Noir

A59 (May 2019) batch. I just walk across random store where sell perfume from a far I notice this. Black stunning bottle. Of my curiosity and temptation. I stop and ask for a sniff. I get this 100 ml. around 120 usd. I check the authenticity and seller is nice enough to give me 1 spray tiral. This is an instant love, I do not know because of the name or not but I feel this is quite similar to Noir de Noir. But tone down, reduce the rose, reduce the truffle add more Velvety feel, and Mild Powdery. and you have it Nior EDP. The sweetness in these frags are just right for me (TF Noir de Noir / Noir) The open is pungent, so strong you almost chock. Mostly, it is Vebeena and Bergamot on paper. But on skin is quite mix and not prominent. My skin eat top note very fast. But when it is settle down a blast of Floral and Rose is release. God Damn. You already had me. When it dries down further all the velvety feel mild animals start to leak out. Release the strong smooth bed of Powdery Creamy Vanilla comes to play with Floral nuance. Last bullet - mild Patchouli to add more expansiveness. I feel so sexy, enigmatic, alluring, sensual, and mysterious. I am lucky to meet you after you discontinued. Wear test. It is only downside At, 1.5 hours after wear , the scent is tame down significantly and projection is closer to the skin. At, 5 hours mark. the scent is almost skin scent but I still catch a whip of floral from time to time. At, 6 hours mark. All of Middle is gone. It leave a trace of creammy baby powder on skin. At, 8 hours mark. It seems gone but I still catch a whip of the base a bit. Longevity: 6 hours // Projection : Best in first 1.5 hours (I wear this at 88F / 31C environment around 1 1/2 hours, mostly stay in climate control 77F / 25C the rest) 10/10 Ps. I feel this have quality of private blend (?), It smells upper scale. If they release this today call “something-something noir” I believe it will sell. ==== Update 1 : 16 Mar, 2023 After collection of 70 fragrance, I think I land this as my signature scent. Don't know, but the dark powdery civet, rose, mildly sweet, patcholi really get me going. I think last batch here will be 2019 batch in Thailand. Stock-up 3 bottles, just don't wanna be hustle in the future. Ps. I don’t think word “Noir” doesn’t mean it for a nightwear, Noir in this context means Dark, Mysterious but Comforting personality. It is not bright in all-regards. But I think you can both day & night time. ===== Update 2 : May 17, 2023 After I own for 3 months, I let it wait but the performance doesn't get any better. I am so sorry, The Middle is so beautiful but the base just ain't it. It is dusty dark powder, mild patchouli and minimal vegetal iris. If we talk about the top and middle it last around 4 hours. The rest dusty dark powder until the end of life. I wish the middle could last a little longer. Scent 10/10 (consider performance 8/10) Classification: Homme (Homme 65% / Femme 35%) Longevity: 4 hours (Top & Middle), linger after 4 hours as dusty dark powder. Projection: Moderate-Loud during first 4 hours, crush into skin-scent after 4 hours. ===== Update 3 : April 20, 2024 I was removed TomFord Noir from my selection for a few month now. Due to soft performance, I ignore him a big while. I am now in Guerlain territory. I just discover both true and modern classic. I actualize another thing.. "Fragrance doesn't have be screamer".. It can be soft cloud of protection that cover you. I find this most true to most Guerlain's offering 2 days ago, I revisited White Patchouli, just for fun. Somehow, I do not know. Is I crave patchouli or I just bored of my current selection. I miss this earthy patchouli that TomFord use a bit. But White Patchouli, on my skin pulls a bit Floral, Aquatic, Incense on my skin. It just not something I could grab everyday. I almost forget that I own TomFord Noir. "That also contains the sour, balsamic patchouli". I recall, this was my favorite too, I spray relentlessly today. Yeah, TomFord Noir is my thing. The way earthy balsamic patchouli builds in the opening. Then the amber - powdery accord build to cover Patchouli. With a tint of floral to support fragrance. That's just a round perfect powdery-warm fragrance for every modern day. ... why I dismiss you in the first place..? Maybe you have to learn, maybe it is a journey. But I will wear this more often, the powdery fragrance that got everything. I don't mind the soft fragrance now. Do you? ===== Update 4 : November 25, 2024 I am really digging so deep in Fragrance world. Eventually it's kind of Clique thing to say. "The Highest point is Return to Principle" But yeah, it's might actually so true as universe law. Another fragrance test night. Today I test Caban, Caftan and Noir pour Femme. Kind of want to drive in Amber (my preference is contains incense or olibanum btw). Caban & Caftan is Classic Amber fragrance with modernize material. Stay on skin really long, Properly develop and leave beautiful dry-down on skin. Still, In more modern perfumery manner but pleasing. It's happen that I also test Noir pour femme which is also beautiful and cleaver construct. But the dry down.. the dry down is pretty much the "hazelnut cream and sour wood" I feel like.. why I want to stick with scent for the rest of the day. I go thought article and it mention about incense so I bring Tom Ford Noir to test. I remember that this is also Patchouli-Amber fragrance as well. To be honest, your body knows best (not the mind, the thought). Because when I test this I feel like, yeah this is really good execution fragrance. And why Tom Ford is represent the scent himself. The classic fragrance gentleman genre almost has certain border. It could be very fancy like Bodacious or plain like Noir. People trends to looks at pyramid of note and how it develop. But the aftermath - the dry down. is also pay important part. "Noir, gives a really nice Patchouli - Powdery dry down". That feels clean, intact with your skin, this is wear you gotta stay with fragrance. Until the end of the day. I test out Santa Maria Novella "Ottone" and it shows most awesome stage, 30 hours on clean shirt. When retest again.. as I sniff the scent I recall similarity in "Sharlima EDC". Yeah, this is almost use the same amberine construction. I feel close to Sharlima because animalic undertone. But it is patchouli with Leather and powder feel, the floral. The core concept is similar. But Noir utilize the modern manner, the amber that carry on to most Tom Ford fragrance with Patchouli, as It goes deeper, you have time for it to develop, it getting better. Noir is modern, Noir is clean. Sharlima even in EDC concentration. is really diffusive while noir work more like cloud of protection. A trend I notice that, as people grown to their favorite fragrance. They start too lose the projection factor, if you doesn't look for functional fragrance. It is actually tired if you wear the high perforamnce fragrance for a Long time. Sometimes, we need closer projection just use as an garment. Noir is a good scent in that matter to wear daily, truly. Kind of old money thing. However, Noir is still opulent and full of details. for person to enjoy. In the end, it might be only certain fragrance that fit genre. Noir hold regard in that matter as modernize shalima. Maybe you doesn't really have to find another scent. if certain scent fit your need. All you have to do is enjoying it. As far as I test out fragrance TomFord, I think this is their best in catalog. Modernize Classic Masculine patchouli-powdery scent in easy to use way and pay tribute to a root of perfumery. Not overy floaty and opulent. A good fragrance for everyday. I really enjoy this scent profile. ===== Edit 5 on February 5, 2025 A reintroduce of classic scent from bygone era. A Powdery Civet, Leather with Patchouli / Powdery Rose. A Medlay of Classic Masculine fragrance from 80's. I make with more modern material and soft. People who crave classic scent, will enjoy Noir. ===== Edit 6 on January 7, 2026 I always return to TomFord Noir, perhaps I can say I force myself to wear. But not actually force, perhaps - my words of choice would be, It find it a bit boring to wear but it kind of the truth I always return. TF Noir is old man fragrance root deeply in fragrance perfumery. Perhaps, most groom in French tradition, it a bit boring tbh. Intellectual scent. but well it might be my last flight for self. Do I Floral girl or Humble Patchouli Man. Might be absolute question..

