Reviews of Black Cashmere (2002)
by Donna Karan

This is a fleeting incense/wood concoction with weak spicy overtones, but the whole fragrance needs beefing up -- it's diaphonous and short lived. If you want an incense frag go for Messe de Minuit or Passage D'Enfer -- they are far superior.

Too much of everything for me, I'm afraid. Donna Karan's Chaos shared some elements of this (but in Chaos, they were blended with fizzy cola bottles and sparkling lemonade). I bet this will smell exciting on the right person, but for me, it was headache-inducing. (And luckily, Chaos is now being reissued, so I'll wait for that lovely gem to return instead!).

To me, Black Cashmere is not a casual, everyday scent. It's moody and evocative, and I have to be in a certain frame of mind to enjoy it. I live in New England, and if one scent embodies the smell of fall here, this is it: wood smoke, crisp leaves, spiced drinks, incense. Another reviewer said it smelled like "tar", and I agree, but it's not wholly unpleasant. Also brings up an image of Indian spices baking on hot sand. It is an austere scent; there is nothing sweet or comforting about Black Cashmere, yet it can be oddly relaxing. I enjoy wearing it on those days I feel aloof and slightly melancholic. Its bottle perfectly captures the mood of the fragrance.

Well, That wasn't exactly the kind of smell I'd like to smell on my wife... In fact, I think she would kill me if I bought a bottle of this stuff...It's too dark and cloying, smoky...

I so WANTED to love Black Cashmere, but at the dry-down, the final notes overpowered me. It was a muted Tabu. Not good.

I loved the smokiness tho..darn it!!

Well I just got a sm btl of Theorema on ebay, and on me it smells just like Black Cashmere minus the offensive and loud notes at the final dry-down of Black Cashmere

I am a oriental, spicy lover. Hubby likes Obsession on me, but Cinnabar has been my signature scent since 1978.

Fendi, Theorema looks as tho it will kick Cinnabar to the back of the line for a bi...at least until I get to know it. So far...lovely. I'm pleased.

I just love this! The incense aroma takes me back to my years in Catholic school when I was young and naughty. It has those wonderful woody notes softened and made feminine by a powdery veil of something I can't identify. I agree with another post tho, it does not last long enough.

What a magnificent scent this is. Elegant and exotic woods, incense, and spices create a rich, sensual drama of depth and esoterica. To my nose this is primarily an incense fragrance. The other elements of the fragrance — the spices, the woods, and the florals — seem to support the incense as their main purpose, and a beautiful job they do of it, too. The incense dominates the top notes with a distinguishable saffron smoothing out the accord. The top notes last a long time with the movement going from incense and spice of the opening to the incense and woods of the middle. When the transfer is complete, the woods have replaced the spices as the dominant partner of the incense. I am intrigued by the progression of the woods in Black Cashmere — they take a rich, important, and exotic role in the fragrance, although they are rather easy to overlook with all of the more dramatic things going on. The incense note is rather linear to my nose — all the movement of this fragrance seems to be accomplished by the spices and woods. This is an utterly beautiful fragrance: It is at once powerful and subtle, but it could last longer. Intelligent and mystic, it is an experience and a meditation. But keep your meditation somewhat short – Black Cashmere doesn’t last long enough.

At times (winter, in the evening only) this scent is absolute magic. Exotic, dry wood (like you've never smelled before in a perfume), incense, silk, candle-illuminated tents in a desert camp, completely un-inhibited heart. I can crawl into a cacoon with this and feel completed, or sip deep red, thick, rich wine and bask in the glow of a fire and someone's gaze, wearing this. Snowy evenings, leaves of past, dark, warm, exiting.

Taken by surprise by the overwhelming cedar note (wenge wood?), that seemed to be the dominating scent on my skin. I was never a fan of cedar, so unfortunately, after being so sure I would love Black Cashmere, on me it is "trapped in a cedar closet perfume".

