Noir de Noir (2007)
by Tom Ford

I really like this fragrance's rose, oud, patchouli, and saffron combination. The mix is hardly unique, but there's something very wearable and almost "friendly" about it that sets it apart from the likes of the bold Black Aoud or the reserved Dark Rose. I don't smell truffles, but rather a Christmas-cake vibe that steers this slightly into gourmand territory. Oud seems to come in a lot of varieties, and the oud note here is a softer, mellower oud note than most I've experienced, not at all "barnyard" or medicinal. Its closest kin in my experience is the oud note in Montale's Original Oud.

Unfortunately, Noir de Noir has a huge down side for me: fleeting longevity. It lasts an hour at most before disappearing entirely into the air, which is why it gets a neutral rating. If this lasted the way Tobacco Vanille did, it would be thumbs up for sure.

Noir de Noir: by now, everyone knows Noir de noir is a story abour Rose, saffron and Oudh...the recipe atypical of Montale offerings. i approached this scent with the same expectation, only to find it doesnt have the oudh bite of montale at all. i mean, there is oudh, but not the way Montale does it. I could draw parallels to Amouage's Lyric in terms of the beatiful accord of rose used in this. it also reminds me of L'Artisan's seminal offering Voleur du Roses. in other words, this one has a very enchanting take on rose. it's extremely pleasant yet has that dark bite of Oudh in it. There is a eerie chilly nature to this scent which makes one wonder whether this has frankincense in it's composition. the real surpise is after an hour or so..accords of rose melt away into lovely notes of vanilla pods. it doesnt make the composition sweet by any means...the smell is of dry vanilla pods. very very interesting. and yes, this one climbs back to the top along with Moss Breches as one of the scents to look out for from this range.
what one gets in the end is a rose prominent scent sufficiently backed up by saffron and spices with the breath of Oudh...the presense of oudh is only subtle and fades away within couple of hours...wht stands out then is the wonderful accord of dry, vanilla pods..

Have you ever read those reviews on perfume blogs, where the reviewer paints a very graphic (and often exotic) picture of what a perfume smells like but, no matter how impressive their literary / descriptive skills are, you’re still pretty much clueless as to what the bloody juice smells like (well, unless you are one of the lucky ones who remember being either a dandy or sultan in your previous life)? With all due respect, as much as I’m all for artistic license, sometimes it’s best to keep things simple (especially when your hard-earned cash is involved).

Noir de Noir is, allegedly, the most popular of the initial 12 private collection scents released by Tom Ford. Although such praise is encouraging, not everyone will be in agreement. So, is it any good? Well, yes… but, then again, not really…

When I first tried Noir de Noir, I was oblivious to such praise or the so-called innovative use of truffles. However, I did decide to cast off all negative feelings I have for this house, and just let both my skin chemistry and nose judge the scent for what it is. Initially, I was quite impressed after a spritz on a test strip and waited a couple of days before re-visiting it again (that is, when my arms were perfume-free).

Upon second testing, I was met with a sharp agarwood (along the lines of Aoud Lime) before it quickly settled down, with the truffle note slowly becoming more intense. I remembered reading, somewhere on the forum, that this was very similar to Black Aoud but I wasn’t completely convinced. The truffle accord managed to succeed in taming the sharp agarwood to a certain extent, while the rose smelt more like a floral bouquet than a dark rose accord. And then about 25 minutes later, it suddenly hit me…

Noir de Noir does smell very Montale-like but it’s not as distinctive as it tries to make out. With regards to the Black Aoud comparison, the intense agarwood is too sharp and the florals too pungent to draw such a comparison. However, it’s dark nature reminds me heavily of Aoud Flowers. Yes, Noir de Noir is simply Aoud Flowers with some truffles thrown in for good measure! Unfortunately, that’s where the resemblance ends – for where Aoud Flowers possesses amazing sillage and longevity, Noir de Noir’s sillage is almost minimal with average longevity. It actually took quite a while before I could detect Noir de Noir on my skin but when it finally blossomed, I had pretty much lost interest in acquiring it. By the end of the afternoon, I could hardly detect it at all (and I spritzed myself at least half a dozen times).

Doing the maths, Aoud Flowers costs £35-£40 for 50ml (from Paris) while a 50ml bottle of Noir de Noir retails at £95. Now, okay, the Tom Ford exclusive bottles are very nice (I especially love the plastic lining of the caps, which prevent the nozzle from being continuously scratched) but do you really want to pay an extra £60 for the addition of a truffle accord?

If the answer is yes, here’s my advice: buy a 50ml bottle of Aoud Flowers, from Paris, and layer it with something like Yves Rocher’s Néonatura – Cocoon (which you can buy dirt cheap). I’m sure you’ll get something extremely close to Noir de Noir for less money, and with better longevity and sillage.

[Original submission date: 05 January 2009]

Dark, spicy rose. Very smooth and almost edible but with a rich, earthy, mossy base. I find the longevity and sillage formidable - one of the rare scents that will go all day on the strength of a spritz or two in the morning. I first smelt this on a coworker - I have never known her to apply perfume at work but I can detect this on her all day and can actually tell where she has been in the building. I find that it lasts in the same way on my very dry and generally perfume defeating skin. Garners a great number of compliments. Very sexy but also very composed and well put together. The Black Aoud comparisons are accurate; however I find Black Aoud bitter, headache inducing and heavy handed. Noir de Noir in comparison is a much leaner and more graceful creature. Absolutely splendid stuff in my book and without a shadow of a doubt the best I have tried in the Tom Ford line.

THUMBS WAY UP!!!!!!!! BEAUTIFUL.

I got this for my birthday last week, and i love it. I find the accord less roseate than some do and there's a beautiful nutmeg/biscuit undertone in the dry down, i think the depth and richness of this fragrance may come from fermented Tonka bean. It wears very close to my skin most of the time, especially outdoors, but it lasts and lasts ( a testament to the quality of its materials ). I imagine many might think this a evening fragrance and perhaps somewhat feminine, but since most "masculine" fragrances at the moment are pretty poor i think it's an excellent all purpose mens fragrance.