Kenneth Cole Vintage Black

I fell in love with this frag at first sniff. The opening is great....a blast of crisp margarita freshness that dries into a deep dark mysterious woody base. I hear many people blasting this frag for lacking in longevity. I tend to go a little more on the trigger and it will last a solid 8 hours at least. It does tend to stick a little closer to the skin overtime but will project strong for at least the first two hours. The fresh opening tends to carry on through the duration although becoming much more musky but with hints of strong woods and a touch of lavender. I am fascinated by the way the fragrance evolves. When one applies it appears to almost have an aquatic vibe but yet eventually becoming dark, woody and very masculine. The overall vibe is signature scent worthy although I love wearing it on those cooler summer nights. It can be worn during the day but IMO the nighttime is the right time. Extremely versatile. Can be used for work for play or for a formal event. Wear it at the club,,,,why not. Smooth and sexy this scent is a big compliment getter through and through. Not overly flashy or loud yet masculine, dark and heavy enough to leave a strong impression. Along with polo blue my swiss army knife. A solid two thumbs up for me.

My first impression of this fragrance was very pleasant and masculine. It opens with a crisp citric aromatic notes and wen it dries it remembers me of the original Black from KC. Woody, green and dirty. I'm not a big fan of the original Black but Black Vintage feels more fresh and casual. The longevity is kind of average (3-5 hours) and the sillage is soft but still not weak. I really recommend to try first this fragrance with a sample cuz is not a safe blind buy. But personally I love Vintage Black more than the original Black. 3.5 out of 5.

I have both this and the original Black, and I think this one outdoes the original. The citrus notes that open the fragrance are perfection, and I enjoy how they grow and develop into a strong and smooth woodsy base. I can definitely smell lime and grapefruit, and after that the tequila a little bit. Even after the top notes have seemed to "end", they are still somewhat evident in the base as the woods reflect back onto the citrus'. I think it's a winner. One of, if not the best cologne I own!

Soooo I really have no idea what's going on here but this smells NOTHING like St. Barts. If you can only pick up a single note then , yes, it will. Its a bit more complex than St. Barts as St. Barts just smells like a poured some juice over my shirt. IT DOES NOT SMELL LIKE FULL BLOWN TEQUILA Not a very strong scent at all. Longevity is poor like most KC fragrances sadly. Close to skin scent on me after 30 minutes to an hour. Work friendly. Great for quick casual days out or errands.

This was my signature scent when I was 20-30 y.o. I tried a bunch of colognes at the store and this is the only one that really stood out to me and that's how it started. Clean and fresh but the spice comes in and lets you know this is a man's scent. Definitely unique but not offensive. 10x better than any scent you would get from deoderant. Could be used in almost any situation. All around good scent. The price makes it an easy choice. Overall I rate it 9/10.

My boyfriend got this in his scentbox for July. It smells amazing on him. I didn't have a favorite when it comes to his different colognes but I think this may be it.its very woody and peppery on him. You get a faint scent of citrus but it is really light. He wore it to work the other day and after his 10 hour shift I could still smell it on him. Little does he know, I just bought him a FB.

This is too sexy:). I got some for my hubs for his bday. I love it. It's so sexy. I don't see why all the bad reviews? Edit: I am noticing a bit more of the tequila scent since I've been on the forums. I may be ever-so-slightly turning from this but not altogether. I'd still be bummed if this were to discontinue.

I love this cologne. This is my average "go out with the guys night and have a few" cologne. It's a very refined scent that doesn't overpower while still giving you that scent that says " I like to have fun".

A solid cheap fragrance here that gets the job done on warmer days and nights. Fresh citrus with a little bit of darkness that's spicey. Great stuff. Usually, wear this on casual errand runs and gym.

I wear it out of the shower often. It last more than 24 hours on a sleep shirt. It is not as weak as claimed by others. It is great for what it does and the price point.

This is so much better than Tommy Bahama St Barts which it is compared to often. This is a hidden gem for the price.

