The Black Rider

[DiesMali]

Black leather, oppoponax, tobacco, and black amber.

 

In the imp: Strong, slightly incensed black leather.

 

Wet on my skin: Deep, delicious, black leather with incense and a bit of sweet tobacco.

 

Dry: The amber comes out once this is dry, joining the other notes and giving them a sweeter, almost powdery finish. It's soft, well-worn black leather now, with sweet amber and tobacco. BPAL's leather scents usually smell great on me, and this one's definitely no different. MMmmm. I'll need more of this later.

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: Yummmmm. This is very much one of those "what you see is what you get" scents - I can pick out the smooth leather, the smoky tobacco, the vaguely incense-y oppoponax (which is similar to myrrh, but I'm getting more resin and less incense, if that makes sense), and definitely my old friend amber.

 

Wet: Both the tobacco and leather take big steps forward, but they both become drier and...newer? ITI, it was the scent of a well-loved leather armchair that an old gentleman has sat in as he smoked his pipe every day for decades, but now they're both fresher - the impression I get is of a rack of my grandfather's shoes.

 

Dry: Thankfully, less "Grandpa's shoe closet" and more "classy old library with really comfortable chairs." The leather calms way down and blends beautifully with the tobacco. The oppoponax, which had become more incense-y in the Wet stage, settles back down into something sweeter, warmer, and more resinous. And, of course, my old friend amber shows up (after being sorely missed in the Wet stage), and gives everything this lovely, elegant, sepia-toned feel to it.

 

Overall, I'm actually not crazy about this scent. It's a good, wearable, everyday scent (and damn if it isn't respectable!), but at the end of the day, it's just not as interesting or mysterious as I like my perfumes to be. I'm not sure how often I'll be reaching for it, since it reminds me so strongly of my granddad, but I'll keep it around for a day when I need to add a little extra stability to my day.

Edited June 10, 2015 by Lunasariel

[Veronica]

Interesting. Leather and spices and man musk. Not for me.

[Shaeori]

In the imp: Amber, powder.

Wet on my skin: Sweet powder. Very airy.

Dry: Unfortunately, all I get with this scent is the sweetness - none of the leather, tobacco or anything else mentioned by others. What has me holding on to the imp is that I know it was different when I tried it in the summer, so I'm going to hang onto it for now - just in case.

Overall: Lovely sweet scent - rather like the Black Rider used a lot of baby powder to protect against chafing. Not really as exciting as I remember it, but we'll see when the weather warms.

[Anita]

Ok, so Red Rider is one of my favorites to wear. It's everything I want in a leather scent and it's sexy to boot. I was hoping that Black Rider would be it's masculine partner.

 

Not the case. The instant it touched my skin, it was baby powder with a tiny hint of leather. Then the leather went away and it was just baby powder, which made me very sad.

[sprout]

Source of test: frimp of indeterminate age

 

In vitro: sweet, sweet myrrh (oppoponax)

 

Wet: same

 

Early dry: oppoponax which is very sweet and resinous and a hint of leather, the resin dominates

 

Late dry: mainly myrrh still which is very sweet and resinous on me, a hint of leather and the amber adding a golden sweet and slighty woody aspect. tobacco note is MIA, probably I can't smell it because I amp oppoponax like its my job.

 

Final thoughts: this is very nice on me, the leather is behaved and I wonder if aging will just increase it's glory. now, I am torn, as Streets of Detroit is my go to scent for sweet resinous myrrh. i am now trying an application of wet Black Rider on top of the few hours old spot to put the heart notes and the top notes together but it doesn't work to get more leather. I am surprised at the comments of man musk above from other reviewers, I get no musk here and I tend to amp it. Also, maybe because my skin loves leather, it is very light here, my skin absorbs it and broadcasts the myrrh so my scent is mostly sweet and actually quite feminine although I could see either sex wearing this. if some aging brings a little more leather to the forefront, I could see buying a bottle of this. I hoped for more leather, preferably the De Sade kind. The leather here is like a new jacket, no wet leather or chemical ickiness, it is quite natural and slightly smoky, but faint.

[Inscrutable]

Oh baby where have you been all my life?!?!?!

This is stupendous!

Not too sweet, deeply aromatic, a lived in, sinned in suede, velvety sandalwood, flavorful tobacco, all blended just right.

A touch powdery, but mostly this invites touch. Follow your nose and get ready for a subtle but profound sensory experience.

Need a back up bottle NOW.

[Soupy Twist]

Leather and a little sweet resin in the bottle. Goes on as a smoky leather which quickly fades to that horrible burnt cigar smell from Dragon's Hide. Wow, when the Lab combines leather and incense, it does not work on me. Good to know.

