Black Soul by Ted Lapidus bottle
Ted Lapidus

Black Soul

3.9/5 · 518 votes Masculine 2009
Main accords
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Fragrance notes

Notes
Chinese Cedar

Character

Longevity3.4/5
Sillage3.0/5
Day37
Night100
Winter93
Fall92
Spring33
Summer10
Our take

Black Soul opens with a sudden brightness: bergamot and lemon blossom flicker like matchlight before mint cuts through, a cool green edge against the warm crush of cinnamon and cardamom. Saffron threads through the middle, dry and slightly metallic, while resins and tolu balsam begin to settle the whole thing into a long, ambered hum. It dries down to a powdery, musky woodiness, guaiac and Chinese cedar softened by balsam, as if the initial spice has been sanded into a haze. This is a fragrance that feels like a leather-bound journal left open in a cold stone chapel: warm at the core, but the air around it stays heavy and still.

The composition leans synthetic in a deliberate way, more niche in spirit than its drugstore price suggests, though the longevity and sillage are modest. You get maybe four hours of good projection before it hugs close, a whisper of resin and musk against the skin. This is not a fragrance for daylight or for those who demand constant attention. It suits a man who dresses in charcoal and listens more than he speaks, best worn on a bitter autumn evening or deep in winter, when the cold amplifies every balsamic curl. Skip it if you prefer aquatic freshness or anything that shouts. Black Soul is a low, slow burner, and it knows exactly what it is.

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