Black XS (2005)
by Paco Rabanne

I didn't think much of this, too sweet and not as good as 1 million, (which is also a bit too sweet for me.) Smelled more like the standard xs in the dry down but it had almost disappeared by then.

28th December, 2011.

Far too sweet on the top- the massive hit of strawberry makes me smell like I've spilled a slush puppie all over my face. I don't mind fruitiness but this is too much. The sweetness does mature and some wood does come through with a hint of patchouli that admittedly blends nicely with the more rounded sweetness in the drydown which gives a wintery feeling- think sweet incense. The "goth" branding would suggest to me a dark smokiness, but there just isn't enough of it for my liking.

Definitely one for the 16-21 age range, but they'll smell like the Breezers that they are drinking.

15th December, 2011.

I wanted a clubbing that wasn't too sophisticated. I would describe this scent as sweet, strawberries and amber. It's definately for the younger crowd under 35 years old, perfect for people between 18-25 years old. I think it's sexy and it smells good. Stays on me for about 8 hours. Projects well the first 2 hours.

A very good alternative to One million.

25th November, 2011.

Black XS by Paco Rabanne - This wonderfully exotic fragrance opens with a citrus duet of lemon and kalamanzi, commingling with sage and tagete. I am not quite sure if the spice and marigolds work on the citrus, but a tangy stawberry becomes sensorially incarnate. The sweet heart with its cinnamon, black cardamom, tolu balm and praline wrests control of this pseudo-strawberry, and excises the bitterness yielding a dark, sweet and spicy concoction. The eager base, with its woods and amber, as well as its hint of patchouli, evicts the fruitiness, and forms a warm and inviting drydown. The longevity for this daring fragrance is good, while its projection is average for a close to the skin scent.

14th November, 2011.

This is a vile synthetic sick inducing fragrance that I would not accept even if it was offered for free. With hundreds of fragrances to choose from buying this one would be scraping the bottom of the barrel indeed.

29th September, 2011.

"Knowing the desire of some women to wear men’s fragrances, it can be said that no woman would dare to wear Black XS despite its soft and warm woodsy notes and even sweet notes of the drydown", (taken from description above). Well if that's what you think, bring it!

Before spritzing this fragrance on to a piece of card, the sales assistant informed me that Black XS had a prominent cherry accord making it very sweet. Although cherry is not listed in the notes, the sales assistant was right, there is a definite candied cherry and berry accord.

Don't be persuaded by the marketing scheme, Black XS can be unisex. It's sweet in the way that Joop! Homme is sweet. The syrupy notes of cherry and lemon are rich and strong in a way that does suit a man's skin, however the middle and base notes that look threateningly masculine to the ordinary reader, is not so on the skin.

The drydown is a mixture of slightly earthy patchouli and soft rosewood. It sits rather delicately on both my boyfriend's skin and my own. The scent actually loses most of its strength in the heart, where it tends to settle into a light, almost non-existant woodsiness.

The scent lingers for a relatively long time, however the sillage is pretty weak. I wanted this fragrance to have just that tad more strength so it could really strike me with its loud, rock n' roll slash gothic undertones.

4th September, 2011.