Black Gemstone
Stéphane Humbert Lucas (2013)

Dark, gothic shades of black tar...on the way to the dungeon

Dark, gothic shades of black tar...on the way to the mystery train

An other-worldly scent experience, expertly crafted and full of character.

Black Gemstone hits you with all sorts of dark resins, woodiness, and incidental sense of spices not actually used but truly perceived compositely from what is there.

Smoky, balsamic and aromatic in a powerful, moving way, Black Gemstone will thrill the senses and provoke closed-eyes reflection. How many scents can really do that nowadays? This is a fragrance to be experienced, not just smelled. And so few other scents will resemble its sublime, earthy, wild quality.

A love it or hate it scent, depending on what you want out of your fragrances. It requires patience to unfold itself, and its not your average spritz-and-forget-it creation. Keep that in mind as you approach and examine Black Gemstone from Stéphane Humbert Lucas 777.

Dirty/dark/bitter lemon and woody opening that doesn't hang around very long...hot asphalt sprinkled with wood chips and a variety of dark aromatic resins and a few random drops of gasoline...hooded monks in black robes, chanting and performing mysterious rituals...spray it on and have yourself a religious experience...bottom line- dark and smoky resin/wood delight...

Bitter lemon and smoked cedar opening - the other reviewers are right that it does have a damp peat mossy / stinky decomposing wood chips side to it. I get strong resins at once, not just in the drydown. The bitterness smooths out after a few minutes and gives way to curls of smoky, sweet resins. Has a note that smells like smoked tea / imortelle / tobacco - similar to the smoky sweet bones of l'artisan's tea for two. Definitely a perfume for a rainy day.

True to its name, Stephane Humbert Lucas Black Gemstone is coal black or charcoal grey with a flinty mineral sparkle that sets a tone from the very start. This feels dangerous! A slight black tea smoke with a resinous tar darkness evolves during the mid notes. The resinous myrrh, teak wood which is a very dark wood resin and olibanum roil in the dark smokiness. The dry powdery tonka base adds a bit of sparkle to the darkness hinting at gunpowder. The tonka adds an odd sweetness to the charcoal and gives it a licorice like sticky darkness without being gourmand at all. This unexpected use of powder sweet tones in the base is a typical SHL 777 stroke that happens to civilize his otherwise dark and brooding orientals such as Taklamakken, Qom Chilom and Soleil de Jeddah. I like Black Gemstone quite a bit for its subtlety with darkness and powder for a mysterious and centering fragrance.

Very nice scent here. I really like the peety opening! Damp, dark and smoky. For those who like adventure in their scents, this one is without question of very high quality ingredients. Not for the office, but excellent during wet, cold and rainy nights! Well done! Thumbs up!