Black to Black

Mancera Black To Black is a really nice woody-spicy scent with a beautiful amber dry down. B2B opens with a bombastic woosy-oody-dark amber acccord and it is also very spicy. While I sense some citrus notes, I can pick-out any specific notes since the spice, wood, amber and oud are so powerful. Ten minutes later and I'm start to detect a more prominent rose - it shows itself, but it really does take a backseat to the blend of spices, woods, oud and amber. The rose feels deep, dark, rich and slighty muted...not at all bright or intense. To me, it's much like that Turkish Delight Rose in Mancera Black Intensitive Aoud. B2B starts out packing a punch of warm spices and continues that way through the middle before before fading into the background, but never going-away. Like many Mancera oud fragrances, performance is outstanding; one little spray and the first half-hour of this scent projects like a beast. Moreover, it sits oily on my skin...very oily...so don't spray this one on your clothes. Moreover, I sense a strong black pepper and clove accord which, I believe, is giving it that spicy zing. Don't over-spray or this one will make your eyes water during the first hour or two. After an hour or so I start to sense a lemony note. The scent (1-spray) is still so strong it is making my eyes water. After 4-5 hours it transitions into a gorgeous spiced amber/light-oud scent with a creamy-woods and musky vibe; the spice has toned way down, there is a faint rose in the distant background and perhaps even a whisper of vanilla may be pushing forth. Although I loved the first few hours, some won't, so try before you buy. However, the drydown is really quite nice and pleasant--which is where this fragrance truly shines--and most people should really love this part of Black To Black. Update: I just wanted to add that B2B is beast mode extraordinaire! I went 4-5 sprays the first time I used it and it was still easily detectable on my skin 24-hours later and after a shower. I went to work the following day and worked-out later that evening after having come home from work. While breaking into a sweat while doing bench or deadlifts (or whatever I was doing), I could smell B2B reappear 30+ hours later even though I had applied an office fragrance earlier that day. I could still smell B2B on a coat that I had worn more than a year earlier...and I didn't spray my coat or clothing. So understand you'll be wearing this one for a while.

OUD-ROSE LIDOCAINE: pain-numbing, spicy, vintage & gothic oud-rose combo par excellence. I have a tester bottle with the screw-on cap from June 2021 (lot 21F161161A/T), and the performance is beast mode. I'm currently in love with this, but it wasn't love at first sniff. Initially I found it too peppery dry & soapy, but whether it was the bottle maturing, or my nose, it's now blowing my mind. Opens with a spicy burst of saffron & cloves supported by multi-faceted bergamot, that deepens into a rose-oud-patchouli heart with resinous & floral touches, all resting on an oud-woody-leather & white-musk base. Overall I get a slightly vintage & gothic oud-rose blend distinguished by an extra-spicy opening & earthy-soapy patchouli in the base. Anyone can wear it. It helps if you're familiar with oud and Mancera's style of making scents. This isn't a close match to anything I've smelt before, but for those familiar with Mancera-style rose-oud-patchoulis, there's that plus reminders for me of Agent Provocateur Agent Provocateur in the opening, Rose 31 Le Labo in the heart and Noir Patchouli Histoires de Parfums in the base. Contrast to Shaghaf Oud Aswad Swiss Arabian: These are different, but there are similarities in the oud-rose combo and as they dry down they become more similar. Black to Black has a more peppery & spicy opening and is a stronger performer although both have excellent performance. Contrast to Agent Provocateur Agent Provocateur: These are different, but the openings have some similarities with spicy rose. Black to Black dries down a lot richer & creamier, whereas Agent Provocateur is mossier. Black to Black outperforms. Overall: Some reviewers have cited issues with performance, but I find this to be beast mode and beyond (batch no. above.) This is a special extra spicy rose-oud scent with beast mode performance. It's become a love for me. According to JacquieDS below, this is 'good for numbing pain'. 10/10. Enjoy! Update 03/03/25: This has aged really beautifully. The spice has calmed way down, and rose has come way forward. Today I'm getting rose syrup primarily, with leather & oud. Just gorgeous. Today it's reminding me of Noir de Noir Tom Ford, wonder if that has anything to do with the name... Love it.

2019 Purchase. Opens with a blast of medicinal rose, with the oud making a rather subtle appearance behind the rose. Intoxicating scent with beastly sillage capable of filling up multiple rooms. Lasts for around 8 hours on skin and a whole day on fabric which is rather impressive considering I live in a place that has 95 - 98% humidity all year long and perfumes tend to dissipate rather quickly. The drydown is even more impressive with the rose taking a backseat and the spicy nuances at the forefront. All in all, count me happy! update - having recently tried some of the other offerings from Mancera I can safely conclude that black to black has been reformulated. Its nowhere as oily as the newer releases from the house and does not last as long either. They have definitely reduced the oil concentration and watered it down terribly. Red tobacco on the other hand is extremely oily and lasts and projects forever. Instant crush is also extremely oily but isn't as loud as Rt.

#631 in my "Tour de Fragrance" Got this as a decant from Fragrancesline.com and I fear this is discontinued since all the usual suspects show it sold out or out of stock. Which is a shame since it's a good, high quality rose/oud scent, but we have lots of those to choose from, and the dry down is kind of boring as the clove note doesn't last, which is a shame since it really is nice in the opening. Mancera's Black Prestigium and Montale's Black Aoud are both pretty close to this. Don't know about the rest of you but I prefer Mancera's substantial glass bottles to the Montale metal cans that feel empty to me even when new (I realize it's weight not volume, but the psychological effect is there anyway). The two houses make a number of scents not all that distinguishable from each other, and when I find that I go for the Mancera specifically because I prefer their packaging. Bummer this is out of production because it's a good one, but there are alternatives.

Totally agree with sniffy2807's review below. For my taste at this stage of my fragrance journey, this ticks every box for me. I grew up in Saudi so this kind of oud-rose combo is nothing new to me. However, Montale did a great job at elevating this DNA with patchouli and leather. It's intoxicating, classy, and rich. It's quite middle eastern so it won't be for everyone but for me, this is the best Mancera I've tried so far. Sucks that it's hard to find now where I live. I still have around 40ml left and will get another bottle as soon as I find one. Edit: a few bottles popped up where I live and I picked up 2 of them. One is a screw-on cap from 2018 and the other is a magnetic cap bottle from 2023. And... yes it's been reformulated. It's still the same DNA but the 2023 one is fresher/less deep, not as animalic/pungent, and less powerful (not weak though). Maybe it gets better with time. Still worth it and always will be.