Blackbird was first an award winning menswear store that opened in 2004 in Seattle. Nicole Miller, its founder and creative director, brought Blackbird to new heights in 2013 when she decided to focus on distributing the Blackbird brand internationally and closed her stores. Today Blackbird is known worldwide for its unconventional and remarkable fragrances and grooming products.
Aaron Way, lead perfumer at Blackbird, described the process of creating these unique scents as coming up with an abstract concept before any notes are discussed. Using a few rare or unusual ingredients ensures that their creations are both beautiful and distinct.
Smooth, soft woods layer with crisp, sharp woods to create the perfect woody fragrance. Iroko is a tree commonly referred to as the African Teak, although it is not a part of the teak family. It has a smooth scent that’s subtly woodsy with notes of sandalwood, teak and dry cedar—think less Paul Bunyan, more Paul Newman. Wear it to bring an air of adventure to the every day. Iroko is an eau de parfum, edp.
Iroko was just discontinued.
Reddit: Cold Sniff: Another airy scent from Blackbird, though much softer than the other options. Iroko smells to me, like linens and pillows and candles. On The Skin: A straightforward clean dry woods. I see this as a companion scent to Mizuchi which is all paper. This is like the table that Mizuchi rests on. In fact, I would layer the two together. Longevity: Decent throw for such an airy perfume and lasted a good 7-8 hours. Overall Rating: 8\10 Familiar and comforting, this is a simple blend that you can use for layering.
Fragrantica: The iroko tree is to some West African cultures - and so to some of their descendant cultures in the Americas - what the oak is to Northwestern Europe, or the giant sequoia is to N America - the symbol of huge, honest, immensely strong hardwood. So also a symbol of their peoples' strength, courage and deep roots in their lands. It's a hero tree. Iroko the scent does do this justice, but its very heft and darkness make it a tough proposition even for those who love deep, smoky, verging-on-acrid timber fragrances. I'm usually one of those people and have a high tolerance for "butchness" in woody composition, as long as it's good ... but even I buckled a bit under the weight of a few good sprays of Iroko. Some REALLY raspy, tough, verging-on-stinky-dark-vetiver shades buzz around for a bit at the first burst, which nearly spoils the whole show for me (vetiver-nervous and female)... but things do mellow, though still staying impressively moody, about 20 mins in and you then get a few hours of reliably solid, deep-toned spicy-ebony-teak-mahoganyesque vibes which smell just nichey enough to be different. Not smoky - nothing here hints at fire - but maybe a whiff of something burnt long, long ago still lingers - and the mental pictures are certainly scored out in shades of charcoal and ink (though Iroko doesn't smell of either substance, it's all wood all the way.) For me it's not quite mellow enough to bewitch like a smoother, though still intensely woody, treatment like DS & Durga Bowmakers; Iroko speaks in such a rattling, low ultra-bass rumble it's a just a little too much more man than I can deal with ... and I say that rarely. If this had a voice it would be Barry White - but the big man dressed up in artsy, tasteful, modern fashion, like something deliberately minimalist from Comme des Garcons.
