Black (for women and men)

Tarya

Miss Shalimar wears a rubbersuit.
I had just a high expectations for this perfume(and not only because this had 5 stars on the book Perfumes -the Guide by Sanchez and Turin) And 'cause I usually like strong and loud perfumes (opium, poison, balahe back in the 80's) This just doesn't settle nicely to my skin and doesn't smell pleasant nor interesting. Strange combination of vanilla and rubber.

gesch

I really tried to like this - the concept was so special.but after the initial whiff it became only vanilla with some rubber-wood on me. pitty!

mushichka

it is much more masculine than i expected. interesting scent for sure, but needs to be tried for longer before buying. initially i had just a 3 ml vial and was in love with it but later on the rubber came too strong for me and nowdays i cant stand it.

mariotgomez

I consider this my "urban" scent. It's Friday and I will be staying in the city (San Francisco) after work to have drinks with friends. This scent can take me from office to going out with friends to a bar.

sabel

Tried this one yesterday in a shop. I couldn't really make out any notes, it stayed the same the whole time i wore it. I can't say what it was that made me go home and scrub it right off, i felt slightly nauscious. Maybe the car tiers- rubber-feeling. My man liked it on me though.

annehke

I suppose my review will differ from all the others....just love the Crash reference andyray...

To start, the opening notes are thin and watery, and I kept thinking of licorice! In the top notes comes this scent of rubber, and itś so right on-a perfect smell of rubber tires and road tar. The rubber scent fades quickly and the perfume becomes intensely sweet on me, with many spicy notes dancing around in the sweetness! I am going to try this for a longer period, and see if I can discern the other notes listed in the pyramid, and all this sexy magnetism most reviewers are talking about!

andyray

Genius!!

With reference to the late,great J.G. Ballard: I can imagine that if this masterpiece had been created in 1996/7, then the wonderfully erotic, James Spader could have worn this perfume playing 'James Ballard' in David Cronenburg's adaptation of the author's 'Crash'.

I normally write quite long reviews, though this fragrance does its own talking!! Annnick Mernardo has created one of the all-time iconic perfumes that, in breaking the rules, gives us an hermaphrodite scent of such originality, complexity and sexiness, that it is simply awe-inspiring!! One of the best, ever. Period!

For the descriptive account, see all the great reviews below.

Andyray

twinklestar.pa

I'm a novice to the analysis of perfumes but read "Perfumes" by Luca Turin & Tania Sanchez. That inspired me to try Bvlgari Black, which they listed as a woman's fragrance due to its sweet amber notes. They did say that many thought it masculine, or unisex. I only smelled rubber once, the 1st time I used it. It was a strong note on that occasion. When applied, it was interesting, then it faded to a mildly powdery scent (to my nose) that I could hardly smell. Next day I doused myself and could still not appreciate the scent, or perhaps only rarely.
I think I'll hand this to my husband and try something else. If you want something subtle and not fruity or flowery, this could be nice for you. I love the hockey-puck bottle.

woodlandwalk

I know this perfume very well. It used to be a kind of signature scent for me, but now I'm not so sure. I wonder if they've changed it because it used to blend more. Maybe just changing skin chemistry. Now what I smell is a touch of furniture polish. I still like the salty quality - not sure what causes that. I wouldn't like this on a man I don't think, but then I haven't smelled it on a man. My ex boyfriend adored this. He insisted on keeping the old bottles when I'd finished them so he could sniff it it when I wasn't there!.
By the way it's not really meant to be rubber, I think that's just the advertising to appeal to men as it's meant to be unisex - it's lapsang souchong, which is reminiscent of smoky tires.

Try this for an afternoon pick me up - make a pot of loose leaf earl grey tea and add just a tiny sprinkle of lapsang souchong - beautifully refreshing.

deonplayground

I absolutely love this fragrance...so unique. One of my favourites.

Perfumedsecrets

I don't smell rubber, but I do detect a smokey wood scent. Like firewood.... and I feel it's a cooler weather scent for that reason. I like it even more on men because it's interesting and unique. I'd rather smell something this complex which draws you in.

jasonx

I tested this one side by side with Lolita Lempicka au Masculin. This one is really like a water down version of Lolita dry down and not as interesting, deep and rich plus a little salty effect. Kinda boring,just like all of Bvlgary scents.

guest_Nitequeen

This one smells great on my boyfriend and it's definetly masculine.. don't let the leather note scare yea cuz that's what makes it sexy on men with the dry-down of amber, vanilla and sandalwood ...very unique

albania9diadem

HORRIBLE!! Smells like a tire that's run over a bottle of medicine and wilted flowers. Its loud and unusual and not in a good way. Huge disappointment.

orbicon

Hot rubber with a soft amber and vanilla drydown. This is such an unsusual scent. Nothing else like it. Another Bvlgari original.

