Black Sea

The picture I get when I close my eyes is a dark and mossy seaside cave. Dampness fills the air and the pungency of algae and seaweed seeps from rockpools nearby. Small waves are splashing the mouth of the cave, spraying a salty marine spray amongst the still cave air. This fragrance begins with a heavy seaweed opening, a mildly salty green note that projects well. 20 minutes after spraying and the Magnolia starts to shine through the seaweed note turning it into a very smooth, less masculine body which is completely unisex. Black Sea has strong opening projection for around 30 minutes but then becomes an intimate, skin scent with good longevity. The floral notes are welcome after a very different opening. I like both profiles but to experience such opposites in one fragrance is unusual. Personally I think it's masculine and I can see it could be an acquired taste. The first time I wasn't so sure, I was getting a very slight iodine feeling but I like it now that I'm on my 3rd spray, 2 this morning and now 1 mid afternoon. I find it more attractive as it settles, its smooth floral notes are so contrasting. I love how this one develops over time, I've actually gone from disliking it, to being really impressed. It's probably not a daily wear, and because of the heavy opening it won't suit all, but I find this dark Marine-floral combo quite pleasing! 💜

Forgive my untrained nose and language. I have been exploring the notes of sea life lately and acquired several Atropa samples including Black Sea which I chose to try today. I have been being adventurous with things said to be fishy and or seaweedy. I'm not familiar with most of these notes as far as how they smell. I was expecting to potentially be offended by the amount of seaweeds, but I was pleasantly not! The scent opens with something I would call "zingy!" almost like the bite of a licorice, but it's not. It must be the tangerine or a property of one of the seaweeds that I do not know. The floral notes are not too sweet and balance nicely with the salty sea notes and the "zing" has a nice slow fade. By hour 1 I smell like I've been sitting in the lapping tide waves, accumulating sea debris in my toes. In a good way. For comparison, L.I.'s "Sirenis" (not to imply they are similar so hope the AI doesn't confuse what i wrote here) has sea algae/weed notes as well and tried it in the same spirit but it has an actual rotting accord that makes it difficult. While "Black Sea" is much more pleasant and safe to wear than expected while still having that novelty of sea experientialism.

Thank you for such a deep and beautiful review! The way you express your thoughts is just brilliant!

Mikb, Thank you for such a review! ❤️