Italian Cypress (2008)
by Tom Ford

Another Christmas candle! This really reminds me of Micaleff/Nejman Le Seducteur. A sweet, spicy green fragrance, redolent with conifer needles and boughs - pine, cypress - whatever.

I think it smells great, quality ingredients, decent longevity. I would prefer a more dry, astringent conifer scent, but this is worth trying. Would be an interesting comparison with Le Seducteur.

15th December, 2011.

You have to give this one more than 1 try , you'll be amazed by the rare earthy smell it has.

it's definitely a mans fragrance due to the cologne like smell it has . a great citrus menty like opening and a strong projection , it's the middle and base notes that blows you away


reminds you of cow boys and desert , pine and cypress and a lot of GREEN


lasts a good 5 -6 hours, at the end of the day it will just smell something rare and different, another world, just keeps your mind thinking and trying to find what it is.

19th April, 2011.

This fragrance is far above average in its top notes, but it is in the dry-down and eventually the base notes that Italian Cypress transforms into pure magic. Gorgeous, sexy, alluring, inviting, calming, happy scent, and a true masterpiece from the house of Tom Ford.

This one took two or three samplings to really understand, but boy am I glad I stuck with it. Take Polo Green and add that immeasurable, intangible, magical "extra something," and the resulting synergy of notes will have you taking out your wallet for an elite niche scent without hesitation or second-thought as to why you did.

There are a lot of average scents in the world of fragrance. Perfumes smell GOOD--that's why they're perfumes. But there are very, very few that have that missing ingredient, that invisible note which takes good and makes it great. Tom Ford achieves it with Italian Cypress. A four-or-five-star work of art in my book.

3rd February, 2011. (Last Edited: 13rd February, 2011.)

Pine needles, sap, a wood fire nearby, maybe someone threw some garrigue on there and then a leather jacket. I love this style at the moment, and these smoky leathery types always have excellent longevity on skin, seemingly smoldering away forever like a dying fire. I couldn't quite see myself wearing this - these scents have something of a Gentleman's Club (the cigar and port type, not the stripping type) feel about them. Excellent work though.

16th January, 2011.

I have completely re-written my review, including a change from neutral to thumbs up. This is a challenging, complex scent. It cannot be assimilated in one or a few trials. I find that it has parts which attract me greatly, and parts with which I struggle.
First, I am happy to have a notes list, which seems accurate to what I detect.
Notes: bergamot, mandarin orange, galbanum, spearmint, basil, clove, labdanum, smoky cypress, moss, musk.
This starts with very green herbal and coniferous notes. This phase is excellent, but regrettably very brief.
The scent quickly develops a gruff, bold, assertive and spicy character -- very old-school! With its clove-y spice note, it reminds me of the revamped Rive Gauche, which Tom Ford designed. At times, Gucci Nobile stands as an apt comparison.
Then appears the aspect I find is at once unique and challenging. It truly seems to me to capture accurately a dirty old metallic ashtray or an old clay pipe bowl. Sharp, slightly stale notes of smoke and minerals abound, and persist. Perhaps there are also vestiges of cold dark coffee drying in a cup, for a true cigarette and coffee vibe.
This complex chord persists through the life of the scent. It is never unpleasant, and at times it conveys a world-weary character that is charming. At other times its "dirtyness" seems a bit problematic to me.
The dry-down generally is pleasing, at times even haunting. The mint keeps reappearing to brighten the otherwise dusky proceedings. At times, I do get a Yatagan vibe in the later stages.
I wish it was more woody and resinous. I love cypress, and find it overwhelmed here. I wish that ashtray note was less prominent.
Do I find it bottle-worthy? No, not at this point. Yet I cannot dismiss it. It is a very striking scent. It invites further attention.

5th July, 2010. (Last Edited: 4th January, 2011.)

As a relatively newbie to fragrances, I learned about this one after reading a glowing review in a men's magazine. Upon going to the Neiman Marcus nearby to test it out, it had the distinction of becoming my first bugged-eyed "HOW MUCH?!?!" reaction when learning the price. Upon subsequent samples I have come to like it more, but it is still too similar to Polo for me to ever justify spending that type of money on it. In fairness, I tend to feel that way about most of the Tom Ford private labels I have come across.

If given as a gift, I would certainly not throw it in the trash, and would pleasurably wear it, but all things being equal, I just liked it, not loved it. And maybe it's my inexperienced nose, but this strikes me as unquestionably a man's fragrance, even though it's listed as unisex on basenotes...

18th June, 2010.