I’ve read several people likening Noir to Tom Ford’s Guerlain moment, with many recalling Habit Rouge, Eau de Guerlain, perhaps a bit of L’Instant. Noir doesn’t really comfortably and clearly overlap with any of those, but, if I had to pick, it is most like Habit Rouge. It’s a mash-up, at least as far as olfactive notes are concerned, giving spices more voice and sweeter ambers more weight than Guerlain liked to play with. However, it does share one of the most critical and signature aspects of the legendary-set of Guerlain compositions. Guerlain is immediately called to mind upon application as you are enveloped with a powdery and effervescent bergamot accord that is absolutely lovely. Sparkling and effervescent, calmly vivacious, gentle yet confident, and endlessly breathable and lightweight. These characteristics describe all of the accords across the life of the perfume; the evolution of the accords, as they endlessly play with each other in gentle ways, all the way to the final dry down without ever forcing themselves through is a core signature trait of Guerlain, and Noir pulls off that same evolution very well. The powdery bergamot eventually begins to give way after a good amount of time, but never fully disappears, and this is when Noir noticeably starts individualizing itself from the classics. Noir is a bit on a sweet side, it's amberic notes creating quite a big and noticeable foundation, but it never pushes the traditional boundary of too much sweetness; it's very tasteful and well-stated. The spice accords of pepper and caraway, and the florals of violet and iris and rose, do a delicate dance with each other - gentle push and pull, strength and vulnerability - as the powdery bergamot very slowly starts to slip away. During the final dry down, the upper accords are still present to some degree (again, harking to Guerlain at their best), and lighthearted and tasteful patchouli, balsams, and vanilla become more prominent. After spending a lot of time with this perfume, and putting my thoughts and observations to paper (so to speak), I cannot say this is an outright homage to Guerlain, Habit Rouge or otherwise. It certainly feels that way since it mimics the evolutionary template near perfectly, and Noir uses a lot of accords that Guerlain love(d) to use, but the way the accords speak create different depths of emotion that Guerlain didn’t explore. For example, Habit Rouge is emotionally available but austere, whereas Noir is full of emotion worn on its sleeve. There is a tender longing, a heart-wide-open vulnerability, to Noir that isn't present in Habit Rouge. Noir feels like a big hug to a loved one with misty eyes, either of longing or goodbye. What's more is that this is not the typical side of Tom Ford that we see, which is normally brash, a bit lascivious and trashy, over the top, decadent to the point of almost being gaudy, etc. Noir is plenty good to stand on its own without needing that context, but, when placed in that context, it says that Tom Ford's breadth and depth of creativity, and the ability to coax masterful technical execution of the vision from the perfumer, can place the brand amongst the best of the best in the designer world... when they try. I wish they tried more often. I wish we got more things like this from the brand. I absolutely love this perfume.

