Description
Feels familiar, almost ancient, like a fuming bonfire of
incense. Embracing and thick like a worn out leather jacket
found in a spice shop. Dusty and smudgy.
A myriad and marble like construction of darkness; violet,
black and brown.
Coal is based on one of Maacks original drawings made with black coal. It
captures the feeling of creating this piece, the smudge on the fingertips,
the coal falling down the white paper as the hand moves creating a pattern
and the broken pieces at the bottom of the page.
This fragrance was created with perfumer Richard Ibanez.
He tried to re-transcribe the fragrances, the smell and the atmosphere of
an artists’ studio when the artist is using black coal. Therefore he
composed with dark and warm raw materials (like everlasting, leather,
patchouli, papyrus) and fresh and vibrating ones (like black pepper, pink
pepper, shiso) in order to show the warm / cold contrast that the black
coal can have. Coal was launched in 2012.
kupiprodaikupi – :
I really like Twisted Lily. They really know what they are doing. I buy a full bottle of Andree Putman Tan D’ESpices and they sent me 15 samples of stuff they think I would like based on my purchase. Yes 15. This fragrance is like one of those crazy scents like Clive Christian V but actually wearable. Using V as an example, not a clone, its like one of those exotic frags that you want to wear but just aren’t wearable. This is, it’s an amazing scent!!
Designed for the winter. You got to try this, don’t let the name fool you, it doesn’t smell anything like coal. It’s just a masculine masterpiece!!
utt367bedyWelty – :
I really like Twisted Lily. They really know what they are doing. I buy a full bottle of Andree Putman Tan D’ESpices and they sent me 15 samples of stuff they think I would like based on my purchase. Yes 15. This fragrance is like one of those crazy scents like Clive Christian V but actually wearable. Using V as an example, not a clone, its like one of those exotic frags that you want to wear but just aren’t wearable. This is, it’s an amazing scent!!
Designed for the winter. You got to try this, don’t let the name fool you, it doesn’t smell anything like coal. It’s just a masculine masterpiece!!
Alex1245925 – :
I have this in my collection. After sampling literally 50 different colognes in a niche fragrance shop in seattle, i settled on this. Smelled better on paper than my skin. I do not like this in hot weather, but in cold weather this is just what the doctor ordered. You can’t go wrong wearing this during the winter. It’s different. It smells fantastic in cold weather. Puts this warming force field around you. Fall is barely too soon to start wearing this, depending on what the temperature is. I’d say 45 degrees and colder is when you should be reaching for this. Smells earthy, grey/black, peppery, woody, and warm. Very delicious in cold pea-coat kinda weather. Very masculine, yet i wouldn’t be upset about smelling this on the right woman. Must be winter though. Can’t emphasize that enough. Cold weather only! Is much too cloying in the summertime.
niyazstein – :
I tried this a while ago and wasn’t thrilled by it. Here I am trying it again and the thrill is moderately increased, but there are things about this scent that still hold me back from really getting into it. It takes the kind of mineral, flinty effect that appears in L’Occitane’s Cade or MiN’s Moon Dust and throws in a sweet component as well as an old-school cologne accord. And it’s those two components that ruin it for me, personally.
The sweetness comes from a patchouli and vanilla / ambrox — that hackneyed pairing that does the job, but triggers eye-rolls. I’m not entirely sure what’s behind the “old school” tone I pick up, but I suspect it’s bergamot and vetiver — another cliche. The coal part of the scent is obviously cade and iso e (the same as the L’Occitane), but it’s not quite powerful enough to stand out amidst the bloatware that this fragrance comes bogged down with. Furthermore, there’s a bit of a concept clash at work: Coal the Perfume smells complex, evocative, primped, and ambitious. Coal the Rock, smells rough, raw, and earthy. And therein lies the conflict for me — it’s too dressed up.
I don’t hate this fragrance; in fact, I think it’s one of the best things from the line. But it’s not what I wish it could be, and I don’t think it’s as effective as other mineralic, “from the ground” type perfumes already available. It’s worth a sniff if you come across it, but the scent doesn’t quite deliver on the name’s promise of something a bit more jagged.
rex999 – :
This was very unusual, a lovely fragrance but not one I could see myself wearing. To me this is a peat fire-a warm, cosy, comforting deep scent. The top notes are masculine and leathery but in a good way-a sort of solid, dependable good smell. There’s no trickery or chemical notes, its just a solid sense of quiet strength. After about an hour I definitely got a metallic coal scent, cold instead of the warmth of the peat and leather, and then it warmed up again with sandalwood and spice. The sillage is very close, but it lasts and lasts. I’ve been wearing it for 7 hours and its still there, close to the skin. I really like this, its very different.
