Shanghai Lily

I'll begin this review with a warning -- this one has been discontinued for a while and can be difficult to find/expensive. (Which is why I'm trying to avoid loving it, and resigning myself to just liking my decant instead. At least, that's what I'm trying to tell myself. How's that working out for me? It isn't.) This one opens with a distinct clove note on me, which is actually quite likeable, and plays with the gentle swirl of spices; my skin seems to amplify the subtle pepper note for the first half hour or so. Once it settles in, I am treated to a mix of still-spiced florals that calls to mind lilies, but doesn't imitate them precisely -- there are other blooms in play here (most notably, hints of jasmine and tuberose, but it may unfold differently on you). It feels like an idealized portrait of the flower, not an actual flower, with a hint of resins and smoke that is meant to enhance and doesn't overwhelm. This one stays fairly consistent and doesn't change too much throughout the day -- it merely grows softer and sits closer to the skin as the hours pass, leaving the wearer with a pleasantly spiced whiff of a deep, rich, bouquet that people might notice if they get close to you. I didn't find it to be a room-filling scent. (Others seem to have had different experiences, though, so test this out on a day off before wearing it out. Maybe I'm an outlier and my skin just eats this perfume for breakfast.) This is a nice quality for a perfume to have if you want something that feels opulent, but doesn't announce your presence before you enter the room. (I love vintage Opium, but there's a time and a place -- Shanghai Lily is more adaptable and less forward than Opium.) Fragrances often paint a picture in my mind, and make me imagine a place or a person. Shanghai Lily feels like a character in a film noir -- in fact, that's what the people in her social circle call her. She's an independent woman of means who has traveled extensively, and she fluidly incorporates the customs and charms of the countries she has visited into her own routine. She's warm, but you have to get to know her before you experience her softer side. On the rare occasion that she smokes, she uses a long, elegant cigarette holder made of bakelite. Her hair is smoothed and perfectly waved, her fringed lashes frame intelligent eyes, and her eyebrows are plucked and arched like a 1940s Hollywood starlet. Everything is in its place. A glittering brooch adorns her bias-cut black velvet dress. The private detective whose office she strode into is enchanted by her bearing and self-possessed demeanor; if, indeed, she does have a problem, she will solve it by hiring the right person and taking prudent action. Another thing to bear in mind -- the perfume itself is a vibrant color, so be careful when spraying!

Nov. 2015: Just discovered Shanghai Lily. I wanted to celebrate the purchase of a new car, a relocation to a new home state and transitioning from summer to the cooler seasons. And what better way to commentate than to get a new fragrance? What a multifaceted little gem SL is! On this particular day I had sniffed and sampled probably 10 scents. I was considering the purchase of a Diptyque (34) and Jo Malone's Mimosa and Cardamom. The Diptyque was heavy and spicy, the JM light and floral. Then I met Shanghai Lily. I was captivated. A bit sweet, a bit spicy, a bit floral, a bit warm, a bit bright. It was EXACTLY what I was looking for. I think this perfume is versatile in every way. It's not loud or heavy, but it is by no means a shrinking violet. It will evolve as you wear it. For me, the sweet and floral notes are what stand out, resting very comfortably on a warm foundation. I can smell the spices too, but they are far in the background and add dimension/facets for me, which elevates it from just a sweet, pretty scent to something more interesting and exotic. SL can be an every day or special occasion fragrance. (That's not commion for me to find.) And I believe it will be appreciated anytime of year, in any temp, day or night. It has a steep price tag, but I coughed it up because I think I will get a lot of use out of this juice. 4/4 stars. Not because it is my new fragrant scent, it isn't, but because it is SO versatile. It gets 4/4 because I can/WILL wear it anytime, anywhere! This one will create the memory for you when you wear it rather than it evoking a memory when you first sniff it, if you know what I mean. Some fragrances take you on a journey the minute you sniff them. They transport you to a memory. THIS one is a blank slate. SL is perfect for you to wear and CREATE a memory with her, WHENEVER and WHEREVER you choose to wear her. If you are like me and take several bottles of perfume with you when you travel because you don't know what you'll want to wear from day to day, Shanghai Lily solves that problem. Take her when you travel and you won't need another. Plus, you'll have room in your suitcase for the new perfumes you find on your travels. Lol. Happy smells!!! PS Other TF's I own, White Suede, Velvet Orchid, Black Orchid, Jasmine Rouge, Noir Noir. For me, SL lingers most of the day, but I like to smell my fragrance until the end of the day. I found I would most likely want to respritz to refresh as after 4-5 hours its projection has softened, considerably. I can still smell it on skin and clothes, but it is much more subtle and I'd like to smell it more. BTW: I wrote my review before reading previous reviews. I was quite surprised to see how so many others felt similarly to me about this fragrance.

