Black Jade
Lubin (2011)

This is so amazing! It’s very interesting to me that they were able to recreate a perfume that Marie Antoinette once wore.

It is exquisite and elegant and smells very royal. I can’t pick out specific notes but it blends well together.

Sweet opening of plummy bergamot and spices. The spices deepen into the woods and resins. Opulent and rich. Much too sweet for me, but I'm not the target market. It is a well made scent with good notes. The patchouli and vanilla are not overdone, thankfully.

The opening is dominated by cinnamon and fresh notes for a sharp and sparkling start. The flowers are joining and adding some depth; rose and fresh jasmine blend well with the newly added cardamom. Later it gets even more delicious with sweet notes of tonka and vanilla. It gets a bit powdery, but still very enjoyable. The middle part with cinnamon, rose and sandalwood reminds me of the drydown of Egoiste.

I am a lover of Lubin, and I think this has to be my (unexpected) favorite. I don't usually like anything musky, heavy or amber related on my skin, but this just smells divine! I feel like a bombshell femme fatale with just a couple of spritzes. Excellent longevity (6+ hours) that projects like crazy. You don't need much to have people turning their heads and asking what that delicious fragrance is. On me the rose, incense, sandalwood and patchouli remain the standout notes, and the vanilla is non-existent. Overall a warm, sooo sexy scent that has the perfect peppery floral mix for fall/winter.

Bergamot and rose in the opening mix with a jasmine note that soon merges into a mildly peppery incense that is softened by a non-sweet cinnamon. Nice. The woodsy drydown, however, is dull on my skin, and the vanilla-dominated base a bit generic to me. I get very soft sillage, limited projection and four hours of longevity. Overall disappointing; 2.5/5

A joyous rose – gossamer like a fairy's wing, I feel a wash of pale pink descend. The citrus in the opening is so juicy and yet with something of a lollipop quality, it set my salivary glands working: if there had been a ‘pause' button to preserve its magic, my finger would have been on it. A green note (galbanum's in the note list, but its characteristic bitterness is not evident here) to pay the rose gentle compliments and whisper reassurance, and the magic is complete.
The spices are low in the mix and I for one don't miss them. No idea why they called it Black Jade, maybe Open Air Rose didn't have quite the same ring.
The deep drydown waves an olfactory chiffon scarf – you know, powders, balsam, tres chic in the classic French style of, say, a house like Divine.