Black Steel

Grown on me significantly over the last 24 hours. I read that one of my favorite fragrance reviewers (Sebastian Jara/ThePerfumeGuy) gave it a recommendation some time back, so quickly nabbed a bottle off Amazon for $15. Smells like The One EDT with extra black pepper and that unique larch accord + a bit of smoked pine instead of The One's tobacco-cedar base. It definitely has the same vibe without being a straight-up copy... In fact, I don't think it would be redundant to own both, especially since the performance on this is much better than the D&G (granted, that's a very low bar lol). Someone mentioned that this could be an outdoorsy flanker to the L'Homme Ideal line, and while I've only smelled Extreme, I can kind of see it. Maybe an outdoorsy flanker to The One would be more believable but it's not totally crazy to imagine. Obviously smells far more expensive than the price it can be had at in the US at least, and is absolutely worth getting in the $20 range. Strong recommend from me.

Got mine today and yes, it certainly deserves to receive some praise. it's a very nice fragrance - reminds me slightly of Caron Aimez Moi Comme Je Suis - but this is slightly fresher and less nutty. It's a very warm, woody leather that feels smooth and buttery with a medium level of sweetness. Overall, it's a pretty soft fragrance that could probably be oversprayed without being offensive. The ginger kind of smells like licorice - giving it a bit of an edge. Overall, i'd say i'm thoroughly impressed and surprised by this one. I've tried many of the "cheapies" that get hyped - and for the most part, have been let down, but this one definitely deserves it. 8/10

very nice spicy, sweet, warm scent. the opening in particular is amazing, well balanced spiciness and sweetness reminiscent of la nuit de l'homme. I just wish the ginger and black pepper in the opening lasted a bit more through the dry down, because it gets a little bit too sweet and heavy for me once the ginger and black pepper fade. quite good projection and moderate longevity. If you can get it on clearance at the discounters like I did ($20aud, $14usd) its incredible value.

I was stunned when I tried this blind buy. Right out of the box a really pleasant coniferous fougere, very fresh, masculine, well blended. I paid the equivalent of 13 bucks for this. Thirteen dollares. Insane. It gives some vibes of Bleu de Chanel along with that piney barbershop feeling. Nothing innovative at all, but truly punches way way way above its weight. Rating scent wise: 4,2/5 Rating bang for the buck: 100/10

Bought this for $20 after seeing Sebastian's recommendation on his channel. Man this is great stuff for the price. Spicy woody aromatic with a little ginger zing and booze thrown in. Presentation is solid as well. Not the great longevity or projection, just overspray and you'll be fine. I have a hard time believing this is gonna stay at $20 at discounters for long the more people find out about it.

Beautiful stuff. I like Victorinox knifes and saw that with a price like $11, so gave it a try. Really loved it right from the beginning! To me it's the best ginger scent from what I've tried. Spicy, woody, fougere & not too sweet. Smells natural as well. The projection is quite strong on my skin actually, but longevity could be a bit better. Anyway, I feel I'll wear it quite a lot during Spring.

This is Insanely good for the money. The vibe I get is smokey/incensey dominant with leather in the backround and pepper/ginger spice up top with the perfect level of sweetness. It's really a phenominal dark fragrance in my opinion and a must own for the ones who crave this style. Edited: yes, it's good especially for under $20 but I can't call it a 10/10 so I retracted that from the comment.

Some comments mention a sweetness that is totally absent from my blend of Black Steel. No sweetness here: just a dry piney/leathery/powdery outdoorsy scent. It smells natural and respectable, a true gentleman's scent. The longevity isn't amazing, but it's better than average for Victorinox fragrances, and it's also my favorite scent from them overall.

Sebastian has pull, this scent was not on this site yesterday. I ordered it too, hopefully it's as good as the others he's recommended. *update* Ginger, pepper, and soft leather. I love how this thing has tons of ginger. Beautiful scent once it's been given time to breathe, it really is great quality juice. Does smell more expensive than $20.

Thanks to Sebastian (the perfume guy) for this recommendation. Love the scent.

@AGToth you hit the nail on the head. It reminds me a lot like Egoïste.

Very masculine and pleasant pine smell. An absolute steal.

Masculine, signature scent worthy. Woody Fougere vibes.

