Black Flower Mexican Vanilla
Dame Perfumery (2014)

Black Flower Mexican Vanilla is absolutely gorgeous. The vanilla is paired beautifully with the florals and the hint of nutmeg is lovely. The sandalwood and patchouli provide a beautiful backdrop. A stunning vanilla without slipping into sweet. I'm not picking up the citrus, and that's ok - I have Shalimar for that. I was looking for a slightly-floral vanilla and I've found it.

This is a beautifully-woven fragrance.

Thank you ClaireV - you're my heroine!

This is a deep, rich & spicy vanilla, oriental in tone rather than cupcake-sweet. I don't get the citrus notes, except for a slightly bitter tang in the opening, & I don't get the florals. What I do get is a satisfying nutmeg & tonka blend that continues right through the drydown. It's fairly linear, settling close to the skin after six hours, but lasting over twelve.
This feels like top-quality stuff, & there are echoes here of the "Guerlinade" in classics like Shalimar. If you prefer your vanillas blended with other notes to give them interest, as I do, rather than smelling like a straight-up vanilla extract, then surely this one is a must-try.

From December, 2015:

A nice spicy, deep rich vanilla with that trademark Micallef base that's also in Vanille Orient and Gaiac. It has a warm, plush texture and avoids overly sweet, cotton candy territory. I don't find this incredibly complex (despite the note pyramid), just a simple, high quality cinnamon/vanilla fragrance of obviously good ingredients.100% unisex. I'm a guy and I find it very easy to wear as it's comfortable and nonchalant without any traditionally feminine notes in the mix. Projection is solid and longevity is very good. It's also priced fairly. Black Flower is a good place to start if you're looking for your first serious vanilla--it presents a 'niche quality' style that is completely accessible while still feeling different than what's typically out there. I picked up a bottle myself as it just seems like something that will be perfect for weekend mornings this winter. Thumbs up!

As gourmands go, this is a good one with strength and longevity.

Its opening plunges one into Angel territory with its Christmas scent reminiscences of vanilla, caramel, jasmine and tonka.

There are potpourris and sprays used in stores during holiday time very reminiscent of Black Flower, used to put shoppers in the right mood.

It's quite linear on me, but perfectly pleasant.

My review is neutral due to its adherance to the Angel formula without breaking out in new directions or depths.

Black Flower Mexican Vanilla marks a strong entry in the field of vanilla-dominant fragrances, and it's my favorite from Jeffrey Dame's line so far, after having tried several. The vanilla is dominant and never subservient, yet is coupled elegantly with the other elements of the mix. Caramel and tonka are easier to absorb, as natural bedfellows of vanilla. More so, it's vanilla's harmonious blend with the floral notes (gardenia, jasmine) that makes it such a rarity among gourmands and vanilla-based fragrances in particular that seem to either smell strictly of food or be too floral to be pleasant for men. BFMV is a pleasant blend that can definitely work well for men or women, depending on appetite.

Projection and longevity are both strong, solid for an EDP concentration. This is a must-try for fans of vanilla. Excellent blend of vanilla and floral, light spicy notes.

8 out of 10

This is one vanilla perfume that delivers far more quality and pleasure than its unpretentious price tag would suggest, making it the inverse of something like Guerlain's Spiritueuse Double Vanille, which is good but hardly deserving of the ridiculous price charged for it. Better still, it smells fabulous and is far from a simple vanilla soliflore (or should than be soli-bean?), so you are getting a more completely evolved perfume for your money. Of course, it is available for sale only in America – you knew there'd be a catch, right?

Anyway, to the perfume itself. Its evolution is sort of back-to-front in a way. The opening notes are of a simple, flat vanilla extract type of smell, briefly compressing my expectant heart into a moue of disappointment. But quickly, the rather flat extract note is shot through with the light of bristling citruses and warmed through by the gentle, brown spice of freshly grated nutmeg. The nutmeg note is remarkable – it seems to deepen and expand the opening accord, so that the perfume seems to grow in strength rather than ebb away as the hours go by.

Thick caramel and Tonka bean paste come in to thicken the plot even further, and in its midsection, Black Flower Mexican Vanilla is almost narcotically rich and syrupy. It is sweet, yes, but teeters at the brink of too sweet without falling all the way in. The most noticeable character of this fragrance, though, for me, comes from the super thick white musk that forms the fat cushion on which the vanilla, nutmeg, and caramel rests. At first, the white musk presents itself as a light and pleasant baby talcum powder note, containing the gentle and nostalgic notes we all associate with baby talc such as rose, bergamot, and vanilla. But as the scent wears on, the musk takes on a much heavier and bullying role. It begins to be pasted down in heavy, intensely powdery layers, one on top of another, so thickly it almost becomes suffocating. When I first wore it, this stage of the fragrance made me think ‘dealbreaker'. But the more I wear it, the more I think I can live with it. The rest of the fragrance just smells so good. It has the boom and oomph on my skin that I had been hoping SDV would provide, and gives off the sort of luxurious feel befitting a far more expensive brand. Well worth the money and trouble it would involve getting a hold of it here in Europe.

Maybe it's the crisp fall weather, but Black Flower has quietly won me over. It's primarily a fairly tame but animalic civet musk paired with tobacco-ish tonka and ethyl maltol vanilla, so it is reminiscent of the drydown of Shalimar, but with hazelnut and burnt caramel undertones. Given time, as the animalics fade, it takes on a sweet, lightly powdery amber feel that makes for a fitting drydown.

It's worth noting that ethyl maltol is the "cheap" marshmallowy vanilla made famous by Pink Sugar (and an ingredient that almost always elicits a bad review from me), but the musk, tonka, and other elements here are combined so perfectly that Black Flower never feels silly or immature. Instead, it rides a fine line between sultry and comforting.

As far as indie perfumes go, this is a fantastic first work, polished and professional. I look forward to smelling whatever else Dame Perfumery comes up with.

Deep, lush, woody vanilla + nutmeg soliflor with some caramelic sweetness and woody floral depth (gardenia) with just a hint of vetiver popping up now and again. There is a touch of citrus crispness at the outset, but there is a fairly quick and substantial evolution to that delicious woody vanilla nutmeg confection.