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MegaCat – :
A masterpiece from Stéphane Humbert Lucas, hypnotic and dripping with resinous blackness. This is paradox in a bottle. Dark and light, bitter and sweet, obscure and clear, primal yet modern – and very sophisticated. Between the rich spectrum of discernible notes, your memory, skin scent, and very being are welcomed into the design. Eminently versatile, complex, and deeply satisfying, Black Gemstone is both the journey and the destination purpose-built for each wearer. Pure genius.
tolik0174 – :
This was too manly on/for me and my chemistry. In the beginning all I got was overwhelming petrol/gasoline smell. Maybe turpentine. It wasn’t until 1.5-2 hours later that it softened enough, got sweeter, and that gasoline smell calmed down.
Most likely better for a man.
raf4359 – :
I have a bottle of Black Gemstone and I really like it. But recently I had a sample of Journey Man by Amouage and the similarity is uncanny. I tried them on each arm. If anything Journey Man smelled better. In the dry down after a few hours however Black Gemstone smells better I must admit.
With Black Gemstone I had a couple of complements, its longevity is very good and projects really well. But its very expensive. I guess after I go through this bottle, I will go with Journey Man since it’s half the price (even less than that).
Nmojkolla – :
Beautiful, dark and mysterious woody scent. A good choice for colder evenings.
scent: 9/10
longevity: 8/10
projection: 8/10
u_K_S_u_S – :
Boozy, dark woods, cinnamon and cola myrrh, lemon cleaner, olibanum, a touch of turpentine, a touch of smoke. This is a great example of something that smells obviously woody, with a deep, complex dry wood chip scent (don’t know what teak smells like, specifically). The booze smells like scotch. I really wouldn’t compare it to Jeke or Black Afghano though, they don’t smell alike. There’s the harshness of wood varnish, though not as strong as in DS and Durga’s Bowmakers. In the drydown, there’s a touch of something that smells like wet hay and fresh pee. It’s honestly not a bad scent overall, and I got a compliment and an “oh, woods and cinnamon!” recognition from my boyfriend, so it smells fine after a slightly harsh opening. Good projection and longevity. Overall: Like ok, wouldn’t buy.
erupleamome – :
Black Gemstone is basically 50% Puredistance Black, 50% Papillon Anubis (the resinous, smoky aspect).
fable13666 – :
“Amouage Journey Man’s Less Sophisticated Brother”
Black Gemstone is a very well blended fragrance with great performance, silage, and quality.
It only has one problem. It comes short against Amouage Journey Man even though it smells very similar to it.
Notes in Black Gemstone are balsamic, woody, smoky, aromatic, and sweet.
Notes in Amouage Journey Man are balsamic, woody, smoky, aromatic, warm spicy and tobacco.
Respectful fragrance, but it is not a bottle worthy for me because Amouage Journey has occupied that spot at a lower cost but much more complex and regal.
steatscythisa – :
OMG YOU’VE GOT TO TRY THIS! I promise, NOBODY WILL SMELL LIKE YOU! So unique frag… a lot going on here. Heavy on the cedar & Myrrhe but FLAWLESS IN EVERYWAY! GO easy cause a little goes a long way….
MASTERPIECE!
Igull – :
very balsamic like an oud but not as strong as Black Afgano or the ilk. Teak, resins and smokey incense. A bit camphorous.
gthyyfnsq83 – :
A gorgeous balsamic beauty from the master of modern Oriental perfumery, this fragrance is an ode to the sacred black stone in Mecca. The perfume opens with notes of lemon and cedar, and then begins drying to reveal notes of myrrh (prominent), balsamic resins, teakwood, and olibanum. Reflective, spiritual and never overpowering, this is perfume craftsmanship of high order. Transports you to middle Eastern lands and evokes incense burned in mosques. I think I could say that this is religion in a bottle. A must for adventurous lovers of exotic perfumes.
