Black Angel (2009)
by Mark Buxton

Mark Buxton Black Angel

Mark Buxton has been hailed by Luca Turin & Tania Sanchez in Perfumes: The Guide as one of the currently working perfumers they believe to be amongst the most creative noses out there. With that kind of praise it certainly makes every colognoisseur take notice when he produces a new fragrance. It really makes me take notice when he decides to create his own line. In 2009 Mark Buxton created a series of seven fragrances, of which Black Angel is a member, under his own name. I am not a full-fledged member of the Mark Buxton fan club because while I find all of the scents he's made interesting many of them just don't seem to soar in the way that I expect them to. Some of this is due to expectations and some of this is likely due to the simpler reason that our aesthetics are slightly off. In looking through the pyramids for the new series the one that stood out for me was Black Angel and I thought this was a good place to get started in trying these scents out. In this case the pyramid did not lie and Black Angel is quite good. The top is a mix of citrus and bergamot, now stop me if you've heard that as a description of a top notes before. Here Mr. Buxton keeps the citrus soft and instead of the sharper aspects that citrus brings this accord brings to mind more of the pulp. This is also achieved without getting too sweet. This aspect of softness is the perfect lead-in, as this theme continues, as a grouping of soft spices appear starting with cardamom and ginger followed by rosemary and coriander. This early phase of Black Angel is my favorite part of this fragrance as it feels like pulling on a cashmere sweater that just hugs me and comforts me. The heart finishes with a nice orris which is joined by jasmine to add a little sweetness to things. The base is guaiac and patchouli and they stay true to the tone set earlier as both are kept reined in and very lightly used. Black Angel is a beautifully composed scent, which is what Mr. Buxton is known for. In the past, I've found previous Mark Buxton creations to be lacking in some area, for me. Black Angel feels like a complete fragranced idea made reality. Black Angel has great longevity and moderate sillage. I'm going to have to try the other six scents in the Mark Buxton fragrance line but they are going to have to be pretty darn good to be better than Black Angel.