Bulgari Black by Annick Menardo 1998

/ australianperfumejunkiescom

.

Post by Ainslie Walker

.

There’s nothing like the smell of Petrol. Grease. Rubber. Tyres. Oil. Smoke. Welding. They are smells that smell naughty yet nice. Bad, but so very good.

Bulgari Black by Annick Menardo 1998

Black Bvlgari FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Lapsang souchon, bergamot, rose, green tea
Heart: Jasmine, cedar, sandalwood
Base: Leather, musk, vanilla, oakmoss, amber

Bulgari Black is almost all those things. If it had a soundtrack it would be from the movie grease or cry baby . You have all the grease, leather and slick of a hot mechanic working on a vintage car in the 50’s combined with the pretty and innocent puff of floral rose-pink powder coming from a cardigan and pigtail wearing prom queen, perched picnicking on some grassy knoll drinking tea from a thermos. (yes there is a touch of green and also some tea in the midst of this fragrance)

Black Bvlgari Drag_racing WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

This scent is like drag racing on a track of bitumen wearing a leather jacket. We have smoke, leather, burning rubber, black rubber, woods, tyres…a little bit of animal…pheromones?? Bold and verging on overpowering for the first 20 minutes or so when suddenly the sweet vanillas of hers seep through…vanilla-rose riding through with a cloud of smoke following…giving the sweetness a slight candied and almost amber touch. Top notes hint at bergamot, rounded and citrus. It’s a busy highway in a city next to a park.

There is another familiar smell…it’s hard to describe but it reminds me of the smell of inside my pencil case at school…pencils? wood shavings? Perhaps this is the ingredient that makes this scent matte to me…a suede leather, if you will. Even as an adult the interiors of my handbags smell a little of this in time…paper/pencils/pens/leather/fabric/the hint of some old perfume samples. One cannot overlook the packaging of this one either. It is a gorgeous bottle, no lid, encased in black rubber. Sexy.

Black Bvlgari Handbag danielle_blue FlickrPhoto Stolen danielle_blue  Flickr

I like this tough, soft, modern yet retro frag. It’s kind of mainstream with a big beautiful twist…it’s the sort of thing we would of expected from Lady Gaga’s frag/hype/marketing, but didn’t receive. It also comes at a great price.

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and Muse In Wooden Shoes
FragranceShop has $28/75ml before coupon
My Perfume Samples starts at $2/ml

Put it on your Christmas list, girls and boys as I am positive this can be worn by both men and women!!

I cannot wait to hear how it wears on you!

16 thoughts on “Bulgari Black by Annick Menardo 1998”

  1. This was one of the first perfumes I sniffed when I got seriously interested in perfume, and I was put off by the asphalt accord, but kept sniffing it. Now, I love to wear it in the winter and nothing about it seems strange to me.

    Like

    • It seems its one that takes a few goes before the two extremes of smells mingle and are accepted by the mind/nose. Thank goodness we all persevered! 🙂

      Like

  2. I have a mini of this around somewhere. I don’t remember why I shelved it but looks like it deserves another sniff. Thank you for this review! (Now, where did I put that strange little bottle?).

    Like

  4. This is one of my all-time favorite perfumes and is definitely in my top 10 Desert Island perfumes. I wear it in all seasons!

    Like

  5. I retried this recently and I was surprised by how much I loved it. It reminds me of a very opinionated, close friend of mine. Depending on the day, she can sometimes drive me crazy (like the rubbery first hour) but at the end of the day I love her for her good qualities (the lovely warm drydown of Bvlgari black).

    Like

  6. i love this one too. i just wish it were a bit stronger and longer lasting on me. (I seem to say that about a lot of perfumes don’t I?) When I first sniffed it I found the rubber a bit overwhelming but now it blends in beautifully with the rest of the notes. I think it can be a shock to the system for people only used to smelling flowery, fruity things.

    Like

    • Yes it is quite strong rubber and “weird” in a way for it to be a mainstream scent, but somehow it manages to appeal to many…ESP after a few sniffs

      Like

Comments are closed.