Arif93 – :
There’s a lot going on in the frag. It’s a bit overwhelming at first but give it time because it really starts to shine as it develops.
german21203 – :
This smells like Stephane Humbert Lucas created a nice, woody, resinous masculine fragrance…..and then set it on fire. Deep, rich, burnt, smoky, camphorous, meditative, biblical are a few words I would use to describe this fragrance. Definitely not a crowd pleaser, but very unique and will definitely give the connoisseur something to chew on. Black Tie event only.
fedenio – :
Powerful fragrance,dark,religious. An evocative scent, night and mysterious. powerful resins,solid which combine beautifully with frankincense and woods… It ‘unisex’, but more on the masculine side in my opinion, for the winter days is ideal. Captivating. The sillage is strong, huge longevity.. nice parfum!
Sillage: 9./10
Longevity: 10./10
Scent: 9./10
Overall: 9./10
svitlanak – :
Received a sample of this today. I detect oud in the composition but it’s not listed in the notes; could be a byproduct of the teak wood, cedar and olibanum notes. This is a more smoky, balsamic, leathery fragrance. No sweetness, very masculine. Slight medicinal/camphor notes. Reminds me of a leather fragrance, but isn’t like the typical leather scents.
simba009 – :
Very nice scent here. I really like the peety opening! Damp, dark and smoky. For those who like adventure in their scents, this one is without question of very high quality ingredients. Not for the office, but excellent during wet, cold and rainy nights! Well done! Thumbs up!
Vawnseemacimi – :
Resinous and woodsy for sure. It smells like tobacconist that used to once exist, who sold liquorice sweets and jars of pipe tobacco and all the furniture and fixings wood be circa 1940s. An old man coughing his lungs up, sucking on a very strong menthol cough sweet would greet you. Above a sign saying Lucky Black Cat Cigarettes priced in d. I cant say its worth the money, well actually it’s not. Lesser frags do a far more competent job a tenth of the price. You have been warned. I would imagine this is what a 40 a day smokers lungs would smell like. it very old smoker man. You can just imagine the puppet maker Geppetto would smell like! If I seriously walked into a place smelling like this people would be spraying Febreeze into the air, and opening windows or at the very least put their noses in their arm pits or any ones arm pit, except the one sporting this vile frag! Why did I buy it? Who knows? who cares? I have given up the will to smell now!
This smells like a resin product from a tree botanical name Boswellia carteri which they spread on in India for Mumps, or sprains and swellings.
stwrhdqt – :
I have this perfume.i bought it two weeks ago.But i am Not glad for my purchase.because it is a very usual perfume and it,s not so good with attention to money that you spend for it.it just has a very obvios balsamic not and not other top or luxury character.
pilotka7 – :
Beautiful teak wood.
Dyenodype – :
This is real sad to read. To bash each other on here over perfume? are you kidding me?
tzb330elipseskism – :
Personally i see “Black Gemstone” by “Stéphane Humbert Lucas 777” is the most that shows your personality, classical, beautiful, mysterious!!!
djylieta – :
I have to agree a 100% with Roge’. I loved the first 15-20 min on my husband. Thought I am going to eat him live..then it softens up. That woodsy lemony combo was so seductive it was crazy. I would love to buy him a bottle, but sillage could be better.
grom164 – :
Where to begin with Black Gemstone? There’s a lot going on with this convoluted fragrance, from the minute it hits the skin to the dry down an hour or so later. Consequently, it comes off as a bit inarticulate, but that doesn’t necessarily keep it from being a fun perfume.
Like an infant’s first time on a drum set, everything gets smashed all at once—loudly. There’s no delicate unfolding of notes; it’s a total cacophony from the get-go. The overall aesthetic is one of belligerent moodiness, bearing a slight resemblance to both Black Afgano and Sova in density, force, and, to a lesser degree, in the notes themselves. It comes off like a combination of western “oud,” resins, woods, and saffron, with a distinct and misplaced hay note running through it. This all hits you at once upon application, but after a few minutes, the scent sorts itself out into a more direct rubbery saffron-oud sweet combo around which all the other notes orbit.
