Sahara Noir

What was the Tom Ford brand on about? Was he making a joke? To say this is a feminine fragrance, and push it as such so hard, is akin to saying incels are feminists. Not that I care one way or another, feminine or masculine, rock it if you love it. But I thought from the get-go that the brand backed this perfume into a corner when they refused to say men ought to try it too. It didn't sell, and they discontinued it. What shame. This business of art, right...? When I applied it to my arms and the tops of my hands, it shimmered. It was like I had applied a really light body oil or bronzer, glowing orange like desert sands. Once it dried and began to hug my skin the shimmer disappeared, but by then I didn't notice because I was stunned by this perfume. There is a sweetness to it from the honey note, which melds beautifully with the juicy orange at the top and the bright florals in the middle. The honey, citruses and florals are seamless and inseparable. But, these are really quite secondary and tertiary to the whole of this perfume. Going back to the opening, when it shimmered on my skin, I was hit by what smelled like glowingly hot, red-orange, dusty Arabian desert sands and smoldering frankincense. And when I say hot, I mean hot. It is uncommon for perfumes to capture something palpable like the heat of the sun, but this does so very convincingly. This amber is on fire. The frankincense is a stunner, absolutely gorgeous, complex, and feeding like a wild beast off of that red-orange hot dusty desert energy from the amber base. The florals and fruits that I mentioned appearing in the opening give an impression of their oils roasting in the scorching orange light. But, it's the labdanum and frankincense that are the stars of this show. All of the other notes are checks-and-balances, making sure that the frankincense and labdanum do not run too far off course. As the fragrance dries down, the bright orange heat of the midday sun passes, and the dusty sands, flowers, and trees are allowed to cool, and the frankincense cools as well. Letting the frankincense shape-shift and change temperature gives a remarkably effortless sense of time passing by, of the frankincense going on into eternity, and that's managed by Rodrigo Flores-Roux's exceptional handling of the labdanum, balsam, and mossy base. The final skin scent, after many hours, is a warm, honeyed, woody, and incense-flecked amber that feels a lot cooler relative to the heat of the opening and middle. Sahara Noir is strong, it is loud, it is confident, and it will cast its hot incense, sun scorched florals, and amber embers into the air like an explosive bonfire. Tom Ford, this is not a feminine fragrance, but neither is it masculine. It's its own thing. Like the Arabian desert itself, it doesn't care what you think of it, it's going to be what nature made it - the red, the orange, the heat, the rock florals, the smoldering incense, the gritty sands, and the alluring romanticism of a rich and complex history. Anyone can enter the desert, but be intensely prepared. I am absolutely in love with this perfume. It is simply stunning.

I sampled this one a few years ago while sniffing Tom Ford Private Blend fragrances and loved it! So much that I brought home a full bottle. Sahara Noir is a terrific incense fragrance is that is warm, dry, and has that sandy-desert feel to it, for sure. I basically get incense, myrrh, oud/woods and a wonderful blend to support the composition. I do sense amber but it's not a fragrance that becomes amber dominant in the dry-down. Instead, this one remains an interestingly mysterious incense scent, which is appropriately named. Sahara Noir projects well above average and lasts a long time on my skin; 12-hours and counting in most cases. Sahara Noir is similar is some ways to Comme des Garcons Avignon, but only for a moment or two. Then they are two vastly different incense fragrances. Avignon is cool, crisp, clean and ethereal while Sahara Noir is warm, dry, sultry and a little naughty. Sahara Noir is a fragrance one wears while sinning while Avignon is something one wears while confessing their sins. I envision myself wearing Sahara Noir while enjoying an interlude with Sister Mary Elizabeth (my 6th grade teacher) and Miss Hall (my 3rd grade teacher) who are both wearing Avignon. Needless to say, they are both down on the knees confessing their sins to me. (Lol) There is oud in this fragrance, but don't let that scare you as it plays only a supporting role; it is an elegant and smooth oud much like how Creed uses oud in Royal Oud...certainly not sweet or medicinal. IMO, Sahara Noir is 75% masculine and I don't feel that most women, in general, would enjoy wearing this one. Most of the sales clerks I asked did not like it, but one absolutely loved it. To me, physically and mentally strong women such as Xena: Princess Warrior can rock this one. Then again, the same can be said about men wearing this fragrance as meek, weak and mild-manner men need not apply it to their skin. Finally, while I do love Avignon, I love Sahara Noir even more. To me, it is a much more interesting and better performing fragrance. It's certainly worth a try.

