Oud Minérale (2023)

I just love this fragrance. I see why some people don't like it and that's totally fine because on my skin and to my nose, this is so versatile and photorealistic. The opening takes a minute to get get used to, but the dry woods with gentle salty and aquatic dry down is just beautiful. This is an ocean scent, but not some tropical vacation coconut candy bullshit for kids. No, this is the winter ocean on the coast of the Pacific northwest of America. A place where rocky cliffs covered in gigantic sitka spruce and hemlock trees meet a dark and unpredictable Pacific ocean. It's walking along the dark grey sandy beach in the rain somewhere near la push, at the tip of the Olympic peninsula while sun light rapidly fades and the sea shatters through rocky seastacks out in the surf. This is a fragrance for men, with mystery, power and anticipation of some adventure or task ahead. It's the smell of driftwood and a cabin fireplace while drying off and getting ready to hike into the hoh rain forest the following morning. It's the smell of my grandfather, a remarkable mountain climber, pulling me out of the cold ocean after a unseen dark wave wrapped around my ankles in the surf and tripped my feet out beneath me. His strong hands grabbing my forearm in the dark as a sequence of waves began dragging me out, further towards the cold, violent sea with frothy waves that reached out to me like the becoming call of death's claws. It's the smell I remember as I was staring at the wood burning stove in a small beach side cabin while trying to process what had just happened and whether I was too shaken to continue on towards our mission of reaching the blue glacier on mount Olympus. I was 14 and this fragrance takes me back to those forgotten days when my grandfather would show me amazing places of raw nature during the weekend. Places like temperate rainforests with epiphytes that clung tightly to massive trees that towered above us, and inspiring mountain passes where waterfalls sprang from cliffsides as though the snow-capped mountains that towered above enchanted valleys were the sides of gigantic reservoirs that had sprung leaks. The trips into Olympic national park, the Cascades, Mt Rainier, etc. would fuel my curiosity and set me on a course to chase that sense of awe throughout my life. This is the smell of real masculinity that doesn't need to be violent or offensive, doesn't need to fit in or meet others expectations. It's unassuming, reliable, and willing to do what's needed in the moments that matter.

🚨READ EDIT BELOW🚨 Hear me out...I don't hate it, but I don't love it as much as the previous blend. The older formula smelled natural and very realistic to salty/marine beachside living. I adored the decant I had, I strongly regret not buying the original one a couple years ago :/ This formula has a strong opening that later transitions into what initially resembles the smell of a hospital glove which I'm assuming it's the mix of Seaweed and Pepperwood combined that gives the first couple minutes that nuance. I remember I wore Megamare to a friend's wedding; It was 30 minutes after I had sprayed it and my friend told me I smelled of strong hospital equipment, while others didn't pick up that hospital scent profile but NOW I understand what he meant by it, but on Oud Minerale. The opening surprisingly smells very boozy, like a strong woody whisky in a glass infused with a strong salty oud. Smells manly af but STRONG AF!! Then after 3 minutes it turns into the hospital glove/equipment smell. When it dries down it does get better but still doesn't come off as beautiful as the OG formula :( Still nice to have in my collection nonetheless. This is a 6.5/10 so far. I don't hate it, but I don't love it. I more than likely need to wear this in the summertime so the heat can break down the notes a bit better or I also need to allow it to macerate a bit more. I'll update this review in the summertime to let everyone know if it gets better over time! EDIT AFTER 30 MINUTES OF WEARING: I take everything back. As soon as I stepped outside and got a breath of fresh air, the notes broke down beautifully in my nose. The hospital glove smell went away, then it was nothing but woody marine greatness soon after!!! This is definitely going to be a summer banger for me! My girl told me I smelled amazing. Then a couple minutes later my brother said it smelled amazing as well and he's is already looking into getting himself a bottle as well. All of that after a 30-minute wearing lol This is why judging & bashing a fragrance immediately after a quick wearing should not be trusted. Give a fragrance some time, and it'll show itself to you. NEW RATING: 9/10.