I've owned this for a few years now. I bought it to try and replace my Bvlgari Aqva Marine that I'd owned four or so bottles of. i got it on holidays in the U.S.A and I haven't really seen it until recently in Australia. This is what I wear when I don't wanna wear my Cartier fragrances, cos I'm stingy. I think everyone's beat this poor fragrance to death. I think, that it's quite fresh, without it losing its masculinity. I think people expect every fragrance to be a signature scent, and don't allow more anonymous scents to have their day in the sun. Anyway, regardless. It's very fresh, without it, to my nose, being harshly chemically or synthetic. It doesn't smell like something a professional would wear, or something that you'd wear on a date. It's more of an every day, filler in fragrance I feel. It's defiantly a young fragrance (I'd love to know the ages of some of the people that beat this, and other citrusy or aquatics to death). I've never garnered any comments or compliments on the scent, outside of 'you smell nice'. No one has ever asked me what it is, or similar. So it is anonymous. The shopping mall sentiment from an earlier reviewer could be something I would agree with, but not mind as much. It sits well on my skin, lasting for hours and hours, not that I've measured. I've never felt the need to reapply during the day. I have been an on and off smoker for years, smoking lightly, and this has always been a good deterrent for the smell, even when only applied once in the morning. It is also a fine fragrance to do a light spray on a jacket to compliment or remove the smell of tobacco. So yeah, it is forgettable, affordable but pleasant and inoffensive. The fact that it's not exclusive, or doesn't have that signature vibe is part of its appeal. It's not from a 'master' perfumer or from a dedicated perfume house or the main scent of the collection. So, for it's purpose and its pricing, it's fine!

*Musing* Just what is it I wonder, that made them call this Vintage? The ad shows a guy in a leather jacket (obviously worn) and faded jeans and rebellious "devil-may-care" attitude...where is the leather, the sexiness, the BLACK?!?! I am a BIG fan of Kenneth Cole (his scents, his footwear and most of all his clothing), this was a let down for sure. I am glad I did not shell out $67.50 for the 100ml (only size available) EDT!! Maybe all the wonderful vintages and luxurious samples sent to me by other members have spoiled my nose...but this is NO vintage and barely even Black (I love Black original!) Woody? sure, eventually; aromatic? I guess. Check it out.... This begins with a HUGE citrus blast of grapefruit (bitter and zesty) and lime (dry and sour) along some non-descript greens. Modern and bright for sure, and very clean and light. The heart breaks no new ground as lavender is once again covered in a subtle white pepper, though the sharp booziness of tequila is a bit different. This is not all that different from Set Sail St Barts from Tommy Bahama...and, this is actually less appealing to me. That, at least, had some tropical leaves and salty sea spray to go with the tequila and lime!! The drydown of oak (actually a magnificent scent when smelled in real life) and sandalwood is ho-hum at best. This is coming off my WISH list as soon as I post this. The scent strip in GQ smelled better than the actual EDT from a tester bottle. Do yourself a favor, folks: spend the extra 15 dollars or so, and get Quercus from Penhaligon's or just buy the original Black...at least IT has some character and sex appeal. This is not worth even the discount prices listed here! Sillage: okay Longevity: decent Overall: 2/5 Kenneth Cole: What the hell were you thinking? Too much tequila the night before no doubt! LOL...

