Description
Sombre Negra is a new fragrance by the niche house of Yosh and it is based on various moods, personalities and intuition. The fragrance arrived on the market at the end of 2010 and was originally produced as a limited edition, featuring notes of teak wood, patchouli, fine tobacco, opoponax, davanna, cypress, Choya loban (styrax), mushroom, pink pepper, black pepper and oak moss.
In 2011, an updated version of Sombre Negra was launched as part of the new “M” collection from Yosh. The new version is a combination of vetiver, patchouli, cedar, olibanum (Frankincense), pink pepperberry, black peppercorn, clove, juniper, citrus, nutmeg, cumin, tonka and orris root.
Synthesis_of_a_life – :
Wow! This is like Encre Noir’s older more mature brother who has a sinister way about him. I bought this blind and was not prepared for this.
I looooove this stuff. It has made it’s way up to my my top 5 easy.
If you like Encre Noir but want something more daring, look no further.
9.5/10
tivчик – :
Smoky church incense. Musty patchouli (the best kind!) opens the show over a powerful resinous wood. Lots of leather and tobacco. Reminiscent of those classic 1970s fougeres. Not dry but lacks sweetness – I’m not picking up any amber. Somber but deep… Sombre Negra indeed.
sava26 – :
Note: Review is based on a fresh sample acquired in 2017.
Sombre Negra, on my skin, has two distinct phases: the first half is all dark, smoked woods, and an array of dark, spicy notes that hint at incense. The elements move in tandem, creating a layered, complex accord that also has a slight oily aspect at times (which I love). I do not particularly detect tobacco, while the composition is never quite leathery to me, presenting only faint nuances.
Unfortunately, this first phase lasts for about two hours, before the fragrance unravels significantly to reveal a faintly sweet woody dry-down that hints at vetiver and cedar. There is a significant reduction in the body, with sillage becoming quite thin at this point. There is still a nice peppery-incensy touch, but it’s almost imperceptible due to a lack of strength. In this phase it is sometimes reminiscent of Frankincense & Myrrh by Czech & Speake. This bare bones second phase persists all of three hours before becoming silent on skin.
Sombre Negra, eventually underwhelming, is reminiscent of other dark, woody fragrances such as Memoir Man and Bois d’Ascese. I also spot a relation to Jacomo de Jacomo. While differing on several aspects, any of these are more worthwhile and engaging than Sombre Negra.
2.5/5 (neutral)
ikoss – :
I have the revised 2011 version. I love this SO MUCH. It is a genius woody fragrance. Cedar comes through strongest for me, and I can definitely detect the vetiver mixed in with it. It is very “masculine” smelling, especially on opening. As it wears, it becomes less so. I really love woody fragrances and have tried a good amount of them, and this scent is in the top tier of my experiences. Probably a lot of women who wouldn’t want to wear it, but I’m sure some other women would be like me and love wearing it. I know I would love it on my husband also. It has great sillage and longevity. Got it on hautelook for $29, so if you are interested in this you may want to sign up on that site. They frequently repeat lines, so they may have it available again in the future.
prohann – :
Tar, smoke, woods, pepper. There something barbershop here, in the best way. This is completely masculine on me and will end up as a beautiful gift for my best friend. While I enjoy several masculine leaning feminine perfumes, such as Sensuous Noir, Kenzo Jungle l’Elephant, etc, I can’t wear this without thinking that I smell like some smooth, metropolitan man.
waxdw – :
this smells like campfire wood smoke and is balsamic, dry, herbal and smokey. Very masculine. Dry woody.
Flaner – :
If you’re tastes lean more toward the light, fruity and floral, you may not like this scent at all, in fact this may be a little scary to you. As it’s name implies, it’s a dark, thick, dense scent. It’s woody and resinous with layers of smokey incense, dirt and leather. When first applied, it’s intense and medicinal, but as it dries down, the notes I listed remain, but then it softens a bit and becomes a hauntingly beautiful skin scent as a slight honeyed sweetness creeps in. Although it’s different, I would suggest that diehard fans of Vero Profumo’s Onda try this, as it has a similar character.
kwq604speagoessenda – :
Opening is a strong, medicinal wood. I’m glad my skin tends to sweeten scents because it cuts the harsh edge and turns it into a smoky spice, almost dark chocolate.