Tom Ford Oud Minerale. Right, let’s cut to the chase... Oud Minerale is a polarizing fragrance. There is no middle road for this fragrance, you either hate this with a passion or you love it so much it becomes an obsession! I fall in the latter and ever since I first smelt it in 2017, I was instantly hooked but I held back because of its high price tag. Thankfully Oud Minerale is now in the signature collection, and you don’t need to fork out a minimum of 500Euros to get a bottle of the private collection. Has the formula changed from the private collection to the signature? I don’t know, but what I do know is that this edition is simply a unique aquatic beast that has me floored every time I wear it. The first thing I notice when I spray Oud Minerale on my skin is how fresh it is. You would think that this is just a summer banger, but this wears incredibly beautifully in the cold season thanks to the silver fir balsam. This is the note that makes it different from every other aquatic fragrance out there. Yes, this has a strong marine accord that smells of seagrass but the added pink pepper, styrax and oud accord elevate Oud Minerale to a completely different marine fragrance. Do you need to get Oud Minerale if you already own Megamare, Black Sea or Acqua di Sale. Let me be honest Oud Minerale does fall in the same ball park of these giants but that refreshing fir balsam note cannot be found in any of those three and this is where Oud Minerale is on another level. They might have fresh notes in them, but they are missing that special fir note that is incredibly addictive and beautiful. On paper and skin Oud Minerale is not the same fragrance, neither will it be on people’s skin. One spray on my arm lasted a whopping 12 hours and stayed a skin scent for nearly 24 hours. No issues of longevity or performance with my bottle ( batch A63) I am honestly over the moon with this release, and I consider this to be among one of the best releases by Tom Ford along with Ombre Leather EDP. This is what I consider a bonafide aquatic Masterpiece.

Alright, I gotta talk about this one real quick. I recently got my hands on a full bottle of Oud Minerale after falling hard for a decant I’d been nursing for way too long. From the first time I sampled it, I was hooked. It was just so different—a fresh aquatic that skips all the usual citrusy top notes and goes straight for something moodier, more textured. So when the chance came to scoop a bottle, I pounced. This one doesn’t smell like the beach. It smells like a freshwater shoreline—where lake water laps against stone, and there’s this damp, mineral-rich air. That’s the best way I can describe the opening: seaweed and salt meets pink pepper and some crisp mineral bite. Almost like wet rock warmed just slightly by the sun, but the sun’s hiding behind clouds. In the heart, there’s that signature oud note, but it’s not loud or animalic—it’s surprisingly restrained, playing nicely with smoky incense and styrax to add depth. Still, it never loses that clean, aquatic undercurrent. It’s marine, yeah, but it leans more forest-lake than ocean. Which is part of why I love it so much. The drydown brings out smooth woods—mostly cedar—and that same mineral vibe lingers underneath. No ambrette here like I originally thought, but it still has a soft, skin-hugging finish that keeps it grounded. It’s complex, but super wearable. And speaking of wearability: I actually love this in the summer. It cuts through heat with this fresh, almost cooling sensation, and it’s different enough to stand out from the sea of citrus bombs and blue clones. Performance has been solid so far—around 7 hours on me with a gentle projection that still gets noticed. If you're into scents that do their own thing and don’t rely on the usual tropes, this one’s worth checking out. It's fresh, mineral, quietly bold—and just weird enough to stay interesting without ever being hard to wear.

This is my first Tom Ford cologne. Let me preface by saying this, I have plenty of fragrances covering a range of different scent categories (fresh, aquatic, sweet, boozy, woodsy, citrusy, fruity, etc.) and aquatic has to be my go-to IF I can find one that pulls it off well. I have been intrigued by this scent ever since I first smelled it, have bought about 25+ fragrances since that first smell and always came back to test it out again. Here, today, I have finally pulled the trigger and went for it. The first (and favorite of all-time) for me was Invictus Legend (RIP). It reminds me a lot of the oceanside BUT with sweet beverages on the table next to you. Definitely a more youthful and playful scent. Oud Minerale though... is very mature. It's like walking down a beach during the sunset with a moderate tide, dragging seaweed and shells up to the water's edge. Very natural once it dries down a bit as it is a little harsh on the opening with a strong mineral scent (which is welcome to my nose). I grew up in the Central Coast of California and this just brings me back to those memories of walking the beach, down to the T. All-in-all, it's a very beautiful, accurate, natural, and unique scent. I can get why some might not like it due to the strong mineral opening, and you aren't able to get a good, full understanding of how the scent acts inside of a store for a couple of minutes. It may not harken back to the same memories for others as they may not have that sort of exposure, and I think that's why some don't like it - and well, Tom Ford is generally overpriced. This is a very unique scent though.