If you are buying this as a replacement/alternative to D&G The One, as far as I am concerned, you need to keep looking. Personally, I see little that connects this to The One. For me, The One is a dark, sweet, mildly-performing, citrusy tobacco fragrance. Black Steel is a bit dark and has middling performance, but it lacks anything else that might commend it as a The One alternative. So what is Black Steel? It starts off with slightly smokey pencil shavings. As the pencil shavings back away, the light spices and the smooth leather start to reveal themselves. Buy the time you get to the dry down, the slight sweetness from the almond appears, and you have something that I, at least, was not expecting... A darker, more woody version of La Nuit De L'homme. So, if you are looking for a LNDL alternative that is a) more intimate in projection, b) darker, c) more woody, d) generally a bit more masculine and e) WAY cheaper, go spend your $15 or so on Black Steel. Otherwise, to be honest, it's kind of a pass for me. It's not bad, it's just not something I see myself reaching for all that often. It certainly does not "wow" me as it does a few fragrance influencers. I have other fragrances in the woody+spicy category that I prefer. Also, Black Steel becomes a skin scent pretty quickly. That said, it is detectable through a work day, so, longevity is actually decent if you over-spray a bit My theory of use would be this. In the autumn, if you wear Quorum Silver to work, you'd probably come home and put on Black Steel for the evening. They are in the same price range. They have the same basic, woody, pencil shavings "spine." They both have some spice. Quorum is stronger and "brighter." Black Steel is darker and more intimate in terms of performance-- more in the "on the couch with the lady" range in terms of sillage compared with QS.

VICTORINOX as a fragrance house is probably THE MOST slept on hidden gem fragrance house currently. These fragrances have no business being $10 - $20. I will be prefacing all these with same introduction because all 5 of the fragrances I bought from Victorinox are GREAT. Every single one of them. So this is another example of a fragrance smelling quite different on Skin than on the Tester Strip. On paper, the Ginger pops quite heavily in the opening. There’s quite a bit of fresh spicy nuance, that leads into a very confident Leather and Woody masculine scent. The One DNA is definitely present, but while the opening and heart is similar, Black Steel goes a different direction. This fragrance quickly leaves that fresh spicy Ginger in the opening and takes a back seat to a very pronounced Woody note, on skin especially there is a STRONG hint of Pencil Shaving type wood. Very naturalistic and raw. Not quite sure what “Larch” smells like but based on the description, I do believe it lends itself to that woody aroma. This, like most of the Victorianox fragrance have a very “clean cut” feel. They all share the same “put together” kinda vibe. This is a business man who has his shit together, going out in the city at night to blow off some steam. It’s sexy, but esteemed. Really great for dates and night outs. Performance is average little above average, the sillage diminishes after 1.5 hours or so and sticks pretty close to the skin, but I still catch whiffs around the 8 hour mark. If you want something in the vein of The One with better performance and a little more of a Woody Masculine vibe, this is perfect for you. Very reliable, definitely signature scent worthy. 7.5/10

* Novel aromatic fougere/leather hybrid fragrance * Strong blend of slightly sweet, spicy, herbal and sweet leather aromas * Notes of sweet leather, herbs, pine needles, vanilla, florals and candied ginger * A leather fragrance for those who despise leather fragrances * Great for male users of all ages * Equally good for professional and social occasions * Drugstore price * Name is misleading * Not good for female users * Average performer * Leather fragrance lovers may be put off by the softness and the sweetness of the leather here * Classic dry "barbershop" fougere lovers may be put off by this Victorinox's Black Steel is touted online as a Dolce & Gabbana The One replacement. Why, I'll never know. They are complete separate beasts. The One is more of a Christmas Pudding with sweet spices whereas Black Steel is a leather and aromatic fougere hybrid. It's a strong blend of slightly sweet, spicy, herbal and sweet leather aromas from which you'll get specific notes of sweet leather, herbs, pine needles, vanilla, and candied ginger. This makes for a great fragrance combination, though the key here is the soft and sweet leather note. Traditional leather users may want a much stronger leather fragrance. Fougere lovers may want something drier. It's good for men of all ages and will surprisingly work for all occasions, be they social or formal. Women are not advised to use this, nor are male users who love strong leather notes or classic dry "barbershop" style fougeres. This is a very pleasant scent for a steal of a price. Performance is average so expect to have to overspray and respray. It's very unique even for a drugstore level fragrance. Recommended.

When I first stumbled on this fragrance in some forum discussions, I looked it up and was intrigued based on the reviews and the price point. Few days ago I spotted it in a nearby store for 20CAD, and picked it up immediately. At that price point it was a safe blind buy. I wasn't disappointed. The opening, albeit a bit synthetic, is fresh and you get that ginger immediately. My favourite part is the middle though, it very sophisticated and tasty in the middle. The dry down is slightly sweet but still very classy, a bit dated in feel but good nonetheless. To my nose, the dry down is extremely similar to Davidoff Adventure. This lasts a while but is very intimate and close to the skin frag, which I like, frankly. If this frag projected like crazy it would be a no go for me. It works perfectly when you don't want that typical blue/freshie after shower spray. Some days you want to throw on something else. This fits that bill. Its mild and inoffensive so on cold winter nights could easily be worn after shower before getting in bed. It's cozy and mildly seductive. Were this an expensive bottle, it wont be raved about as much, but at this price point it is a great value proposition and a good addition to any man's collection.

