Onyx
by Sage Machado

Onyx is so well named, and as Ms. Machado is first and foremost a jeweler, an understandable occurrence. This fragrance, like the stone, is an under-appreciated delight.

For all the discussion of the coconut, Onyx is primarily a dark, opaque, tobacco scent, and one that stays rich and stately, avoiding the unfortunate sour turn of iPF's Tobacco, and miles away from the harsh, over-done pseudo-complexity of Aramis Havana.

This tobacco is softened, surrounded in cottony down by a lady with gentle fingers, and then carefully placed into a packing crate padded with shredded coconut husk. This isn't suntan lotion coconut, and it's not the sweet flakes from a macaroon. It's the coir, the husks, the earthier essence of coconut, and it compliments, not overpowers. The vanilla also avoids any foodie associations, letting the oakmoss and musk show it how to live a meaningful, productive adult life away from the bakery and teeny-bopper toiletries.

I'm giving away no secrets to say that this absolutely one of my favorite frags ever, and that House Machado is at the top of my list in general. With that said - Onyx stands out as a misunderstood scent - years of mass-market foodie frags have tainted it with stereotyped expectations. Let go of those expectations and let yourself indulge.

I love this fragrance. It's sweet, yet smoky. Light, but unmistakeably sensual. To me, it feels "older", like something my grandma would wear when she was my age- before a night out on the town with someone special. (Not that it smells like older perfumes, it's just an impression I get.) Because of that, it gives me a sophisticated feeling. Slightly more sillage than Pearl (my other Sage Machado love), but still only discernible by those with whom you become up close and personal. Wearing this fragrance definitely gets me feeling ready for some closeness with others.

Sage Onyx is a cloying, sickly sweet coconut/musk bomb that smells cheap but somehow manages to gets rave reviews on the MUA Fragrance Board when the "best coconut perfume" poll crops up time after time. I don't get the point of Onyx at all but then again, I'm in my forties. Maybe this Onyx is something the "tween" set enjoys... All I know is, I don't like this one bit. Get out the kitchen sponge 'cause I need to scub this off !!

Here are the notes, courtesy of The Perfumed Court: dark coconut, oakmoss, tobacco and vanilla nectar.

This is the first coconut scent I've tried and I find it quite delightful. Certainly unisex in that it is neither overly feminine nor masculine. A great pick me up for winter doldrums - transporting me back to the beaches of summer. Coconut is dead center but the vanilla, amber and musk basenotes are a strong and warm support. A very nice scent.

At first whiff i feel all the warmth. when I close my eyes, it takes me back to bonfires on the beach or pina coladas outside under the tiki torches. I get the smokeyness and the sweetness of the coconut. The dry down is more mellow..i lose a bit of warmth and i find that it smells almost identical to a coconut incense I was obsessed with a few years back. A scent that constantly recieved the rave of "hmmm...what smells so good?"

I agree with the previous reviewers that Onyx doesn't have the coconut smell you associate with most products containing that fragrance. It just adds to the overall creaminess here. I am not sure that I smell the tobacco here, but I definitely liked the powdery, creamy drydown. Although their ingredients differ, it reminded me of a slightly less sweet version of Bond. No. 9's Westside, which I also really like. I see Sage as a casual, daytime fragrance.