NebraskaLovesScent

I think you'll either like Bvlgari Black right away, or you won't ever like it at all. It doesn't strike me as a taste that you can acquire if it didn't make a positive first impression.

I loved it the first time I tried it on my skin. It is warm and comforting and sexy, but at the same time, unique and avant garde. I don't get a pronounced rubber note from this one, just something a bit sweet, a bit chemical-smelling, but very pleasant and short-lived. After that, Black becomes a honeyed floral with wafts of powdery amber.

I do think this is a unisex scent, and I recognized it as one that a male friend of mine wears, but my husband felt it was too sweet for his own use.

It's easily tested at a department store or via a sample vial. Give it a good try on your skin to determine if it suits you.

azuriiita

Very interesting fragrance, and definitively a good unisex :) Its really sexy.
A very good and appropriate selection for relaxing and confident people... i like it a lot, i want it¡¡¡ :)

missk

Everytime I see this fragrance in the stores it is almost always placed in the male fragrance department. For people that don't follow fragrances like a religion, one would assume that it is a male fragrance rather than a unisex scent.

I was compelled to try Bvlgari Black after reading that it was a popular and unique fragrance which women seemed to enjoy wearing. As a fan of everything unique, I tried this in a store yesterday. I was not game to spray on my skin, so I tried it on a tester card.

There was an immediate blast of sharp rubber and leather, which left me surprised but not repulsed. However, in only a few minutes the scent changed to a sweet honey and car tyre rubber scent. I was horrified by this combination. Before this fragrance had become repulsive, I would have suggested that Bvlgari Black was a unique and masculine perfume, but the sweetness of the honey made it, in my opinion, far too sweet for a man and too disgusting for a woman to wear.

I've never had such a bad reaction to fragrance in my life. With every sniff I would shudder, gag and almost pass out. Perhaps this is one of those love it or hate it type of fragrances. There is no doubt that I absolutely hated this.

mirror

I know I wrote a positive review earlier but I since then I have only wore it once and I am never going to again!

When it had completely dried down the rubber went almost completely away when I sampled it on my arm. That's why my first review was positive. But when actually wearing, it gets on your clothes and the rubber is present all day.
Basically I smelled like I've had a rub fest with car tires and added a tiny bit of vanilla.
I did not feel comfortable wearing it and neither did the people around me. It is the first perfume ever that I got negative comments on.
I had some males testing it because I wanted to give it to them. None of them liked it and honestly I did not like it on men either...

My advice: If you are looking for that dark, misterious and dusty kind of sexy definitely go for STRIP instead of black!

Brumen

In Italy is not available, in a trip i've found it in Madrid. It's very elegant e precious, like the bottle a fantastic idea. I bought all in shop ahahahhah :)

Mals86

I took a big chance and tried Black recently, and was so impressed that I bought a mini. It's totally fascinating: tea! smoke! leather! rubber! vanilla! amber! Whoever thought this baby up was a GENIUS. Yeah, it's that good.

I'm normally a Floral Girl -- in fact, the girlier the better, in terms of fragrances -- but I think this one is truly unisex. (Just reading over the reviews here, I notice that some say "can't imagine this on a man" and some "can't imagine this on a woman," which is a great indication that it could swing either way, depending on your perception.) On me, it mostly circles through tea/amber and vanilla, with brief stops at "new bicycle tire" rubber. The leather, wood, and jasmine stay faint and constant underneath.

It is surprisingly sexy. I would think that it would be too much in hot weather, but for cold weather it's very enjoyable.

mirror

Indeed it is mysterious. It is only for winter use though, maybe a cold autumn day but it will definitely make you sick if it is not cold and foggy!
But if the day and occasion it right the fragrance can be unusually beautiful; dark, warm and seductive.
Btw I hate the way it smells for the first hour or so. The rubber is way too dominant then.
I guess I wouldn't like it on a man, there is too much vanilla.

Miss_Nightingale

Unusual and very niche, this is a feral vanilla with smoke & exotic tea. The idea of the rubber note worried me a little, but this isn't a dripping wetsuit rubber, it's far more refined, and the vanilla & tea are the predominant notes for me. I really like this, it dries down to a subtle powdered amber with pure vanilla bean and wafts of resinous smoke. As others have noted, Bvlgari are masters of blending, a truly classy perfume house who aren't afraid to push the boat out of the safe waters so many modern perfume houses paddle around in.