Serega16V – :
Reminds me a bit of Aventus for men but this one is much softer, not to the face. The first 10 minutes of it are terrible, but then I smell the best masculine perfume mankind so far invented – leathery, with citrus and juniper in the heart. I adore it.
zeptglyclalay – :
I don’t find this unisex at all, although to be fair its my husband’s, and I’ve never had to urge to try it on myself. Instead of picking out particular notes whenever he wears it, it smells like he just built me a cabin by hand, chopped some firewood, lit me a fire and sat down with a glass of bourbon and a cigar. I can’t explain it any better than that. It doesn’t smell overdone, or too designery (does that make sense? This is no Versace Eros, which while I liked on my ex, isn’t a patch on this…) To me it just smells like how men are supposed to smell. On my husband, anyway.
invaderrrr – :
I fell in love with this one instantly, and I wouldn’t necessarily consider it to be oriented toward men only. A woman can pull it off. Reminds me somewhat of TF White Suede (despite the lack of musk and leather notes in this one, frankincense being the only common note), but with lots of smoke. Maybe similar to Serge Lutens Chergu, though less buttery and much more smokey. i I purchased on the spot seconds after first squirt from the tester at Barney’s. Very nice stuff.
same – :
Delightful, smoky, woody, well-crafted fragrance
Not as linear as you might think at first. The dense smoky opening does last for a good while, but after an hour there is more cedar and patchouli at the forefront
Very unisex though it does lean toward masculine
Good longevity, works with my skin chemistry
Arsen_101 – :
Dark, oily, leathery woods. The bitterness makes my mouth water just like with Evil Max by 4160 Tuesdays, another dark woody scent. Come to think of it they are similar colours too, I mean the actual perfume. I like this a lot. It is very dry and that is why it has a leathery aspect. On the drydown it sweetens slightly. It is austere and sombre, second only to Stephen Jones.
Агент Полька – :
Birch tar, smoked amber and woods. Dark, smoky, mysterious, but faded fast and left behind only a hint of smoky birch. Still, great evocative scent.
TROLL777 – :
smokey leathery, peppery with hints of cumin, greens (oak moss, cypress, cidar), and slightly offending Olibanum & nutmeg. quite captivating and luring, masculine in high degree and only dangerous ladies uses this weapon 😉
it turns to creamy spices after a little while with cooling effect. very interesting.
razdik – :
I was browsing the niche perfumes, randomly sniffing everything that came to sight, when I sniffed this and stopped. From the bottle it smells like an enchanting, resinous smoke, strong and loud, to be heard by everyone around it. Upon spraying and drying down, though, it turned far lighter. Now, a few hours later, it lays close to the skin like a soft, watered down version of the elixir I smelled from the bottle. For me personally, I would have liked it to be the heavy monster I thought it was. But on a man, perhaps, this soft cloud of incense could be very appealing.
Unhappy – :
This is my first time wearing it. It’s so dark and smoky, perhaps one of the darkest scents I have come across until now. Somehow it reminds me of burning fire, but also something I used to smell as a child when I visited my dad’s workplace. He was in the army, where he worked with tanks and other armored vehicles. That is the mental image this perfume paints me.
One of my first experiences with niche perfumes. Honestly, I was a bit afraid to try this one but somehow I just had to smell this. Is it dark? Most definitely yes! Can I take out any single note? No. Is it a versatile fragrance? No. But man, this is beautiful! I keep smelling my hand and strangely wonderful memories from my childhood keep emerging. As dark as this is, it is soothing. Who would’ve thought that?
sam0777 – :
This is masculine indeed and only for black scents lovers, just like having a patch of gasoline moving with you like a ghost (talking about the latest version, tobacco note gone) fizzling sizzling dark patchouli combo….
Colonnel Kurtz signature scent…
the horror, the horror…
9.5/10
radio98 – :
A bit masculine, although it is marketed as unisex. There are 2 versions of this and I have the latest. By the looks of the notes I would say the recent version is toned down a bit from the first (no tobacco). This settles into a woody, vaguely chocolaty nutmeg concoction after a rip snorting patchouli cedar vetiver opening. An artistic and curious creation. If you like Vero Profumo Mito and want to go further into the cave then suit up with this.
Санчес – :
Two words: Man up! On a funny note, my 12 yr old daughter said this smells like sausages….but what does she know? Anyway, smoke and spice stars in this action flick that we know as sombre negra. Like Django Unchained, this will either offend or will be praised.
all_Night – :
I should start by saying I have the newer reformulation.