This scent is amazing! I ordered a sample because i didn't want to blind buy it. Honestly at first I didn't know if I hate it or love, it is so bizarre. I had to ask numerous people what they think about it on my skin, some said it's repulsive, others liked it. The frankincence is STRONG in this one! And to anyone from my culture this is something strongly associated with the incense they burn in Orthodox churches. So at first I was not sure: Do I like smelling like church? This type of heavy oriental frags are not my typical go-tos, it is heavy, heady and very unique and engaging, not something everyone would like. However, I couldn't stop sniffing myself wearing this, it is literally hypnotizing. It really reminds me of hot dry desert, exotic oriental spices and is VERY seductive, even perverse. I am not sure this is ok for day wear, but at night..very exciting!!I think I will buy the full size after all, I just can't stop thinking about this frag and its uniqueness. I can see it very well as unisex too. UPDATE: Now that I have the full size bottle and have worn it a lot lately I have to say that this gem has one downside: it doesn't last as long as I wish and expected it would: it is gone from my skin on the 3rd or 4th hour, on my clothes it performs much better, maybe 10-15 hours? How are you people getting more than 4 hours out of this on your skin, I want to know?! My skin is a bit dry overall, still I wanted this to last longer.. It's a pity, because it is such a beautiful and unique (and pricey too!) fragrance! I noticed that on my clothes and after a few hours it reminds me of DSquared He Wood Rocky Mountain (love this mens frag so much!) - that wet, smoky wood aspect of it. Plus a wee bit of sandalwood trace.

Beautiful, classy, hot, dry and reeking sexily of very dominant frankincense. Intensely aromatic and to me, perfectly unisex BUT ONLY for those of any gender who like their resins heavy and on the almost-bitter, very punchy side, rather than milder and sweeter. Gorgeous spicing redolent of only the best stalls in the market, with the sourer notes held well in balance. Much more heavily 'oriental' in feel than even some of the other warmer or spicier end of Tom Ford's offerings. Projection and longevity both rock solid. It has real charisma. I heard its legend and sought it out via some pretty unsavoury corners of eBay; dodging several clearly fake bottles now selling for astronomical prices I got hold of a small and genuine decant. No disappointment whatsoever: I can smell very clearly why it got so famous and I'm as sad as anyone that it got discontinued. However: don't lose hope, because the one thing this ISN'T, which its reputation might suggested to me that it was, is "unique" or "like nothing else". It's actually pretty much like several other frankincense-dominant hits like Avignon or Black Cashmere or Profvmvm Roma Olibanum. To me, most of all, it smells like an almost-twin of Atelier des Ors' Larmes du Desert - which is even more spare and rugged and outdoorsy, and also expensive, but still in production. So if you're mourning Sahara Noir and can't find anything like it, try those... and if you ever get to pick up remaindered, partially used or very cheap (but genuine) Sahara Noir, do jump on the chance. But I can't feel it would be worth fetishising and dedicating loads of money or time to hunt out at vintage-premium prices. Other shimmering plutocrats' frankincense palaces can be found.

Sahara Noir opens with a burst of fleeting bitter orange, along with a slightly acrid, dark calamus and Labdanum. Cypress is mentioned in the notes but I dont detect it individually. The heart to me is a rich, dark, vibrant Incense blending with a dry beeswax and papyrus. The incense papyrus blend in this is reminiscent to me of L'Artisan Timbuktu. The base is again a rich blend of balsamic amber, benzoin, and resinous labdanum with some woody nuances from the cedar and oud notes. In summation, I would call this a Balsamic Incense n amber frag. Projection is strong for the initial hours and being EDP concentration, longevity is excellent as well. 3-4 sprays lasts 10 plus hours on me. Sahara Noir has been discontinued which I think is a shame. Now this was officially marketed for Women which I think was a little weird. Now dont get me wrong, I personally feel all frags are unisex free to be worn by anybody but this is a composition that is not going to appeal to all women. None of the women among my family or friends, although they liked it on me for the most part, could see themselves wearing it. The Consensus by and large was it was more on the masculine side and because of this, I think Tom Ford would have been better served putting this in the Private Blend Line. In closing, I would say Sahara Noir is a genuine classic. If you like fragrances like Lutens Ambre Sultan, Tom ford Amber Absolute, Dior's Mitzah ( another discontinued gem) MFK's Grand Soir or the above mentioned Timbuktu,do yourself a favour and do check this out. I am really glad I have it and really enjoy wearing it in cooler weather or for nights out