I got the chance to try this because Boggi was lovely enough to send me a decant from her new bottle. Thank you, Boggi - this now goes on my wants list! :)

OdeKlotyo

Black is a rich, mysterious scent with a distinct edginess, wherein the creamy sweetness of vanilla, amber and tree resins glows from beneath a veil of a purported black tea note, lending a smoky tartness.
Another great concept fragrance by Bulgari which I consider one of the best non-niche fragrance brands nowadays because of the vast amount of creativity and uncompromised high quality which is reflected in their products, while maintaining an image of reserved luxury and class that is free from hype.

Boggi

I deleted my old review because it was a poor attempt to review this top perfume;
I tested it in a store before christmas. After that I bought a mini and now I finally have a big bottle. This one is a very unique scent and could might as well come from a niche brand and be very exepencive. Black is climbing very high on my favorite list.
To me it is masculine, but I dare to wear it anyway. The rubber smell is strange, but at the same time very sexy. A sweet, funky smell I love to sniff on my jacket when I go out the door. Very high coolness factor.

snobuni77

Ahh Yes this is wonderful.Creamy...rubber & vanilla.I do think this is more for a women but I would still eat a man up that had this on.

The bottle reminds me of a race car wheel centered with glass & maybe that is why the leather smells like rubber to me but either way it is delightful

The florals in this are light but they do exist & sit quietly behind the vanilla rubbery lusciousness.....

Grrrr is right F_A ;)

leonora84

One of my fellows bought this for himself, on my advice. I wanted this too, but I was afraid of a real unisex fragrance. It was so unoffensive on him, that I bought it too. In Hungary it is extremely cheap in discount stores. i think that's because it is too manly for women, and too feminine for men. At least they think so. I never dare to wear it out of my home, but it is such a long-lasting comforting sandalwoody vanilla, that I should try it "in real life" too. I have a big tester bottle of this, and I treasure it. Maybe one day, as I will feel myself totally feminine and sexy, I will wear this, because it's not for those days, where you are not uber-femme. It Has a masculine edge, but a good one. I rather feel play-doh, no rubber.

asilverfire614

My favorite Bvlgari scent thus far out of what I've tried (all the Omnias, BLV, BLV Notte) and I LOVE it!!

The first five minutes of rubber & smoke are, in my opinion, the only masculine part of this fragrance. I don't mind them, I actually like them because it reminds me a little of the opening of Angel without being as camphorous.

The jasmine, sandalwood, leather, amber, & vanilla take over from there. I smell them all over and over at different times. Each time I smell it I get a different note, and that's one of the things I like about it.

Staying power is great - lasts all day! My boyfriend loves it on me. Try before you buy - but I doubt you'll be disappointed even if you do! :)

PolarBear2

I am a woman who likes wearing Black perfumes. Of all the blacks, this one is for me. I wear suits daily and it just fits me to a T. People associate the perfume with me now and they hardly know it is for men ! Many find it beautiful and sexy. I spray only once in the morning.

LaLoLa

I'm a female and on my skin, there's absolutely nothing rubbery or cloying about this scent. It's a really chic and classy scent, perfectly unisex.

Cassiano

This scent, in my opinion, is the only one of Bvlgaris' that has a long lasting. Its smell is strong and, for me, doesn't fit well in women.
But for men it's great and very classic. Every man that wears this cologne, looks like a great executive of a company. A wonderful combination for suit wearing.

tessture

Goes on very brash, almost cloying. It immediately starts to settle down into a sort of make-up-and-perfume combo. I end up with mostly a lovely rich musk, with the--hallelujah!--promised smoky tea notes, a little oakmoss to keep it like face-powder and the amber vanilla to smooth into velvet. Somewhere along the line there's a black-pepper note that has to be cedar perverted by its companions, but it fades down to the background. Spicy, creamy, round with the rosewood (too bad that's endangered, it's one of my favorite notes,) this is just lovely. I don't know if it's a statement maker, but it's a wrist-sniffer, so who cares? I smell delicious.

Robert White

Simply one of the best out there. Reeks of style, never oppressive, always in good taste (at least to me) This perfume and eyeliner wearin' straight boy says check it out.

asfa

i think tha best perfume for bulgary collection,its so sexy and dark i take it 20 botles+ for shops last 10 years.all mans mast have its in collection for extra nicths.sorry for bad englise

violetteviridian

I finally had the guts to test this one out yesterday. After all the bad reviews I had read online I was hesitant to subject myself to being repulsed by the burned rubberlike scent everyone seems so het up about. So, needless to say I didn't think I would love it. WOW! I was SOOOOO wrong! It's fabulous! something about my chemistry turns it wonderfully. Yes, I did totally detect the burned rubber thing at first- but it seems far more floral than like actual rubber. The fresh top notes of bergamot and tea seem to bring you back for seconds... you keep after the attempt to identify the origin of just "what in the woooorld!" are you smelling? The mid notes of jasmine, sandalwood and cedar intensified on me and lasted all day. While the base notes added a sexy allure to it's earthy sweet/spicy dry down. Absolutely stunning and completely captivating. Bvlgari's Black is unlike anything i've ever worn and I am HOOKED! Wear this anytime you want to be totally original and unforgettable.