I picked up something that smelled like gasoline, so I imagine there’s an indolic jasmine tucked away in there. Also, there’s a rose/berry nuance that comes and goes but announces itself more formally later on alongside what seemed to me to be a tobacco note. Off to the side, a chilly citrus can be detected, but the most weirdly prominent thing is the honeyed hay that recalls Sova most of all. Needless to say, all of these notes and accords don’t exactly fit together, and the result is like a pulsing, sweet mass from which various faces reveal themselves but only momentarily. After an hour or so, a base emerges from the rubble, but this was a bit of a stumbling block for me. While it wasn’t one of those generic sweet masculine bases we’ve been seeing lately, it had some sweetness but it was mainly resins (and possibly something coniferous) yet the resins weren’t that complimentary. Sadly, this was the worst part of the scent—and the longest lasting, which kind of sank it a bit. Ultimately, despite the barrage that seems to be going on, I’d boil Black Gemstone down to a rubbery-saffron-and-resins kind of affair.
On the one hand, I find it fun. On the other, I’m surprised that it exists alongside scents like O Hira and Oud which are, for lack of a better term, refined and a bit more tasteful. This is fairly anarchic and seems to lack any real cohesion, but as mentioned prior, it doesn’t detract as long as you’re okay with such runaway aesthetics (which I tend to be). In this respect, it feels (but doesn’t smell) a bit like Interlude Man in that everything is launched at you without any logic, rhythm, or narrative. It’s certainly characterful, but it’d be a hard sell for anyone who prefers their fragrances refined. If arcane, schizophrenic, seriously convoluted scents akin to Black Afgano or Interlude Man are your thing, this should probably go on your radar. But if you prefer minimal, classical, or clean styles, then you might want to spend some time sampling this first before laying down serious money for it. Personally, I’d wear it occasionally (it’s a tad too sweet), but I actually like some of the things it resembles a little more and I’d take O Hira over it in a heartbeat.
nox357 – :
Black sugar stone:
Opens so sweet that disguises the beauty of EVERYTHING: the cedar, the myrrh, and the olibanum that is virtually inexistent!
All there is to Black Gemstone is a dull and persistent sweet accord (a la montale’s wood & spice, whilst the anis note is replaced by a parsimonious myrrh!!!), on a sweeter base of tonka and amber…
Roge’ is right on two instances: Black Gemstone is more adequate for the Ladies who prefer their sweet amber to be a little tempered (a la ambre sultan, or ambre fetiche…); also, Black Gemstone sparkles for 15 minutes, and then…nothing, nada, rien, and gone…
With the same amount of money ($340), you ‘re better off buying Norne the Majestic, Black Afghano (THE REAL DEAL), and spend the remaining $30 on a 1.7 oz of dunhill desire blu (for gym use), while Stephane 777 paints some more, and dreams about his failure…
In the dry down, any Amouage (a bad one such as Journey man) will gain from this so-called gemstone…
Posh bottle, bad perfume… Adieu Stephane, and please train some more with Nasomatto and Slumberhouse who have better labs than ‘les mecs’ at Nez a Nez…
Sample before you buy…
VISHNIA – :
I am excited to review a 777 because Bond, Creed, and Ford’s supremacy is real and it needs to be shattered. Let me preface my discourse and dispel any hunch that Black has any similarities to Black Afgano or Jeke. This upscale oriental opens to the world escorted by medicinal fruit with the robitussin-like properties split into a smoky side and a lightly tinged leathery side. The citruses contribution isn’t met with tartness nor does it gushes vivaciously. The lemon provided is baby-faced in comparison to the standard lemon we’re accustomed to. During that period, you will already have sniffed your arm upwards 15-20 times(It’s that interesting). The composition swiftly moves to a more comfortable zone revealing all the aromatic elements which lodges itself snugly onto a tropical bed of woods. In this phase, Black gemstone is in its most lady-like space. End the end, you’re paying $340 for a formula that is somewhat state-of-the-art with soft sillage, minimal projection and about 6 good hours of longevity.