Through a glass, darkly. Black Phantom is a unisex woody gourmand that will please just about everyone. Its topnotes have a dangerous glitter to them, like a glass of rum rimmed in cane sugar set alight, sending sparks of roasted nuts, caramel, booze, and smoke out into the night air. Once the boozy fireflies have dimmed a little, a gentler accord begins to bloom – a wonderfully soft, nutty sandalwood that reminds us of caramelized pain de mie dipped into warm milk.
But despite all the foodie notes, Black Phantom is not thick or heavy. Shot through with wisps of woodsmoke, resin, and roasted coffee, Black Phantom is clearly a gourmand aimed at more adult tastes. Imagine a cozy Parisian café on a cold, rainy day. You are reading a book and sipping a milky coffee with a drop of rum on the side to warm your bones. Delicious aromas of pralines, fresh pastries, chocolate, toasted nuts, and coffee melt waft over the papery vanilla smell of your book and the bitter almond posies of heliotrope on each table. Now imagine the undertow of a really good sandalwood that smells like salty butter and sweet cream. It really doesn’t get better than this if you love grown-up, unisex gourmands.
Rum, sugar cane, dark chocolate, coffee, caramel, almond, heliotrope, sandalwood
Perfume rating 4.21 out of 5 on Fragrantica