212 VIP Black
Darkness is the whole brief of Carolina Herrera 212 VIP Black Eau de Parfum, a scent made for nights out and essentially useless before sunset.
Absinthe is the opening and it is the only material at the top, bitter, green and herbal with an aniseed sharpness, and it establishes the mood in the first thirty seconds. Lavender follows and is handled dark rather than clean, less laundered shirt and more dried stems in a drawer. Black leather is the other half of that middle, smooth and lacquered rather than rough, suggesting a jacket or a car seat instead of a workshop. Then vanilla, thick and slightly burnt, with musk under it, and the shift from bitter to sweet is the only real event in the composition. Five materials, so this is a short piece of perfumery and it does not pretend otherwise. There is no long unfolding to wait for. Anne Flipo and Carlos Benaïm built it in 2017 to hit hard and stay put, which it does. Expect eight hours or more, with heavy projection early on. One or two sprays is genuinely enough, and the bottle lasts a long time because of it.
Wear it to parties, to bars, to anything that starts after nine, and keep it for autumn and winter. It is cold on a hot day and wonderful in a cold one, and it is unmistakably marketed to men. In an office or on a summer afternoon it will simply be too much, and there are better bottles in the same house for that job.
The brand's clothing side opened in New York in 1981 with a first collection by a Venezuelan born designer. Its fragrance side is younger, dating from a 1988 licence with the Spanish group Puig, which bought the fashion business in 1995 and has run 212 since 1997.
Please note: images are a guide only. Packaging and bottle design may occasionally differ from those shown due to manufacturer updates or promotions.
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