Black Heart v. 2 was one of three fragrances launched in 2014 by Australian niche line Map of the Heart.

I had barely finished the reading about, Black Heart v. 2 on Mark Behnke’s blog Colognoisseur when I knew I wanted to try it, but finding it was another was the problem. Talk about hard to find! I searched, I Googled, I emailed, I phoned, I asked….and nothing.

Truth is, Black Heart v. 2 eluded me until the day I walked into L'Eclaireur Sévigné, the iconic Parisian concept store and there was Black Heart v. 2 sitting on a shelf. I sprayed it on my wrist, went for a drink, went back to the store and bought it. A case of find, smell, love.

Black Heart v. 2 opens with nose-tingling bergamot sweetened with a note of juicy Brazilian orange. Right up behind the citrus comes a camphourous note of eucalyptus. Eucalyptus is potent stuff and its moth ball smell can really take over a fragrance, but here it is softly heady and green. It balances the citrus fruits beautifully. The top notes linger as Black Heart v. 2 moves to a heart of darkness – sweet, spicy resinous cardamom, warmed by hot, earthy black pepper and sweet, spicy cinnamon. This is a heart full of warm beauty that rests on a base of smoky wood accords and Australian sandalwood - rich, deep, woody and balsamic.

The drydown is balsamy, warm and smoky, with a delicate thread of green brightness running through it. The smokiness is not heavy-handed, just very sensual so that Black Heart v. 2 smolders on my skin for hours and hours. Every time I catch a whiff of it, I am moved by its deep, dark beauty.

The only regret I have with Black Heart v. 2 is that I didn’t buy an extra bottle.

Notes: bergamot, Brazilian orange, eucalyptus, cardamom, black pepper, cinnamon, smoky wood accords Australian sandalwood.