The Man in Black

[zankoku_zen]

The Devil at the Crossroads: well-worn black leather, tobacco absolute, Haitian vetiver, ambrette seed, crushed tonka bean, and a flick of crossroads soil.

[NebulaKnitter]

Fresh out of the mail, the crossroads soil is prominent. Considering it was listed last, I didn't expect it to synergize with the black leather as much as it did. Immediately on the skin, it's a dank old leather sent, like a steal of a leather jacket from a thrift shop. It smells ancient and half buried. After half an hour on the skin, it starts to soften up, almost sweet clinging to my skin. The earthy scent is there, but it's more the echo of soil with the black leather. I am excited to see how it settles, ad hopeful the tonka and tobacco become more prominent with time. 

[supreme_c0rt]

As suspected, The Man in Black is a lot like Iago but with a black soil note (recently discovered this reads as chlorine on me). The waft is gorgeous and sexy and leather-daddy-mechanic; up close it's super strong black leather and vetiver, a bit bitter. The dry down is much nicer than I remember Iago being; the dirt note recedes, and the tobacco and resins start to soften it up. Notes of grassy hay start to peek out under the sharp leather. Fully dry, this cruises along as a growly, leathery, dark mix of black leather and resins. It reminds me of the best of both Iago and Rivet Goth, and I had been holding out for something like that. So .... success!

[monocainsheresy]

I agree with @supreme_c0rt - this is a lot like Iago, but nicer on the dry down. Less intense. On me, the leather comes across as very soft and well-worn, smoothed by the ambrette and tonka. A touch of vetiver bitterness and a suggestion of tobacco making the scent a little smokey. The dirt note is definitely there, making this overall an outdoorsy, slightly rainy scent. I also get a bit of hay.

This is much less gritty than I expected, but it is definitely very nice. A subtle, unisex Renaissance fair type scent, along the lines of the smell of a freshly opened BPAL box. Depending on your skin chemistry, I feel this could go either very dirty/sexy or smooth/professional. Interesting!

[zankoku_zen]

Worn leather, whiff of soil and smoke with some sweetness from the tonka. Medium throw and wear length.

[marared]

For the first few minutes, it's mostly dark soil with leather. The vetiver and tobacco aren't noticeable to me in this, but the tonka is just barely there. The soil fades about 75% after a little while, and it smooths out to a gentle dirty leather scent with low throw.

 

ETA that it's also very long-lasting - 16 hours later I can still smell leather.

Edited July 11, 2021 by marared

[Marina Napoli]

LEATHERRRRRRR. Nothing but leather. The air and my skin and my clothes, all is leather. 

 

I was hoping for more complexity out of this one, but alas, my skin betrayed me.

[dancingchair]

2022 version

 

Wet, this is strong black leather and cherry tobacco. The two are intoxicating together, sweetened just enough by the tonka. As it dries, the grassy vetiver comes out more. Eventually, the vetiver becomes the most prominent note, but I really enjoy the leather stage of this perfume. The vetiver has citrus and anise elements to it, and it's a bit bitter. I don't really get much of the dirt or ambrette seed, but maybe they're supporting the other notes.

 

The early stage of this perfume is a dream. I love the blend of leather and tobacco, maybe age will help them stick around for longer? The throw is pretty strong, and the longevity seems great so far. Really glad I grabbed a bottle of this!

[starbrow]

Last year, my decant of The Man in Black was allll leather. Fierce, punchy black leather. Rough around the edges, a jagged and pugnacious blend. Then I tried it again this year. To my surprise, all the sharp edges were rounded off, the leather was tamed, and the most gorgeous vetiver emerged soon and lasted forever.

 

So this year, my experience with The Man in Black as a full bottle is somewhere right in between, now that it has settled for a couple of months. The leather is still raucous. It is dark, rough, dangerous. But it doesn't smell fake like some black leather can; this is the real deal. I also am getting a lot of the soil note and it's helping with the realness. Unf. This is a man who wanders graveyards. I even get a hint of tonka snuggliness under everything, and smoky tendrils that could be either ambrette seed, vetiver, or both.

 

Later, that vetiver is what lasts, and it is a big bold smoky vetiver that Does. Not. Quit. You have to be in a vetiver mood for the next 12 hours to wear The Man in Black. Fortunately, that's me always. So if you want a scent that you can layer over to add some extra vetiver to another scent, this is the perfect choice. 

 

I am so excited to have a bottle that will age and smooth down as it develops. Beware, this one has powerful throw, so you don't need a lot. A surprising win for me.

 

I would wear this while: strutting in a black leather trench coat

[Lucchesa]

The soil is strong in this one (2022).  For the first hour or more, it's all dirty leather, primarily the dirt, not the leather.  In the vial I can smell a much more balanced set of ingredients, but the soil note takes over on my skin, which is unfortunate because every other note here I adore.  Even in later drydown I never get tonka or ambrette, and not nearly as much tobacco or vetiver as I'd like.  Leather and dirt, yup.  I'm going to try aging this for a year or so to see if the other notes emerge, but right now my skin chemistry is ruining it.

[Threemoons]

Using the hair/beard oil version of this today as a layering thing and it's GLORIOUS.  VERY masculine and strong leather and damp soil with the rest of the notes kind of hanging out in the background.  For me this is a really "Halloween" layering thing, almost like an antidote to the Pumpkin range.  

[MamaMoth]

leather and i have a rocky scent relationship.  this one starts with that watery, slightly chemical leather smell that i just can't handle.  surprisingly though, it does soften up into worn, battered, black leather that's not half bad. masc-leaning, but not cologney.

 

there's a little dry soil, and something earthy and almost musky.  it's a little smokey, like a leather jacket that's been worn during some nefarious digging-and-burning.  OH WAIT.  this is dean winchester's leather jacket.  BOOM. 

 

after the leather settles in, i quite enjoyed it for a while.  but my skin eventually turns it into baby powder and soft leather.  not sure what's up with that.  with the right skin chemistry, this could be dead sexy. 

[ghoulnextdoor]

Leather and strange, bitter powder, mineralic like a finely ground rock and rain. Sediment from ghostly carvings on exposed bedrock in hollow, liminal spaces where cave meets coastline, land meets water. The descent into a dream, the dust in the footprints you followed in the hopes to meet yourself and give yourself what you needed most. The sweetness at the end of a cosmic journey, musky and sweet, cognac and mallow, deep, satisfied swallows of this honeyed brew.