Black Iris Men

I would consider this a good candidate for an "evening out" fragrance. It's stately, refined, and a little sweet, and the notes lend it a very slight semi-boozy feel. Weirdly, once the initial nutmeg-bomb opening calms down, I get Invictus Victory vibes from it - but with natural fragrances instead of aroma chemicals, and a slightly more "grown up" sensibility. It's definitely not a one-to-one match, but it does evoke the qualities that I like in Invictus Victory: it's woody, dusty, a bit leathery, just a little musky... and it smells great. As a point of clarification, I say it is a "social event" fragrance because it is (1) classy, (2) intimate, and, unfortunately, (3) has a slightly disappointing longevity. Thus, in a position where you want to draw others in, but only for a few hours (3-4 on my skin, 5ish on my clothes), this would really fit the bill. All told, this feels to me like the "grown-ass man" version of the more youthful-leaning, sweet "date night" scents, and I like it quite a lot. If you like things like Encre Noir and Invictus Victory, and wouldn't mind experiencing the best of those two fragrances meeting up (minus a fair bit of longevity), this is one that I can highly recommend. Also, discounters seem to be off-loading it pretty cheaply (it retails in the $100 range, I got mine for about $40), so it's a good buy now (Dec 2022), too. 8.5/10

Black Iris smells more complex than its notes would suggest. It is rather a more intimate scent than powerful, but I think that is in character for this kind of fragrance. I love nutmeg and am thrilled with how it’s used here, combining with the iris to give a dusty mild sweetness. Cedar and leather are in the background providing depth and masculine character. This one is easily found on discounters right now for decent prices. Beautiful, a bit mysterious, a good alternative to more common “date fragrances”. Quality offering.

Got a tester for cheap after being intrigued by the name, packaging, and notes listed. Unfortunately, I was pretty let down. Despite it's name, 80% of what I get here is nutmeg. And make no mistake: the nutmeg isn't just a top note, it stays around for the entire duration. Not a bad smell at all-- just not what it's advertised as. The sweetness and earthiness tracks a little too old for me as well. This is not the sitting-in-an-herbalists-garden-in-Beijing type of oriental scent, this is sitting-in-your-grandmas-outdated-kitchen-as-she-makes-snickerdoodles type of oriental. I wouldn't ever use this for a date fragrance personally (unless I knew my date had a baking fetish or something). Maybe I just don't like iris as much as I thought I did? Or maybe this just shouldn't be marketed as a male frag.

I knew I would love Black Iris Men Shanghai Tang as I read the ingredients...as I adore nutmeg and Iris scents, but I was rather disappointed upon purchase... It's not that the cologne smells horrible...I guess I was thinking it would be a little more robust vs. so intimate as DrNDJas so articulately describes below. I will let the bottle sit for awhile, and then come back to it.