Widian / AJ Arabia
Widian / AJ Arabia
307 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Stewed plum and mandarin orange burst forth with immediate warmth, the fruits already touching something sweetly jammy rather than fresh. The top notes possess an almost candied quality, backed by a discreet spice that prickles pleasantly against the sweetness.
As the citrus dissolves, the composition pivots inward—musk blooms warm and skin-like whilst rose emerges with unexpected pepper and green edges. Sandalwood materialises as a creamy counterpoint, and vanilla begins its gentle ascent, creating a soft amber glow that feels almost edible, though never quite gourmand enough to tip toward dessert.
What remains is a gossamer skin scent of musk, vanilla, and that grounding woody-mossy base. The fragrance becomes nearly invisible on the olfactory level, yet distinctly present when you bring your wrist to your nose—a faint amber warmth mingling with soft woods and the faintest memory of those stewed fruits.
Black Collection II is a fragrance that wears its contradiction proudly: a skin scent of paradoxical presence. Jean-Claude Astier has crafted something that whispers rather than projects, yet demands intimate attention when discovered. The composition reads as a study in restraint—a parfum concentration that somehow refuses to broadcast itself, creating an almost conspiratorial relationship between wearer and scent.
What emerges is a distinctly ambered sweetness, honeyed and tactile, built upon a foundation where musk and rose engage in a quietly sensual dialogue. The plum and mandarin orange opening provides initial brightness, but this is no cheerful citrus composition; rather, the fruits are stewed, almost jammy, their sweetness amplified by the creeping vanilla and sandalwood underneath. There's an unexpected spiciness threading through—perhaps from the rose's peppery facets—that prevents this from reading as merely gourmand.
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3.8/5 (87)