Tom Ford’s Shanghai Lily from his Atelier d’Orient line is an exotic, stunning entry into the Oriental Floral garden. It is languorous, lithe and liable to lead to trouble. I have no idea if the inspiration behind this perfume is the Marlene Dietrich character of Shanghai Lily from the Josef von Sternberg film “Shanghai Express” (1932). If not, well, this perfume certainly carries all the mystery and intrigue that is found in Dietrich’s portrait of a lady who one character describes as a “Coaster, a woman who lives by her wits along the China coast.” The perfume is loaded with more notes than Lily’s steamer trunk is filled with French unmentionables. They come at you all at once in a locomotive rush. Bitter orange, pink and black pepper, cloves, spices and incense kick of the exotic journey, I get a definite mince meat pie accord here that is delicious and long lasting. In the center of the perfume there is exotica galore as the perfume continues its excursion along your pulse points. Floral notes push in on the opening notes layered over with a sensual labdanum, jasmine, rose and a hint of tuberose. It goes together with the spicy mix so well. And the peppers and cloves laid out in the opening meet up with olibanum, a light layer of barely perceptible vanilla and benzoin keep it from being too pretty. The dry down at journey’s end is a solid base of cashmere wood, sassy castoreum, guaiac wood and vetiver. This combo keeps this perfume sexually ambiguous and as enticingly daring as Marlene Dietrich was in a man’s tux in the early 1930’s. It is a well blended perfume that works to the advantage of both men and women. Lasting on my skin a good ten hours and leaving a va va voom sillage for those looking to make an entrance. And what an entrance this perfume makes. Pure star power all the way from opening credits to fade out, as directed by Tom Ford this Shanghai Lily is a box office hit. SHANGHAI LILY BY TOM FORD Four Gold Stars **** (FOR THE MYSTERY BEHIND MY REVIEW CHECK OUT MY BLOG, SCENTS MEMORY)

Lovely, classic Oriental. Exceptionally well blended. I feel very exotic wearing it. While it doesn't list lily as a note, which sort or made me hesitate to purchase, I'm glad that I was able to get a decent sized decant from the subscription service I use. As far as a true lily is concerned, within the Tom Ford range, I prefer Lys Fume, though these couldn't be more different than night and day. While I agree that it calls to mind old school, spicy Orientals, I don't think it is similar at all to Opium or Youth Dew. Perhaps there is a slight similarity with the OG Nu, which was a Tom Ford offering at YSL, I find this to be quite singular. That doesn't mean that there aren't others like this out there. I just haven't found one yet. Will likely perform best in the cool weather. The longevity and sillage are pretty decent as well. All in all, a love for me. EDIT 8/28/23 - After a few wears, I have changed my mind. This is very similar to OG Opium. Also, now that I've read other reviews saying so, I can definitely smell stargazer lily. I suppose I had white lily in my head, which is why I never noticed it before. I realize how fortunate I was to get a generous spray on decant from my subscription service, because when I checked to see if I could add it to my queue, it was no longer available.

This definitely has YSL's vintage Opium and Nu in its DNA. But it adds a lily note to make it unique. Some who have tried this have stated they get no lily and that it's not in the notes, but as there is no such thing as lily absolute, each perfumer has to construct a lily fragrance from a variety of chemicals. We all must use our imaginations to create a lily fragrance in our minds, so each of us will have a different interpretation. I get more of a stargazer or tigerlily rather than a soft, green white lily such as in SL Un Lys or Cartier Baiser Vole. Tuberose comes out as well as jasmine, which blended with the vanilla creates the lily. The spices in this are beautiful and intense. I detect ginger and clove and pink pepper. Not as much incense as in Opium. It's sensual without being overtly sexual, something even wearable to the office with a light spray. Yet it would also make a lovely evening perfume. It has that edible sort of deliciousness that's also in TF Tobacco Vanille. I hope they don't discontinue this, because it's such a more versatile and wearable perfume than older version Opium. It also doesn't have the leather in Shalimar, which makes that perfume relegated to evening wear. This is just a great, seasonless wear-all for someone who likes spicy, exotic fragrances.