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lvictor – :
This one is quite nice. I can see why it is both enchanting off-putting. Thankfully, I like it. The notes are well balanced and none seem to compete for dominance. The orange comes out first and lets the sweet plum and vanilla happily coexist. Another reviewer mentioned syrup, and I agree. It’s like fruit stewed in honey. There is a slight woodsy musk and earthy moss too. The only note I am not getting much of is the rose. On me, it is not very discernable. And the drydown features a powder note not listed.
Yes, there is some cheapness to the components. I feel like I have smelled them before in Kat Von D’s Saint and Sinner line. This could easily be a popular fragrance with a celebrity name slapped on it. But, I don’t feel like Black II is a bargain bin fragrance. It is a little more sophisticated than that. However, I don’t know if it is worth the price tag.
den7zk7 – :
True appreciation is shown repetitively, when you love something, you don’t just love it once, you love it over and over again. So for me to purchase a fragrance a second time, like I just did with Black II,, says more than what words can about how I feel towards this magnificent blend.
I will keep my review simple, and I will assign you with a homework to try this jewel out for yourself.
But to conclude, if you want to experience one of the sexiest vanilla plum combinations on the planet, get your hands on Black II and you can thank me later.
Instagram: Mrzayas81
vd-mn – :
When I first tried this perfume, I just thought “ugh, too sweet”… and switched to Black IV, trying this, also very luscious smell… but somehow not what I wanted, without being able to pinpoint, why not. This process went on for several days (people in the store already knew me when I came in AGAIN without buying anything… ;)), until one day I sat on train during my daily commute and found myself sniffing at my hand with Black II during the whole travel (40 minutes), while listening to a song (“Once upon a dream” / Lana del Rey) and watching a pink sunset with a fire red sun…. next day I bought it.
The scent has a mysterious quality which makes it difficult to describe for me… it opens with juicy mouthwatering plums, even a little syrupy and boozy… paired with something very warm and comforting, I guess this could already be the Sandalwood emerging… I DON’T get any sharp citrus at all, but the plums might be interlaced masterfully with the mandarin and the vanilla as mentioned in the notes. It’s not candy-floss sweet like Lâncome’s “La vie est belle” or the new “Tenue de Soirée” by Annick Goutal, which is a little similar to Black II but dries down to strong powder (which I don’t like). Mysterious indeed, I can’t really distinguish those single notes in Black II, it rather evokes feelings.
The strength of Black II is that it doesn’t transform much from Top to Heart to Base Notes. You get an incredibly pleasant scent which just gets weaker and weaker and melts into your skin to a comforting shell of scent. It’s a dreamlike mixture with moderate sillage but enormous longevity, composed by perfumer Jean-Claude Astier into a masterpiece I searched for during the last decades.
The most interesting phenomenon for me is that after wearing it for weeks, I finally read the perfume description and it just made so much sense: “Black II sings a song of allure, an Arabian Sweet Seduction. Fresh and energizing, it’s a walk through a secret garden; guarded by a wall of memories. It is a safe haven created for endless exploration and poetry.”
I always feel protected, consoled and confident while I’m wearing it, especially when I have a hard and difficult office day before me… when I get hints of it wafting around me… with its sweetness, its softness and sensuality, reminding me of the beauty of life and that everything will be alright, even if times get rough and work is just so exhausting with all of its fights every day. It has such a comforting, sensual, alluring quality which transports you immediately to a happier place.
This perfume is indeed a safe haven for the sweet and comforting things in life – and the belief that all roads lead home. I’m totally in love with this masterpiece and deeply thankful for its creation.
P.S.: Even though I’m wearing it in office, I wouldn’t describe this perfume as “office-safe”. It’s full and deep, so be careful applying it, don’t nauseate people around you. I just spritz several times onto a cotton ball and dab with it where I want to smell it
Incuchetync – :
Pretty feminine but not totally unwearable as a man. From the few ive smelled from this house this was my fave. But I like sweet scents so… I didnt find it very synthetic at least not enough that I felt it warrants mentioning in reviews as others have. Its pretty smooth to me and enjoyable. It reminds me of something else that I cant put my finger on…
I might wear this randomly if bored since I like the scent even if it is pretty girly, but at the end of the day the performance like the others from this house is pretty meh~ for the big price tag.
ikcik – :
Beautiful fragrance – sweet, creamy, and very smooth, in line with the remaining fragrances from the “Black” collection. This one is more feminine than the others, and it is exceptional. II was my first purchase from the house based on reviews alone, and I was pleased. I didn’t originally see fragrantica reviews because the fragrance is listed under the new name “Widian” but continues to be marketed under “AJ Arabia”. I tried searching that latter name and figured there was no entry for it. Glad I eventually found it. I can’t to try the Gold collection.
ayoguyldi – :
In love again. I’m so pleased with this fragrance. No, what am I saying? Pleased? Uff, pleased is too polite. I’m in rapture – I can’t stop smelling my wrists. This smells like plums, raisins and orange marmalade, weighted with sandalwood, vanilla and a hint of musk. An orange marmalade wearing heels. And perhaps a big floppy hat. With nude lipstick. And long long long dark brown hair. There. What I must have been meaning to say is that it’s so incredibly pleasant and beautiful; if I could wear one fragrance for the rest of my life, this would probably be it.
de_gizard – :
Largely the same as Black I (budget Arabic honey-bomb scent) but with an anonymous floral undercurrent that lends it a third dimension. It’s still as cloying as everything else done in this style, and the longer it’s on, the faster it turns into “exotic snickers bar.” Aside from that, there’s not much to say about it. It’s a warm but cheap smelling synth-bomb that’s loaded with sugary notes and an expected sour synth sandalwood. After 30 minutes, you’d be hard-pressed to tell it apart from something like Raghba Wood Intense. Cheap but expensive.
gorik – :
Putting the sin in synthetic is an understatement here. This is the kind of fragrance that has “Blind Buy Me” written all over it. Again, another one of those cheap sweets that arises out of the ashes with an egregious price tag. Only worse, this reminds me of Keiko Mecheri’s Lunea which i also didn’t like for the same non-natural reason. A toffee/vanilla combo is what you mostly get backed by an airy rose that may or may not be noticeable on your skin. Absent on my skin were the plum, citrus and moss. Likeable for people that doesn’t know any better. Artificially, this succeeds but from a quality standpoint this is lacking. The highlight of its tenure is when the fragrance ran its course.
turokivan – :
Balck II opens with citrus notes of mandarin and plum, which create a smooth mood , further you can recognize the floral scents of roses and sandalwood and a unique combination of moss, followed by a vanilla and musk base, scratching the surface of wildness and sexiness of your personality, leaving it with timeless silage.
Wuzli – :
I took a dear friend to ROJA’s (5th floor @Harrods) today.
He was absolutely smitten and decided to buy a bottle.
Must say, smelling it here at home in isolation and not being bombarded by all the other lovely fragrances in R’s, it is an excellent fragrance and well worth a buy.
On my want list along with No.1 of the Black Collection. I am wondering if AJ is going to release the Gold Collection any time soon in R’s ?