Black Wood 黑木

The higher my expectation was when I was reading the notes pyramid, the greater my disappointment is after testing it. When I read the top notes, I was expecting a fresh clean and soapy opening, which in reality I do not get at all. The opening on paper is strangely sour, mixed with a medicinal bitterness, which stands out more on my skin. On my skin, the opening reminds me of mothballs. No fresh juicy bergamot, no soapy petitgrain or orange blossom. Cardamon and saffron are both the main characters as it develops. The fresh spicy cardamon is well mixed with the leathery saffron. It is simply good, but not very special. Strangely, I also smell rose, although it is not listed. However, the rose here smell cheap and synthetic, it is sweet and jammy, like the typical rose note you get in those cheap perfumes. The drydown is woody and green; however, in an unpleasant way. It smells damp and earthy on my skin, more like rotten branches and leaves in a botanic garden. The performance is even more disappointing. It is very weak in terms of both longevity and sillage. I have tested three perfumes from Uttori featuring tea notes, and unfortunately, none of them really impresses me.