a good amount of compliments and positive feedback, which is always a nice bonus. Performance is very solid. On my skin, I get around 8–10 hours of longevity, and projection is noticeable for around 2 hours depending on how many sprays you go with. During a 5-day trip, I tested it on a blotter at the airport, and it surprisingly lasted around 4 days on the test strip. I don’t sugarcoat my fragrance reviews, even for scents I enjoy, but this one genuinely impressed me. Overall, this is definitely worth buying. If they ever release a 200ml bottle, I’d seriously consider picking it up. Ratings: Scent: 9/10 Longevity: 9/10 Versatility: 9/10 Price: 7.5/10

It makes me happy and gives me the feeling of being hugged. Smelling Black Saffron Absolu just puts a smile on my face. It’s a better version of the original Black Saffron. The top notes are saffron, sweet peas, soft iris, a hint of raspberries, and date palm flowers, while the middle notes feature leather and lactonic accords that eventually settle into an earthy, smoky sweet incense. The performance and sillage are definitely much better than the original Black Saffron EDP, but they could still be improved further. The downside is that it’s still too overpriced for the lackluster performance, lasting only around 6 hours on my skin. I’m a die-hard fan of dark oud and Arabic spicy perfumes; and to fall in love with a fruity and rosy perfume just shows how good Byredo is at creating lovable scents. I'm glad to have the absolu in my collection.

Love the original but this one beats it out of the collection for me as it serves a better purpose. This takes the easy wear of the first and turns it into more of a date night/CEO type of vibe by cranking the leather right up to 10. It's super sexy and I feel like if I was dressed up at my best this would be an absolute gem to put on.

It is beautiful scent, deeper and softer than the original edp version, and there is definetily more leather in this one. I like it, but I prefer the original edp version, which has more freshness and rasberry note. The original edp version smells amazing, but the projection and longevity are sadly poor... this one lasts better.

This is incredible. Right up my street and how they managed to improve the already amazing OG. The absolu is smoother. The leather is softer. It lasts longer. Just overall an amazing fragrance and one of the easiest additions to my collection

Incredible creation that got me obsessed with it! Rare gem, blended to perfection! Sexy, elegant, unisex and CEO vibes:) I hope that Fragrantica will fix the notes, as here they are wrong.

Yeah this is fantastic. One of the best fruity leather fragrances. Amazing for the colder weather, for a date, for going out. Absolutely phenomenal.

Will be adding this one to the collection for sure.

I am a massive Black Saffron fan and had been considering blind buying the Absolu. However, sampling it yesterday, I’m glad I didn’t. It’s the same DNA as the original but the leather is heavier and stronger. It’s aromatic and spicy, but this lends it a more masculine feel. It’s close enough to the original that you don’t need both. A great fragrance for sure and it lasted around 4 hours on me, but not one I’m rushing to splash £200+ on.

I like Black Saffron Absolu considerably more than the EDP version. The Absolu really amps up the darker notes—the leather and woodiness, which I appreciate. The Absolu is much louder and bolder than the original. I imagine some people will prefer the original if they don’t like loud/dark, but for my taste, the Absolu is vastly better. I find it really unisex personally, but I also don’t mind a masculine leaning fragrance either!

As a man, I have no problem with wearing feminine leaning fragrances but this is BRIGHT and BLONDE and feminine so it doesn’t fit me and I couldn’t even make it work which sucks because I wanted this to be one of them ones for my arsenal. I’m shocked that it leans so much more feminine than (let’s say) Tuscan Leather or Goldolphin or Bois 1920 Oro, which I love... but I can’t stress enough the feminine brightness here - I’m trying so hard to wake up on the other side of the bed with this but it’s a no for me, unfortunately. I will pass my 10 ml decant to my mother who I feel it would fit her more on a special night out occasion.

This one is a lot more leather heavy. The original black saffron leaned more feminine , the absolu is more masculine . The initial spray of absolu caught me off guard and I’m glad I sampled it before I bought it . I like the original better .

The notes here are wrong, at least according to Byredo website, here are the real notes. Top: Blackcurrant, Pepper, Saffron Heart: Raspberry, Rose Absolute, Violet Orchid, Osmanthus Absolute Base: Incense, Patchouli, Agarwood, Black Leather

Absolutely love it. The notes above are different than the Byredo website FYI. Saffron and leather make a great combo here, and the blackcurrant opening is amazing. I smell zero oud in this, which is nice as I find oud to be rank.

I hope that in the (near) future, Byredo will also give us Absolu versions of Pulp, Velvet Haze, Young Rose, and Eleventh Hour because they truly deserve it. They are their most underrated fragrances, IMO.

I already know that I want this fragrance just by looking at the notes.

If you own Ombré Leather you do not need this one.