Rock The Ages Birch & Black Pepper

I am not a huge fan of Jo Malone as Im not interested in layering and a lot of their fragrances (with some notable exceptions) smell incomplete, overly simple, or inoffensive to a fault imo. On the contrary, this stuff is pretty daring. It smells like a new magazine that was dropped into a bucket of cracked pepper and drizzled with some smoky birch tar. The drydown changes quite a bit as the pepper smoothens out and the vanilla becomes more prominent. The birch is identifiable all the way through, giving it a smoldering inkiness that I found myself really enjoying. Performance is so so, the longevity is right around 5 hours and the sillage is comically quiet, although I will note that my girlfriend noticed this on me a few hours after application when I couldnt smell a thing, so olfactory fatigue could be playing a role in that. I could imagine this would have some good layering applications as well if you're into that kind of thing. It could masculinize something thats a little questionable or darken up something thats 'too friendly', I presume.

I love spicy and woody scents, but occasionally even the ones I enjoy can induce a mild headache. With Birch & Black Pepper, I don't experience this issue even with the use of a couple sprays. This is a edgier scent that makes my outfit feel more polished and complete. It's dark and smoky, but not overly so. You can wear it easily both for daytime and nighttime use. Someone mentioned this layers well with Pomegranate Noir which has me thinking of repurchasing Pomegranate Noir just to see how the combo meshes together.

Birch and Black Pepper is my reference birch scent - it is definitely smoky and woody, and often sets a more austere mood. Good on its own or layered with other scents (including beyond Jo Malone's). Longevity and Sillage is better than most Jo Malone's but even then it's still just above average. I wish it will be re-released again and that it will come in 100ml sizes in Cologne Concentree version.

I really wanted to like this. BUT it ends up smelling like an old camp fire that someone cooked hotdogs over. Maybe that's just how it interacted with me.

Remember those old mimeograph machines in school that made copies by forcing ink through a stencil onto the paper . . . you could still smell the ink, and sometimes it would get on your fingers? Or the cartridge pens (whose Peacock Blue ink still resides in my heart)? This scent brings all of that back! There's even a hint of the paper smell. I love it! I would love it even without the scent memories, but with them, it's irresistible. Malone's Rock the Ages collection is meant to depict historic times in British history. This one represents the clash of modern traditional vs. punk culture. Hahaha - they must have had the same copy machines in England! The overall accord is clean and brisk, spicy, woody and aromatic. I think reading the notes is throwing some off, because it's just like that inescapable impulse to bury your head in those copied papers in school and get a whiff of the freshly mimeographed page! The smell is almost hardwired into our brain to be pleasing. This perfume elevates that smell and transforms it into a wearable, probably unintended, tribute. Unisex, leaning towards masculine.

This is my current favorite and getting hard to find. If you like a little spice in your smell, this is fantastic layered with Pomegranate Noir. I have had several men ask me what I'm wearing so they can buy it for their wives. That has never really happened to me before. Surprised by people's comments that you would never receive a compliment on this one - I pretty much get compliments daily on this combo. Not for the woman who loves a floral. This falls in the category of Nutmeg & Ginger, Pomegranate Noir, Wood Sage & Sea Salt... if you like those, there is a good chance you will like this. If not, this would not be your thing.

Not a full review as I only tested this a bit but... I was pretty surprised when I smelled this definitely one of the more interesting new scents ive smelled in awhile. However that being said that interesting factor is more so for someone myself that likes fragrances and appreciates something smelling different from the norm. That being said I think this is gonna be hard to pull off. Not something to wear if you are looking for daily compliments. Very smokey very outdoorsy. Although not the same smell gave me the same vibe something like Bois d'Ascese gives me.

I'm a fan of JM products so I treated myself to a 30ml bottle at Christmas. First impressions are a bit of a letdown. You get the initial tarry blast of damp birch ashes , but after that it fades to a simple Guaiacwood note (which you either love or you don't) that fades almost completely away in 30 mins. This is perhaps the most linear and one dimensional scents of all the JM line. I'll mess around with layering it, but I won't be buying another bottle..It's way too weak.

Stands out among the others in this line, if only because it doesn't smell like something I've encountered dozens of times before. It's masculine, smoky and gravely. I get a dusty birch and a medicinal ink, the combination of which makes me think of a sooty chimney sweep holding a box of pencil shavings. A peculiar choice to be honest; not very wearable although might be interesting to layer with other scents.

A little difficult to pull off, in my opinion. The ink note is definitely there, as well as the balsam. I did enjoy the drydown, but had trouble with the top notes. To my nose, I almost got a sausage note. The sales associate laughed when I said that, so it must be only me. She did say this one is "difficult", though. Anyway, it may work better on other people..

It is always so interesting how each scent smells different on different skin. I love wearing this beauty, and get very little of the ink smell that others report. I get a spicy, woody delight that lasts all day- perfect for the coldest days of the year. I had to recently grab a whole bottle, as not many seem to be out there.

I haven't a whole lot to add other than to say this smells bitter. A bitter that to me will be hard to stand after a while. I am not sure what the dry down would be like since I didn't get past the initial spray onto a tester strip. There is nothing feminine about this to my nose. Some may like this, I just did and do not.

I love how this smells on paper, but unfortunately I don't think I am daring enough to wear it on me. This is a perfect manifestation of its name: woody, smoky pepper, very dark but not murky because each of its notes are distinct and STRONG. It is definitely an "edgier" fragrance; in my opinion a must-try.

It is a very nice smelling perfume. Smells like a wood, in a nice way. Performance is good. Smell is mild but last long.

The sofiest version of Terre D'Hermes.