Black Dog

let's get the scent description out of the way. it's dark. slightly soapy/clean as another reviewer has aptly noted, and it successfully evokes the softness and humidity of fur without the typical funk of animalic notes. the woody aspects are subtle, and the durian/black licorice combo add a deep and smooth dimension, complimenting each other together beautifully and totally avoiding sugar or brightness. it's very mature, not in terms of age or demographic, but in mood. the bittersweet wisdom that comes from a heavy experience. or maybe that's just because of my own relationship to this fragrance. almost 4 weeks ago, i buried my best friend, blossom. she was a small black dog, a little girl who held my world in her heart for 15 years. i'd never realized how little she was. her heart had gotten bigger since last year. it couldn't keep up with her body anymore. they wrapped her in a small red blanket. we held her. baruch dayan ha'emet. on her small white box, the vets wrote "Blossom." they'd drawn little flowers around her name and colored them in. they handed me two tiny pieces of paper. her nose and paw prints. her black curls. that next day, our arms were sore. we had dug a deep hole. i had carried a little girl. call it unorthodox, whatever - we sat shiva. all this to say, i could not wear fragrances or even take a hot shower for a week. my discovery set arrived here during this prohibitive stage. i had ordered it weeks before this loss. when i opened the box, just to look through, i saw that each scent had a miniature MTG-style card, listing their notes with a line of text relating to the scent. i flipped through them all, imagining what they'd each smell like when i was eventually allowed to try them out. the last fragrance in the box, and the last card in the pile, was Black Dog. it read: "i had a black dog and i am learning to color each day with positive strokes." for sh'loshim (post-shiva days of grief in which i'm allowed to wear perfumes again), this is the scent that has grounded me -- and guided me back to reality, with her. she is still here, everywhere, to me. i still can hear her paws on the floor, feel her head in my hands, the smell of her fur. my life, my whole being, is a continuation of blossom. her memory is such a blessing. james (miju) nguyen, thank you for this scent.

I got this scent to challenge myself, complete blind buy. I just bought (and returned) the worst scent I have ever smelled, and figured these notes were picked because they would be a bit taboo in perfumery so why not a challenge? This is LOVELY. Ive grown accustomed to the animalic tang of some of d grayi’s other offerings and out of the rest of my “safe” order, I fell full head over heels for this one. It opens almost like hospital soap, disinfectant but not overwhelming. My mom worked in hospitals all my life so I tend to enjoy the scent. But the tuberose opens it up and just really irons it out and give it freshness. It reminds me a bit of the bitterness of Ca Phe By Night with a small hit of spices and menthol(?) Going to test run it a full day tomorrow. D Grayi’s least appealing sounding scents have proven to be time and again truly beautiful.

First impressions: Very dark, spicy and subtly sweet woods. The spices here are deeply evoking of Vietnam and traditional dishes, and at times this comes close to smelling a tad salty because of that association, although that in no way is a negative thing. The animalic funk is also quite pronounced to my nose and fittingly so, as the fragrance’s name becomes appropriate due to this. The durian is surprisingly one of the hardest notes to pick up for me, which is admittedly a slight disappointment as it was my main reason behind purchasing the fragrance (with durian being my favorite fruit in both smell and taste). Upon close analysis, I do detect a ripe creaminess in the fragrance that adds depth to the woods and spices, which I do believe comes from the durian, so it most definitely is present, but I wish there was more. Sillage and lasting power are both great and I will be finishing up my sample before deciding on whether a full bottle purchase is the move.

Love how I just wore this again today, and someone claims racism? This is James least favorite of his whole selection, I guess I know that because I'm racist? (Glad to see that comment was erased. Baseless and void minds.) ANYWHO, the opening is very hard to stand. Durian is present through the whole thing.. tuberose, oud/licorice combo that absolutely CAPTIVATES, some musky musky civet, durian, woods, in that order. This scent DOES smell different on clothes. A BIT more floral, and almost a cleaner scent. On skin the slight stank comes out. Smells like a hard working man, still sweating.. maybe not everyone's cup of tea. But to me, this is almost perfect. Oh and to speak on performance, its BEAST mode for 2 hours. Slows down a bit and still becomes a lingering trail. It really is HAUNTINGLY good on dry down, on skin... chefs kiss.

