London

The City of London is a maze, both in space and time. During the Victorian era, the streets were always smelly, dirty, smoky and dark. Charles Dickens and Arthur Conan Doyle objectively described for us a gloomy London shrouded in dense, rainy fog, and where people's daily lives were really tough. Its dark alleys were buried with horror stories and social tensions between its extremes of poverty and wealth. Characters like Mister Hyde, Jack the Reaper, Sweeney Todd, Fagin, Bill Sikes and Professor Moriarty can all be found in a bottle of London by Tom Ford. To recall modern Carnaby's Street, Picadilly Circus or stroll through the labyrinth of London Tube, it's more fitting to spray yourselves with Tom Ford Noir. I imagine the smell of Dickens' London resulted from blending the XIX century accelerated development of conventional polluting industry, hand in hand with overcrowded slums laden with prostitutes, pick pocketers, dangerous Inns, stinky taverns and abandoned rubbish. The black bottle of London looks like any other Tom Ford Private Line bottle. His perfumer - Yann Vasnier - has made several other fragrances for Tom Ford, so I'm guessing he was competent to extract the olfactory vibes required by Tom Ford for this scent. Other perfume houses have also tried to uncover a trail of perfume with these characteristics. I find the same kind of feelings aroused by fragrances like Dior's Leather Oud and Lutens' Muscs Koublaï Khän. They are not similar perfumes, but somehow, I relate them in my mind as provoking the same sensations. For me, the most remarkable facet of London is the huge amount and variety of spices. We find cumin, saffron, cardamom, black pepper, coriander seeds, coffee beans... Without a doubt, this elixir is very well seasoned. Of these spices, the most intense note is that of the cumin seeds that we feel at the opening. A portion of saffron has been added to it to enhance pungent, warm and earthy nuances. This chord contains an aroma that reminds me of leather and human sweat. It is sour and bitter at the same time and provokes a sense of intimacy. It ends up being suitable to emulate animalistic notes. At the heart of the evolution, this wave of spices is amplified by intense, smoky, amber and balsamic resins, and they prove to be present until the end of the dry down. This dark whirlwind is emphasised in the base, with leathery notes of smoked birch and animalistic musk, along with an intoxicating dominant note of agarwood, thankfully without a faecal profile. Strangely enough, I was hooked on this fragrance. I can only wear it at will in my own private space. In fact, no one likes it in my house, not even my dogs. But in the early hours of the morning, if I decide to watch movies like "Oliver Twist", "A Christmas Carol" or "Sherlock Holmes", a spray or two of Tom Ford London will certainly put me in the right mood. My opinion: Besides its singular gloominess this perfume behaves quite normally in what concerns performance, despite its dense, dark and heavy ingredients. If like me, you like a singular near gothic scent, even if just to please your nose, you may well enjoy this perfume as much as I do. Otherwise, don't jump into blind purchasing experiences. This perfume is far from being consensual and it will not reward you with compliments from those around you. As with most of the Tom Ford Private Line perfume offerings, try to sample it or test it on a Tom Ford counter. In my case, London has been loved at the first sniff in the perfume alley at Macy's. Music: Black Sabbath - "Changes"

My #1 Private Blend of 10 that I know... Classic, yet modern. After using this for a while now, I can say this has a strong barnyard and medecinal Oud, with a very strong floral presence, mostly the Jasmine. These contrasting notes are in perfect balance. The smooth signature Tom Ford "woodsy notes" are allmost as strong as the Oud. So this could have been called Oud Wood Intense, Not the synthetic bomb they now call Oud Wood Intense. Update: I want to say more about the anamalic funk that reviewers are mentioning. Some think it's castoreum, as I did; But now I think it's an anamalic Oud, along with an indolic Jasmine. This anamalic vib, makes a beautiful creamy and plush fragrance accord with the pepper, cumin, and Jasmine; Joined by the rich and dark oud and woodsey base notes. I think there is a great coffee note that's hard to pick out as it's in an accord with the other spices. It fits perfectly, and adds brightness along with the pepper. (I have "Cafe Tuberosa" so I know the coffee note. It's in here, in a great way.) I wear frags mostly for myself, but I felt good about wearing London at a restaurant today. This could be a signature frag for Winter, when going out, and making a statement about your good taste. I enjoy this for myself also, on cold days outdoors... This is a great Private Blend for those who like peppery/ spicy fragrances. The pepper and cumin are well blended with the safron, cardomom, and coriander, that produce a smooth spicy effect; very unique to the Private Blends. It's a dark fragrance, but not heavy. The nice alcohol volatility stays in the opening, for 20 minutes which is a really nice, fresh and moist opening, when many of the notes are in full force, and beautifully balanced. So the opening 30 minutes are the best. The mid is still good, but many notes loose their clarity. There is still a long drydown as a skin scent that lingers 10-12 hours. There is a real barnyard Oud here, not like "Oud Wood". It's well blended with the other deep Tom Ford signature "woodsy notes", all beautifully balanced with zesty spices. I think of my taste as a purist. I like "natural" woody frags like Diptyque Tam Dao, etc. But if I wanted to have a bit of anamalic sexiness, but be very discreet about it, and still be very classy; this is it. This is a cool sophisticated fragrance: "London" yea-man. Bond... James Bond here! The spiciness is great, and is unique to Private Blends, as it is a peppery masculine spiciness. The anamalic, which I don't care for usually, is peppery here, and masculine. I immediately new I needed this, because I could tell right away this is close to a masterpiece. The accords and blending are so tight. Everything is balanced and goes so we'll with each other, no note is obtusely dominant. One of the most masculine and wearable Private Blend. Have you ever imagined a perfect fragrance, but sadly you didn't have it. London is like a perfect fragrance that I could only imagine before. Complex, beautiful contrasting accords. Pepper and an indolic Jasmine, just wow! Rating: 10/10 God bless. John 3:16

