Carbone de Balmain Pierre Balmain for men

If you truly enjoy unusual fragrances, this one is for you! I blind-bought a reasonably priced tester a month or so ago and it is a true powerhouse of wood, smoke and incense. Of course, I've never sniffed a Balmain that I didn't like so it wasn't much of a risky blind buy for me.

I don't get the "barbecued beef" odor that others perceive but the pepper, elemi resin and incense do combine to create a "smoke from a camp fire" feeling which I like very much. And I agree with reviewer Rob Frost who says he gets a whiff of "pencil shavings", which I like very much also and normally only get from cedar notes - and I don't see cedar listed among Carbone's notes - go figure.

Not that I can parse them out individually but I suspect the ivy and fig notes are what lighten what could have been a solidly bitter mixture. In the midst of the smoke there's a watery/juicy freshness that makes it perfectly appropriate on my female skin.

A few sprays last 8-10 hours on me and I notice the scent in rooms I've walked through as I move about the house (haven't worn this one out in public yet).

I like Carbone a lot; I think it smells great. The best way I can think of to describe this scent is to say that it reminds me a lot of pencil shavings (with just a faint touch of balmy sweetness added).

I'm surprised that no one has made this association yet (that is, here on Fragrantica; I've read it a couple of times elsewhere in the net).

I don't get some of the notes that others get from Carbone (beef marinade, barbecued beef, male body odor). Goes to show (once more) how different noses work and/or how different the associations are that our brains make with certain smells.

Wow...this isn't your standard everyday scent. I'm not sure if it's good or bad.

It smells like meat smoking on a babecue and original Polo tamed down mixed together.

If you want different, you found it. If you want fantastic you may or may not have found it depending on your preferences.

It's inoffensive and very smooth. My wife commented it was one of the few scents that doesn't give her a headache.

There is something to people bringing up the beef note. For me... it's a barbecued beef. :)

I would guess based on my perceptions this would be a great scent to wear to a summer barbecue but you might have to worry about someone trying to eat you instead of the steak and burgers on the grill.

Carbone begins like Encre Noire strident green on black then with none of the inkt mineral note but an 'aromatic' fig note instead - and slowly fades into light vanillic benzoe incence. Longevity is average. Easy to wear for man or woman.
I wonder if this so-called 'beef' note is just a joke thing, picked from one review and mentionned into another for 'fun', with the result that a fragrance has little chance of being better known ...
ranting ? I dont know but if Carbone (French for carbon) had been as succesful as it deserves it might have helped other Balmain scents stay on the market. In my humble opinion.

incense, black fig, pepper and elemi - great notes in excellent but not appreciated perfume. IMO a great frag!

The entire presentation of this recent offering looks great, a heavy glass cube flacon of moderate to good quality. At last my long awaited & anticipated bottle finally arrived today although my initial excitement quickly waned after giving a liberal spritz to my upper torso, I thought that I would surely heave from the tangy bovine aroma that immediately assaulted my nostrils, I've tried countless fragrances over many decades and few if any have turned my stomach like this sour libation. Wow ! what a stinker, my honest opinion of this EDT was that it smelled strongly of A. Male body odor and B. Game meat marinade consisting of pink peppercorns, liquorice/fennel root and an assortment of herbal condiments (fig, ivy & violet leaf greens). As the saying goes "each to their own liking", sadly this is not a fragrance I could wear and it has already been relegated to the very back area of my perfume wardrobe, enough said !
Good luck to the guy's who can wear & appreciate this very unique type of fragrance, it's just not my 'proverbial' cup of beef tea..

A great woody spicy frag for night & day : casual, elegant and very classy.
Thumbs up Balmain!

this smell like a powder,lasting almost 8 hours...but its awosome

I was in today in one of the London's central shops, and guy told me this is coming out soon! yet he gave me a sample.

Start... nothing standing out of the crowd, but after a while dry down it exactly reminds me of Givenchy Play (black version).

If you like Givenchy this is more expensive version of it.

7/10

Oh man, this is so bad. I was so happy when i saw this was coming out as i loved Ambre Gris and thought the good run that Balmain were on would continue with this...wrong!!
I purchased this blind and was so excited to have that first sniff...that was until i had that first sniff. It reminds me of Dirty English that has been mixed with oxo beef stock cubes. I do not get any of the notes unless Elemi smells of beef, which i am pretty sure it does not. Do yourself a favour and get hold of a bottle of Gucci pour homme intead.