White Musk Collection White Suede Tom Ford

Desirability: Sample

Source: Fragrantica

Hot on the heels of two successful blind buys from Tom Ford- Champaca Absolute and Black Violet, White Suede was my third blind buy which is definitely shaped from a different mould. 

Almost a non perfume, White Suede smells of freshly laundered sheets gently swaying in the breeze on the clothing line. If you go up close to the sheets you might still get a faint whiff of an elegant and discreet floral scent, one with lots of hyacinth, galbanum and lily of the valley. It smells more like a wild meadow than a cultivated garden. Then there is musk, a clean musk reminiscent of how one would smell after a shower with Nivea/Dove soap. 

White Suede does smell like how my Isabel Marant Dicker boots smelt when they first arrived. Add a garland of wild flowers. It's a variant of Noa that I can wear (there's something about Noa that made me uncomfortable) but I don't reach for my bottle of White Suede very often as it doesn't move me. On the other hand it did make me think of a scene in one of my favourite movies "I Capture the Castle" and since the character favoured Penhaligon's Bluebells which could pass for the scent clinging on to the sheets. 

Scene from I Capture the Castle. Source: pinterest

Moderate projection and very good longevity.

White Suede is like abstract art to me, I'm sure there is more going on but I'm not getting it.

Tobacco Oud Tom Ford

Desirability: Decant

Source: www.buro247.ru

I met Tobacco Oud while visiting a friend during my travels and became pleasantly acquainted with it over the course of my stay. I had previously bypassed the grey-bottled Oud trio from Tom Ford partly because I was a little weary of oud and partly because I flinch at the pricing of TF fragrances. Yes the range has a few fantastic scents but seriously? Anyway I digress.

A heavy scent this one is. I don't usually give a stuff as to whether my SOTD would be better suited to colder temperatures than the tropical humidity I live in 365 days of the year but I would advise that less is more with the likes of Tobacco Oud. It does quieten down but that's after at least 3-4 hours into the wearing.

I smell tobacco, whisky and wood. A rich, sweet and aromatic tobacco that feels warm and rugged. The whisky in Tobacco Oud is a mellow fellow, I'm on the very early stages of the learning curve for whisky and I still wince at the perceived harshness of Scottish malts I've been introduced to, but there are no rough edges to Tobacco Oud, it's smooth, smoky and very delicious. The drydown is sweeter than when it first started and reminds me of incense rather than tobacco by this stage. On a side note I prefer this to Phaedon's Tabac Rouge that my friend is partial to but which I found to be a little on the sweeter side of tobacco scents and while I do have a sweet tooth I don't always indulge it and Tabac Rouge is a sweet treat. Despite the dark tobacco and smoky whisky I don't find Tobacco Oud to be brooding or masculine, certainly it doesn't conjure up images of cowboys, instead it feels like it belongs in a swanky smoking lounge or whisky club where luxury is like daily bread for the crowd there.

Phenomenal longevity, a potent beginning that lasts for quite a few hours before it fades but remaining noticeable for days! So despite me failing to discover any oud in Tobacco Oud, I still think this is worth sampling and definitely worth getting a decant at least. Since it lasts forever and a day, a full bottle may not be required unless you are of the happy breed that is content with just one perfume in your closet. 

Champaca Absolute Tom Ford

Source: irecommend.ru

Although I agree with the general consensus that the perfumes are well-made and smell expensive, I like but do not feel the need to have most of the fragrances I've tried from Tom Ford except for a few that include Champaca Absolute from the Private Blend range. It's probably down to chemistry but where many get all sorts of dirty business with Black Orchid all I get is floral talcum powder and perhaps Noir de Noir would have been more attractive in 2007 than when I first smelt it in 2012 along with other versions of the same song Rose-Patchouli. 

Champaca Absolute has a short spurt of dark booziness when first applied before turning sweet and sheer with floral notes of magnolia (with its usual creamy thickness stripped away), violet and the smell of a newly ripened banana with no black spots marring its pristine yellow colour as yet. The freshness gradually slips away and leaves a dusty layer over the flowers and fruit (well just the banana that is) with a scattering of new wood shavings on top. It doesn't get any darker than this and remains like a gauzy veil wrapped around you for about six hours or so. Overall I find it original, bright and leaning on the feminine side of the scale. 

Plum Japonais Tom Ford

Source: Luckyscent

Plum Japonais bears some relation to how CHOYA Umeshu tastes, the delicious Japanese liquor with its unique flavour, a thick almost syrupy plum booze that's assuredly potent despite its sweetness. The scent is a recipe calling for succulent plums that are so ripe they have a lightly fermented booziness and a scoop of dried plum preserves with its rich jammy character. Then a light dash of mixed spices in a sauce made up of sweet woods and warm resins, with immortelle adding a dribble of maple syrup and then letting it simmer in its juices and thicken.

This baby of mixed parentage (Oriental and Fruity minus floral) doesn't evolve much on me but has a nuclear strength projection and longevity.  Both luxurious and luscious, Plum Japonais smells like its price tag, expensive plum booze.