I have never been a follower of Tom Ford fragrances, they have always seemed too overrated for the performance they offer for the most part, but it certainly has some very well worked jewels and "Noir" is one of them, And since I was not going to like Tom Ford Noir, it does drink from one of the classics that I like the most in the perfumery "Shalimar" with which it shares more than 6 notes and although some are worked in different ways, such as vanilla, than here It is not totally the protagonist as in Guerlain's, but without a doubt they bear an enormous resemblance, both oriental fragrances, complex, loaded with notes, and yes, I consider Shalimar to be perfectly unisex, Noir could also perfectly be used by a woman, although its composition tends to be a little more "dirty" due to the type of musk used and the civet note, the contribution of freshness of a delicious ionone joins the powdery Iris creating a chord that reminds me of the Guerlain classic along with that powdery vanilla, not very neither sweet nor gourmand, the Rose also stands out a lot among its floral notes, it is a clean and powdery rose, all these notes open the way to the protagonist of this perfume, the patchouli, dirty earthy attached to the synthetic note of Agalia (civet) that together with leather and musk, dirty this composition a bit and certainly make it a little darker. There is something about this fragrance that is enigmatic and vintage, which reminds me of the "noir" movie bars of gangster movies from the 20s and 30s with art deco decorations. The same thing could be worn by a thug, or by a femme fatale of those that abound in those films. And it is that it certainly has a certain vintage, gloomy, dark and somewhat gothic air that reminds us of something abandoned, something stored somewhere, that grandfather / grandmother garment. Noir is a jewel of those compositions that may not please everyone but are an allegory to the most classic French perfumery, totally timeless, it could have been the male counterpart of Shalimar back in 1925 and as the eternal Guerlain classic, it would still be valid in this century.

Noir started my fragrance journey. Naturally, I owned perfumes before, but I owe my enthusiasm to this one. It was so special, different than anything else. As I look back, I think it's more niche than a lot of niche offerings. Yes, Noir is divisive, it's far from the so called typical masculine scents. I wear it rarely, however, I find it addictive. Its quite embarrassing to use this marketing bullshit, but it's true - Noir is "mysterious and sexy" Dark, powdery rose and patchouli as it was written previously. Top notes are cold violet and sweet iris root. Noir also has some spicy and earthy aspects while it dries down, thanks to pepper, geranium and clary sage. In its base, it has that oriental ambery facet, still, it's more powdery than sweet. I can see someone may find it challenging to wear, because its smooth, but little animalic. I can tell that I love its beautiful complexity and its slightly retro, spicy and oriental vibe. I would name a more modern, masculine Shalimar or Habit Rouge as a similar perfume if I really need to. Noir could be unisex in my opinion, but both sexes need some confidence to wear it. As for me, I think its for the dressed up, formal nighttime, or dates, in cooler weather naturally. Longevity is good for 6-7 hours, projection is decent in the first few hours. Edit: I tested Villoresi's Patchouli last night, and while the opening is totally different, I found its drydown VERY similar to TF Noir. The same spicy, dark and earthy patchouli.

The opening starts off very fougere-y, it's citric and green and sweet, but that fades away very quickly and you start to smell something very powdery and floral, it smelled like the powdery Iris from Dior Homme Parfum 2020 and come to find out after checking the notes, they both apparently use "Tuscan Iris". And for the dry-down you get an amber + vanilla + leather combo that works seamlessly with the smell and texture of the Iris. In my opinion it lands pretty unisex. I really really enjoy it and it is a very SPECIFIC kind of fragrance, it is really mysterious and Bruce Wayne-y, but not in the leathery and woody vibe, it is soft and powdery, like he would attend a late night party where he luckily has a night off, a black red tie suit with a long black wool or cashmere coat, it is very luxurious smelling. To me the performance was actually pretty good just from one spray on my hand, if i had a bottle and sprayed my whole neck i don't think performance would be an issue, and the scent itself is really mysterious and unique, i think it's best for it to be discovered than to fill up the whole room. 8-8.5/10 Dark, but in a sensual way. Noir.