Vilhelm Parfumerie
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The bergamot strikes with characteristic astringency, bright and slightly sharp, but cardamom's peppery warmth immediately smothers any conventional freshness. Within moments, wisps of birch smoke emerge from underneath, transforming what might have been a standard citrus opening into something deliberately smoky and slightly austere. The contrast is immediate and unsettling—in the best possible way.
Violet emerges with surprising minerality, neither sweet nor traditionally floral, whilst mat (or matcha-like greenness) adds a dry, almost chalky dimension. The patchouli becomes more pronounced, earthy and slightly fermented, grounding the composition's earlier brightness into something substantially darker. A subtle spiciness from the cardamom persists, threading through woody undertones that gradually eclipse the citrus entirely.
Birch, vetiver, and patchouli form a resinous, slightly smoky base that clings close to the skin with admirable tenacity. The fragrance becomes almost abstract here—citrus is now merely a ghost note, a memory of the opening brightness. What remains is primarily woody and earthy, with a lingering hint of cardamom's warmth, creating a deeply intimate, skin-scent quality that rewards proximity rather than projection.
Black Citrus arrives as a deliberate contradiction—brightness twisted through smoke. Jérôme Epinette has constructed something that refuses the expected cheerfulness of bergamot, instead channelling it through a haze of birch tar and smouldering wood. The Calabrian bergamot opens with its characteristic bitter-sweet luminosity, but cardamom immediately complicates matters, introducing a peppery warmth that prevents any sense of innocence. This is citrus for those who find conventional citrus fragrances too effusive.
The violet in the heart refuses to soften the composition's edges; instead of floral sweetness, it reads as austere and slightly peppery against the mat (likely a rendering of matcha or a similar green note). There's an almost herbal severity here—the violet leans mineral rather than romantic, whilst the green notes add a flinty quality. The woody-smoky foundation becomes increasingly apparent, with Indonesian patchouli lending earthiness that anchors what could otherwise feel diffuse.
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3.9/5 (182)