[sunlitgarden]

Black Rider is one I probably wouldn't have tried just based on the description, but I tested it back at Knows Perfume and ended up loving it. While black musk isn't listed as a note, the black leather and/or "black amber" have a similar sort of scent to my nose: soft, powdery, almost lemony.

On my skin, the more "bitter" notes (the opopanax and tobacco) are detectable, especially with an up-close sniff, but they aren't at all dominant. To me the leather in White Rider and Red Rider smells much newer and stronger to the point of smelling harsh. The black leather in Black Rider (and also Rogue) is much gentler, well-worn, and not harsh at all.

This scent leans more towards masculine, but I don't feel misplaced or odd wearing it (which happens with a few of the more cologne-like scents). In one of the "GC Wins Again" cases, I think I actually prefer this over the similar dark-and-sexy Panther Moon.

[Teamama]

Testing a frimp. Like other reviewers, I get sweet resins from TBR, a hint of sweet tobacco, and some lemon. I don't get any smoke, and as usual, BPAL's leather scent isn't leathering on my skin.

 

I bet this would smell fantastic on Teapapa, however he is resistant to testing new scents (totally devoted to Looming Specter.)

 

Nice, but not me.

[Elspethdixon]

Testing an older (at least a year old) frimp. Wet/freshly applied, I get strong/slightly harsh leather with a hint of something almost smoky. As it dries, a hint of powdery-sweet incense comes through, gradually dominating more and more while the whole scent softens and the leather and smoke recede.

 

Then, tragically, it fades completely to the faint close-to-the-skin sweet/warm powder that oils containing myrrh or frankincense seem to do all-too-often on me. It's a pleasant, slightly-amber-y smell that's warmer and more subtle/complex than the baby powder some people get, but still a disappointment compared to the leather-smoke beginning.

[ziggystardust13]

Very more subdued than I imagined and sticks very close to the skin. It's soft and ambery with a whisper of soft leather. Slightly powdery, but in a good way. This is nice! And reminds me of something.... Haunted! If you like Haunted, definitely give The Black Rider a try. I originally purchased this for my hubby, but glad I inherited it! I think this one leans more feminine.

Edited May 6, 2016 by ziggystardust13

[Casablanca]

I like this much more than I expected to when I picked up the three riders.

 

Wand: Dark, sweet myrrh incense and leather. Unexpectedly perfumey, but not in a bad way. More of a black musk way -- it has that vetiver-lemon myrtle-musk feeling.

 

Wet: Sweet myrrh, soft black leather and a pinch of fragrant tobacco. Tobacco can easily go wrong for me, but this works: the smokey leaves quickly step into line with the rest of the scent in a sort of best supporting actor role. Powdery can easily go wrong for me, but there's a little of that here and it's almost atmospheric -- like the smoke in the film noir bar.

 

I can see how there's amber in this, but for me it's mostly hiding in the dominant sweet myrrh/opoponax.

 

Dry: This gets more powdery on me as it dries, but still OK for my tolerance. Imma gonna piggyback on the last review and say yes, this also reminds me of Haunted!

Edited May 28, 2016 by Casablanca

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Opoponax is doing it's Coca-Cola thing here, in the best way. It's very sweet due to the amber with the tobacco. I don't pick up the leather at all, thus far. Quite nice!

 

 

Dry: Dries down to a nice warn leather note, with a lot of sweetness from the opoponax/amber combo. It's pleasant, but not for me. I imagine this would smell amazing on a man.

[Joyleaf_]

God this is lovely. This is the warm musky smell of a well worn leather jacket. This jacket belongs to Steve Rogers. This is what Captain America smells like out of uniform. Its got an old-timey old fashioned man musk that I think is the tobacco and leather at play. Theres also a dusky sweetness from the amber and the opoponax is adding a mellow quality. I cannot keep from huffing my arm. Id love this on a man, but I also like this on me. This is a scent for rainy nights and candlelight. Comfort and sensuality on any person, with a hint of masculinity and strength.
Clearly I need a bottle.

[Teaotter]

In the imp: sweet amber and leather.

 

Wet: Nothing. My skin eats it all up for the first fifteen minutes.

 

Dry: Powdery sweet and the mildest hint of leather. I was hoping for more black leather from this blend, darn it! It's a pretty scent, but it sticks very close to the skin and just doesn't stand out from other powdery amber scents for me. Oh, well.

[Bassmastadroog]

SO SEXY. Made it into my top 10 for sure. Top 5 maybe. Firstly, I smelled the opoponax...in the bottle...the black Amber, and the edges of black leather.