ccr727

I picked up this cologne simply because I liked the bottle. I've also worn another Bvlgari scent before and it was great. It works for me. I'm not good at describing scents so I looked up the notes on Fragrantica to see what it was all about. This is a good a place to find out about colognes for guys like me who know little about whats in a cologne. I guess the leather and the scents of car tires and woods is what I like so I made a good choice. I'll rate it a 4out of 5.

melozberk

I like this perfume so much since years, never substituted with anything else. I like to wear on me rather than smelling on a man. For me it's very sincere and warm, spicy but definitely without being sweet. It reminds me my childhood days, smelling the tea-cake cooking in the oven. Very cosy and inviting.

m_pooka

One of the best fragrances for the night. Very sober, manly delicate and warm. My girlfriend loves it on my skin.

asfa

very good very sexy,its perfume for sexy and mysterious nichts

kurisu

This one is really unique.
It start with citrus note...then some note like rubber...and dry down is vanilla.Not a sweet vanilla but dark.
Just suit the name "Black".The staying power is very good. I don't like it at first but after smell the dry down.I would like to try again.Just give some time, and let it develop on your skin.Worth a try.

woogyjones50

Wow! There is nothing quite like this perfume. I think Aeternitas hit it right on the head by describing this scent as edgy. What a perfect word to describe it...leather, vanilla, the masculinity of the scent that somehow still works for a woman. I don't get anything flowery from this one. Black isn't for someone who loves a delicate, flowery scent! Sexy and intriguing.

If you haven't tried this yet, give it a try and give it a chance to 'settle' on your skin. Don't let the first few minutes of it on your skin throw you off. And even if you don't like it, you will have tried a unique fragrance and an excellent example of how a unisex fragrance CAN work on both men and women.

matteomac

The fragrance I was looking for: unusual and really intriguing. Its rubbery smell reminds me of cities at night, of cars, streets, of urban life. It's unique, for a unique man (I'm not sure I'd like this too much on a woman).

jbello

Sexy, dark, leather and Vanilla. There is nothing like this scent and it can be worn by women as well. I purchased it for myself but only for night. You must smell to believe.

F_A

Very nice oriental fragrance! I love it on myself as well as when men wear it. Smokey notes make this perfume mysterious and the smell of leather mixed with vanilla tones makes this fragrance really sexy.rrrr...

Moszatka

I like it, because very spicy and special. Not too sweet. I think it is made for women.

KJanicki

I found it all black rubber and vanilla, like "tires a la mode". A bit too much for the office, but I did feel like the most powerful, sexiest woman alive while I was wearing it. Like Angelie Jolie in black leather.

Natalia78

I want to buy it for my boyfriend.this is an essence of man and a fast car stapled together.Extraordinary fragrance!

Aeternitas

I have yet to meet a Bvlgari fragrance I don't like. I am in love with this stuff! It's amazing. It's edgy and sexy, especially on a woman because it has that bit of masculine strength to it. I can't stress enough my love for unisex fragrances. It does smell rubbery due to the leather note, and that's what makes it so unique. Black is very warm, smooth, and comforting. I can also detect the vanilla and green tea. A gorgeous creation! I think most people would recommend this for winter, but I love this enough to wear through the summer.

Aiona

My husband and I had a giggle with this perfume. I tried it on my wrist today, and, at first I thought I might like it. It's not floral fruity; that's for sure. But. . . after a weird mosquito repellent top-note phase, I could swear it smells exactly like the generic baby wipes that one can buy at Wal-Mart. I mentioned it to my husband, and he sniffed and agreed, "Yeah, that smells like *bleep*-ing baby wipes," and encouraged me to toss the cotton ball sampler out (cuz I couldn't toss my wrist out) of the car.

mariotgomez

Bvlgari black was the first introduction to the Bvlgari fragrances. I can’t remember if it was the scent or the bottle that enticed me. I like this scent because of the leather, amber, vanilla and green tea notes.

cocomademoisellerie

I really adore this scent, not on me, but on my boyfriend...it´s very unusual, warm and sexy for both sexes..but all in all I would say it works better on men, with his sharp rubber stuff in it.