Tom Ford Tobacco Oud and Oud Fleur Perfume Review

Tom Ford Tobacco Oud and Oud Fleur join Tom Ford Oud Wood to form the new oud trio in the Private Blend line.  Oud Wood has been around, I believe, since the time the line first launched or came out maybe a year or so after the launch.

Tobacco Oud was created by the same perfumer who made Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille – one of the flagship best-sellers in the Private Blend line.  I’ve seen several comparisons to Amber Absolute in existing reviews, but I’m not getting that. I hate Amber Absolute with a passion and danced and ate cake on its grave when they discontinued it.  My son described it as “like getting punched in the nose with a beehive.”  Or maybe it was having an amber beehive on your head?  I don’t remember.  If it smelled like that, this review would have been short, sweet and gutting.  Since it nods to Tobacco Vanille, another one in his line that I pretty much hate to wear, I was fearing a vanilla laced tobacco with thick oud sucking the air and joy out of my lungs and life  Nope.  Oh to explain, I can’t bear to wear Tobacco Vanille, it’s just too heavy, but I like sniffing it on other people, as long as they aren’t in my bed or the elevator doesn’t break. with one of its wearers in it with me  It’s just too much to smell more than a few minutes at a time, much like Hermessence Ambre Narguile (The Nazgul).

Tom Ford Tobacco Oud is  more about tobacco on the open.  It’s like they stripped out the sweet bits from Tobacco Vanille and Amber Absolute – the parts I can’t bear – and left the parts that I like/love. A dry amber/tobacco/oud fragrance that makes me pretty damn happy.  Temptalia noted that there is a difference in smell depending on how heavy you apply.  I found that accurate, even though I can’t imagine why it is true – it just is  With a couple of short sprays, it’s dry, very tobacco-like. When I sprayed liberally, it veered more toward By Kilian Pure Oud, which surprised and delighted me since that’s my comfort oud fragrance.  Notes are agarwood (oud), tobacco, sandalwood, patchouli, spicy notes and whiskey.  

Do I like Tobacco Oud? Yeah, it’s a Tom Ford for me to love, which brings the grand total this year to two.  Tom Ford Shanghai Lily is the other I fell in love with this year.  That’s about two more than I’ve had in the previous five years.  If you liked the idea of Tobacco Vanille or Amber Absolute, but thought it was like getting punched in the nose with an amber-vanilla beehive, you might give Tobacco Oud a try. It’s not heavy on the oud, lacks a lot of that medicinal quality, but there’s enough in there that you won’t have to roll your eyes at the use of Oud in the name of the fragrance.  The amber is not heavy, it’s dry and veers more towards the lovely amber in Parfum d’Empire Ambre Russe (less the marauding Russians drunk on vodka).

Tom Ford Oud Fleur starts out as a more traditional Arabic fragrance, heavy on the rose/oud open.  Wait for the surprise as it develops.  The oud/rose open does a drop-off – thankfully – and then there’s a shittonne of spices that make this a lot more interesting than you think it was going to be.  Cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, geranium, rolling around with Styrax, Cistus, Leather, Ambergris, Castoreum and a dollop of the completely unpredictable davana.  Little bit dirty. It’s like a Serge Lutens Rose de Nuit and Tom Ford Cafe Rose found themselves bored and seated by each other on bar stools at the end of a long, drunken night.  It is, well, unexpected.  That’s about the highest praise I give to a perfume.  It’s not what I thought it would be, it’s better.  The rose is there, but there’s so much other, more interesting things going on, it does a background fade and you get cute osmanthus cuts instead of rose overload.  

Surprising and charming.  

Okay, so now I’m up to three Tom Ford fragrances I really like this year.  Well, pretty much three in total from the Private Blend line.  So yea!  Let’s do a giveaway!  Three sets of 2 mls sprays are the commenter prize this week.   Just tell me stories in comments to be entered.  Thanksgiving plans for the Thanksgiving-celebrating New Worlders? Mine is sit tight and go nowhere because in retail that’s what you do from Thanksgiving until after New Year.  Old Worlders, has winter started, have you switched up perfumes yet?  And how do I get my hands on that damn Tom Ford London thing along with the Kilian Apple Brandy? Anyone know?

BTW, it is so hard for me to respond to comments because of time – I absolutely read them! – and I have to note a couple of things about the color shawl. That color pattern is way, way easy to do.  Once I got the pattern down, I think I can do it in my sleep.  Now that I’m nearing the end of the second one, I think I am doing it in my sleep!  Once you set the color changes in the first run-through, it’s like an easy pattern to just follow along with for the next seven.  So if anyone knits and might be scared to try it, don’t be!  Easy-peezy, it’s Rowan yarn, you can design your own color changes if you want, and it’s in their last big Rowan magazine.  I’m worried about my addiction to those cowls, though. I’ve made three now, plus one scarf with the same pattern, and I’m starting on the fourth.  What is wrong with me?  The yarn is so lovely, the pattern so relaxing, it just makes me happy to knit it when I need mindless knitting.

From last week, we were giving away three 2 ml sprays of the Tobacco Oud, but the winners can opt for the Oud Fleur if they prefer it.  Those winners are – trickyholly, Elena and Insense. Just clickety-click on the Drop Us a Note at the top of the page, remind me what you’ve won and include your address, and I’ll confirm I got your e-mail and get it sent out.  

Oh, I heard y’all ,and sandalwood and tobacco will be the next two up, once I get them assembled!

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