Black Orchid (2006)
by Tom Ford

I don't know how to rate this - I loved it on the blotter; loved its opening, adored its heart... and right at the dry down when I was left with what the perfume would "smell like on me", out came a chemical spoiled fruit dipped in nail polish remover. Oh. Bugger.

Want to wear it; my skin disagrees.

WOW. One of the best new releases in years, and destined to become a cult classic if not a true classic. Impossible to draw comparisons, as it is like nothing I've ever smelled. A true example of artistry in perfumery.

Powerful opening - earthy, boozy, dark, slightly dangerous, intoxicating. The truffle note is brilliant!. So thick, it feels like velvet on the skin. Evocative...conjures up images of a moonlit dark forest heavy with evening mist...night blooming flowers...witches burning ceremonial incense. I feel mysterious and powerful when I wear it. Unlike others, I do not find the drydown disappointing at all; it may not be as explosive as the opening, but the vanilla/sandalwood/incense combination is very well done and so relaxing...like that peaceful feeling after an intense orgasm. To me, wearing Black Orchid is the olfactory equivalent of fantastic sex. Needless to say, I won't ever be without a bottle...

Fascinating brew...certainly something to wear while playing old jazz records at midnight. On another site, I wrote that it made me think of chugging mugs of coffee while looking at the stars; that sort of caffeinated rebel-grunginess you feel, after staying awake while most of your neighbors are asleep. Long, tortured nights of creative contemplation or romantic drama. I can also imagine a sort of smoky haziness surounding the scene. Perhaps those nights even run into days without interruption from torment--"Black Orchid" could almost be interpreted as a layering of fragrance on body sebum. The best way I'd describe "Black Orchid" on my skin, is as an almost dirty chocolate---certainly truffle-like (some hints of the murky places where mushrooms grow) and of the earthy dark variety. It's also quite sweet, but powdered over with a heavy duskiness. Potent, strange but not unpleasant. I'd consider it a good replacement for Vivienne Westwood's "Boudoir", as I found that too "dirty-underwear-sprayed-with-perfume" for my tastes. But both have a similar quality of richly fragranced intimacy. This was released in 2006, around the time "The Black Dahlia" film was being promoted. While the film didn't have the massive following expected from such a star-littered cast, I can't help but think that mischevious Tom Ford was intending to ride that film-noir wave. A more sinister interpretation of "Black Orchid": I wouldn't be surprised to smell something like it wafting off the body of some poor, young thing left abandoned in the woods. There is a strange obsessive nature to this concept, the creepy combination of beauty, mystery, crime and death. A must-have scent for Film Noir junkies or those who can't get enough of Gothic literature.

Yowza! Knock 'em dead! A most intriguing, STRONG, warm and fierce scent. I'd love to wear it oh, once a year, when I'm feeling tigerish. But if I were to smell this on colleagues and on the street... no, please! Definitely great art, I am very happy this was made and is selling, because it's streets ahead of 95% of other scents. I would love to own a gorgeous bottle, but for something I would wear so seldom, it's just too pricey. Try the Voile de Fleur if this is too much for you, but that one I found very pleasant, still interesting at first, but with a generic-ey drydown and not quite enough presence.

This is the first women's fragrance I bought. Saks says that this is unisex, but it requires quite a stretch to accept this as unisex to my taste. Nonetheless, I adore this scent. I love everything about it: the opening, how thick and syrupy the scent presents itself, how it sticks on your skin and totally transforms itself to something unique.

It is an unmistakably heavy scent, and I can detect it anywhere I go when someone wears it. On the elevator, at a club, outside, no matter how crowded the place is, you can always feel if Black Orchid is present. Like I said, it is very thick. That being said, the scent on my skin doesn't remain too sweet, as many people complain about the fragrance. It transforms something quite spicy, and erotic. It is very dark. The black currant note is quite heavy in the opening, and I can also detect some bergamot, which gives it a very very slight citrusy note to my nose. I never had the chance to smell a pure ' black truffle note' as a scent, so I don't know what that smells like in particular, yet that anonymous scent that hits my nose along with deep woods and heavy florals can be the truffle in question, I suppose.

The most gorgeous state of the fragrance is the drydown though, it is almost cruel to the nose. It is so seductive and erotic, it is nothing short of orgasmic. I claim there have been few scents that could handle vanilla this well. (Another one is Opium pour Homme, I think) It settles into something warm, familiar, close to skin, and very hazy. Yes, it is sweet, make no mistake, yet it is a very sophisticated, well thought out and sublime sweet. It is not 'delicious' like Lolita Lemplicka, Chpard Wish, or that monstrosity called Angel and the masculine versions of all that I have listed. Blacl Orchid doesn't smell like food, or desert.

I love this scent, it is a gorgeous creation from top to finish. It will always be a part of my fragrance collection. It is not just the fragrance that is unique, it is the whole experience. I feel like the great sultans or princesses of Arabia, or geishas of Japan must have smelt like this. It is an ultimate elixir. In general I love Tom Ford's creations, yet this is the first scent since his unmatched YSL m7 that I have been this excited about. He really shines in creating dark scents with flower accords and wood accents. Not only the scents, but also the bottles and packaging are also always gorgeous. The Black Orchid bottle, gorgeous like every fragrance bottle he designed, is on the masculine side, yet also very user friendly. You can carry it anywhere, and it doesn't 'age' with time, look tarnished and all. Being skinny and curved, the bottle looks decadent and very soignee. It is onyx black with a gold plate on top, proclaiming the mysterious name. First I thought 'Black Orchid' was a tacky name, but now I am kinda used to it.

If you want a unique experience, you must test this scent. Whether you like it or not, you WILL have some sort of an opinion about the scent, which makes this a very special creation. It has an identity, and it sparks up discussion, because it is very different. Must test before buying though, unless you are buying it only for the gorgeous bottle.

I don't know where to begin with this sinister, earthy, gnarly, rich, dark, gorgeous fragrance. Every time I smell it on me I notice something new, something even more spectacular. I generally enjoy dark, richer fragrances so no surprise that this is for me, but this is intensely fascinating. My sister had orchids in her house and I remember walking past them and noticing a funny, hollow clarity as they began to wilt, and I smell that RIGHT at the beginning here. There is a sense of earthy decay that is MIND BLOWINGLY intriguing, mixed with the richer vanillic base.

It starts of earthy, rooty, sweet (I don't smell fruit), with this hollow fresh cut white flower smell (like the smell of a flower in refrigeration), or is it the smell of a flower on its way to the garbage? I can't be sure but it's REALLY fascinating. My only problem with this is the drydown. It is an unfortunately simple, uninspired vanilla. I only wish that the shoulder grabbing, truffled earthy opening would last longer. But that part, however long it lasts makes this totally worth it.