Bvlgari
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The first fifteen minutes assault the senses with a dark, almost fermented quality—rum absolute dominates entirely, backed by sharp citrus that feels more like lime zest than fresh bergamot. There's an almost unrefined spiciness that catches you off-guard, as though you've accidentally breathed in whilst someone nearby mixed a cocktail.
By the first hour, the florals emerge with peppery intensity, the tuberose and neroli creating an unexpected bitter-sweet floral character that dances with the underlying rum's residual warmth. The spice accord sharpens, gaining a subtle clove-like quality that wasn't immediately apparent, creating genuine tension between creamy florals and dry heat.
The base settles into a resinous, almost incense-like territory where sandalwood and benzoin become increasingly prominent, the rum fading to a distant memory. What remains is a warm, slightly gourmand woody composition with caramel sweetness that lingers without much projection—intimate rather than declarative.
Bvlgari Man Black Cologne arrives as a spiced rum punch rather than a cologne in any classical sense. Alberto Morillas has constructed something deliberately boozy and intoxicating—the opening salvo of dark rum immediately partners with citrus top notes to create an almost alcoholic shimmer, like watching light refract through aged spirits. This isn't a fresh cologne despite what the accords might suggest; the citrus here serves a supporting role, sharpening the rum's edges rather than brightening the composition.
The heart reveals Morillas's cunning: tuberose and neroli emerge not as floral softness but as spiced complexity. The tuberose, typically creamy and indolic, here feels almost peppery alongside the rum's continued presence, whilst the neroli adds a bitter-sweet orange blossom character that prevents the composition from becoming cloying. This is where the fragrance's personality crystallises—it's neither traditionally masculine nor feminine, but rather provocatively ambiguous, the kind of scent that feels slightly transgressive in its refusal to play by gendered conventions.
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4.0/5 (101)