Have no idea what to make of Black Orchid

[Sidney_Falco]

I was in Bloomingdale's earlier trying out some of the new arrivals when a bottle in the Tom Ford section caught my eye as one that I hadn't seen or tried before. I only knew of Black Orchid by name, knew nothing about it beyond that so I was incredibly surprised at what I smelled when I tried it on my skin.

On first whiff, I thought "wow, this is really unique, I like this" and on second whiff I thought "this smells awful, I hate it" and so went my thoughts on this back and forth between these two extremes for the last 30 mins or so it's been on my skin. I have gone as far as wanting to scrub this off because it's making me nauseous to wanting to buy a bottle asap as it's one of the most unique things I have ever smelled.

I was very surprised to find though this was originally marketed as a woman's cologne. To me there's nothing feminine (or masculine for that matter) about it, just a very inscrutable scent. Perhaps I'll update this thread in a few hours with a final verdict, as right now it's a tossup

[kimo]

Had sane impressions, ended up buying since it its unique

[Duke Hunt]

I had the same relationship with it, ended up giving it to my girlfriend. Personally I think it smells better on women.

[dollars&scents]

My response did not change from your identical Thread of May 4, 2012 at 12:07 AM and referenced here: http://www.basenotes.net/threads/300...f-Black-Orchid

[subhuman85]

(edited)

[hednic]

Personally I think it smells better on women.

Agree.

[BurgundyMarsh]

I've been wearing it today and really like it, though it is not something I wear very often. It feels like something out of the Aesthetic Movement, a period of purplish-brown velvets, Persian tiles, and amber-colored stained glass. I can imagine H.H. Richardson wearing it with his monk's robe or Whistler on a rainy evening's walk through his Chelsea neighborhood. To me, it is actually a deeply masculine scent but not one at all aligned with contemporary trends or ideas of masculine fashion. On a woman, I think it would have a completely different narrative.