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asketbasted – :
I like this one. One of my favorites from the 10 Crosby line. For a “black” women’s perfume, I think it is appropriately named. I don’t recognize any other scents I have personally tried that smell like this one, which is always a plus for me…The notes on this are hard to describe, but “cool” is a note that comes to my mind. I think the listed notes at Fragrantica are confusing–this doesn’t come across to me as a warm spicy scent, and definitely not for that to be the first and primary note listed for Blackout. But, it is a nice overall scent! Not overpowering either, which I appreciate about it. Worth trying if you’re considering…
Update: I am bummed about the longevity on Blackout…it is definitely in my top 3 of favorites from the Crosby 10, but I just can’t justify buying a larger bottle because this one only lasts a few hours on me, which I have determined after several uses 🙁 Otherwise, by all other means–great scent!
ivan_b78 – :
I smell an incense boutique where you can get all sorts of different things to burn. It’s sweet, but definitely not akin to any Chai Tea I’ve had. Smells nice, but develops into a skin scent rather quickly, about an hour into wearing. More testing needed at this point.
massta – :
Dislike the opening, smells too liquoricey and bitter. The dry down is where it’s at. It smells like a spicy and sweet scent and it smells like some kind of tea (don’t think it’s chai tea). Recommend testing before buying.
Bazuka 79 – :
I really like this but I agree with Timmyheather, the description is way off. No chai tea here,. There’s lots of floral, and a background tea scent but what I’m getting is more of a jasmine green tea. It’s light and refreshing but not sharp or citrus. I tried it in the store and thought it was nice but one spritz on the wrist didn’t really do it justice or let it shine. Once I got it home, and applied a few sprays on my arms and chest, it came into its own and enveloped me in its gentle, lovely cloud of scent.
I have dry skin that tends to eat up scent and I seldom get much longevity but this scent although not super strong does linger around for a good length of time.
I really wish that Derek Lam would stop playing games and listing just two notes for his perfumes there is so much more going on here and it’s kind of insulting that he dishes out just two misleading notes.
jin7 – :
This is a beautiful fragrance that suffers from a terrible description. First of all, this is not chai tea. It doesn’t have any of the spiced warmth of chai. This is a strong cup of black tea, blended with a touch of herbal bergamot for that Earl Grey vibe. The floral element lifts the perfume beyond basic, strongly fortifying the tea concept with impressions of jasmine tea, or those floral notes that are always mentioned in the description of excellent teas.
I have to laugh at Blackout being described as passionate and dangerous. It seems far more cool, calm and collected. Personally, I think this fragrance would raise an eyebrow at displays of passion, and save the drama for later.
Moxer – :
This opens with a blast of waxy osmanthus which is pleasant, but more floral than I expected. The dry down goes through a very light tea with some spice, but it’s not as warm or spicy as a chai.
As always with the Derek Lam fragrances, this has a lot of unlisted notes. There’s some musk, some tonka, light vetiver and some bland woods. I can see why people compare it to Black Orchid.
Blackout is okay – not more or less. I like it, but I won’t rebuy it.
шлепанец – :
I successfully paired Blackout with the grapefruit note of Pomelos Paradis by Atelier Cologne; it livens up the bitter accords without being sweet and adds staying power in the winter.
mikeaddm – :
I picked up the set of all the mini fragrances at Marshall’s for 29.99. That was a deal to me. So no complaints on the pricing. I don’t get body odor or anything gross from this. I actually smell a lot of musk and what smells like patchouli even though neither of those notes are listed. I love osmanthus where others perceive it as stinky in a negative way I just love it so I’m really liking this fragrance.
ordedrawl – :
Sweaty sour spices, and musk. Gross until it settles. Faint sweetness after a few hours.