I cannot find Black Cashmere at the department store with the rest of the Donna Karan fragrances. Only the Cashmere Mist surfaces, and it is not as good. Black Cashmere is full-on Arabian spices and incense without the annoying ashes of some incense perfumes. It is a creation in the same the vein as Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan and Arabie, but the spices are brigher, more pronounced. I adore this genre. Why isn't it given any space at the fragrance counter? It was launched only five years ago. This is gorgeous. It is full and spicy with clove and masala, saffron, pimento, and a phantom note that I can only describe as "dried fruit." It is well-balanced, sweet and salty, fruity and smoky, but never overdone in any single aspect. Warm and strong, it is an exceptionally good Oriental.

File this one with YSL's Nu - two "take no prisoners" insence scents that miss genius by a mile. Oh, the humanity!

This is my first incense scent -- the one that launched many that came afterwards for me. Very rich and heady, to the point of headachey. At first whiff, the smell reminded me of a buddhist temple or better yet a buddhist funeral.

This is not an everyday scent and I will only wear it if I'm in a certain mood, especially when I'm alone. It remains as a favoured bottle in my collection and my bottle will likely not be used up quickly.

Official notes: Saffron, Masala Spices, Clove, Nutmeg, Pimento Berries, White Pepper CO2 Extract, Mediterranean Broom Flower, Patchouli Singapour, Crimson Red Marechal Rose, Ethiopian Guggal Incense, Wengue Wood, Bois de Miel.

I should hate and run fleeing from BC based on its notes and everyone else's descriptions. I'd never have sought out a sample, but Taolady included some in a mailing, and bam! I began salivating. I can't stand clove, recoil from spices, get picky about roses, feel so-so about incense; so I have to wonder if the broom flower is somehow creating a context that unifies and makes palatable all these off-putting notes. I'm also puzzled how I can like a "mainstream" scent when I gravitate only toward niche formulations and a couple of French oldies. I'm stumped. And I don't just LIKE BC -- I could swim in the stuff. Sweet, deep, intoxicating. A powerhouse that doesn't make me flinch. Yup, I'm stupefied ... but happy.

I know a lot of people like this scent so I hope you will keep in mind that our noses are all a little different along with our skin chemistry. The ladies were doing a laying challenge and many were using Black Cashmere and so I had to go out and try it. To me, If one were to put cloves into a used ashtray and set them on fire, you'd get Black Cashmere.

Probably my favorite "signature" fragrance. Full of contradictions - spicy yet soft, very different yet unoffensive. I was hooked from the first time I tried this at the counter. Elegant, confident and poised, probably best for winter (evenings, especially), Black Cashmere is a knockout!

Understand how some women can feel wrapped in a soothing blanket of comfort with this one on a cold, rainy day. Especially if they've od'd on cutesy " upbeat " florals.

But can a man wear this?

Well, yes. Provided:

1. He doesn't mind making the cats sneeze.

2. He's never been pepper-sprayed by a cop. Otherwise it'll conjure unpleasant memories.

3. Never been trapped at church during High Mass by a berserk deacon with an incense fetish, nor ever worked for CdG.

4. Loves sprinkling cinammon on top of yellow rice. Loves cooking with saffron.

Pass.

Wearing Black Cashmere is an poignantly smooth experience from the initial spray onwards and one can tell this is a well-crafted fragrance with a flair for the dramatic (pepper and incense) thrown to stir things up.

I love the way it settles down into a spice-tinged conversation that lasts the entire evening. This is one of my wive's favorite perfumes and it's fast becoming mine as well.

Starts out spicy hot, like a cinnamon heart, and maintains that note but adds in deep smokey wood. Strong, yet restrained with a dedicated constancy in the spiciness. It seems elegant, yet open and loving. Top notch fragrance. Best for winter; works for fall. ...

In the same vein as Scent Intense and Magie Noire in that it's a) smoky, woody, dark, rich, and incense-laden and b) indisputably unisex, no matter the marketing. I know more people who have this as their "signature scent" than almost any other I can think of right off the top of my head. (And with good reason.)