Smells almost exactly like Aeropostale Maximum, but with more citrus and much lighter. Pretty boring, kinda reminds me of Curve, or those other "fluffy but plain" scents (best way I can describe them). Lasts about 5 hours, but it does smell good. Not great, but good. Smells better when you're in a suit and tie, because of the plain factor. An ex girlfriend bought me this and the original Kenneth Cole Black, and I think I'll likely give this one away. I'll keep the original Black, though. :) If you like this scent, I suggest trying Aeropostale Maximum. It smells similar, but in my opinion, Aeropostale Maximum is much better, plus it's easily twice as strong and long lasting, and it's cheaper too. Update: Never mind, Aeropostale Maximum is now discontinued and nearly impossible to find. If you liked Aeropostale Maximum, try Kenneth Cole Vintage Black as a replacement. :)

Certain scents just smell good and this one of them honestly. I have over 60 scents in my collection and although it's fun to pick out a scent for specific reasons, colognes like this makes it easy. It has an aroma that won't offend others because it's to harsh. It just works when you need it and that's nothing to complain about if you own this. The price point is perfect , and you'll get your money's worth. Not all brands are powerhouses for scents, some just compliments their other lines like clothes etc.... Not all colognes are groundbreaking in their release and completely lock up the market. Creed Aventus for example did that same thing and received a lot of flack for it. So I guess you can never please a crowd. All of this to say, if you have and like this then spritz away. You purchased it for you and you only.

This one smells so nice, but man it fades too fast. Vintage Black opens with a very zesty and fresh citrus accord with the tequila note and a little peppery spice rounding things out. There's also notable lavender giving it some added depth. It's a tremendously fresh sporty summery kind of scent and super likeable. It's versatile, totally safe as a blind buy, and a great dumb reach. I keep my bottle at work in my desk drawer for occasions when I might have a long day and need to freshen up later in the day when my morning cologne has faded. Unfortunately, this one just doesn't last. I get almost no sillage and just a few hours of noticeable scent before it peters out. It's cheap, so I feel free to spray away and enjoy it while it lasts. If it performed better, this one would be a home run.

First off, the name Vintage Black annoys me. Nothing could describe the fragrance less than those two words. This should have been called Kenneth Cole Blue/Green, or Sea Green, or Ocean, anything but Vintage Black where you expect dark leathery/woody notes to dominate...not citrus/green notes. I see the resemblance to Set Sail St. Barts with the lime and tequila, but after that, you get a spicy green mid/base that drifts it apart from its tropical muse. Towards the dry down, it reminds me of how John Varvatos Artisan Blu opens. It's a nice combo, albeit a generic, safe one. These are found everywhere super cheap, so it's a good dumb reach or after a shower on a hot summer day/night. 7/10

Picked this up on a whim, as it was on sale. Not a bad fragrance, but not the best either. It's pleasant, if somewhat generic. But what else could you expect for USD 25 for 100ml! The open is a nice lime and tequila mix, reminiscent of a margarita, with a bit of grapefruit thrown in. This quickly settles into a lavender-woody base. Nice, but not going to wow you. I'm confused as to why this is called 'vintage' though. It's a very modern fragrance. It's also very different from the original Black, which I think I prefer. Longevity is average, I get around 3 hours with moderate sillage.

One of my girlfriend’s favorites, has also gotten me the most compliments out of my entire collection (all from women), I honestly don’t get why they like it that much though. It’s really simple, just lime with a little bit of tequila and lavender in the dry down (at least on my skin) and projects for about 5 hours for me, although I don’t smell it after 2 hours. Overall it’s a nice fragrance, makes you feel like you’re on your personal yacht sailing through the Caribbean while wearing a Tommy Bahama button down and swim shorts, holding a fruity drink in your hand. 6/10

In my best Jerry Seinfeld voice --- "What's the deal with the name of this scent?? There's nothing remotely either Vintage or Black about it." Read the list of notes --- or take a whiff --- and it's clearly mostly a citrus scent, with a hint of spice and sandalwood in the drydown. Its very nice for a fresh citrus scent, but grossly misnamed --- along with Perry Ellis Night, Obsession Night and Kenneth Cole's original Black. Have we gotten so accustomed to aquatics that the inclusion of anything else automatically makes it "Black" or "Night"? God, I hope not!