RealNeo – :
I read a review of this somewhere else – that it evoked sweaty body odor (in a good way) due to not being able to shower during a black out! I read that before I ever smelled Blackout and inow it’s all I think about when wearing it. But it’s what I really like about it – not sure which notes create that musky dirty sweet body odor smell but it’s kind of irresistible. I’m really enjoying getting to know the whole Derek Lam collection. I received the 10 piece sample set as a bday gift and I don’t know why, like, every other review of so many of the perfumes in the collection are negative. I also think that 10 nearly roller ball sized perfumes for $95 is a great deal! I’ve heard many say it’s too expensive, but perhaps they are talking about a full bottle. As a fragrance beginner, I’m really enjoying learning about notes from this set. Can anyone recommend a similar way to sample (and enjoy for a while) 10 fragrances for under $100? These are not quite the size of rollerballs – they are 7.5 ml or .25 oz. each and there are 10 of them!
Mewav930JeomiWogkig – :
I read a review of this somewhere else – that it evoked sweaty body odor (in a good way) due to not being able to shower during a black out! I read that before I ever smelled Blackout and inow it’s all I think about when wearing it. But it’s what I really like about it – not sure which notes create that musky dirty sweet body odor smell but it’s kind of irresistible. I’m really enjoying getting to know the whole Derek Lam collection. I received the 10 piece sample set as a bday gift and I don’t know why, like, every other review of so many of the perfumes in the collection are negative. I also think that 10 nearly roller ball sized perfumes for $95 is a great deal! I’ve heard many say it’s too expensive, but perhaps they are talking about a full bottle. As a fragrance beginner, I’m really enjoying learning about notes from this set. Can anyone recommend a similar way to sample (and enjoy for a while) 10 fragrances for under $100? These are not quite the size of rollerballs – they are 7.5 ml or .25 oz. each and there are 10 of them!
PIZZADOX – :
I wanted to like this because of the chai tea note but it is so incredibly subtle that you cannot even smell this perfume. If you like your perfume to be super faint and super soft then this might work for you. I suppose it is great for a work setting or any other place where heavy fragrance might be obtrusive. On my skin, I have to really, REALLY sniff to smell it and that is after ten sprays on one spot. The name should instead be Imperceptible.
henkele – :
So much in love with this! It’s perfection! After all the perfumes I tried in sephora this beat them all!
kigurbBeige – :
Brief moments of black tea in the opening-not chai. Turns into a generic white floral on me after that which lasts about four hours on skin and longer on clothes. I enjoyed the black tea but not the rest so I’m glad I sampled it and saved my money.
punaizer – :
This has the smell of black tea for sure…not quite sure about when the Osmanthus will come through though I’m waiting on it and hope it will appear soon. I’ve had this on for 3 hrs now…still nothing but tea.
I love the scent of teas in fragrances but as another poster commented, but even the longevity is lacking.
I cannot see paying this hefty price tag for a singular tea scented perfume. I need it to linger and allow me to actually enjoy the investment and the other listed notes to appear.
777ke777 – :
I had received a sample set of all of the new Derek Lam fragrances; I totally get where Derek Lam is going with these 2-note fragrances, they definitely seem to play to the very popular minimalist trend that has become especially popular in recent years and especially seemingly amongst many of the young hip crowd and the millennials. However, while this “Blackout” and “Rain Day” I found to be the more likable/wearable/pleasing and better created, sadly for me, these fragrances smell more like room fresheners than anything. The worst part is they do not have lasting power at all. Many of the scents, Blackout included, disappear off of me within an hour, two hours (tops) for the stronger scents.
I like the sleek design of the bottles and the minimalist approach, and there are fragrances from other companies that I have tried and/or owned with 2 notes, so I am not knocking that —- sometimes 2 simple notes can create a stunning fragrance. However, for me, this “Blackout” and the other Derek Lam fragrances just seem overpriced for what they are. I would definitely recommend testing these before buying.
toyt – :
I like tea perfumes, but this is one is not worth the price tag.
Strong black tea scent. I don’t get any chai components other than anise / licorice. I wish anise could have been more developed — it’s not very typical, and something nice could have been made with it. It could have been a nice traditionally masculine fragrance, but it’s just so incomplete.
