Our take
What does Bad Boy smell like?
Bad Boy arrived in 2019, its bottle cut in the shape of a lightning bolt. Quentin Bisch and Louise Turner composed it. The opening is a two-pepper act. White pepper is dry and faintly animalic, pink pepper has more fizz, and bergamot lights things up for a few minutes. Then cedar and clary sage take over. That pairing smells of warm herbs and pencil shavings, and it holds off the slide into dessert. The slide does come. Tonka and cacao read as dark cocoa powder rather than praline, while an amber-wood accord adds volume and staying power. Once the first hour passes, it settles into a clean and fairly linear spicy oriental in the modern style. It stays drier than Le Male Elixir, which leans hard on honey.
When to wear it
Autumn and winter evenings, or a date night. Three sprays are plenty for anyone who likes gourmand scents without loud vanilla.
It belongs to the Oriental / Amber, Spicy family. Bad Boy is one of 6 creations by Carolina Herrera in our encyclopedia.