For $20-25 it isn't bad, It's a lot like Tommy Bahama St. Barts but I think it's better which doesn't seem to be the norm or consensus with other reviews but to me it's smoother and last longer, and the salty note isn't there like St Barts it starts out with a pretty strong lime note and mellows out with the lavender, I don't get why it's called "vintage" it is nothing like a vintage fragrance , now with it the longevity just because it last longer than St. Barts doesn't mean a whole lot, this one does need warmer weather to project so save it for a hot day

This was a blind buy for me albeit after reading the comments of a number of Fragrantica visitors. Based on what i had read I was expecting citrus and woody. With my chemistry I get a quick citrus squeeze followed by lavender and black pepper. After 5 -6 hours some wood (oak?) makes an appearance. Overall, it's pretty linear but it is really quite nice. Is it safe? Perhaps but, safe isn't always a bad thing. I'm really happy it has made its way into my collection. I just wish I hadn't waited so long to add it.

Excellent and inexpensive summer fragrance! If you like Tommy Bahama St Barts. You may want to blind buy Vintage Black, or at least get your nose on Vintage Black! Vintage Black smells extremely similar to St Barts, but has more "richness and body" to its composition. I do think St Barts smells a tad bit better as to how it has a more true summery freshness throughout the its life cycle. Vintage Black is also an EDT which I think makes it an excellent alternative to St Barts as it'll be longer lasting.

Great scent but smells almost identical to Set Sail St. Barts by Tommy Bahama which is one of my favorites and is also much cheaper. Longevity- This cologne last 3-6 hours. I would also recommend this for summer Value- 10/10 I bought this from Kohls for only $24 but still recommend St Barts Tommy Bahama. Would I buy again? I would probably not buy this again due to its simularities with St Barts. The Gents Score 7.5/10 Not sure why they call this vintage but it is a good scent.

For a cheapie, this is really a great fragrance. I find a pretty strong resemblance to Tommy Bahama’s Set Sail St. Bart’s. This one is cheaper and performs just as well or maybe a bit better. It’s heavier on the lavender, making it slightly more aromatic than St. Bart’s. Lavender is turned up on this. Don’t overlook this for the warmer weather if you like tropical type fragrances.

Sharp citrus opening, almost piercing to be honest. Once dried down it blends into a nice breezy and playful summer fragrance. This is good when you need to run errands in the sun for less than 2 hours as the longevity sucks. I have a 50 ml bottle that will last me a long time as I hardly add this to my rotation. This is cheap so give it a try, it's worth the price.

Quite nice! Sharp and spicy citrus with a twist. Not the fragrance I think of by black or vintage (although I understand the barbershop resemblance). But overall a fresh nice and different smelling cologne, best for those days you just want to smell nice, and that’s it. Office-safe, if you don’t overdo it. For the price a sure winner!

Good fragrance for a great price. A powerful lavender with some hit of sweet and woody. I don't feel too citrus and fresh, it is more for spring night and autumn. It smells too synthetic for me and not a easy going fragrance. Try this before buy. Longevity for 7-8 hours Strong sillage in the first hour.

Vintage Black gives me that vintage gentlemen vibe, the kinda smell I wanna feel on my neck every late sundays of spring. More class and more ME, the scent that easily represents my 'black shinny' personality :) Kenneth Cole nailed it with this eau de toilette.

Vintage Black reminds me of Tommy Bahama's Set Sail St. Barts...until the lavender comes in. Then it's quite different. The good news is that Vintage Black's lavender is pleasant. Even on a hot summer's day. Me gusta.

I like it. Has this classic mens summer scent. I get the tequila mainly and then citrus and lavender. Casual day scent for spring and summer. Easy going and has a bit of throwback. Pleasant. Easy to wear.

Citrus and boring. No sweetness at all, so good for summer. I'm still waiting for tequila note to kick in.

Nice for a hot summer day. It has a corona with lime feel. Casual... the look of the bottle would imply that it’s for formal occasions, but it’s light and relaxed.

Super tarty and fruity, as stated below nothing vintage inspired or dark about this, one thing... girls love it tho!

