Inexcusable Evil sample: what it smells like and a 3ml test

What Inexcusable Evil smells like

Inexcusable Evil is a unisex Extrait de Parfum launched in 2022 and credited to David-Lev Jipa-Slivinschi. The note list reads like a scene rather than a recipe. The top is gunpowder and ozonic notes, so the first impression is sharp, mineral and a little electric, with a clean, ionised edge. The heart lists iodine, blood, flowers, copaiba balm, cypriol oil (or nagarmotha) and guaiac wood, which is where the perfume turns strange: salty, metallic and balsamic at once, with a smoky wood behind it.

The base is concrete, rain notes, incense and sandalwood. That is the quieter half of the story. After the metallic opening, the perfume moves toward something closer to wet stone and resin, with a dry wood under it. The listed accords agree: mineral, smoky, ozonic, metallic, woody, aquatic, balsamic, aromatic, amber and warm spicy.

Wearer write-ups on Fragrantica and Parfumo fall into two camps. Some find the opening startling, even clinical, and a Fragrantica columnist likens the notes to walking out of a hospital and into a park after a storm. Others read the same opening as a precise, almost literal piece of work that settles into concrete, incense and woods. Parfumo's description calls it smoky, and the Fragrantica columnist adds that the house's own concept is far darker than the way she smelled it. Both camps agree it is strong and that it is not a safe blind buy, which is the case for sampling it first.

What the community votes say

The community's longevity votes lean long lasting, with eternal in second place. Its sillage votes lean strong, with enormous behind it. Those are the community's reports rather than a promise about your skin, and a single spray is plenty to start with.

Community voters most often pick it for winter and autumn. For time of day, they choose evening and night. That points to cool air and after-dark settings, which is a useful brief for your test: try it in the conditions voters describe as well as at a quiet moment at home.

Who Inexcusable Evil suits, and who should start elsewhere

It suits a wearer who already likes smoky, mineral or incense-led perfumes and wants something stranger than the usual woods. If you enjoy a perfume that changes character as it dries, the move from gunpowder and iodine to concrete and sandalwood gives you plenty to follow. It is listed as unisex, and nothing in its notes is aimed at one gender.

It is a poorer choice if you want a clean, soft or sweet scent for everyday wear. The iodine and blood notes are the least conventional on the list, and the metallic and ozonic accords stay with the perfume. If those words put you off, begin with a gentler smoky perfume from the list further down and come back to this one later.

The house guide, Toskovat samples and decants, covers the rest of the range; this page stays with this one perfume.

A three-day skin test with a 3ml sample

One spray is enough of this perfume, and a 3ml decant holds around 60 sprays, which goes a long way. A sample this size lets you repeat the test across several days, so the first reaction does not have to be the final one.

1. Day one: one spray, nothing else. Apply it to the inside of one forearm on clean skin. Do not rub it in. Notice the first minute, then wait a full hour before judging, because the opening is the part that divides wearers and it fades.
2. Day two: Inexcusable Evil against a mineral original. Put one spray of Ganymede on the other forearm and compare the two at the opening, after an hour and in the evening. Swap the arms the next time you compare, so the result is the perfume rather than the skin.
3. Day three: wear it in real life. Choose an evening or a cold day, which is where the votes point, and wear it in the situation you had in mind. Read your notes from days one and two and decide whether the opening is something you enjoy, tolerate or want to avoid.

Judge the dry-down, not only the opening. If the first hour is difficult but the later stage appeals, you have learned something a short spray on a paper strip could not tell you.

What each decant size gives you

The 3ml is the trial size: around 60 sprays cover the test above many times over, at €8.91/ml. With a divisive perfume it settles two things: can you live with the opening, and do you want the dry-down?

A 10ml decant holds around 200 sprays and suits weeks of wear once the answer is yes, at €8.09/ml. Our perfume samples page lists the sizes, what a perfume decant is explains the format, and the comparison of sample prices per ml shows how this compares across formats.

Five originals to sample after Inexcusable Evil

If the smoky, mineral side is what drew you in, these five originals each take a different route. They are separate perfumes with their own published note lists.

Born Screaming by Toskovat'

Born Screaming is a 2023 unisex perfume from the same house, also credited to David-Lev Jipa-Slivinschi. It opens with blackberry, cherry, ground cherry, latex and plastic. The heart lists boronia, datura, heliotrope, mignonette, rose and smoke, and the base adds ambrette, cabreuva, castoreum, freesia, myrrh, patchouli, pearls and styrax.

On longevity the votes lean long lasting, with moderate second. Sillage votes lean strong, again with moderate second. Autumn and winter lead the season votes, and evening and night the hours. Try Born Screaming when you want the house's strangeness with a fruitier, more floral start.

Ganymede by Marc-Antoine Barrois

Ganymede is a 2019 unisex Eau de Parfum credited to Quentin Bisch. Italian mandarin, saffron and violet leaf open it. Akigalawood, Chinese osmanthus and immortelle form the heart, and the base is mineral notes and suede. Its accords include mineral, warm spicy, leather and woody.

Most voters place its longevity at long lasting. Most voters place its sillage at moderate. Autumn is the season picked most, with evening and day the hours. Ganymede is the gentler way into a mineral perfume.

Blamage by Nasomatto

Blamage is a 2014 unisex Extrait de Parfum credited to Alessandro Gualtieri. The list is short: birch, ambrette and white wood on top, and leather in the base. Its accords are leather, woody, smoky, musky, powdery and animalic.

For longevity, voters lean long lasting, with moderate next. For sillage, their votes lean strong, with moderate next. Autumn and winter lead the seasons, and night, evening and day the hours. Choose Blamage for smoke and leather without the metallic edge.

Ebene Fume by Tom Ford

Ebene Fume is a 2021 unisex perfume credited to Rodrigo Flores-Roux and Tom Ford. Patchouli, black pepper and pink pepper open it, with Madagascar vanilla, incense and cypriol in the heart. Ebony wood, cistus, ambergris and leather make up the base.

Most voters rate its longevity long lasting. Its sillage votes lean moderate, with strong second. Winter and autumn lead the season votes, and evening and night the hours. Ebene Fume suits a reader who wants smoke and incense with vanilla warmth.

Interlude 53 Man by Amouage

Interlude 53 Man is a 2020 men's perfume credited to Pierre Negrin. It starts with oregano, pimento and bergamot, and the heart holds incense, opoponax, amber and labdanum. Smoke, leather, agarwood (oud), patchouli and sandalwood make up the base.

Most voters rate its longevity eternal. Most voters rate its sillage enormous. Winter and autumn lead the season votes, night and evening the hours, and going out is its listed occasion. Interlude 53 Man is the loudest of the five, so one spray is again the place to start.

Which decant should you choose?

Start with the 3ml of Inexcusable Evil if its gunpowder, iodine, concrete and incense are what you want to meet, and pair it with Ganymede if you would like a gentler mineral reference. Choose Born Screaming for fruit and flowers with smoke, Blamage for birch and leather, Ebene Fume for incense and vanilla, and Interlude 53 Man for the densest smoke.

Use the 3ml decant (around 60 sprays) to discover, and move to the 10ml decant (around 200 sprays) for the favourite. 10ML is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by Toskovat, Marc-Antoine Barrois, Nasomatto, Tom Ford or Amouage.

The bigger picture: Best perfume for women 2026: 23 picks, classic to new and Best perfume for men 2026: 23 picks, classic to new.