A few months ago, I dismissed Bvlgari Black with the words,
Black is supposedly a smoky vanilla scent, with the smokiness coming from a lapsang souchong tea note. The reality is that Black smells like straight-up burnt rubber. Now, rubber may have sexy connotations galore to the BDSM crowd, but I personally find it disorienting and unenjoyable.
Well, I feel like an asshole.
Inside that strange little hockey puck of a bottle is probably the most interesting mainstream fragrance on the market today. Pure intellectualism, however, does not a great perfume make: above all, perfume has to smell good. Black succeeds on both counts. If I had given that rubber note a few minutes, I would have found that it softens into sexy, smoky leather underscored by soft vanilla. In a time when the legendary leather scents (Bandit, Tabac Blond, etc) are being reformulated, Black is an extremely welcome addition to the category.
Black reminds me of the “cool girls” in high school. Not the popular girls, the ones on the cheerleading squad, but those worldly ladies with older boyfriends who picked them up in flashy cars. Black is a cologne, and therefore unisex, although I can’t imagine any of the men in my life wearing such a daring scent. It would, however, be perfect for the man who inspired this review: Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. With that scar over his eyebrow and his charismatic swagger (not to mention his motorcycle and leather duster), Spike was the ultimate bad boy. Black wouldn’t be half bad on Buffy, either.
Early Billy Idol, anyone?
Isn’t he the most perfect thing you’ve ever seen? Whenever I watch Buffy, I find myself screaming, “Buffy, you fool, the hottest vampire in Sunnydale is in love with you, so move the hell on from Angel, because he has his own spinoff now and is NEVER COMING BACK, except for like 5 minutes at the end of Season 7.” Then I remember that the little people in the TV cannot actually hear me. Incidentally, this little habit is the reason that everyone but my most loyal friends refuses to watch Gossip Girl with me.
Disclaimer: I own a bottle of Black, which I purchased from Sephora.
SCENTS OF SELF 
All Buffy references escape me, but I am glad you have come to an appreciation of Black.
It still smells like tea/vanilla/new bicycle tire to me. I still like it. I don’t even think it’s edgy – the rubber makes me think of childhood joys like the aforementioned new bicycle, or new Keds at the beginning of summer, with all the bounce still in them.
Like CF said, you must start watching!! It is MILES and MILES above a certain current vampire movie. And what beautiful imagery! They really do have that new shoe smell, come to think of it.
Oh, that’s a _nice_ portrait of Spike. Watch Buffy, Mals, watch Buffy! It’s so darn good.
Boreanz fits the Booth role in Bones so much better than he ever fit the Angel role.
Black is so wonderfully odd. Bicycle tire soaked in vanilla. Yum.
OK, I’m done rambling now.
A fellow Buffy fan!!! Mals should definitely watch it, and so should her daughter… Buffy is a great role model for young girls. Except for that time when she started dating her vampire attempted-rapist. Hmm.
I have never seen Bones, but I really didn’t think he was much for Angel. Didn’t make the character all that likable, can’t say I was sorry to see him gone.
Rambling is always encouraged here! 🙂
In Bones, he’s an FBI agent in a suit, with a sense of humor and not a trace of the Annoying Brooding Angst. It’s the role he was meant to play. Worth watching.
I heart Spike! I’ll have to check out Black at Sephora next time I’m there just for the Spike reference.
I hope you like it! For me, Black embodies Season 6, still-slightly-dangerous Spike.
Totes! I have such a soft spot for Spike. He always did it for me SO much more than Angel. (But then, I loved Lorne Greene in Angel, maybe it’s the wit of the character as much as the style?) Anyhoo. You’ve totally nailed this description of who’d wear Black and why it’s fantastic. Because it is. It’s rubber/leather/vanilla and it’s comforting/kinky but always retains that little growly edge that keeps it just a leeeetle bit weird. Can you spot the person who has a 3-bottle backup stash? 😀
Allegedly Angelina Jolie used to wear it as her signature scent. Makes sense. I’m guessing that was during her blood vials/knife collection/Lara Croft period. (Kind of my fave, if I’m honest.)
It reminds me of walking down a city or suburban street around mid December at night where cords of fragrant woods are being burnt in a fireplaces.