The first time I tried Black Cashmere I was startled and just a tad put-off. How could a "name" like Donna Karan come up with such an outstandingly complex and seemingly contradictary formula? Within 30 second or so I was addicted and immediately purchased the fullest-size I could find. I felt a need that I rarely feel to OWN an almost absurd amount of Black Cashmere.

There are a lot of fragrances that I don't want to do without but if I were committed to "one perfume only" prison, this would be my choice. The deep dark leathery and woodsy smell with the accents of saffron and other exotic spices sold me totally after 35 seconds. Black Cashmere reminds me more of the woods and an old library than of Cashmere, but it does have a softness which undercuts the patchouli a bit.

This is a perfume that will console on a cold day, that will blend in perfectly with an opera, symphony, poetry reading, or cocktail party. It's sensual and makes me feel 20 years younger in age and 20 years older in wisdom.

And I certainly think it's a good unisex scent for the man who's beyond sports and fraternities. A good choice for an Oxford Don or a cosmopolitan, intellectual.

I love to wear this fragrance when I want to feel a little exotic. I love the way it smells when it first goes on but after a couple of hours it starts to smell a little waxy. So, it does need reapplication through an entire day into evening. "Robyogi" is correct about gender marketing being a crock. I love wearing certain mens cologne that I definalty think should be unisex. I have never been told that I smell masculine or am I wearing my husband's cologne, just compliments. Everyone should always experiment regardless of what the marketers have on the package.

Simply divine. It enchants the senses and gives to all people who wear it a special 'charme'.

Sweet, woody, incense-y, and wonderfully spicy, with just a hint of soft sweetness. This is a sensational oriental, chic and modern. I don't know if this is yet considered a classic, but it certainly should be.

Incense, woods, and spices, slightly sweet - dark grey is the color that comes to mind. So many other reviews are correct: dark, mysterious, sexy, intellectual. Certainly this is unisex, if not masculine (and yet another excellent example of how gender marketing is a crock). Black Cashmere has a soapy and slick feeling drydown, almost oily in some way. It does indeed wear close to the skin. The longevity is a bit disappointing, but acceptable.

Probably my absolute favourite. I've heard complaints that it is a masculine scent, but I think it is darkly feminine. Spicy and warm without sweetness, stunning but understated.

Adore it! Lovely, sexy, mysterious perfume.

Perfect scent, lasting, woody, smoky. Some mystical influenses.Its like l´occtane vetyver, but more, some spices added, tar-like scent.I love it.

one of the most amazing fragrances out there. warm incense. mmmmmmm :)

I love this scent...dark, woody, sweet with incense. Even if it's an EdP, it doesn't have the longevity that I'm used to with this concentration. It wears close to the skin, and contrary to its marketing to women, it can easily be shared by both sexes.

A smoky, woody and spicy fragrance that is excellent for colder months. The jasmine note develops during the drydown which may smell like a musty old women's perfume but the amount of dark, smoky elements keep it in check.

I have no business wearing this scent, which is loaded with cedar and sandalwood to an extreme I find unbearable. The few times I have worn it, it's smelled as though I've dabbed Liquid Smoke on my pulse points - as there's also something else in here that smells as though it's burning. It feels like cinnamon - the way straight cinnamon oil can really sear your skin - but doesn't necessarily smell like it. I suspect it's the saffron note interacting with the patchouli that's also in the base. I bought Black Cashmere for the beauty of the bottle and will keep it because it's discontinued, from what I understand. But I will not be wearing it unless I really, really want to have that "gather round the barbecue pit and let's fire up some butts, too!" sort of experience.

a smoking woody forest, a gentle warmness, spicy meal and unexpected animalic tenderness

Great fragrance and unisex to the max.
Shares many similarities with it's DK predecessors Chaos and Fuel. Same dark aura filled with resinous amber and slightly sweet spices and incense. I know many men who wear it regularly and I still question the decision to launch it as a feminine scent. Another one that is close to it is Costume National Scent Intense which hass better longevity and some added fruit notes. The sleek, beautiful BC bottle was designed by Donna Karans late architect husband Stephan Weiss.

Delicious dark rich complex incense. Unisex. It's great.