Amber Intrigue

I imagine a room with a beam of dusty light coming in from the window and illuminating a table on which there is a large sandalwood bowl. The inside of the bowl has been sprinkled with a layer of silver incense and gold benzoin grains, and on top have been placed large fresh rape palm fruits, juicy and pulpy dates of the Deglet Noor variety. The air in the room, warmed by the sun, is filled with sweet, boozy, resinous, smoky nuances. Fingers of light embrace and caress everything. That is how I imagine this perfume. Amber Intrigue is a dynamic scent that starts with fruity and spicy nuances, touches a warm woody heart and culminates with a powdery amber trail. It can be unpleasant if you overdo it with the spray or smell it up close too soon, as happened to me. Otherwise, it opens with a deep note of dark dates, complemented by spicy and smoky accords. For a short while, the mix of the alcohol and spices gives a boozy accord akin to the Kraken Black Spiced rum. You might be surprised, as I was, by how realistic the date scent is. I expected a hint of citrus as an introduction, but it starts right away with saccharine and dense notes of date pulp, dark, sticky and opulent. The taste of a Deglet Noor date is similar to brown butter and has a very nutty finish. Maybe it is overly sweet, syrupy, cloying, or a date jam, but I am not sure if it is my cup of tea. But I let this sugary jubilation settle down and slowly something magical happens. First, I smell something reminiscent of Big Babol gum, thick, gooey. Then, a smoky and resinous accord accompanied by a warm spicy accord bursts in and invades the sweetness with an army of cinnamon bark and golden grains of olibanum. The date does not give up, but takes a back seat, leaving only its fruity side to be perceived. The more the perfume grows, the more I feel that I like it. It’s like a video game where you have to pass the first stealthy level, after which it becomes intriguing at each subsequent level, revealing secrets, hidden doors and pitfalls. So, a first level that offers a sweet and spicy opening. It takes a good hour for the heart to open up and let the woody tones of vetiver and sandalwood emerge. Now on the skin, there is a creamy mix, at times earthy but mostly powdery thanks to the addition of violet leaves. Overall, it remains smooth, the date is still distinguishable, and the powderiness is not comparable to talcum powder. Thus, the middle stage is all about woody and warm whispers. The fragrance fades and ends with a rich amber accord. It is not the salty ambroxan that has been overused in recent years and we found in "Erba Pura | XerJoff" for instance, but a vivid brown amber accord courtesy of vanilla to create dustiness, tree resins such as frankincense, myrrh and benzoin to add smokiness and musk to balance with softness. Those notes add a kind of intimacy and sensuality to perfumes and pair well with spicy and woody notes that give dark but soft powdery facets to a composition. When smelled close to the skin, it releases balsamic and smoky nuances. Overall, it is much more than a classic amber fragrance, which stands out for its extremely heavy character on glues such as dates and resins. Despite the explosive opening, the perfume then takes a calmer turn, with exceptional longevity I would say, remaining on the skin and clothes for many hours. It is still an intimate perfume, which does not fill the spaces while making itself noticed. I like to wear and smell it during the day, on relaxing weekend days, but its placement is that of elegant evening events in the colder months thanks to the warm, resinous and spicy accords. I like to say that I have a few fragrances featuring dates, but none of them are as heavy as this accord, and perhaps that is what makes it unique for me. This feeling comes from a bottle I've owned since January 2025.

I get it. People love to sht on Tom Ford, but come on guys. Guaranteed half the people (at least) bashing this have never put their noses on it. This is a beautifully constructed fragrance. Smells absolutely nothing like Grand Soir btw. There is zero powdery feel in this, and this has that wonderful presence of dates and a touch of cinnamon. I love that its a little darker, the vetiver gives it a nice earthy feel, and its not another fking vanilla bomb. This is classy and sophisticated, yeah, if you wear nothing but Khamrah, CDNIM this IS NOT for you. "Whats that weird smell?" Its called not a synthetic 20 dollar mess. LMFAO Longevity is very good, projection isnt crazy, but sillage.... oh you'll leave a trail. There is something to be said for not punching people in their senses. This is what's called mysterious and alluring. "But its not beast mode man!" Everyone you know secretly hates having you around. HEHEHE Classy, sophisticated, cozy, and welcoming. Now... if it wasn't ridiculously priced, as are all Tom Ford's this would be a fall/winter daily driver.

Some previous reviews mentioned it didn’t last, and I get the impression this was an exclusive for Harrods in the UK for a time, but I just tried a tester inside Nordstrom in the United States, and I’m honestly blown away for a variety of reasons. The scent is incredible, I absolutely love it. And it lasts, the Sillage was evident many hours later, and when I woke up in the morning, I could still smell it (faint, but there). The funny thing is, I’m not an Amber fan at all, but it’s hardly noticeable with the amazing balance of other scents. This scent is just sweet enough to lure you in without being too “candy” like, it actually has a certain mysterious feel to it, hence the Intrigue in the name. Definitely an Autumn or Winter scent, but you could pull it off year round especially at night. I’m not sure if the formula has changed or not for the US Market, but in my opinion, it’s another Grand Slam by Tom Ford.

