CELINE
BLACK TIE
2019
Orris
Cedarwood
moss
vanilla
Musk
When I visited the Celine boutique in Paris around 2020, I brought back some samples (in 2022 they finally started to ship internationally as well). The one that I enjoyed the most was Black Tie.
Both in store and when sampling at home, Black Tie stood out for me. It’s exactly as the notes suggest; vanilla, iris, cedarwood, a synethetic fresh musk. Maybe some pepper in the opening (it reminded me a bit of Bohoboco’s Vanilla Black Pepper). It’s not unique, but it’s beautiful. It’s not overly sweet at first, so it’s rather versatile for a vanilla. As with most of the Celine releases, elegance is the name of the game.
The performance is the big downside; it’s a bit better here when compared to Le Peau Nue, which I really liked otherwise. The cedarwood sticks around a bit, but longevity is not great and after 3 hours it’s mostly just a very soft vanilla skin scent on me. Celine doesn’t do anything daring or even new, but there is a certain charm to their fragrances for sure. I can’t make a good case for Black Tie or most of the others to be worth their money, but I found myself wanting this in my collection regardless.