The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
III is the third entry in Widian's Black Collection, released in 2015. Created by Ali Aljaberi alongside Jean-Claude Astier, the fragrance explores an unexpected dialogue between bright and deep notes. The name is both a number and a suggestion, hinting at layers waiting to be uncovered. The composition opens with crisp mint that gives way to rich leather, balancing cool and warm characteristics in a way that feels both familiar and surprising. What emerges is a scent that moves fluidly from fresh to lasting, with each note arriving at its moment to reshape the overall impression. The Black Collection as a whole offers a range of expressions, but III stands apart for the way it sustains tension between opposing forces throughout its development.
The mint here is spearmint, not peppermint. That's the distinction. Spearmint carries a sweetness, a green-fruity quality that reads more as freshness than as medicine. Blended with bergamot, it opens like a spring morning, bright, clear, immediately engaging. The leather that follows doesn't contradict it so much as deepen it. Where mint lifts, leather grounds. The drydown builds from there: moss, sandalwood, patchouli, vanilla. Earth, cream, warmth. The composition earns its oriental label through this cool-to-warm arc rather than through heaviness alone. It's the tension between freshness and depth that makes III distinctive in the leather category.
The evolution
The opening unfolds with bergamot and spearmint, offering a sweet and fruity brightness that feels springlike and immediately engaging. This crispness doesn't rush to disappear, lingering long enough to establish a clear starting point before the composition shifts. Leather and dry wood gradually arrive in the heart, not overwhelming the initial freshness but adding depth and weight as they settle in. The transition maintains a sense of purpose without feeling abrupt, allowing each phase to inform the next. The drydown extends into moss, sandalwood, patchouli, and vanilla, creating a warm and slightly powdery presence that stays close to the skin. The leather note fades into the background without vanishing entirely, providing structure beneath the softer final notes.
Cultural impact
The spearmint opening is what people ask about. It's the conversation-starter in a fragrance that settles into leather and vanilla, bright and disarming at first, warm and intimate by the end. III occupies a specific space: fresh enough to wear in daylight, deep enough to belong to evening. The mint-to-leather transition is what makes it memorable. Some find it polarizing; others find it the reason they keep reaching for the bottle.
