ÇaFleureBon Modern Masterpieces: Bulgari Black (Annick Menardo) 1998 “Substitute for Love”

Madonna’s Ray of light cover

I traded fame for love                                           
Without a second thought
It all became a silly game
Some things cannot be bought”

In 1998, Madonna glamorously wrapped in a Dolce&Gabbana plastic coat released her best album. That same year, perfumery found its “Substitute for Love”– Bulgari Black. After soaking for a decade in aseptically marine concoctions and sanitized urban-tribe musks the need for a new, more ergonomic sensuality was palpable. Only three years after being appointed Fine Fragrance Perfumer at Firmenich, the talented Cannes-born Annick Menardo brilliantly understood that it was the right time to push the boundaries with a fragrance that was  far from the  conventional ambers of the time, but still cozy. The genius of Bulgari Black was  the shifting  of what sexiness could be… away from iconic fumes like opulent Shalimar and dandy Knize Ten to the cruel darkness of zen-chic black tea and industrial-fetish rubber,  a degree  away from raw skin contact to something kinky.

Bulgari Black original advertising

Opening with the luminous floralcy of  hedione and just a hint of bergamot, Bulgari Black takes inspiration from the roasted notes of Lapsang Suchong  and  quickly develops into a powdery, rubbery, smoky cake that to this day is “a love or hate ” fragrance. When I first smelled it back in 1998, I  thought this is what a Replicant's skin might smell like (it settles as a very human skin scent).

 Pris in Blade Runner 2049

The burnt plastic smell of guaiacol and pyrazines (naturally occurring in black tea),  is masterfully blended here with vanilla to get a captivatingly sweet new tires smell conveying naughty games wearing neoprene apparels or playing with erotic toys, which in a way was a scent forecast of today's internet cyber-sex as a substitute for love. It’s not diffiuclt when you inhale it  to imagine that it could be the smell of a replicant from Bladerunner, like Pris.

Lapsang Souchong leaves are traditionally dried over pinewood fires imparting its distinctive smoky aroma via flickr©

While this smoldering, distinctive rubber character is never lost (thanks to the soupçon of impalpably seamless woody vapors), Blugari Black has a smooth ambreine-like oriental trail revealing the cinnamon warmth of styrax. Initially conceived as a men’s fragrance, it   was and is perfect on both men and women; it is quirky and stands out from the rest of the wispy Bulgari “teas” collection. Whereas Bulgari Black immediately gained appreciation among connoisseurs, its unique sweet rubber accord took some years to become an acquired taste.

Darryl Hannah as Priscilla Stratton, a Replicant in the Original Bladerunner 1982 

Ahead of its time, Bulgar Black never reached today’s demanding sales targets and the brand sadly discontinued it in 2017, even though its influence is unmistakable in niche perfumes notably the sooty Le Labo Patchouli 24.

The “tire suit” from the Thierry Mugler Spring/Summer 1997 Haute Couture

Bulgari Black, the “supreme exponent of the metropolitan concept”, a cutting-edge oriental, needed a flacon that conveyed the same bold statement. Thierry de Bachmakoff, who already dressed the minimal-chic Eau Parfumée au Thé vert, drew the same sleek metal design and added the fetish-like matte rubber from their watches collection. That’s why he designed a soft-touch rubber wrapping around the short and wide cylindrical bottle, boosting coherence between the metropolitan mood and the fragrance into an unexpectedly glamorous industrial gadget.

Ricardo Omori, Senior Vice President Global Fine Fragrances welcomed Maitre ParfumeurAnnick Menardo to the Symrise team (including Maurice Roucel and Emilie Coppermann) photo credits Le Musc et la Plume

After signing Bulgari Black, Lolita Lempicka, Christian Dior Hypnotic Poison and other impressive commercia, luxury and niche creations (Guerlain Bois d'Armenie, Eau d'Italie Morn to Dusk and Olfactive Studio Close-up), Annick Menardo has left Firmenich after 27 years and recently joined Symrise. The Company is  pursuing innovation and daring creativity with new perfumers. I can’t wait to smell Mme. Menardo’s next creation and look forward to a new Modern Masterpieces.

Notes: bergamot, black tea, jasmine, cedarwood, sandalwood, leather, amber, musk, vanilla, resins

Ermano Picco, Editor (with contributions from Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief)

 Editor’s Note: Bugari Black is available at fragrancex.com for under $27 USD.

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14 comments

  • I concur both of your statements, Ermano: Ray of Light is a true jewel in Madonna’s discography, and Bulgari Black is a remarkable scent. I only wish it were a bit smokier/more rubbery (yes, it might seem like a strange thing to wish for but I do!).

  • Bvlgari Black is a fragrance I’m very fond of. It was one of the very first fragrances I tried. The Replicant skin comparison never came to my mind before, by it’s genius.

  • fazalcheema says:

    It is amazing how Bvlgari Black is not more popular. It has been discontinued and I have hoarded quite a bunch of original BvlGari Black bottles though I wish the original attached spray mechanism was better designed because I like it better than the later removable cap but less problematic spray mechanism.

  • This is one of my favorite scents! And what a lovely tribute to a real classic (the art direction is spot on!). I love that it’s a little weird, yet wearable. And still avaialbe for reasonable prices…for now. Such a shame it has been discontinued!

  • Monica Beaton says:

    Great article Ermano & Michelyn. I am a huge Bvlgari fan and have been for years. One of my first “different” fragrances I purchased was The Vert, and the love affair began. I purchased the first incarnation of of Bvlgari Black – the one that had a distinctive rubber/burnt tyre scent. It took me a while to appreciate it’s beauty – I found it too masculine at the time. But, in time I reached for it more often as it was one of a kind, and it was sexy. It made me stand a little taller, and feel just a little bit rebellious. I hadn’t worn it for a while and recently tried the newly rereleased version with a touch of disappointment. It’s lost a bit of it’s grit, it’s a bit easier to wear, and though I still love the soul of it, I miss that bit of “dirty girl”.

  • Uh oh, i didn’t realize it had been discontinued. I’d better get a bottle before it disappears! Thanks for the review!

  • Gabriel Garcia says:

    Just beautiful like madonnas music, that was a better time back then
    And the potion was right for the times, and “that” mmm smell
    Fun times.

  • Thank you for this great article, Ermano and Michelyn! I still have my first bottle of Bvlgari Black purchased in 1998. It was love at first shock, recalling the smell of burnt tires from happy high school camp outs at the Daytona 500 in the 1960s…Ah! Memories are made of this.

  • Melissa Brewster says:

    This is wonderful and I did not know that it was discontinued
    I am going to fragrance x and buy two

  • This Has been reformulated. The vintage earlier version had a stronger black rubber tire smell to it, and I miss it

  • Mary cornell says:

    I didn’t know bvlgari black unisex was discontinued in 2017. I had it many years ago and fell in love with it. I never was able to purchase it again I just couldn’t afford it until recently I saw it online and I went ahead and purchased it. And once smelt it something was wrong. It was far too sweet smelling. It just wasn’t right I looked up batch number and found out it was 12 years old. I am so disgusted at these people who sell these products knowing they are scamming us. I am so sad to find out it has been discontinued

  • simona de nittis says:

    I use Bulgari Black from 1998 till now, and I’m so sad its out of production, the scent remebers me a man isn’t with me anymore, and I cannot accept it has been discontinued, During all these years everyone I met always asked me was tthe name of the scent I dressed it’s a big error for me that Bulgari have done….
    very sad….

  • I was given a bottle at its market onset. I adore it; my signature perfume. All left to say is
    please please BBBB…
    Bring back Bvlgari Black