Arabian Wood

Plush, velvety, and vividly green. A beautifully complex, if unfittingly named, vintage-esque chypre now sadly discontinued. Arabian Woods opens effervescently as a most traditional fougère with notes of herbal lavender, bright orange blossom, freesia, lily of the valley, bergamot and gentle woodiness. Simultaneously, oodles of galbanum and oakmoss lend their sharp, green bitterness to the composition. Overall, the effect is cold and soapy, aldehydic even. As the bergamot fades away completely and the green accord softens, the middle becomes a rich, deep floral one where lofty Bulgarian rose together with jasmine, gardenia and orris sit atop a bed of dewy patchouli. Advancing toward the dry drown, honey’s arrival lends lingering sweetness to the creamy sandalwood and faintly peppery cedar that, backboned by the still softly persistent oakmoss, form the eventual woody-amber-tonka nuanced base. Arabian Woods is as big, grand and complex as it is nostalgic for the 70’s. A beautiful chypre with sophistication and quality in spades, I think Arabian Woods would have enjoyed greater commercial success today that it did in 2009 given the resurgence of green and chypre fragrance interest; maybe the people at people at Tom Ford and Estee Lauder came to realise this too before launching the equally green and nostalgic Vert Bohème which could so easily be the Eau or Acqua flanker to Arabian Wood. In fact, Vert Bohème worn atop the beautiful aldehydic woodiness that is Hermès Calèche Soie de Parfum comes remarkably close to replicating Arabian Wood. Utterly unisex, longevity is very good at 10-12 hours with moderate-cum-soft sillage for the first 5 hours after which Arabian Woods becomes a skin scent. 8.5/10

I just bought this fragrance and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!!!! It is my fall/winter scent. I am not sure why I did not buy it before, but it is never too late and I am so happy that I have it. This fragrance is not just a wood note! It is not a man scent! When I had it on, a man came up to me and asked me what I had on as he was looking for something for his wife and thought that the fragrance smelled beautiful on me. When I told him the name of the scent, he could not believe it as it sounds like a masculine scent, but it is not. It is unisex, but in my opinion, it is more of a woman scent than a masculine one. To quote from the Berdorf Goodman website: This exotic experience opens with top notes of aromatic lavender with the bold floralcy of Bulgarian rose, freesia, orange blossom, and green galbanum, brightened with sparkling bergamot. The heart pulses with the warmth and sensuality of lavish florals, including ylang ylang, rose absolute, jasmine, gardenia, and luscious honey and orris. The base notes blend patchouli with cedarwood, oak moss, sandalwood, and honey, while tonka bean and radiant amber leave a distinct trail of opulence. ========= I am not sure why fragnantica does not list all of the fragrance notes, which is odd and unfortunate, but it is not just an oud note. I noticed the Bulgarian rose/bergamot top notes. Of course, I would not love it if it did not have a patchouli note in there.... This is a scent you can wear all day and it is sexy/warm/makes one feel good when it is on. I wish there was a body cream/lotion available. It is well worth the price.

Him indoors brought this back from a business trip a while ago and barely used it. I always loved the smell on him on the rare occasions he wore it, so it seems to have somehow snuck it's way into my perfume cupboard (ahem...). For some reason, he prefers more crisp citrus fragrances, but I think this is simply gorgeous. I'm very hit and miss with Tom Ford but this is a definite hit. Although it is technically for men, I think that with the floral top notes it also works on women (but probably not if you favour sweet gourmands or fruity scents). It's not mountain man chest-beatingly manly, its smooth and rounded and deep toned; this is confident intelligent man in the prime of his life fragrance to me (as a woman). The first note for me was a rich rose with bergamot. This rapidly dried down to lavender and woody notes. I must be immune to mint because I can rarely pick it up in anything. It is soapy, and I can't work out what is giving the distinct soapiness, far stronger than in any female fragrance, but its a lovely clean note-not crisp like citrus, but fresh and clean smelling. Longevity-usually about 6 hours on skin, but far longer on clothing. SIllage-moderate. This is a winter time fragrance, warm and inviting, snuggling up in front of the fire.

Tom Ford Arabian Wood is another discontinued Private Blend offering that I was particularly curious about and it's a lovely scent, a woody floral with the lipstick/cosmetics note that resonates so strongly in both Chanel Coromandel and Dior Homme Intense. I enjoy it a lot in Arabian Wood much like I do in Coromandel (not so much in DHI), as it is both a bright floral and a dark floral at the same time, both feminine and unisex, definitely not purely masculine. Another enjoyable aspect is the lavender, which helps keep it somewhat fresh. Certainly the name is misleading, as one might expect an incense/oud/woods mix, but this is certainly something much prettier, more year round-friendly, and decidedly more unisex. Performance is strong, fitting the Tom Ford Private Blend standard of a heavy sillage and great longevity. A nice find, and actually rather moderately priced on the secondary market. 8 out of 10

Update to my original post...I was at the Saks Tom Ford counter as I thought they were also carrying the new Tom Ford fragrances, but only Bergdorf is in NYC. Anyway, I noticed that they were missing the Arabian Wood fragrance and they indicated that it was discontinued in June. I freaked out as they were sold out of the fragrance due to loyal fans who hoarded the scent upon learning of this decision. They were nice enough to call Bloomingdales as they just started to carry the Tom Ford line at the 59th St. store last month or thereabouts. I bought the last one that they had. So if you really love this scent, please go out and buy it before it is gone for good. Maybe if enough people complain, Tom Ford will bring it back. I am not sure why this site did not inform us, but in the USA, this scent has been discontinued. :(