On my skin (female) I got alot of smoke, too much at first, which faded after an hour to reveal a manly chypre with a little smoke on top. For me this is a very masculine frag, I find it sexy in a subtle way. If it were on my man I would want to nuzzle into his neck. I thought it unremarkable at first but I couldn’t stop smelling it and wanting to wrap up into it like a blanket. I get no cloves or incense. On me it is a chypre with subtle smoke and subtle woods and some kind of manly musk under it that I am very attracted to. Sexy but not overt, not groundbreakingly different but it doesn’t obviously have to be, just simply done right.
To just sum it up, to clearly define it for me, just perfectly subtle sexy, gets you without you even knowing it. purrrr
Vilkov-nikolai26 – :
I wonder if there are any fans of Hermes Terre out there who wished Jean Claude-Ellena could produce a darker version of his smash hit. A “Terre Noire” if you like. Well, this is what I imagine “Terre Noire” would be like!
With Sombre Negra we take the path away from the bright citrus orchards and into the dark, dank forest and explore the earthy side of the Terre notes. Yippee! This, for me, is a dream come true my friends. All the notes are there – Patchouli (lots of it), pepper, cedar and vetiver – but they are amped up and complemented by a favourite of mine (and this is the clincher): CLOVES! Oh yes, my fellow clove lovers, if you dig cloves then you must try this.
As the first medicinal waft of cloves hit my nostrils this was love at first sniff. It was like Yosh had taken all my favourite notes and made a fragrance just for me. Just a pity the sillage and longevity and moderate and we’re down to skin scent within three or four hours. However, this bold, distinctive, sassy, sexy perfume really deserves your attention. Check it out. (Note: this review refers to the newly reformulated version of Sombre Negra).
Update: try layering with Encre Noir for a pungent vetiver / patch blast!
vladislavmatasov – :
The Guerrilla of All Patchoulis! just like the name Sombre Negra (Black Shadow) is a South American Hit Squad made up of Police and Army Employees who as a group take down some of the most notorious criminals behind the veil; that said – i think this scent is such a masterpiece within this avenue : clean cut, robust very focused smells amazing and not in anyway cloying, i went 5 sprays once and went to an hindu temple, everyone including the priest wanted to know what it was! 10/10 en route to buy a backup bottle.
Membg249InsuffBooni – :
I’ve been testing this perfume since the day before yesterday and I like it more and more. It belongs to my favourite group of perfumes – the strange and peculiar one.
I like the way it evolves. It opens with blast of freshly crushed and still slightly moist pepper and mushrooms which remind me rather of those fungi living on tree-trunks in forests than eatable mushrooms. After a few minuts this peculiar notes turn into beautiful, bitter mixture of dry tobbaco and herbal and mouldy in the same time patchouly. At this moment it’s like smoking a pipe in a deserted and forgotten dungeon.
Next and last phase is different. It’s mostly vetiver, deep, smokey and earthy with a pinch of woodsy and mossy freshness, marvellous!
For everyone who loves the smell of wild Nature, dungeons and dragons ;P
56852358432 – :
Church forniture. Extremely earthy patchouli (not the head-shop one) and incense with strong resinous/woody notes adding an “angular” aspect. In the drydown pepper and cypress play a quite relevant role. Dense, smoky and deeply dark.
Pitch Black!
Rating: 7.5/10
Christina – :
For those who love a smokey incense fragrance this is a must try.
The opening is like approaching a campfire. The first spray you are introduce to smokiness of the scent. Once you have set around the campfire, you begin to smell the lovely notes in the surrounding.
As it warms down, the opoponax & styrax softens the scent. bringing a little sweetness to Sombre Negra (SN).
It is the final dry down which entices me, the pink and black pepper. Normally these notes are used in top and middle notes, disappearing quickly. With SN, they stay around for hours.
I have had friends smell this, there first impression is “this is strong patchouli scent…” I inform them to wait a while to smell the true masterpiece of the blend. Each friend (both sexes)who has tried this will call me or email be wanting to know where to purchase it.
I purchased my bottle from Luckyscent back in Dec. 2010 and already at halfway through it. This one will be replenished once empty.
I am lucky to live in the same city as Yosh. Over the past year, I have taken several of her workshops and assisted her with some. I am lucky enough to call her a friend and look forward to any additions to Eau de Yosh collection.
Although SN is an EDT this acts like a EDP.
Longevity: extremely long (can smell it on me the next day)