Luscious dates and cinnamon with Smokey woods ...I knew this would be a lot more up my alley than the recent release black lacquer. although I do appreciate the creativity in black lacquer and the complexity it is simply hard to wear . Amber intrigue on the other hand is extremely wearable as you can wear it up with a suit/formal wear but can also dress it down and reach for it with casual attire if you’d like. For me it will mainly be a luxe grab for the fall/winter season, It is very upscale and luxurious. I really love the exclusivity Tom Ford provides as not everyone can afford which means very rarely will you encounter. It you are a Tom Ford fan you will not be disappointed. A comeback is being made and I’m here for it!!...pure class

I was fortunate enough to obtain a sample of this even though it's not officially released in Canada yet and it smells very, very good. It reminds me of The One Luminous Night without the smokiness from incense and slightly less sweet. Also has some similarities to MFK's Grand Soir. Overall, smells great but it's redundant in my collection since I already have the two above mentioned fragrances. Longevity was average with moderate projection for the first hour, then becoming a skin scent. I'm not sure why TF fragrances continue to be so expensive when the quality rarely matches the hefty price tag. I'll enjoy my sample while it lasts but once it's gone, it's gone and I'll move on.

Criminally underrated. Best Amber fragrance, not only by TF, but of any. Haters are out for TF/Estee Lauder because of the price and audacity of only 50ml bottles at those prices. This is worth it IMO. I generally wait for sales but I bought this overseas before it came here to the USA. It is that good. I hope more people can get their nose on this one. Rich amber smoothed further by sweet dates and spiced by cinnamon detected immediately. The sandalwood is present more in the dry down. Long lasting and projection is excellent. There is a lot more going on here but the blending is so masterful it’s not always easy to detect the other notes. Just beautiful.

Don't go in thinking this is going to be like Amber Absolute because this is a different beast entirely. Super soft, sensual amber with a hint of sweetness from the dates and a warm, light spice from the cinnamon. Decently strong sillage that envelops you entirely and lasts all day! On top of that, super versatile - you could wear this in many situations. Pleasantly surprised with this one!

Wow this is stunning, so addictive to smell. Warm resinous amber with dates and spices, very classy, very much a date night fragrance that’s perfect for colder weather when you want to stand out.

I also wanna add that any negative reviews are all from people who haven’t even had the chance to get their nose on it lmaooo .. and prob never will Best Tom Ford release in recent memory

I am loving this scent. It’s not Amber Absolute (my favorite), this scent is a nice Amber scent the sweetness with the cinnamon is a winner for me. Love it

I don't understand the negative 'reviews' and opinions on here but hey, people just like the easy attention that hate-wagons bring and what a surprise, they all target the Price of the fragrance. Let's be real here; how about you go down to your local Estate agents with the same level of chest and vent over how the Housing 'market' is totally out of control and basically collapsed into a black hole, especially here over in the UK?? Smh, lol. Anyways with that rant aside: I will be honest, TF Private Collections are far from my favourite *but they are loud and bold with a rich, thickness and dollop of actual Quality to the scents too, to back them up. He's far from the worst of the Private blenders. And I've always been chasing down a softer Amber and would not think Tom Ford would oblige to dip back again into the Amber genre but he has and it's really well rounded. Much more 'safe' , welcoming and sweeter than the brute force Amber absolute but it does have a bit of that 'ambery bite' in there too if you search for it. The fruity aspects do make a much needed difference to rounding out the scent and just adding a sweeter layer to bring the richer and deeper notes of the cinnamon together and just making things more inviting and cosier. But it's still a strong scent, I find it more brash than THOO's Golden Powder. But there's 0% Oud in here , amd Golden powder is one of the sweetest, smoothest Ambers around. I really like this scent and believe it was much needed in his line up as ''the more Approachable amber''. Not everyone wants a big fat bold animalic amber; yes AA is very rich , loud and has personality but Ambers should be comforting more than anything - and this neatly fills that space for TF's brand. I'll be generous on the rating for this one. Well done. 8/10.

Sampling Tom Ford Amber Intrigue, a 2024 Private Blend line release that is exclusive to Harrods in the UK, which fittingly has a resinous component but should not be confused with Amber Absolute, for example, as respects the amber dominance, depth, and uniqueness. Amber Intrigue has some spices and dried fruits that, for me, conjure an outdoor market, while also having a medium-bodied resinous center that’s a little smoky, a little creamy, and just the tiniest bit animalic in the background. The official note listing includes dates, olibanum, labdanum, sandalwood, and vetiver, which roughly tracks with my experience of the fragrance. In fairness, there’s not really anything else (that I know of) in the Private Blend collection that smells like this, and it’s different enough from the sweeter, darker, denser Amber Absolute that it merits a separate fragrance, but I simply don’t see it as interesting as AA or even Myrrhe Mystere, the more recent resin-focused release from 2023. The price on the Harrods website is $400 for 50ml, more or less typical of the higher end of pricing in the US for the Private Blend line. Setting aside tariffs, it’s fairly pricey at retail. Overall, I’m happy to try this out but am not especially moved by it. It’s good but not great, which is generally fine, except for products in higher-priced lines. 7 out of 10

Smells like a woodier, more complex version of MFK Grand Soir (which is pretty linear) with a dark sweetness from the dates...it's delicious. Performance is terrible though, projects for maybe 30 minutes before becoming a skin scent. Sprayed about 2 hours ago and can no longer smell it and neither can my partner.

