There is a particular time of day when the dying light has not yet given way to darkness, or the dawn has not yet pierced the veil of night. It is a magical moment in which the landscape seems enveloped in a muffled atmosphere and suspended in an unreal dimension, and everything, everything, is tinged with blue. When the sun is below the horizon, before dawn, which heralds the passage from darkness to light, or after sunset, in the twilight which precedes darkness, then the blue hour occurs. It is an evocative and exciting chromatic phenomenon: everything is enveloped in soft light, in shades of blue and purple. It lasts a few minutes, half an hour at the most, but it represents a show of rare beauty. The blue hour is the idea that everything is about to end or, conversely, that everything is about to start over.
Magnificent Black is comparable to the blue hour, disarming and enchanting fragrance, a superimposition of two masterpieces, one from the last millennium and the other from recent production. Imagine spraying
Baccarat Rouge 540 Eau de Parfum and then over this original
M7 (2002) Eau de Toilette . Well, the major accords of these two perfumes, M7 at the opening and BR540 at the end, are the ones I find in this creation by Hamid Merati-Kashani. M7 was my first experience with the oud, sweet, warm, and sensual. And this specimen reminds me so, so, so much. Amber, mineral, leathery, with that complicated oud smell-feeling that comes to life after about two hours. I imagine that master Hamid Merati-Kashani was commissioned a perfume capable of recalling M7, in a more modern key with the magic of BR540, and Magnificent Black was born. Please, don’t get me wrong, this is not a replacement for M7 original or BR540, yet it shares many vibes with them.
Magnificent Black is an exploration of amber wood with a beautifully subtle opening of spicy and semi-bitter orange peel. Underneath, something liquorice-like darkens the concoction and smells like Konfekt gummies by Haribo, chewy, soft, creamy, and flavoured candy surrounding a liquorice centre. That black liquorice tinge replaces the medicinal rosemary of M7. There is an energetic affinity between amber and orange that is softly explored in the opening spray, which remains slightly sweet and vaporous while in the background circulates a tone made of smoky agarwood, noble vetiver, and wisps of leather. It takes a few minutes to settle, and the warmth of the skin helps give off a semi-caramelized ambroxan tone reminiscent of BR540.
The heart is many things: sandblasted, soft, woody suede, fine-grained, a little fleshy, steaming, brushed. A cocoa-like patchouli takes the stage, along with a burnt sugar tinge. It is balsamic and floral. But not sweet floral with a too-feminine slant. Instead, violet brings a water facet, a tad dewy, mineral, while jasmine subdues it with a creamy nuance. That sense of burnt amber and warm wood is always there. The more it grows, the more it gets akin to BR540 while keeping a distance from M7. Only now I feel it slightly medicinal, with a cherry cough syrup nuance. Woody scent with strong oud and vetiver note. A little sweet and powdery.
In the end, the scent turns a tad woody, earthy, and slightly leathery and resinous. A lot is going on there, while drydown, so from time to time, you can hardly differentiate which of the components you hear at this moment. At first, it is very medicinal but turns into a natural and very sensual vetiver and wood scent. Over time, the perfume becomes sweeter, amber, salty, and dark, it gently settles on the skin while remaining slightly powdery, deep, soft, stimulates the senses, and above all, elegant, virile, oriental, dense and damn sexy and long-lasting. The ultimate combination is an amber musk haze, a sweet, creamy, even slightly powdery scent that continuously caresses your nose in a very warm, friendly way. Also, I feel some hints of vanilla. What it left on the blotter after many hours, and even days after, is a sweet oudy accord with semi-medicinal cherry cough syrup nuance. Besides, the M7 shadow is still lingering.
Last night I put a couple of squirts on my neck before dinner with friends I had invited to my house. During dinner, everyone wondered who was wearing that perfume that they sometimes felt spinning in the air. It turned out to be mine, and I got a ton of compliments. They said it was so manly as if some natural BO was among the notes. Hence, pay attention to the number of sprays since all room smells Magnificent Black if somebody wears it, surely dominant. Longevity and projection are all great on my skin. Definitely, this is the best performer of the SERIES N° 01 collection. It is a cold-weather scent, for fall and winter late-evening intimate events. I would refrain from wearing it at work, it projects too much and not everyone enjoys oud-like perfumes. Thank you Hamid Merati-Kashani for bringing this magnificent creation to us among ZARA's infinite collection.
I'm basing my sensations on a bottle I've owned since April 2023 (BC 30240).
-Elysium
PedroCabral
Elysium
Herkules762
