So let’s talk about some new summer scents. I’m hoping playing with Tom Ford Mandarino di Amalfi and Costa Azzurra breaks a little of my summer perfume dropsies.
Let’s start with Tom Ford Costa Azzurra. Notes of oak, driftwood, lavender, vanilla, seaweed, agarwood, ambrette seed, celery seed, cardamom, armoise, juniper berry, myrtle, basil, lemon, yellow mandarin, lentisque, olibanum, incense and vetiver. This has a really lovely crisp slightly herby open. It’s bright and sunny with some incense and vanilla to smooth it out. I really like those additions, along with the lovely myrtle, lavender and celery seed. It make is more than a refreshing summer scent and is one I’d love to wear year-round. These kinds of scents aren’t normally the thing I love the most, but Costa Azzurra is perfection, giving both the crisp freshness summer yearns for, but with a lot of extra depth that keeps it really interesting. Easily my favorite of the two.
Tom Ford Mandarino di Amalfi has notes of tarragon, spearmint and lemon, blackcurrant, bergamot, grapefruit, basil, black pepper, coriander, orange flower, clary sage, jasmine, shiso leaf, vetiver, amber, labdanum, musk and civet. This one has some different angles to it, being a little more pepper-vetiver. It feels more cooling after the open. The open is pretty traditional, and I was a little worried it wouldn’t have enough something extra to it. Eventually it did change from that not so interesting open to a much more engaging drydown – cool, dry, a wee bit incensy and kinda great.
I did wind up liking both Mandarino di Amalfi and Costa Azzura for different reasons, and they are soothing my summer perfume doldrums a little bit. But, yeah, the Costa Azzurra is the one of the two I’d add to my perfume wardrobe.
I was hoping to have some other new scents today to review, but the mail delivery system failed me. I hope to have them in my “needing something new” hands to review next week.
Are you in a something new phase? Relying on old favorites? Drop a comment to be entered in a drawing for a sample of these two new Tom Fords. I’ll be giving away 3 sample sets by random draw next week!
I’d love to try these. I’ve been wearing my standbys Bvlgari Pour Femme and Jour d’Hermes this summer along with Perfect Nectar, even though i don’t usually love fruity things–so I need to try new things!
Loving Atelier colognes at the moment particularly if a littlte strangely the patchouli. 30ml very reasonable prices. Also good old fashioned O de Lancôme. So can Mr Ford do ten times better for the price? Love to win the samples to find out!
I’ve been wanting to try some new things for a while, but my temporary lack of a mailing address has saved me much fragrance-related excitement and expenditure. Instead, I’ve just been wearing SL Fleurs d’Oranger nonstop since the beginning of the summer.
^ though I would still love to try the TF scents, and could figure something out for mail if selected! haha.
I have been all over the place with perfume this summer. I haven’t put one on and thought, ‘oh yeah, that’s the one!’ I have enjoyed Le Labo Ylang 49 but then find it a bit too smokey in the heat. I got Tarifa by Keiko Mecheri, which is nice because it does have a little more warmth with the spices and amber. I really enjoy Dipytique L’ombre dans leau, smells like a refuge from this heat. But still, I will dab on a little Cafe Rose and fantasize about fall. I also find myself craving Guerlain’s Tonka Imperiale. Ha! Just can’t scratch my perfume itch! I have been curious about FM Eau de Magnolia as one poster mentioned enjoying.
Feel like I’m perpetually in the something new phase…. Got an itchy finger lately.
Not been relying on old favourites at all really.
ty
I’m in a “needing something new” mood and I’m worried about that… what will be of me? Thanks for the draw
I love fresh herbal scents and your description of Costa Azzurra makes me really curious about this scent. Didn’t find anything new that would impress me this Summer (though I liked Escentric 02, but when I went to buy it, they were out of it :-(…. so I’m back to my all time favourite Clinique Wrappings…
I would love to try these. I’ve avoided TF for the most part since the cost is so high but did enjoy sampling the Neroli Portofino. Thanks for the chance to try some more. I’m currently enjoying the new Frederic Malle Magnolia. It’s gorgeous even in the heat.
I’ve been enjoying a new favorite, guerlain’s Lys Solalei (sp?) and on really hot days, Mandarine Basilic. Still, I’m looking forward to cooler weather and warmer scents. THanks for the draw!
I would love to try these scents.
I am always surprised that I do not like TF Portofino–I should like scents reminiscent of the Italian coast!! But, it is too sweet, somehow.
These scents sound a bit cooler and greener.
Thanks for the wonderful draw.
I’m nearly ready for the autumn and heavier scents. My usual summer citruses aren’t getting much love. I tried my first oud fume, Aqua di Parma Oud at Bloomingdales recently. It was appealing in the air conditioned store. It then overwhelmed me inside a warm car during the drive home. Ok then, not in July! Two more months of citruses…a Tom Ford sample would get me through it. Thanks!
I am in a summer rut. I have some samples I have not tried, but everything seems so heavy to me right now. I keep going back to the light citrusy scents…but they just don’t last on me I feel like I do not have any scent by late afternoon. i would love to try these samples…don’t know if I could afford FB just now.
