Ombre Leather 16

Many people have drawn comparisons between Ombré Leather 16 and Tuscan Leather. These comparisons are pretty accurate. The leather in Ombré Leather 16 is quite similar to that in Tuscan Leather, but it is drier and a bit more subdued. Tuscan Leather is one of my favorite scents and unfortunately, it is one of my wife's least favorite scents of mine. (She also dislikes La Yuqawamm and Oud Saphir.) She likes Ombré Leather 16 though. There is a cigar-like note in Tuscan Leather that she despises, which thankfully is not found in Tuscan Leather. To me, Ombré Leather smells like black leather with a touch of suede and some light florals. Reminds me of a new black leather wallet. Tuscan Leather uses more of a brown leather or suede note. I would tell most people they do not need Ombré Leather 16 if they already have Tuscan Leather; however, if there are situations where Tuscan Leather is too much, or you have a loved one that doesn't like Tuscan Leather, there is definitely room in your collection for both. Tuscan Leather is best for cold weather, while I could see Ombré Leather 16 being wearable in any weather except the high summer heat. I purchased a decant of Ombré Leather 16 and presuming my feelings about it do not change, I will purchase a full bottle. EDIT: Halfway through the decant and my feelings have changed. I like it even more than before! The performance on this is somewhat inconsistent. Some days I feel like the scent is stronger and longer lasting, other days less so. Not sure if people around me have the same experience or if this is just olfactory fatigue. I will keep using this and when my decant runs out, I will either buy another decant or a full bottle. Loving this stuff, still getting just as much wear out of Tuscan Leather. One does not replace the other for me. EDIT 2: I found a deal on this, so I picked up a full bottle. Still loving it. I still get erratic performance from this though. Sometimes I can't smell it after a few hours with 4-6 sprays. After a spray to each wrist, I can smell it 8+ hours later.

I have plenty of time for Ombre Leather EdP and the parfum. OL is one of my favorite Tom Ford fragrances. Ombre Leather 16, which is the original - albeit very limited - release of Ombre Leather should have stayed as the primary release of Ombre Leather. It is superior to the later EdP and parfum versions, even with them being as good as they are. 16 opens with a bang of cardamom, violet and jasmine florals; no fruity notes like you get in Tuscan Leather, or simply cardamom as with the later versions of Ombre Leather. The cool spice and floral top is chic and classy. The florals dry down to bring out accords of more violet leaf, and dry and animalic leather. The leather accord used in this was repeated almost exactly in Ombre Leather, but with a critical difference. Whereas Ombre Leather EdP/parfum are a bit wet and thick, and certainly dirty and animalic, 16 presents the animalic leather as very dry and warm - closer to the leather of Tuscan Leather in this way, but with the animalic nature that sets OL apart from TL. Additionally, the violet leaf, patchouli, cardamom, and tree moss play together to give an overall impression, to me, of a smooth fresh tobacco accord that is somehow chemically and quite dry. This isn't fresh green tobacco or cured/aged tobacco; it's naughty cigarette tobacco. The final dry down continues the leather accord, and the tobacco accord more aligns to straight tree moss and a very smooth, light brown patchouli. Ombre Leather 16 is suave, yet daring, rakish yet gentlemanly. OL 16 is James Bond in a tux skulking through a swanky building with his Walther drawn, where OL EdP/Parfum is a hot rock star in a sweaty leather jacket. Such a pity TF don't still make this one.

Sampled this yesterday and I liked it quite a bit. It definitely resembles Tuscan Leather, but if you had replaced the deep ultra rich leather note with the smokey suede note from White Suede. I love this because I've always loved the suede note in White Suede but felt it dissipates way too fast before giving way to musk and flowers, but here it stays without caving in. It's lighter and more versatile than Tuscan Leather, but still long-lasting and powerful. I can feel the oakmoss and patchouli and they compliment the leather nicely while being seamlessly blended into the leather. Although jasmine is listed, I get a soft, fresh white lily floral note that adds some brightness to the smokey leather. In summary, the overall feel of this is a dominant smokey leather-suede with well-blended hints of herbal green nuances and soft florals. I think I may just like it more than Tuscan Leather.

I find this more complicated on the first application than Tuscan Leather and a tiny bit more linear in its progression. Tuscan leather is one of my favourites and after wearing this for the last 4 days I find it more enjoyable. I wouldn't say it replaces Tuscan leather. It is more like the tame flowery cousin of it using similar leather note. It would make perfect sense for example if Tom Ford made a "leather" line and had this one, Tuscan leather and another couple of them the same way he released the "Oud" and "Vert" line. As a side note I also love the black chromed and leather magnetic refillable, limited edition bottle that the 50ml of this will come in. I am not sure for its price though that approaches the one of the 250 ml bottle. By the way the same bottle in gold edition will be available empty as a refillable spray bottle for half price.

I have worn this perfume for a few weeks now and here are my thoughts. There is similarity with Tuscan Leather but in my opinion it is only on the initial whiff. If you wear this one day and Tuscan Leather the other day, you will notice they are not too similar. Ombre Leather is lighter and fine for most days, while TL is heavier and more suited for cold weather. If I had to pick one only, it would be TL because it feels better suited for the dough you pay. Just like what some reviewers posted here, the Tom Ford sales people I always get from told me this perfume would be discontinued in the Private Blend line and be moved to the signature line. While it's nice to see the price go down, I fear the quality might go down too.