Here we have Tom Ford in his darkest suit. This perfume is evil, gloomy, dry, and dirty. They got the name right but omitted mentioning the period. This is not your 20th-century London. Oh no, this is London in Dickens' time or around the Industrial Revolution. The dark, foggy, rainy, and smelly London, low standards for hygiene, and treacherous pebblestone alleys. This is what Tom Ford's London evokes to me. A small and dank London apartment, old books, and a leather jacket imbued with the smell of tobacco, dry woods, incense, spices, and musks. There is something almost poetic about it in its vividness. I can only applaud him for having the guts to put out something like this. It's an anti-Tom Ford perfume. If you are a fan of the house's more popular offerings, I can see how you might find this repulsive. If I were to smell it blindly, I would have mistaken it for a dark Amouage, a Prin, Areej, Slumberhouse, Fusciuni, or other indie-artisanal spins on the Spicy-Oriental genre. It mostly reminds me of Sixes & Sevens, Al Oudh, and Varanasi, but with that Tom Ford sleek and posh touch that reeks of sophistication. The four major accords to my nose are cumin, incense, dry woods, and musks. Secondary ones would be jasmine, leather, cardamom, saffron, and coffee, in that order. The first four are the dominant notes in this fragrance, and that's what you'll get for the most part. The secondary facets are there, but mainly help to round the edges and blend everything in. Hence, in the opening, the cardamom and the coffee help to pamper the huge cumin blast that might be difficult to take otherwise. The saffron introduces the leather accord further sustained by the castoreum and the birch, while the jasmine gives off a beautiful creaminess and slight indolic and exotic effect. I pick up the jasmine, especially in the heat, subtle yet there. There's almost no sweetness to the composition, and the overall effect is dry, spicy, and smoky, hinting at unwashed, sweaty human skin. Yes, most likely, it sounds off-putting to the average perfumista and Tom Ford consumers, and that is fine. There was a time when Tom believed his Private Blend line should target the most adventurous of consumers, and London is a bold statement to that, with capital letters - dark masterwork from the brand. For me, it ranks as the number one spot next to Oud Wood Intense and Tobacco Oud Intense, depending on my mood. IG:@memory.of.scents

Imagine they burned a batch of Oud Wood, the perfumer lost it and smoked a pack with the mixing pot as an ashtray and then pissed some in it, then you have London. I love it. London -when compared to other famous animalic beasts- feels purposefully dirty (not to challenge, but to embrace sexuality) and perfectly balanced. London is a great animalic musc, a realistic cafe cigarette, a full-bodied leather, an astonishing spicy woody-smoky and and one of the most complex, complete and harmonious perfumes I have ever smellled. There are so many possible ways for approaching to describe London, it starts with a dirty sexy spicy (cumin+coffee) animalic leather (birch, labdanum, saffron, musc) and then slowly transforms into the most carnal animalic musc made by a 1001 facets dancing on the dirty muscy texture of castoreum. To me it's probably the single sexiest perfume in my collection. To whom do I recommend this? Lovers of cumin, animalic musc, realistic tobacco and dirty leathers, woody smokies, this here is a must try and a rare recommendation to blindbuy. If you like Hard Leather, Montecristo, MKK, Kingdom McQ, War and Peace or Lui, rejoice, you've found a new love, from the same family but unique enough to be simultaneously comparable with them all. If you want another fruity sweety with hints of saffron+quinoline like Tuscan Leather, no this one's a big bad leather cowboy with close to no sweetness. I think the accords are very self explanatory, take them seriously if you're wishing for the usual sticky sweet private blend. What do I think of when smelling this? Dirty hot messy sweaty sex with cool ppl during art school parties and my experience as an ex-barista smelling cigarette butts in the burnt coffee ashtray. I imagine someone/animal unshaven, effortlessly attractive, dirty, topless, intelligent-but sex driven, wearing/smelling like this. I don't agree with Songe or LO comparison; don't blindbuy expecting sth as airy or as rough respectively. London is a relatively shy perfume, it sits in my personal bubble and lasts 3~6 hours with 4 spritzs there, before getting too close to my skin. Smooth, dirty, naughty and masterfully blended. Big love. 🤎

At first, I was surprised at the in-my-face boldness: dirty and peppery, but somewhat softened by the captivating and comforting aroma of freshly-ground arabica beans. Totally elegant and warm. After 15-20 minutes, the real fun started as the woody and spicy complexities began to be revealed. I felt as if I was walking slowly through a dark ancient, incensed, king's throne room being fanned lightly by small bouquets of flowers as I passed through. I own a whole bunch of amazing TF private blends, but this one stands above the rest. While all PBs invoke vivid memories and often sensual events and special occasions, London took me to a new and alluring place, one that I felt very comfortable and welcomed in. You need to wear this a few times to understand and truly feel the vibe. Thus, to me, London is a very appropriate name, as I have felt precisely this way about the city itself. Indeed, London has many mysterious and enchanting neighborhoods for you to explore. Like most folks, I like to get the best longevity from my top shelf scents. So while I do need to reapply London after 4 hours, I am very happy to do so, and carry a small roll-on for this purpose. Thus, I am able to re-experience the wonderful top notes and the gradual de-cloaking of the intriguing and deep middles. The base notes as stated by TF seem to appear in the middle on my skin, which explains the deep complexities I experience while traveling through that extended range. The musky base notes are not as exciting, but for me that's an irrelevant issue as I typically reapply before I spend much time in that neighborhood. I cannot stop wearing this, as it's addicting, and I have been enjoying revisiting those new inviting places. While I was apprehensive when I first applied it in London, because it IS an unexpectedly unique TFPB, I'm very glad I brought this one back across the pond.