Blind bought this after watching Sebastian's review on Youtube. Nice looking bottle and pretty good sprayer. Very inexpensive (I found it for less than $25 cad). It's nice but light right from the get-go with little projection. You'll need many sprays because it is quite weak. Maybe I got a bad batch. Unfortunately, I can barely smell anything after 10 or 15 minutes no matter how much I spray. It's a shame because it actually smells good. It does transform into a delicious, fresh skin scent... as though you've just washed your hands with some very good-smelling soap. It's a good office scent. Not sure if I'd buy this again (even at the low price) given its poor performance... will have to test it many more times in the next coming weeks. I get the comparison by some reviewers to D&G The One... but this is more like D&G The One watered down.

Got this at around 15 - 20 Euro and I must say: at that price, it's an absolutely steal. Starts off with a blast of alcohol, followed by mild pepper, subtle ginger, a whiff of almond and a little hint of pine and florals. I personally have not been able to pick up on the leather note. While the notes may imply a fairly dense scent, Black Steel is pretty light and airy. It's almost like a distant cousin of Guerlain's l'Homme Ideal line (though younger and with a less luxurious upbringing), but it still has its own character. Works in most seasons and occasions and lasts for a good few (3-4) hours. A great dumb reach at a low price. Definitely a keeper.

It's a Nice Scent , Warm, Spicy and Elegant. If you like The One , You will like Black Steel. I bought it blind-buy after reading the positive comments and I watched reviews on YouTube. It opens up with a bit sweet fresh spicy , woody and leathery notes in the background then dry down is semi sweet warm spicy and woody. This is perfect for the spring, fall and winter. Longevity is Average. I really enjoy it when the weather is cool. Highly Recommend. Special Thanks to Sebastian On YouTube. Thumbs Up Rating : 8 / 10

First impression, oh snap! It's different, snappy, manly, swiss quality, happy days! Best suited for colder weather, but could pull off on a cool/breezy summer day/evening. Go to Victorinox website for a better note breakdown than fragnitica. Good performance, total 4 sprays on clothes and skin for me personally, I like an arms length bubble, but just over spray if you want to feel extra :-)

first impression: not good on my skin... has a sharp almost clove-like mid to drydown...on fabric/test strip u get the pepper in opening with a slight 'zing'..leather in the background...pretty much it..for 20 bucks its ok to blind buy...but best to try on your skin..

Its a pleasant scent. smells like a lighter version of zadig and volaire's This is Him. Not as loud and settles into a skin scent fast. if you like this type of DNA but dont like how strong This is Him can be, this one is perfect. Its like the quiet studious brother.

I guess it’s discontinued so a little bit of a moot point—but this is solid as shit. Moderate spice and a good amount of depth to it. I agree with whoever said Woody fougere.

Beautiful, a bit airy, I was hoping for a bit denser fragrance but nonetheless it's a nice fragrance, can't speak of longevity or silage as I just got my bottle

It reminds me a lot of Chanel Egoïste OG.

I recently purchased, Black Steel, Wood and Quartz on eBay for less than £35 combined. All three are perfectly pleasant but I think, this is probably as far as any praise can go. What I'm reminded of in all 3 is the classic Adidas fragrances from the 90's and early 00's, the sort of teenage starter pack stuff when first exploring the world of fragrance and you don't have a lot of money. As this review concerns Black Steel, I would add that this is probably my favourite of the three purchased, I get full appreciation of the spicy opening, Ginger particularly prominent to my nose. I also get a sense of the leather. I think someone else mentioned not knowing what Larch smells like below and I concur, there is a sweetness after a while which I have to assume is coming from the almond. This isn't in a typical Marzipan style but more general vanillic which isn't listed but what I detect after some time. Again, there is nothing wrong with this at all but equally, I would say that paying more than 10-15 of any major currency will likely leave you feeling somewhat aggrieved since there are better more niche like offerings out there.

Ignore the advertised notes. If you hadn't read them, you never would pick up smoky pine or black pepper. In fact, if you didn't know what you were smelling, you would probably think this is a clone of La Nuit de la Homme. This is extremely soft both in character and projection, with cardamom, ambery vanilla, light fruitiness, very faint woods that lean toward sandalwood, and probably a bit of patchouli. I don't personally like LNDLH-style fragrances that much, so this doesn't do it for me, but if that kind of thing works for you, you could do a lot worse for $15 (especially since this outlasts LNDLH by an hour or so). Edit: I got a bottle of this in June 2026, so if it is discontinued, it may still be available for a while.