WiwlyzZY – :
The opening of this scent is beautiful, intoxicating, and complex – rich, smokey, deep, and slightly warm. Sadly, this fades too quickly into a pleasant but unremarkable simple scent. It almost worked when I imagined it as charcoal dust on drawing paper, some powder and a barely sweet pulp, but really it’s just kinda meh. Wish the intensity and depth of the opening hung around for longer, if so I’d buy a bottle.
fackkk – :
Houdini4’s review prompted me to get a vial of this magical scent and I am glad I did! It is mythic, as if Thor’s hammer struck and Coal coalesced into being. The leather, pepper, patchouli and papyrus weave a smokey enigmatic spell. Sandalwood and cedar twinkle in the Asgardian firmament . The whole accord is sublime. I wish I had a FB right now.
Agree with Konst. It is pure alchemy. Perfume art at the highest level – hard to put a coherent description together because the notes don’t really define the whole. The drydown is a spicy sandalwood feat of wizardry. Because of the spices, I think this is a more of a fall/winter scent so it is perfect right now. Sillage – arms length, and longevity all day.
vac963JeomiWogkig – :
Wow!
Pretty blown away by this fragrance. I knew this Andrea Maack line had potential to give me something to smile about and Coal has been the one to do it.
It’s not like anything I’ve tried before it has true dimension, because the smokey/earthy coal effect is like a veil of smoke sitting in front of the ‘real’ composition behind. A clever perfumers illusion and the olfactory equivalent of Dolby 5:1 surround sound.
The opening is quite fresh with juniper and papyrus and just to mention that many fragrances which contain papyrus(with sandalwood usually?) are a turn off for me. Coal however is really nice and interesting and somehow does evoke the smell of coal. The intense pepper grows out of the opening and you get a kinda smokey effect but the drydown to me is a kind of patchouli and very spicy gorgeous sandalwood and maybe some ambery resin too…it’s slendid!
Longevity is good and coal projects for a little bit before retreating. This fragrance is nothing short of show stoppingly good and you have to check it out.
I want a bottle.
Untotrura – :
“Coal” by Andrea Maack opened very promising uniqueness wise – full with papyruss and very balmy/dark due to pepper and patchouli. Unfortunately an hour in and it turns mostly to warm/clean sandalwood scent which does not strike me as very unique, silage is on the low side and staying power is very good – more than 7 hours, but I’m pretty much left with sandalwood.
I think “Coal” will compliment male skin better. As for the name itself – I did not get any particulary strange vibe that could be described as “coal”. In overall – a pretty and good quality masculine, warm sandalwood scent. But I’ve tried better.
Jectaduntee – :
This is a real gem!
Forget about the top and heart notes, although interesting and pleasant enough after ~1 h they’re gone and then the real thing begins…
I cannot even write a coherent description of what I smelled. Some free associations (and sorry for being esotheric…): fire as a basic element, meditation on fire, transcendence, energy, pagan ritual, act of creation…
Pure alchemy. Unique and sophisticated.
I bought it for my mother, she is a strong and independent person, an artist, a creator. In Coal I feel her energy and passion.
egorka73 – :
Papyrus feels very clean and calm but the pepper brings flows of heat that fuel this perfume.
Reading the whole explanation of the ingredients and the idea behind this fragrance, I was expecting something unwearable, but I’m surpsrised to see how easy this perfume is.
It’s not a new scent, or one that will blown your mind, and yet there’s something about the execution and blend of the ingredients that makes it different.
avt726476 – :
Constantly ebbing and flowing between hot and cold, Coal really does remind you of coal. This is a good thing. The notes reveal themselves gradually. The smoky papyrus is sensual and mysterious and is only enhanced when the juniper is used as a sweet foil to it. The overall effect is not overbearing as it sits quietly on the skin but it is clearly noticeable during conversation, and upon closer inspection is a fine fragrance. It lasts an entire day (or night perhaps?) at approximately six hours by which time the base really kicks in and smoulders away pleasantly for a few hours more. Coal really is a unique, sophisticated and sexy fragrance.