I have yet to find a Kenneth Cole fragrance that lasts more tan 15 minutes.

Unremarkable and mostly harmless. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with it... but there's nothing intrinsically anything about it, really. It's what little nowhere men wear when they're on vacation, to me. It starts out with a blast of chemical citrus, and settles out to weak lemon and hay. In five hours, I had to huff the collar of my tee shirt to find even a whiff of it remaining. It's my personal philosophy that one wears a scent to make some sort of statement; happy or wistful, serious or playful. This generic fragrance says nothing other than "I have a cologne on." Perhaps it's perfect for wearing while stamp collecting, or trainspotting, or doing light dusting. Unless you really like weak citrus, you can pick up a 800ml bottle of Febreze for 5 bucks, and buy yourself a pizza with the savings.

Just kinda meh. Your typical summer citrus scent. Nothing new or exciting. Or even slightly interesting. Just meh. A sharp blast of synthetic lime followed by more sharp synthetic citrus notes. Not getting woods at all. Disappears in a couple hours. This fragrance profile is used car salesman in mid-July trying to convince a young guy that a 2002 Pontiac Aztec with 210k miles is cool because Walter White drove one. There are much much much better summer scents in the same price range. Nautica Voyage, Ferragamo Acqua Essenziale, Lalique White, Bentley Azure.... the list goes on. Hard pass 👎🏼

This fragrance is weird to my nose. Sometimes I get the smell of a watered down Margarita (which is nice) and other times I get a vicks vaporub (not good) smell to it. One thing is for sure about this one that the first 10-15 minutes is a blast of lime and tequila through and through. I think the opening has to much freaking lime and the combination with the tequila accord makes it sour. Overall it's an okay fragrance I'll give it a 4.5 out of 10. This is a going to a supermarket and going to eat out type of fragrance.

Opens up as a very synthetic freshie. Mild to moderate spicy. I get some background leafiness. I don’t pick up any lime or lemon in particular. It’s citrusy in an acidic sort of way. Immediately strong and a little overpowering. The floral powder from the lavender presents itself within the first couple minutes. I wouldn’t advise taking a strong whiff of this immediately. In fact, it kind of has that salt water thing that can bring me straight to a headache.

There is absolutely nothing vintage or black about this???? Does it smell it Good? It really depends on the person. Do I like it? Not really. It's very generic which i have come to expect from mainstream fragrance houses these days. Don't expect good silage or longevity It's decent but very poor on my skin which is moderately dry. Does it surpass its older brother? I'll let you be the judge of that.

This was an impulse buy, and I have to say I regret it. There's a blast of lime at the front with an alcohol tinge--describing it as margarita is right on the money. After a few minutes it settles into smelling like a generic men's shower gel or "sport" deodorant. "Fresh" aromas with light citrus and spice. Then it just fades away. Nothing special at all, for me.

On me this started out very nice with a smooth citrus and spice combination. The opening quickly turns to a clawing laundry detergent scent that gave me a headache. Its one of many that are designed with a sweet opening to get attention at the perfume counter. Make the sale and get them out the door.

I want to try my hand at the single sentence review a la Turin... This cologne smells like a poisonous margarita, utterly toxic and nauseating. I think I could add to that with a full length review but honestly it's just so cheap and harsh that it's not worth it.

I don't get all negative comments here! Well, it's not something "vintage", but it's pretty nice scent! It smells little bit sporty and salty. But it's nice mix of lemon and then little but of Tequila. Lasting power is great! I really like it!

Awful, scrubber. And, excuse me, but black is the color of Antaeus. This stuff isn't remotely black in any way, shape or form. It's relentlessly sharp and yellow. And how, precisely is it "vintage?" A failure all around.

The artificial smell of shopping malls, the generic reek of magazines with cologne inserts, the smell of synthetic leather purses in which cheap perfume has spilled.

