Desire Black
Dunhill (2014)

Dunhill Desire Black caught my eye at a local Lord and Taylor fragrance counter. I didn't expect it to be like my all time, controversial favorite Dunhill Desire Red, but I gave it a shot.

I'm surprised to see a more robust listing of notes in the basenotes triangle above; usually, I find larger lists on other fragrance weblogs, but not this time!

Opening spray has a quality reminiscent of some of the Clive Christian scents I'd sampled recently: A pleasant, citrus-pepper blend plus the rosy-woody green goodness of petitgrain. Interesting that another rose-like element of geranium is present as well as turkish rose...a definite floral sensation. Delicate citrus-woody elemi and aromatic crocus (saffron flower) add to this mix.

This floral-woody melange gets enveloped into the drier, warmer base full of mossy-woody-sweet statements, accented slightly by musky oud.

WOW there's a lot that went into Desire Black! It is so reminiscent of the construction of old-school 80's powerhouse men's colognes that also boasted a large cornucopeia of notes. The result is classy, an oriental aromatic fougere resembling Clive Christian's "L" niche scent. It is a great evening scent, mature and sensual.

So it is a retake of the "Desire" series that has its own character and stands on its own as a wonderful offering from Dunhill.

An unusual woody/spicy/citrus. Got lots of character though. I like this, I think this is a grower.....

Under the radar good stuff, especially if you are a fan of vintage Kouros.

If YSL launched Kouros Black (versus Silver) it would/could/should smell like this.

Labdanum, oud, black pepper and elemi are the most prominent.

Absolute bargain at the current prices...

I dig it. Its a great grapefruit scent, with an impressive likeness to Terre D'Hermes. Its not as refined as TdH, but it still maintains the quality that you routinely get in Dunhill scents. This is a very nice office frag, versatile enough for formal or informal occasions.

It becomes a creamy, woody perfume at the end of its lifespan.

I ordered the 100ml online from ebay. My could've been a fake one, but regardless it smelled like dank, pissy cheap axe or something. Literally...like urine, and a alcohol base. Used the rest to spray my shoes out, and then keep the sweet-lookin' bottle. Waste of $ regarless. Didn't need to spend like sixty bucks to spray my kicks out and keep a flask(could've got drinking alcohol instead :( )

The scent is very sophisticated and refined. Something I'd wear with a suit or tux. It manages to be clean and ever so slightly soapy with a richness provided by pepper, other spices, and woods - almost an incense-like scent. It is a dry scent with only a hint of sweetness compared to the quite sweet Desire/Desire Blue fragrances. It does have in common with them the characteristic of excellent longevity, though. I don't have anything in my collection quite like Desire Black. If I were pressed, I'd say Kiton Black is the only thing that is somewhat similar -- but not in scent -- just in where I can see myself wearing it.

Of the listed notes, I smell pepper, labdanum, amber, cedarwood, and patchouli. The pepper is not in-your face as in Bang!'s opening or as distinctive as in CCV. I wonder if the faint sweetness might be a touch of rose. No particular note dominates. I do not distinctly smell bergamot, grapefruit, or oud. I'm guessing it has a fair amount of iso E super based on the woodsy scent reminding me of others colognes that include iso E super.

I recommend Dunhill Desire Black if a sexy, sophisticated scent is up your alley. This is not something you'd reach for on a hot summer day kicking back on the beach.