08 Jul 2022
Following the global success of Bad Boy and Bad Boy Le Parfum, Carolina Herrera puts an electrifying twist on the dual nature of the modern man with Bad Boy Cobalt. This new men’s fragrance cracks open convention while exploring the diverse bonds of brotherhood, embodied in nature by the unapologetic strength found in cobalt and its powerfully pigmented blue.
Working closely with Carolina A. Herrera, Creative Director of fragrances at Carolina Herrera, Perfumer Domitille Michalon-Bertier delved into the depths of her imagination to develop this technically accomplished perfume. Together, they fused mineral sexiness and wild freshness for an energising and contrasted new release, which is contained in a fresh cobalt blue conceptualisation of the already iconic Bad Boy lightning bolt perfume bottle.
Every fragrance has dominant notes that allow its message to be transmitted, giving it its soul and unique signature. For Bad Boy Cobalt, the team chose to work with the incredible contrasts of the new “Magic Spark ELIXIR”, an ingredient which elegantly expresses the complementary contradictions of brotherhood, the nuance and strength of a friendship between men. Just as cobalt dyes glass that particular shade of blue, this ELIXIR colors the fragrance from top to bottom with lively citrus accents, simultaneously producing intriguingly earthy undertones.
The Magic Spark ELIXIR blends to pink pepper and geranium to create the fresher part of Bad Boy Cobalt. Pink pepper offers a distinctively fresh tone with aromatic and slightly floral suggestions, while geranium is a floral yet masculine note that was a prominent part of Carolina Herrera for Men, the first masculine fragrance from the house of Herrera, first launched in 1991.
The mineral accents of a truffle accord are invigorated with the literal and metaphorical strength of oakwood, and infused with the masculinity of vetiver, together with the sexiness of cedarwood to create the hooking base of the fragrance. “But it wasn’t just the symbolism of the lighting bolt that allowed my imagination to run wild,” says Domitille. “Cobalt is found in the earth’s crust, and I found myself reflecting on lightning cracking the ground open, revealing this chemical element together with the dense smells of the soil.”
Oakwood, with its touch of smokiness, is a historical symbol of endurance, “beautifully representing the enduring strength within a band of brothers” to the creator of Bad Boy Cobalt. Meanwhile, vetiver is a perennial plant, drawing its subtle fragrance from volcanic soil saturated with mineral salts, and is a classic ingredient of men’s perfumery. The essential oils of cedarwood has been extracted since ancient Egyptian times, here supplying a powerful dry and vibrating edge with additional clean and green facets.
At Carolina Herrera, vetiver has historically been a reference to exotic travel, to the Caribbean vistas of locations such as Haiti. Today, the House of Herrera creates this new fragrance using a vetiver sourced from Haiti, and is at the root of a program called Sourcing for Shared Value, which finds greener ways to grow and harvest this important ingredient while protecting the people who work the land by supporting with local education and infrastructure. It’s a lengthy process to make sure that the vetiver used is the most beautiful, ethical, and greenest product for both the population and for the planet.
In their distinctive ways, each fragrance in the Bad Boy family plays on the dual nature of the contemporary man, a concept which is reinforced and developed with Bad Boy Cobalt and its exploration of the bonds of brotherhood. Modern men are aware that there’s no strength without sensitivity, or power without compassion, so the short circuit of freshness in the top notes and the deep base notes of Bad Boy Cobalt are enhanced by a floral heart to the perfume. Composed of clean aromatic lavender and juicy black plum, it evokes the emotional tenderness that’s at the center of the most durable of male friendships.
The powerful contrasting nature of this masculine duality is enigmatically represented by the bottle, with its blue to transparent gradient. An exquisite reimagining of the emblematic lightning bolt from the Bad Boy universe, it shows us Bad Boy at his most elegant, inspired to be himself, and confident that anything is possible alongside his trusted and beloved friends.
Carolina Herrera Bad Boy Cobalt EDP RRP 100ml AUD $162 | 50ml AUD $114 is available at Myer and David Jones stores.