For me, it’s lots of samples I haven’t gotten around to trying. So no new purchases, but definitely trying some new scents. Today it’s Annick Goutal’s Eau de Camille. Absolutely lovely, and I wish it wasn’t discontinued! It’s getting hot here in MO finally, and it’s really a very cooling, green scent, and the florals are very delicate and not overpowering at all. Thanks for the giveaway opportunity!
I am enjoying all of my summer perfumes, and since I like scents of this type, I have quite a few. I have not reached the point where I am bored with anything.
I would love to try the new tom ford. Thank you, you are very generous! I have been reaching for Tauer une rose vermielle and Dyptique un duelle.
Right now, I have a medium sized bag of untested scents that I haven’t quite gotten around to. It just doesn’t seem to be the time to test anything new or I just don’t feel like it. Because I am stocking up on some old favorites and vintage. So I am relying on no 19 and Jicky to see me through.
I’m definitely in a rut. I’ve been in the mood for a new summer scent but nothing is grabbing me and we’re almost through July. The Costa Azzurra sounds interesting. Thanks for the draw!
something new phase..and searching for a new ‘i want to smell this smell forever’ fragrance…thanks for the draw : )
Since summer hasn’t really hit here in MN until 2 days ago, I’ve been wearing whatever I want. When the heat hits above 90 along with the humidity hovering around 80%, I’m a limp noodle just trying to get through the day. How do you folks in hotter places survive this?
My two reliables for summer are Mandragore and Green, green, green and green. But both bottles are woefully low. I’ve been liking CdG’s Grapefruit in the Energy C series. I have a sampled that I previously tried but must have sampled on a day not hot enough to really appreciate the scent. It comes in a small bottle for a fairly small price, so I might treat myself before summer is over.
New new for me. Just got 20! samples from Indies Scents so time to sniff.
I don’t have many citrus or summer scents but would love to find one with “something extra”–Costa Azzurra sounds promising. Thanks for the draw.
Oh, I’d love to try these. I’m alternating between samples and my summer staples like Orange Sanguine. Really loving Eau de Magnolia right now, and will be picking up a bottle of Eau des Merveilles soon!
I have tons of new samples to try but not the nose to try them with ;-( Still struggling to get my sense of smell back after a nasty virus in May. It’s about 40% back, so I have hope. I can sorta smell old favorites, but I’m not sure how much of that is sense memory. Nuances of new things are still beyond me. The only FB of Tom Ford I have ever sprung for was Noir de Noir – worth every penny for the small bottle!!
I’ve been out of new samples for a while now, so I’ve been retesting some samples that I had previously set aside as having liked. Some I still like, others, not so much.
Summertime is the only time I will consider citrus perfumes, and various Hermes samples are filling the role just nicely for me now – Hiris, Iris Ukiyoe and the EDT. It’s the only time of year I’ll wear anything ‘light’ and so the novelty is keeping me entertained!
There’s still enough cooler days and nights to sit in clouds of Manoumalia or Kenzo Parfum d’Ete so my heavier side is getting its fix too.
Would be more than happy to add some Madarin to my limited repertoire and the herbal Costa Azzurra appeals too. Thanks for the draw as I cannot afford Tom Ford prices!
I’ve never found a TF scent to love and my pocketbook is probably better off for it. The only one I’ve wanted to try is Sahara Noir and my Neiman’s doesn’t seem to carry it.
I have to say for the price point and the sameness of many of TFs dry downs, I’ve not looked at this line for awhile (and i was a bit of a groupie). I may have to take a trip down to Neimens to sniff around his counter soon!
It´s winter, time to satisfy my sweet tooth, and I´ve been wearing both old (Shalimar) and new (Byredo Bullion).
Thank you for the draw, Patty!
I’m moving house this week so I don’t have the time or the brain space to chase down anything new but am simultaneously bored by everything old this Summer.
This summer I’m wearing something new, well, at least new to me. It’s Hermes’ Eau de pamplemousse rose, the concentrated version and I quite like it. But I also rediscovered another scent, vintage Chanel no 5 in EdC, quite by chance. It turns out that it smells gorgeous in the summer! I’d love to try those Tom Ford perfumes!
I must confess that the only Tom Ford I have ever tried was Black Orchid. It was nothing but jam on me and for the price, I moved on. I do love a good citrus-centered fragrance, though, and might have to give Mandarino a try.
I’ve tried my sample of BO twice and just can’t take it, at all! What I would love, though, is a sample of his White Patchouli. I’ve heard it’s so nice! 🙂
I have a sample of this and would be happy to send it to you – from one Julie to another!
You can email me at jasouza9 at hot mail etc if you are interested
I’d love to try these. Tom Ford is a Perfume god
I have such a bad memory that everything seems new to me after a few months…this morning I put on Lonestar Memories on a whim (after at least a month), and promptly remembered that I love it. I may need to buy a decant!
I would love to try those two. My summer fave Nuit de Tubereuse is getting its usual workout. Grand Neroli is also a summer favorite. Sometimes I rotate in something else of course. As for new things, I’ve jumped on the Rose Cut bandwagon. It may be FBW. I tried Perfumerie Generale Harmatam Noir. Loved it. It has a kinship to PG Bois Naufrage. Happy summer, posse peeps!
I still have so many untried samples that I don’t need to go very far to find something “new” (to me, anyway). I will be trying both of these next time I’m at the mall, but I won’t be buying. North of $500 for the larger bottle? C’mon, Tom Ford.