 

On skin, the black Amber is very prominent, and very well remains the star on my skin. All the notes are evenly blended, which leads to a high morph factor. The tobacco and the leather seem to be equally in the background. A very sweet scent. The leather starts to come forward pretty soon into the dry. The tobacco I do smell is really sweet. The leather is well worn and warm.

 

LOVE this scent. Slinky and alluring.

 

ETA: This has just been turning into massive Amber attack on me, pinky powder. It's just getting really hard to take! I don't know why this has turned back on me so strongly. It was truly in my top favorite scents, I just can't wear it anymore...

Edited November 29, 2016 by Bassmastadroog

[roseus]

The black leather is rich, not quite pungent brand-new leather but not super soft and worn either. The combination of amber, oppoponax, and tobacco adds a rich but not heavy sweetness. I think the toabacco and leather makes it just a touchy dirty. It's dark, and pretty sexy.

[Spaztic]

This one starts off rather powdery and clean smelling (like soap or lotion)...but my skin chemistry does that, takes a dark scent and turns it into a kitten

As it dries down it becomes more sweet and incensey and that actually melds really well with the clean powder.

Over all I really like this one, it sticks really close to my skin though

I'll have to try it a few more times to see if I think it's full bottle worthy

[lizabelle]

This starts out as a nice dark, worn leather scent, but then...amber. I thought black amber didn't go to powder on me but I was wrong, because this is like old-fashioned face powder over that nice leather note. No tobacco at all, just soft sweetness. It even drowns out the opoponax, which I'm learning I love in darker scents. To be fair, it's not as unpleasant as most "golden" ambers are on me, but I'm still not a fan.

[dementia_divine]

In the imp: Lots of oppoponax and black amber, with the tobacco and a bit of well-worn leather.

 

Wet: The oppoponax is the strongest note on my skin, with the black amber following closely behind. I thought this would be really dark because of its description, but it's actually not. I keep thinking this might be the leather note from Mikado Saloon HG, but with some resins and tobacco instead of ambergris and vanilla. In any case, it's not a chemical-y, black leather.

 

Dry: The resins continue to dominate, with the black amber taking the lead. The scent actually stays rather close to the skin, and the well-worn leather note is lovely. I'd say this one is unisex.

 

Verdict: I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. I'm not sure I need a bottle, but I'll definitely be holding onto my imp!

[achildoftime]

This is just like slipping on my favorite leather jacket. It's worn black leather and tobacco. The leather is worn, but it's not the buttery leather that is crazy expensive and people wear to show off. It's the tougher road-worn kind that no matter how much you wear it, it won't be soft. I love that kind as it's dark, but not oppressive. It's also a very smooth scent and makes me feel right at home.

[Lucchesa]

This may be my favorite GC leather scent (and maybe I should buy a bottle before the price goes up!). Wet it is a little cologney. I like a lot of unisex scents, but some (Vicomte de Valmont, Villain) strike me as "too cologney," which may just mean they smell too much like Brut or whatever my dad wore in the 70s. So, Black Rider starts out like it might go in that direction, but it dries down into this dark, chewy, resinous deliciousness. It made me feel badass. Like that cartoon, Rose Is Rose, where her alter ego wears biker's leathers? Like that.

[saint_gawain]

I got a frimp of this with a purchase and am very pleased because I was thinking of getting a full bottle. On me it's smooth and all the scents blended thoroughly together, so it's hard to pick any of them out. It dries down into something warm and loved and well-worn, like leather's that's picked up the scent of its wearer. Over time the leather fades, followed by most of the tobacco and amber, so I'm left with a smoky sweetness close to the skin.

It's really lovely. Definitely getting a full bottle in my next order.

[spikyfairy]

Borrowed from my man-friend's bottle because I was curious about how this would work on me.. These are all notes I like sometimes, but that can be very treacherous, especially amber & leather.

In the bottle & wet on me, it's sweet & very perfume-y. Can't smell distinct notes at first, just POW! Perfume power! As it settles in though, I can pick out everything, although the tobacco is quite faint. Leather & amber combine forces as it dries down, in an attempted conspiracy to turn the whole thing to soap / teenage-boy-bodyspray.
Dry, the very sweet oppoponax tones down. The leather is better on me than it has been in some blends, but I'm still not sure I like it. The whole thing is a bit Grandpa's-cologne, with some added resinous interest (maybe Grandpa is a closet magician).
After a few hours, the perfume-iness has mellowed right out, but it's mostly powdery amber & sweet-resin-y oppoponax, just tinted by tobacco. Nice, & non-offensive, but not really interesting enough for me. I don't mind it on the boy.