Les 4 Saisons: Black Sea M. Micallef for women and men

My first foray through the house of Micallef has been a felicitous one! BLACK SEA is a real beauty to my nose. Although at the very opening I thought that this might be a run-of-the-mill sandalwood/cinnamon oriental, as the perfume developed, and the saffron emerged to play a central role, I became more and more smitten with this scent, which definitely seems unisex to me.

The blend is perfect, with none of the notes overwhelming the others but saffron always shining through. I do not find the clove at all loud, and I am hypersensitve to clove, so that means something... In the end, I have to say that this is one of the better saffron orientals I've sniffed, and I do recommend it to anyone who loves saffron as a note in woody oriental perfumes. I do not think that this is the most revolutionary or original composition, but the drydown is just great! Excellent longevity, too.

This is a very intriguing fragrance. I tried it the last 3 days and I am torn between loving it and hating it.
The opening is quite soapy, but in a chemical way, like savon de marseille with lavender. But it has an artificial boldness which I find very sexy.
Then it becomes less sharp, and I feel warm, animalic notes, which is surprising after such an synthetic opening. It's probably the cloves.
Later on, the next surprise: I get spices, but above all... paprika.

This review is for Sashka Black, which I believe is classified as unisex. Since it's not listed in fragrantica's database yet, I thought I'd put it here.

SB is powerful and dense. One spray should be enough for most people. The amber or whatever it is (perhaps combined with benzoin, opopanax, vanilla, etc.) is really heavy. I don't think I've ever sampled a fragrance that feels this heavy, actually. There also seems to be lavender, some spice, and a mossy element, but it's not blended so that they are easy to detect. What's odd is how it seems to take me to the edge of nausea, but then it backs off. I then forget about it a while, and at some point I think it's pleasant. But then at some point it seems to be on the road to making me nauseous again. And the cycle keeps repeating. I think I will dilute this one before I try it again. If and when I do that, I'll update this review.

It's natural smelling and strong. I guess it would be best for romantic occasions, but I'd want to know if the other person liked it first. Otherwise, you might be accomplishing the opposite of what you intended! I'd compare this to some of the niche amber fragrances, such as Ambre Sultan, on the one hand, and Versailles Pour Homme on the other (though they don't have the strong lavender). VPH is quite dense too, but is more focused on spices, not the thick, syrupy amber element.

There is such a symetrical,almost perfect blending of notes the lines seen to become blurred when the long anticipated middle notes arrives and all continues in harmony. To flow from top note to dry down is no mean feat.
Being an advocate of any fragrance with guaic wood I crave that first sense of its arrival. The spices saffron and floral notes blend beautifully. I honestly cannot tell where the top notes stop and the middle notes begin. The drydown eases in almost on tiptoe and lingers. I can see why I am hard pressed to make this my favorite perfume - for now.