Black Magic

Wow! I wasn't expecting an explosion of berries and a room filled with freshly cut flowers with stems and all. I didn't perceive any top notes (tonka bean, vanilla or amber) during the opening, just in-your-face freshly cut flowers and berries. My thoughts in three words? Brilliant, Scary and Feminine which I will cover shortly. Moreover, Black Magic lasts forever on my skin and fills a room with only two sprays. Seriously! We're talking Tom Ford Black Orchid longevity and projection here folks; it's beastly! This fragrance is brilliant; the scent is very natural and performance is awesome. Apparently one does not have to spend two or three hundred buckazoids to find an original, natural smelling fragrance that performs well. Black Magic is a terrific indie fragrance offered at a reasonable price. Okay, it is also a bit scary. Why? I grew-up spending a lot of time with my grandparents. Since we had a large family, it seemed like someone was getting married or buried each week. Occasionally at the same time! (Lol) By the time I was ten I had probably been to a hundred funerals so I am intimately familiar with the scents one encounters at a funeral parlor. To me, the opening of Black Magic reminded me standing over a coffin viewing a body, with the scent of a thousand and one freshly cut flowers displayed in a horseshoe pattern around the departed...especially the bed of roses and other flowers draped over the casket. Brilliant? Yes, but it evoked some unpleasant memories of spending countless hours playing in the funeral parlors as a kid...although, to be honest, I often had a pretty good time. C'est la vie! Feminine? Although I find Black Magic to be an outstanding fragrance (besides my unpleasant olfactory memories) it's just too floral for my tastes and I find it to be much better suited for les femmes. Although there is a bit of light-leather, vetiver and amber in the drydown (I personally detect very little) this fragrance is still dominated by floral and fruity notes from top-to-bottom. This fragrance also strikes a light powdery-incense accord in my nose and is, surprisingly, is a romantic scent if I can ever move past my funeral parlor olfactory memories. I guess I could always work on my necrophilia. (Lol) Anyway, I feel Black Magics is rock-star quality scent, just better suited for the ladies IMO. Based on performance one bottle will last a long, long, long time. Update: BM settles down to a much more manageable level after about 4-hours and becomes a really sensual smell I would love to smell on the ladies. I've heard some say this is a masculine fragrance, but I strongly disagree.

A wonderful smooth aroma that lasts and lasts for me. Not seen this in other reviews but on first application, I pictured stewed pears. It's sweet with a slight bitter/acrid note similar to a pear not quite ripe. I guess this is the green/fruity element introducing itself. There is certainly a vintage feel to the whole composition, and this is further enhanced by the superb oily nature of the juice itself. The latter being something to be careful with if spraying on or close to white clothing. On initial application I would say this fragrance leans towards the feminine side, but it's certainly something I feel more than comfortable wearing. The vintage feel must be from the animalic elements. Although they overall smell differently, my mind is drawn to a comparison with Panthère de Cartier parfum. As the scent settles, you are enveloped in a comforting warm incense type haze, with the vanilla and tonka bean adding a smoothness that has to be experienced to be understood. It's here that the fragrance has transformed into a more masculine scent - but certainly one that could easily be carried off by most women. In summary, this is an incredibly well constructed fragrance, and one that I am delighted to add to my rotation. Due to the initial stewed pear notes, this won't be one I will reach for for daily use, but it is one I could see myself using for going out for dinner with friends and then going out out for dancing afterwards. Smell: 8/10 Longevity: 8/10 Projection: 7/10 Gender: Starts feminine but then masculine Season: All year Occasion: Evening dinner with friends Rating: 8/10 Note: I cannot understand how people have rated this fragrance as having poor longevity and performance! At 15:00 I sprayed this once on my chest before putting on a polo shirt and a small squirt on my wrist and then rubbed together. I have gone out for dinner, driven home and washed up and must say that the spray to my chest is still going strong. My wrists have been in and out of the hot water in the sink several times and yet still holds a soft memory of the fragrance. It is now 21:30 and I am still in a comfy haze of this fragrance. My partner isn't keen on incense and found this fragrance way too strong earlier in the day. Now she is allowing me within six feet of her, but still claims she can easily smell this fragrance on me.

I have been following Robert Elder for some time. Been a fan of his work since the beginning and appreciating the work he has done with these recent releases. This fragrance is probably my favorite all around, but I believe Espresso is my favorite. The problem with that one is that it is very true to its name which limits the signature quality this one possesses. This fragrance opens with a decadent blackberry/fruity note. It isn't fruity floral and neither is it really jammy. It is very natural as in squeezed juice. This is accompanied by a jasmine and vanilla sweetening things up but again it doesn't go fruity floral and neither does go feminine. For some reason it stays purely unisex and I believe that is do to the Tonka and grass sort of giving it an unusual yet appealing aroma. This has spring written all over it, yet the way Kilian would do a spring fragrance. It is as if Tom Ford and Kilian set in a room and decided to do a joint effort. The longevity seems relatively good though I only have a dabber. The same goes for the projection, but since it is not a spray it is hard to call. I would give this high marks for uniqueness yet wearability. I would give this high marks for the risk taken yet the pleasing aroma it creates. Finally I find it quite versatile from a season perspective though I don't find as a masculine signature. Great job Robert and I look forward to seeing this line infiltrate the ranks of great niche houses.

I received a sample of this recently, and because i loved the name, it was the first i tried of the 5 from Sebastiane. These are my initial impressions, which i might later edit. Opening with a beautiful bouquet of florals, which i love, the amber and vanilla are there immediately too, making it warm, sweet and comforting. Not fruity sweet, like some designer offerings to entrance teenagers and young women, but a warmth, a cosiness, rather than outright sugar. I do love a bold floral though, and this has got it. I can't really comment on sillage, as i was using a dabber vial, and i feel projection and sillage are somewhat limited, when you can't do a liberal squirt from an atomiser, however the longevity is amazing. I applied this after a bath, before bed, and when i got up the next morning, i was enveloped in a leathery, balmy, almost resinous cocoon. It was noticeable enough that my husband commented. The sillage and projection were more apparent the following day. I am not a fan of leather, but Sebastiane has the knack of either masterfully blending it so that it enhances the other notes, or he just barely adds any. Either way, his skills with leather are second to none. I am very impressed with this fragrance, and seriously considering a full bottle.

I agree with Black Russian. I do not know where the others have gotten their bottles from, but it was NOT from Sebastiane.... This fragrance is a beautiful, wondrous fragrance that blends such fresh, natural notes with lovely fluffy notes blended into perfection. After obtaining decants from the house itself, I had to have a bottle of this immediately! Please try to at least sample this one. UPDATE: After having fallen completely in LOVE with this fragrance, I had to update my initial review. I am not sure if it was "October" temps that I made me think this was "fluffy"....but since I have been wearing this so much in December now there is nothing fluffy about it. It rich, rich, RICH and deep. I truly believe this to be my new favorite winter fragrance. I have so many that I try to use them at least once during the season. I have now worn this one 3 times in one month. I cannot stop reaching for it. There WILL be a back-up bottle coming to me very soon. I don't think I could live without it!