Tom Ford Ombre de Hyacinth

hyacinthOkay, I’ll admit it up front. I kindsa want to hate Tom Ford. I find some of his advertising fairly jejune and some of it borderline offensive yet boring. Of course, then he comes out with the movie “A Single Man” which is not only a brilliant adaptation of the source material, but my personal wet dream shopping list: I wanted everything in it, from the John Lautner house (Yes, I’d live in Glendale for that, whatever Veda Pierce thought) to the clothes to the car. Of course I would like Colin Firth in the clothes as well, so I could let him know that there is a future and something to live for by sweetly holding him and feeding him fettuccine carbonara while wearing an angora sweater.

That and he apparently is deeply in love with his partner. I like that in anyone.

Now onto the scents. They’re about 47 of them and some of the ones that I liked (Purple Patchouli) seemed to get the corporate kiss-off. I was in ScentBar (like you didn’t see that coming..) and they had the line. I was sort of thinking “why do they have this when it’s at Bloomingdales and isn’t LuckyScent about bringing people who brew stuff in the back of their motorhome on the way to a festival in New Hampshire and not some powerhouse?” But I have a weakness for hyacinth so I spritzed and asked for a sample.

It’s not like it’s BAD, it has a nice citrus-tinged opening and does a fairly credible job at trying to synthesis what hyacinth smells like (I don’t believe it can be recreated; if it can they should hang their head,) it’s just that it’s not good. It’s not the level of good as in the movie where you feel that every item in the frame has been carefully chosen to be perfect for the story.It’s the level of the oil I’d select at Thorne’s Market back home to scent my bubble bath. And at $210 for a smudge, that’s not good’

My sample was cadged from ScentBar. Image from Wikipedia Commons

  • Jaime says:

    Loved Colin Firth in the BBC Pride and Prejudice, and have been meaning to see A Single Man. I will make sure to watch it while wearing some of my Violet Blond!

  • Flora says:

    I was quite disappointed in Ombre de Hyacinth – it does not smell much like the flower to me at all, and it’s sharp and thin. It even put me off ordering decants of the others in the same group, such as Cafe Rose, since I figured they would all have a similar weakness.

    Now, if Colin Firth were to show up holding a bouquet of hyacinths, that would be something else altogether….of course he could be holding a bouquet of wilted weeds and I would still let him in. 😀

  • Sutterfield says:

    Any hyacinth frags that come close for anyone? Hyacinths may be my favorite flower of all time, and I wouldn’t mind if a perfume could come even an eensy bit close to their amazingness. Sad to hear this one doesn’t.

  • Portia says:

    Damnit. Colin Firth can take care of me thanks.
    I bought some Tom Ford Violet Blonde today, it’s been a long time in the coming but after lemming it for ages I saw it VERY reasonably and snatched it.
    I own Neroli Portofino and quite like Jasmin Rouge. He does a good amber too but the price Tom. OUCH!
    Portia xx

  • poodle says:

    Colin Firth. He is delightful isn’t he? Yes, add me to list of those who’d like to take care of him.

  • jillie says:

    Is there anyone who wouldn’t want to take care of Colin Firth???? And who cares what Veda Pierce thought??!!!!

    Mito smells a lot like hyacinth to me, as does Chamade. But it is a difficult note to pull off, and the real stuff can sometimes give me a headache.

    • poodle says:

      I’m going to have to try Mito. I would love something that smells like hyacinth or at least makes me think of it. I got a sample of this TF and I didn’t get hyacinth out of it either. I think it’s a harder note to get right than gardenia is.