It doesn’t really last on me, and I don’t even get to the osmanthus before it disappears on me.
It does smell like Van Cleef and Arpel’s Precious Oud, or its more intense cousin Black Orchid, due to the tea note. It differs more from Philtre Ceylan, which is another tea perfume I like.
It has very limited sillage on me.
dizzy – :
I got a sample from Sephora. I think I like it, but I have to wear it a few more times.
danilovskii – :
The first 5 minutes are pleasant. Then the transition is slightly herbal then nothing. Can’t smell anymore after 15 mins
shnur145 – :
Loving the fragrance, however, the siliage is short lived on me (anyone else experiencing this?). Could be that the change in weather has dried my skin.. But it does smell divine!!
p.s. There is something about this fragrance that reminds me of T.F.’s Orchid Soleil.. Did anyone else notice this?
BernaGameti – :
I don’t think this is supposed to be a straight chai, but one with milk and honey. It smells mostly floral-ish sweet (which I feel like I’ve gotten when I put milk and honey in some chais, a teabag one in particular – might have been Allegro?) with only a vague hint of spice. It’s pleasant, but definitely not worth the price tag.
cmy000Negeltzex – :
I like this! Got a sample and tried it blind, forgot I did, then thought “what is that sweet smelling TF Black Orchid-ish type fragrance I keep smelling?” LOL. It’s a deep, floral, slightly smoky, sweet scent.
Once it dries down it sort of takes on this smoky, dry, wood tobacco-ish scent with the sweetness in the back. Mhhhh. Pleasant.
Pretty floored when I saw what the notes are. No way is this even remotely close to anything Masala Chai, much less any type of Chai.
Osmanthus? Ehh.
Seriously in my opinion, smells like if you took Black Orchid as a muse and tweaked it to be generic, mainstream, mass appeal, type of vibe, but still good.
I’d buy this one if I could get it for half the price it is sold for, honestly not worth full price in my opinion.
Wladislaw_Krunstein – :
I do not “get” the notes described above….?????
But….NO WORRIES here. I spritzed my sample ….and waited. Patience. At first sniff….I thought..hmmmm..interesting…..then the drydown….WOW!
I don’t care what the “notes” are in this….bottom line…to my nose…it smells darn good !!!
(however, kinda expensive ,so I will wait and see if prices go down…ie..eBay…
Give this one a sniff, you may get a surprise !!!
tarasoff – :
Tried it on my wrist at Sephora, having never heard of this line before: baffled by the notes listed here, all I smelled was laundry detergent once it dried down!
4ermet – :
I adore the slightly edgy names of Derek Lam scents but I must agree with other reviewers about the lack luster delivery of promised fragrance. I’m really in love with Lactonic accords in perfume. But Black is lacking any of the spice or milk associated with Masala Chai Tea. Well, maybe a vague black tea sense, but only if I really stretch.
This was interesting, long lasting and beautifully bottled. But not worth the price for how poorly it resembles what was promised. Not for me.
dima.riga – :
It doesn’t smell like chai or osmathus, but at least it’s a nice light creamy floral with some black tea elements in it; it’s also the least generic from the line (along with their Something Wild & 2am Kiss); would only purchase if it’s heavily discounted (and they’d still have the bottle design to thank).
lapaev68 – :
I make and drink chai all the time, and this perfume does NOT smell like it at all. I’m not getting any of the warm spices or black tea. No cinnamom, no ginger, no cloves, no cardamom. Not even a caramelized skin of milk. This perfume is a vague, generic floral with musk and maybe a tiny hint of peach that I guess is supposed to be osmanthus, but I am not convinced. Very boring. Smells cheap.
pli1 – :
I like this one a lot. I didn’t know the notes when I sniffed it, and to me it was smoky with a little sweetness. I didn’t get floral, tea, or aquatic, but then I am only going by the tester strip. I’m definitely going back to get a sample to try out at home.