#150 in my "Tour de Fragrance" and I have to say I've tried every KC fragrance except RSVP and I won't bother with it. Vintage Balck, Black and Black Bold are virtually indistinguishable from each other, and while the watermelon opening of Reaction is quite strong it's gone in minutes, and what's left is the same vague scent that all the KC line has in common, all of which are undetectable in an hour or less. The entire line, inexpensive as it is, is a waste of your money. Don't be fooled by a test spray. As pleasant, yet ordinary, as it seems on first spray, you won't be sure you're wearing it at all in a half hour. No projection, no trail, in in two hours you're not sure if you're just imagining having sprayed it on. Doon't waste your money.

Maybe I got a bad badge. But my bottle smelled so horrible. It smell like liquor mixed with lime. Trust me if you put this on, you will smell like an alcoholic. Avoid it at all costs.

I ́ve read some really bad and confusing reviews about this frag and I just can ́t go conform with them. Some people say this frag just smells too boozy. Sorry, but this would be the first frag to smell like cheap liquor. That ́s just ridiculous. You see, I ́m just an average german guy, and with Wolfgang Joop and Carlos Lagerfeldos on my side, I pretty much feel like Robinson Crusoe with a Banana in one hand and a wooden...dildo ...lets face it, we have awesome cars but fragrance like, we just suck. So I ́m in a state of swissness. Total open to the world of fragrances. And with my nose, I ́ve been able to travel the world just visiting my local douglas shop, and compared to some real good french scents (and some real crappy french scents) Mr. Kenneth Cole ́s scent Black vintage does a real good job. I can ́t see why some folks would like to beat the bejesus out of it, ́cause let ́s face it, it smells manly in a citric way. But not annoying citric. It smells like a cool drink with a slice of lemon on the brink, sitting in your favorite bar, that kind of smell you wanne smell on your collar, when you finally got the beauty of the office (or the next door beauty, for those of you who don ́t work in a frikkin office like me) to finally attend at a rendez-vous with you in that very bar. Trust me, you don ́t want to smell like Le Mal (spelled wrong, intentionally). You don ́t want to smell like you ́ve just been neutured when you finally got her this far. Stand up! Smell like a man! This frag is the right way to go. Besides all the above, I have to admit it that this frag isn ́t top notch. But let ́s face it: A BMW is not a Ferrari. But it is still a BMW. And a top notch fragrance is something else...something a girl in heat couldn ́t possibly apreciate, with all the hormons and all the expectations. She ́s just facing too much stess thinking about the colour of your mutual childrens eyes. Again, "Le male" would be the wrong way, cause you wouldn ́t feel confident, when she needs a strong shoulder to lean on. Poor thing. After all, this is a fine, magicly citric, slightly bloomy scent with a dominant tequilla note. For those who can ́t immagine how this smells like: it ́s just awesome. Period. Give it a chance.

This was an ok fragrance that to me was a different take on Tommy Bahamas Set Sail St. Barts. When 1st applied this didnt smell exactly like TB-SSSB but with the lime and tequila I could tell Kenneth Cole was trying to make a fragrance that was very similar. The difference between this and Tommy Bahama is that Vintage Black takes that margarita vibe and tried to make a spicier,more mature,sexier version of that scent. I do like what they tried to do and it is a decent scent but I still strongly prefer Set Sail St. Barts. Main reason for that is the note of lavender in this fragrance. Dont get me wrong I love the note of lavender in most fragrances but on my skin at least the note of lavender clashing with the lime and tequila made this go from a good fragrance to an only ok fragrance. If this does work better on your skin I would highly recommend this for summer ! For most beachy scents they last 2-4 hours but this lasted me 4-6 hours which is great for a scent like this and had a decent projection for 3 of those hours. (Blah, If I only I could have the smell of Set Barts and the performance of Vintage Black,lol) Overall rating: 6.75 out of 10 ! This type of scent has been done before and done a lot better so in that respect it loses points. Its redeeming qualities are that it has above average performance for a summer/beach scent. Deffinitly worth checking out though in my opinion