I bought my bottle in a Victorinox store in store and I paid 89 CHF for it. After reading some of the reviews below, I admit that if I could spend only 20$ for it, I would have a slightly different opinion about this perfume. The opening is fresh and spicy, with a hint of sweetness. It's pleasant. Then the leather and woody notes come into play. They bring this fresh warm feeling. I personally find the drydown gorgeous. It's woody, spicy but not too heavy. However, the performance is disappointing. It's weak, and it lasts very short. Considering the price, I think it's a huge disappointment.

I subscribe to Medellinin review fully, replaces D&G The One with way better materials and projection, while keeping in line with the intended effect. I can smell this off my arm for hours. I had a few from this brand that performed poorly, like Steel and Wood, but my signature perfume "Unlimited" and this one are good scents.

Nice masculine scent but my farts last longer. It opens with a pleasant ginger and black pepper blast. Unfortunately it doesn't last. The dry down is a potent combination of distilled water and helium. Save your money.

Smells like it’s saying buy a warm sweater then spray me lol if you know you know. Overall though ok just not versatile at all. Very plain and basic sweetness 6.5/10

I completely agree with @Danitom and @Sean Shahri’s reviews below. Very underwhelming. Do not pay over $15 for this.

I contacted the manufacturer about production and retail. Here's their answer Due to ongoing major challenges and low sales volumes, the distribution of our fragrance category has been discontinued at the end of December 2024. The remaining perfume stocks will continue to be sold in Victorinox retail stores as long as stocks last and subject to expiration dates. We are sorry not to be able to give you a better answer and thank you for your comprehension. Kind regards Silvia Wunderlich Quality Management & Customer Service Customer Assistance Administrator In other words, this cheapie wont be here for long

this is NOT a dupe of D&G the one, not even close. This is twin brother of Drakkar Intense but less performance and silage. to be quite honest, they discontinued and deservedly so because of the low sale numbers, that are a nice reflection on the low quality. The scent itself is nothing out of the ordinary, this was a blind buy and to be quite honest, im rather disappointed. Your generic supermarket air freshner has more longevit. I Spend 13,50€ and if I had spent 5€ would still not been worth the money so yeah, Glad they discontinued this crap. Buy CK shock and you will be satisfied

Also bought this on Sebastian's recommendation. This almost smells like it could be a flanker in the Guerlain L'homme Ideal line. It's like a more masculine outdoorsy budget version of a L'homme Ideal scent. Somewhere between the OG and L'intense. It does open with a very stereotypical men's cheap "cologne" smell in my opinion, but that does subside in the drydown. Once the almond, leather, and pine come out it becomes quite a pleasant frag. Perfect for the crisp, cool fall air that we have right now. For ~$20 it's a great cheapie blind buy.

A nice warm fall weather scent. The opening is a bit synthetic but pleasant and it quickly fades to a beautiful drydown reminiscent of the one but slightly warmer and more woodsy, and yes ever so slightly synthetic. I was very busy the first day I tested n I sprayed on at 3pm and at 1 am when I got home my gf said she really liked my new cologne so longevity is great off my skin. The projection is also good I kept catching whiffs of it thru the day as I moved back and forth working. Overall I'd give this am 8 out of 10

This is not a well rounded fragrance. I get the sweet leather and that’s about it. Very dull and not complex whatsoever. It doesn’t smell bad by any means but there is really no need to wear it if you have a decent leather fragrance. I’m having a hard time justifying space for it in my collection. I’m afraid this one is doomed for the waste bucket.

I hear his review as a bit rushed. For example he keeps repeating the same adjectives. No doubt he likes the fragrance but the video has a tinge of checking a box to prove a point (I can like a cheapie). But this juice is 40-80 bucks in Switzerland. I'd surely try it but can't find it any shop.

Blind bought this for $9 a bottle, wasn't expecting much. I gotta say this juice is REALLY good.....may have to buy a few more!!!!! If you like DG The One it's a no brainer!!!! Similar but different.

MASCULINE! My dad really liked this one even though he usually hates fragrances, so that says something. I dont know about projection or longevity, but It doubt its much

Wonderful fragrance. Lasts all day on me and heavily discounted at the moment. Not worth 75 pounds but great value at 9.95. Definately get the DG Tge One vibe from it

Woody sweet Spicy leather. Nothing special but smells good and decent. Cheap and can last half a day.