Black Magic
Bombi (1945)

BOMBI – BLACK MAGIC (1945)


Black Magic perfume was described as a sweet, heavy, oriental floral fragrance for women.
It premiered in 1945. The company, Bombi, made only a handful of scents, among them Strange Venture (1946) and Entre Nous (1948).

The description is accurate in every degree. This is an old-fashioned oriental floral. The experience is complex, despite its few notes. The undisclosed “citrus”, bergamot and orange blossom top is fresh and sweet. It's middle note of gardenia, being an oil created in the lab since the flower's oil has no scent, is most probably a mix of jasmine and tuberose, which provides unctuous depth. There is ylang here as well to provide a fruity-floral note. There are undisclosed “spices” as well. Clove is certainly present and perhaps cinnamon as well, adding to the sweetness. The solid base of musk, sandalwood, amber, patchouli and vanilla rounds out the creation.

This is a perfume for winter months. In summer it would strike me as being potentially cloying. It is unisex by today's standards. There is a camphor note which is not attributable to the note tree, but which swirls through the concoction. I find this note in a modern scent, Mousse Illuminee, and the only notes there that might be responsible are artemisia and laurel, with which I am not familiar. I blind bought this from a private internet seller and although it took a while to get used to, I now love and wear it sparingly.

Still available on the internet and worth a try for those into the genre of oriental florals.