Ted Lapidus
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Black pepper asserts itself with immediate bite, violet leaf adding a slightly green, almost soapy astringency that battles the lemon's sharp citric acid. Within moments, the interplay creates an almost confrontational first impression—bracing, austere, decidedly unfriendly.
Orange blossom and saffron transform the opening's severity into something warmer and honeyed, though the saffron's peppery, slightly dusty character keeps the sweetness from becoming cloying. The labdanum's animalic creep becomes unmissable now, adding a leather-like, almost skin-like quality that grounds the composition's creeping sweetness.
Tonka bean and labdanum dominate entirely, creating a dense amber-resinous base that becomes almost gourmand in its roasted, vanilla-forward presentation. What remains is decidedly intimate and slightly smoky—a lingering sweetness tempered by the fragrance's inherent darkness, clinging close to skin rather than projecting outward.
Lapidus pour Homme Black Extreme announces itself with a deliberate contradiction: a fragrance that marries austere spice with creamy sweetness, refusing to settle into either camp. The black pepper and violet leaf opening creates an almost metallic sharpness—not fresh, but rather like biting into something dark and slightly dangerous—before lemon cuts through with surgical precision. This isn't a citrus that brightens; it's a citrus that interrogates, creating tension against the creeping warmth below.
The heart reveals the scent's true nature. Orange blossom and saffron emerge as a spiced honeyed sweetness, with saffron's slightly medicinal, almost leather-tinged character grounding what could have become merely gourmand. There's an animalic undercurrent here—the labdanum base asserting itself early—that prevents this from reading as cologne-fresh or aspirational. Instead, it smells like someone's deliberately dark choice: a man who wanted sweetness but insisted on its being spiked with pepper and tinged with something vaguely unsettling.
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3.9/5 (157)