Top Notes 
Heart Notes 
Base Notes 
03/19/2012
Apicius
222 Reviews
Apicius
Very helpful Review
6
The Steinway among the Perfumes
Black Tie is simply grand. If you are looking for a loud, elegant, extraordinary fragrance for a night out at the opera or theater, you should take this one into account.
Being a rose and geranium fragrance for men, Black Tie is not easy to wear. Many men would hesitate to go for something that floral, but Black Tie demonstrates that a rose accord can have a definite masculine appeal - since it stays very much on the dark side. Once, a perfumer told me that there are (at least) 27 different possible ingredients that can provide some kind of rose. So, I guess, there is plenty of choice for different styles!
We know dark roses mostly in combination with oud – the famous classic of Arabian perfumery. It is Montale who has brought a huge variety of rose/oud combos to the western market. For Black Tie, no oud is in the released pyramid, but I am not so sure about it. At least, it fits very well into that rose and oud scheme, maybe with being slightly less musty. Within the Montale universe, it would be the elegant Aoud Flowers that Black Tie probably resembles the most.
Next to the rose accord, Black Tie contains a slight spiciness that provides a certain sharp and piquante appeal. It combines well with the woods and both form the counterpart to the flowery side. Yet, it does not make too much sense to try and analyse any ingredient of Black Tie. Black Tie is solid as a rock, all fits together well, and I do not see much development. There are other roses around with more complexity. It is impressive and will provoke lots of “Wow”s – especially among perfume beginners.
Black Tie contains a deep purple rose, almost black. If you should give it a colour, it is black shiny piano lacquer! The noble but somewhat gothic style of the bottle suits the elegance of the fragrance. It also gives me the idea that this perfume is best used by men with a specially pale complexion – vampires! Not the Bram Stoker Dracula type, much more the elegant Anne Rice Lestat kind of bloodsucker. Since this target audience might be a bit limited, Black Tie can surely be regarded as a true niche fragrance. If you are into dark romanticism and like to play with that image for yourself, Black Tie IMHO would be a much better choice than the usual patchouli bombs.
Being a rose and geranium fragrance for men, Black Tie is not easy to wear. Many men would hesitate to go for something that floral, but Black Tie demonstrates that a rose accord can have a definite masculine appeal - since it stays very much on the dark side. Once, a perfumer told me that there are (at least) 27 different possible ingredients that can provide some kind of rose. So, I guess, there is plenty of choice for different styles!
We know dark roses mostly in combination with oud – the famous classic of Arabian perfumery. It is Montale who has brought a huge variety of rose/oud combos to the western market. For Black Tie, no oud is in the released pyramid, but I am not so sure about it. At least, it fits very well into that rose and oud scheme, maybe with being slightly less musty. Within the Montale universe, it would be the elegant Aoud Flowers that Black Tie probably resembles the most.
Next to the rose accord, Black Tie contains a slight spiciness that provides a certain sharp and piquante appeal. It combines well with the woods and both form the counterpart to the flowery side. Yet, it does not make too much sense to try and analyse any ingredient of Black Tie. Black Tie is solid as a rock, all fits together well, and I do not see much development. There are other roses around with more complexity. It is impressive and will provoke lots of “Wow”s – especially among perfume beginners.
Black Tie contains a deep purple rose, almost black. If you should give it a colour, it is black shiny piano lacquer! The noble but somewhat gothic style of the bottle suits the elegance of the fragrance. It also gives me the idea that this perfume is best used by men with a specially pale complexion – vampires! Not the Bram Stoker Dracula type, much more the elegant Anne Rice Lestat kind of bloodsucker. Since this target audience might be a bit limited, Black Tie can surely be regarded as a true niche fragrance. If you are into dark romanticism and like to play with that image for yourself, Black Tie IMHO would be a much better choice than the usual patchouli bombs.
