Black

Yeah, this is awesome. I just wrote a review of the delicate, lovely Epice Marine. If that one is a watercolor, this is acrylic, if not spray paint. But it's a super good idea. Incense and black pepper, in equal doses. The notes conflict and vibrate -- they shouldn't associate in nature, but here they do. Church and body odor. Hunger and dinner. Darkness and darkness. It's very sexy -- so wrong, but so right. It's a strong smell, but it's a thoughtful pairing akin to Eau de Néroli d'Oré's can't-be blend of saffron and orange blossoms, dialed up to 11. I think I will age out of this scent at some point because it's so strong and, to me, overtly sexual -- this fragrance gets *noticed* -- but if you're in your 20s and 30s (or 40s or 50s), I would definitely consider this one. I get comments and, frankly, followed by both men and women sometimes when I wear this. To appreciate how good this one is, compare it to CdG's Blackpepper or Incense Avignon... both okay standalone fragrances, but this is what happens when you put the two together. Your chocolate's in my peanut butter. Rawr.

Fizzy, green, leathery... very much up my alley. Dry, smoky, rubbery, with serene wood/incense notes underneath. This is a very clean and refined leather/smoke fragrance, very Japanese modern aesthetic. A paradox: while there's clearly smoke, and it's quite dry, there's still the translucency that's characteristic of the house. As with other CdG fragrances this is a quiet fragrance - you'll probably be the only person who notices what you're wearing - but since they don't make your typical scents it's probably for the best. Personally, I love this reserved, slightly dark, but still charming fragrance. Will definitely be adding to my collection.

My favorite men's fragrance, it's so good sometimes I have to splash some on myself just to get a fix. I get a strong charcoal accord from this that is smoky, sexy, mysterious, but not overwhelmingly dark, there's a freshness to it, and a slight sweetness as well. Very well balanced fragrance and smelling it on a man is just magnetically alluring, for me.

Great casual scent! Very woody and dark with some tones of incense and tea. My favorite of the PLAY series by far. It is quite masculine, but I am sure some female wearers could pull this off. Good projection and great longevity. If you are looking for a dry, dark fragrance, definitely give this one a try!

First time you spray it, it's like a fire on your skin. Stay as you are, too much makes this scent intolerable. For Japanese modern fashion lovers.

Current fav fragrance, like you jus cracked the most hygienic clean person you know in they grandma house

it smells like you just had amazing sex and now you’re sniffing his armpit. Stunning!!!!!!!

The opening was a pleasant surprise. It's spicy and very woody, but with a mild dark/shadowy quality, and just a whisper of violet. Once it opens up, there's a gentle peppery note along with a warm woody note. There is a soapy quality that begins to creep in, and I don't care for that, but it doesn't overpower the enjoyable notes. It may be linear, but there's some pleasant complexity to sort through. Most of the notes are subtle and equally matched in strength, so you have to dig around a little to separate them out. In the dry down, I mainly get tea, wood, pepper, weak amber, violet, warm leather (very faint), and a kiss of smoke. It's clean and fresh like a spring afternoon, but those couple heavier notes keep it grounded and push it into masculine territory. The overall strength and projection are good.

CdG's "Black" - Play is a subtle scent with a dominant Black Pepper note. I sensed Vetiver, but that note was not listed. I liked my sample, but it was not FBW for me, a close miss. My main gripe with CdG is their confusing product groups / brands. They have at least two (2) EDT products called "Black"; This one is from their "Play" group and another is from their "Fragrances" group. On LuckyScent, CdG has eight (8) "Brand" links, WTF? If CdG's goal was to produce customer confusion - IMO, that goal was achieved. Marketing MBA students could learn from CdG's non-optimal decisions.

Your paternal grandmother is baking cookies. The spicy kind you like, the recipe handed down for generations. The kind with extra ginger and nutmeg. Delicious. The spicy baking-smell fills the whole kitchen. You are eagerly anticipating biting into one. During the opening, and up close to your skin for the first hour you get kind of a Listerine smell. But overall my impression of this one is cookies. Not because it's sugary, but because it's spicy and smells like extra-spicy ginger snaps or another kind of highly-spiced, not-too-sweet cookie. Warming and comforting.

I've owned a bottle for over 2 year's, I finally decided to write a review. I love the smokey vib and the mix of red pepper comes together smooth. The notes of black tea leaf and insense give it that balance it needs to calm it down and still smell good. After it settles on my skin, the wood/insense continues to have a more warm vib . This cologne is perfect during the fall/winter season. Longevity and Sillage is decent enough to consider buying a bottle. Not overbearing but also not an underachiever 8/10

I'm confused by this one. Doesn't last as long as one would want it to. More importantly though, one does not know when to wear it. Too dark for summer and daytime. Too fresh and light for dark and winter. Sits awkwardly on the fence for me. I normally wear CdG scents proudly and naturally. I feel comfortable with their more outlandish perfumes, but somehow I'm unable to understand this one or how to wear it.

I smell tea the most....then some smoke.....it’s a bit to basic for my taste but definitely mass appealing

From The Lost Highway Fred Madison's Parfum

A dense, more modern, anthracite pepper-classy royal. Creamy resin smoked with fine incense, lightened with mandarin. The sweetness is noticeable, but held in check by paprika with a tonka-vanilla drydown. Not overly sophisticated, not that unique and bold, more of a sure bet to vanilla base, but refined and elegant for longer walks around the city. Source of many female compliments, personally Id like it to be more interesting for myself, not only for others...

The opening isn't exactly what I'd call a winner in my opinion. Something about it smelled like I was cleaning my counters with 409 or a comparable product after cooking a breakfast seasoned with way too much pepper. After the questionable opening it definitely opens up and gets better but it never quite made it to something I would wear. Given ten or twenty minutes to air off, my first impression is that this pepper smells like the pepper from a shaker rather than a ground pepercorn.(My fellow chefs will understand.) Disappointing for a 'pepper' fragrance. As time goes on a distinct floral note creeps in. The tea note is noticeable but it doesn't seem to work as well as it should here for some reason. If I nose-squint I get the thyme, maybe that's what's putting a strange spin on the tea? All in all it's wearable, barely, but it doesn't smell upscale. Sillage is good for the first hour but overall lasting power isn't impressive. Not something I'm running out to buy.

In the opening there's this dirty citrus baby wipe attacking your nose (thyme+moss). In the back there's a black tea note (but you have to look for it) and some vague 'heavy' note in the background (black pepper+incense). The dry-down is where the lemon note dies and incense and pepper really start to show which is what I sampled this perfume for! Issue is this sticks way too close to the skin and more importantly: it's incredibly boring and flat. I figured from the notes there'd be something complex or interesting here but in the drydown it's flat lining... Disappointed.

Rather disappointing perfume. I was hoping for smokey-incensy fragrance, but what I get is rather boring spicy water. At first I can smell mostly spicy and juicy pink and red pepper with a little bit of tea and possibly oak moss what add some green freshness to the mixture. After a few minutes a dry, salty black pepper note overwhelm everything else. And that's all, no drydown detected. Yet another proof that dominant pepper is what makes a perfume unpleasant to me. Luckily sillage isn't impressive, longevity is decent though.

Peppercorns and woody smoke abound, backed by hints of black tea and some florals if you search for them. It is a somewhat imposing and not readily approachable scent. I think some, particularly those who like an abundance of fresh peppery spice, will really dig this, while others will find it to be a bit too sharp. Myself? I find it intriguing, but not personally wearable.

Plain, low projecting spice fragrance... Not bottle worthy IMO.