Revisiting. Yes this is still rough for 2 minutes, followed by a sickly sweet, tar oud combo. Hauntingly attractive. It doesn't wear floral notes, but they are there. The dark, sweet woods are insane. I actually REALLY appreciate this one. I think this would have done very well in the late 90s as well, and changed the direction of fragrance. Even as of 2024 this is a unique scent. Strange, attractive, dark, sweet, tar licorice. I'm bumping it to a 9/10 here. Performance is solid enough, strong for an hour, radiates for another 4.

a bit like hospital soap, a bit like leather, a bit like licorice. the biggest impression it gives me is deeply organic, a fleshiness like jackfruit or like lily petals, presuming im getting that from the durian and tuberose. also a humidity? like inside of an yet to unfurl flower, a fruit, your pet’s mouth, a jacket someone is actively wearing. in a nice way, i do like it. i dont wear it a lot, but i figured i wouldnt, i got a little bottle. two little dabs is plenty

Horrendous opening. Truly disgusting. Then it turns into a sweet, dark oud, licorice I'm guessing. The tuberose sweetens it up as it goes. Very, VERY manly. I think this is suite and tie manly tbh, or thick fall jacket, all black type of soft woody, dark sweet. It does remind me of a black dog oddly enough. I think it's pretty damn good overall. 8.7/10

woody, spicy, animalic, a bit indolic with a lick of creaminess and sweetness from the durian. i don’t love the liquorice, neither the way this comes together on my skin. something’s a little off...

Mmn, grungy indeed! Upon opening I pick up; smokey Cheetos cheese and bacon balls in the scent bubble (first half hour or so only), chocolate flavoured jelly babies on skin that last the entire duration of the wear, and a tropical fruity tuberose that emerges in the mid. Upon dry down, my highly discerning and gourmand-loving 10-year-old son said he smelled Nyal Cold Sore Cream (we use it for cracked lips, it stinks like camphorated pig poo, but boy does it work). He said he could taste and feel the creamy texture in his mouth when he smelled Black Dog. The dry down (to me) smelled more like an edible cream - more specifically, individually packaged ice creams at the 7 Eleven late night in *Ubud, Bali. The deep, deep dry down (5 hours later) brings a sticky wet spit, like a child who has been licking their fingers all afternoon, then pokes them affectionately into your face. I get that a lot in life; it’s not my favourite. I also wonder whether I detect one or all of leather, aldron and ambroxan, or if my nose is playing tricks on me because I can't help but notice thematic similarities between Black Dog and Anne Flipo's More Sex (from the house of Charlotte Tilbury) even though the overall scent profiles are worlds apart. I relish in the repugnant/delectable dichotomy of More Sex - frank B.O. that "burns the nostrils... in a good way", then dries down to a sultry caramel caress. Far from bringing to mind the Black Dog of depression which I understand may have been James Nguyen’s creative vision for the fragrance, Black Dog is, to me at least, a much merrier canine companion, and reminds me of a literal street dog named Blackie who befriended us on our numerous *Bali trips pre marriage and kids. Blackie was our loyal friend, and he’d seek us out on our annual visits, and act like we were his humans for the week, shadowing us between massage parlours and restaurants during the day, then waiting patiently for us outside bars of an evening. Black Dog is Blackie’s smell. It’s old and mangey. It’s sickly sweet, savoury and tangy. It’s never been bathed. It’s missing half its ear and both its testicles despite its masculinity and patent moxie. It lives its life rough and it has had to become streetwise, but it is not hardened or bitter or unapproachable. It is joyful, faithful, and oh so loving. There’s a studio portrait of Blackie hanging in our lounge at home to this day, over 13 years since his sad passing. He was adored by locals and tourists alike and featured in a fund-raising photography project for street dogs and cats. I am grateful that I have got to sample Black Dog and rekindle the wonderful memories I shared with this gorgeous soul. * I find myself referencing my bank of Bali scent memories a lot as I explore Southeast Asian Niche fragrance houses, as it is the only real exposure I have had to smells from that part of the world. Uncouth though it may seem, it is all I have to work with for now. While my experiences may be narrow, they are rich and very meaningful to me.

Yew, it has durian in it? Whoever thought synthesizing that was a good idea?