No. XXII Black Afghan

Black Afghan is a work of art. An esoteric, nocturnal arcane ritual. I love smoke in fragrances but here the smoke is sharper, more cutting. At its heart it’s a very rough, almost abrasive leather. Extremely masculine, gothic really. The “Afghan” in the title is initially perplexing. If it’s a reference to the celebrated "Afghan Black" type of hashish, this doesn’t really smell at all like that. There is a beautiful spiritual incense there, though. It would’ve been cool to add some fabled perfume ingredients from Afghanistan, like the famous Rose of Nangrahar/Jalalabad... but this is not a floral affair, so forget it. No respite from the sheer unterminable darkness of the experience. Which shouldn’t be confused with gloominess or a depressing experience for the wearer. It’s more like something a medieval warrior would wear, a few years deep into a particularly tough campaign. Serious. Powerful, Very mysterious to the point of being essentially unknowable. Comes in a beautiful hand-welded black metal presentation box. To be honest there aren’t that many occasions I wear this on - it’s more just something for myself, an experience while alone. An example of the limits of perfumery. Update: I think finally I understand why they named it "Afghan" - this encapsulates a vibe that's freedom-loving, uncompromising, extremely individual, fierce, masculine, warrior-energy, spiritual, humble, and totally unconcerned with how it's perceived by others. A dramatic scent for nights in the mountains. BREAKING NEWS: Due to external circumstances (i.e. me being a fragrance addict and wanting to buy many new bottle) I am selling my almost-full bottle of this. Message me if interested.

This amazing fragrance was my signature scent for around 10 years. It has been discontinued by Mad et Len and is now only available as a candle. I am so sad...I have struggled to find a new scent that even comes close to this, for the past 18 months. Does anyone have any ideas of something that smells very similar? I loved the incense/resinous/jarring/slightly dirty-tarmac-y essence of this fragrance. I hate florals, vanillas, and anything girly. If anyone has any ideas, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks fragrance lovers. x

Does anyone have a bottle for sale!? Can’t find anywhere anymore. this is one of my all time favorites 😭😭🙏🙏 Message me if you have or know where to find

I have to thank Roge' for his interestingly equivocal review of this perfume for getting me out to the shop in Paris ASAP .... I prefer the "non-milquetoast" moniker to the "expressive" but those around me might differ. Anyway, on to this smoky perfume, which I loved instantly, as did my husband, so I bought it right away instead of waiting the obligatory day anyway .... had I waited I would have noticed that it is a bit ..... ummmm .... flat, or linear, or dusty or something that has very little projection on me which is NOT my favorite quality. Black indeed. BUT my Perfume Psychic Roge' sent me a bottle of Equus which has a bit of the same quality but with quite different notes, and when I layer the two of them, each brings out the notes of the other, and I have one of my dream perfumes! There is a wonderful zig zagging of notes that seem to love each other, and me, all of the dark woody and spicy notes I adore, and oddly enough the whole mess brightens up and has plenty of projection! I can totally imagine the perfect person -- see Roge's review -- loving this scent on its own, hey, the lovely sales associate in the shop -- I strongly recommend a visit in Paris -- told me that there is Cannabis in there, not publicized in the notes, but now that I have found the secret (for me and my weirdly perfume eating skin) to getting all of the notes to sing out I swear I can smell it! As a side note, the packaging for the Mad & Len perfumes is dark rich black and sublime, a hand forged (in France) black metal box with gold type houses the black on black on black bottle, and if you buy your juice in Paris, it all comes in a black fabric tote with MAD & LEN in gold very unobtrusively. Really a lot of bang for the buck in this world of crazy perfume prices.

A beautiful woody niche fragrance with potential for addiction.

It was so leathery it smelled like pure Smoke. It took a few moments for me to smell anything else. I like it much more as it melts away to the soft amber center. Kind of like a leather blow pop. Weird. I adore this company, but this one is definitely not my favorite. TERRE NOIRE and Petite Papiers I love from beginning to end. Not every one can be a winner... Not bad though.

I just did a review on Poltergeist not too long ago. If Poltergeist were to make an eau de toilette, this would be it. Although jarring in the opening, this is actually on the flimsy side as it pertains to hardiness. Also, this does not resemble the DNA of Nasomotto's Black Afghano for those that want to naturally associate the two. Not only does No. XXII has a specific age range, it also specifically targets a personality type...and that type is "expressive." Designer fragrances has a tendency to have that swoon ability which appeals to a larger crowd, this is the anti-designer. Black Afghan in a lot of ways is more art than it is perfume but that doesn't mean you will not enjoy it. Again, this is for a specific individual aka the non milquetoast zone. This has the potential of being an October favorite but a fragrance that seriously need to be sprayed on clothing.

A woodsy, smokey, leathery juice. I finally bought a bottle since I kept going back to the one store that sells Mad et Len to smell the perfume. It is a warm and comforting scent, brings to mind an ancient wooden hut or even a longhouse with a fire burning and a warrior/craftsman making leather belts and sword scabbards. The raw smell of the leather mingles with the scent of old wood and the smoke from the branches crackling in the fire. There's a hint of tar in the mix too. Perhaps not for everyone, but exactly the sort of scent I've been looking for. Yesss!!

This is one of the scents I'm solid I've smelt before but I can't remember which scent reminds me of - I will update as soon as I remember. Nuances of eucalyptus, freshly chopped firewood, sweet resins, leather, smoke. Full of fire. Black and red. Really ignited and conceptual. This guy also happens to layer exceptionally well with Chimaera to the point it's almost orgasmic.

If you've ever rolled a ball of sticky black hash, stuck it on a safety pin, lit it on fire & then blow out to generate smoke, that's what the opening of this smells like to me. Then it settles into a smoky woody resiny leather combo that remains very stable. If you like smoky, there's more interesting stuff out there, such as Zoologist TRex, Jorum Psychoterratica III, etc.

I don't know what to say about this. I'm in love. Woodsy, leathery powdery magnificence. It's perfect. I'm getting a big hit of the resins. Smells like a basilica incense mix. This is beautiful. Every note fits together, it's like an incredible orchestra on fire. I can't explain it without sounding like an idiot. Stop wasting time reading this, and buy it!!