I find it funny when brands release a perfume like this and they say verbatim in the press blurb "this is a new fragrance" period, particularly like this one, a fruity amber of a thousand-and-one before it. Amber Intrigue is an exclusive to Harrod's, and why that is we can only surmise; there is no shortage of fruity ambers on Harrod's counters - so, if this is filling a gap in the market, TF's marketing analysts are about 30-40 years behind. That, or after the tumultuous time the house has been having of late with the recent Estee Lauder takeover, losing Mr. Ford at the helm, and thusly going through a major identity crisis they simply said "We need to keep launching new perfumes - now is not the time to sit back! What shall we do? Play it safe - release an amber." That's what you get from Amber Intrigue: a very standard, very safe, woody amber with a fruity top note. This is reminding me a lot of a really dumbed-down Noir Extreme EdP; it has a very similar structure to it, but NE has more breadth, depth, dimensions, and thought put into it. The formulaic bandwagon approach becomes even more apparent on the dry-down to the skin scent. Is it bad? No, of course not. It smells fine, but for the equivalent of $345 for 50mL, and given that it is an equivalent among a sea of amber equivalents, this can and should be viewed for exactly what it is: a quick cash-grab in the guise of exclusivity by a house floundering in an identity crisis. If you have more money than sense, you really like these run-of-the-mill amber scents, and/or you are a TF collector, it could be worth your time. The main reason this disappoints me is because Tom Ford have done one of the most anti-Tom Ford things they can do: they made a perfume that doesn't smell like a Tom Ford, nor does it smell anything close to unique enough to justify the price tag. To be fair, they've made this mistake before... and I didn't care for those perfumes either.

Warm and rich amber with sweet dates. Gentle spice and wood. I agree with another reviewer that there is a boozy element but it doesn't actually smell alcoholic. It's wonderful restraint that stops just short of that kind of whiskey note that ends up in fragrances like these. Sophisticated and upscale. Unisex. Might be too sweet for some. Could be a candle. TF makes great fragrances that have depth and well-blended complexity. This is no exception and it's such a great entry point into their collection. Of course the price is insane. I am no amber connoisseur so I can't speak for it's uniqueness or comparison to other similar perfumes. I think I prefer other ambers, personally. This one is too intense.

I’ve had this for a week or so now and can’t say I’m overly impressed. Was expecting something deeper but it comes across incredibly synthetic & spicy, not particularly warm and certainly not resinous. I think it’ll need time to wear in colder weather but as things stand, I doubt I’ll ever reach for it over Amber Absolute, Plum Japonais, Santal Blush or Myrrh Mystere from TF. In all honesty, I’m not really sure what they were going for here & what the target brief was but it comes across very confused as to what it’s trying to achieve. Very much a ‘meh’ from me and I’d rather wear Black Lacquer.

Prop to the people at Tom Ford for not re-releasing Amber Absolute with this formula and charges $1000/50ml. Notes look very promising, I’ll definitely try this out when it hits the States. Hopefully it’ll be a worthy successor to the beast AA.

Sniffed it at harrods a little while ago. Sweet dates, very subtle amber. Very enjoyable aftershave. Not £300 for 50ml kind of enjoyable tho. That's criminal.

Okay, so first impressions: it feels really familiar. It's not a sweet amber like Angel's Share, but it's rather smoky with a touch of sweetness from the dates to smooth it out. The cinnamon isn't overly intense or dessert-like but rather on the woodier/drier side. It has a vibe similar to the some of the scents from the Trade Routes collection from Penhaligon's...spices and warmth on top but a coarse, woody, smoky dry down. I think in the PB collection it's most similar to the dry down of Cherry Smoke without the cherry. So far it's a like, not a love. It's pretty harmless, i don't think there is anything to fundamentally dislike. This really is suffering from a lack of focus on specific notes to really give it an "intrigue". I rarely bat an eye at prices if I love something as long as I feel it's unique enough, but this is one of the rare times i'd say this isn't nearly original enough to be worth the £300 asking price and that it should've been in the lower priced level of the Private Blends. Coming out within a month of Black Lacquer, which really is an innovative composition, this pales in comparison.

Just following up my previous comments now that i've gotten to wear this around a decent amount. I've been really enjoying it. I think when I initially smelled it, I was expecting something altogether different, maybe something bordering gourmand territory, which I think threw me a bit. It isn't that. It's a rich, dark, woody amber and the more I wear it, the more i'm seduced by it. I still stand by what I said, that I feel this should be in the lower priced Private Blends as opposed to what they call the "runway" collection of the higher tier. Id reach for this over a super sweet amber any day, however. I am happy I blind bought it!