Category Archives: Tom Ford

I think my senses just died and went to heaven; this perfume is exactly its namesake but oh so multifaceted and sophisticated. If you’re a book lover longing for a scent evocative of vintage bookstores with vanilla lattes, and old papyrus, this fragrance is the one for you.

It’s a little smoky, a bit sweet, and full of worldliness.
The vanilla and tobacco notes are composed so perfectly that it’s almost poetic. Soft, rigid, feminine, masculine; it’s a secret affair between two diverse personalities, willing to overcome all hardships to embrace love and devotion. That may have been hundreds of years ago, but the heart still beats passionately.

Sillage is heavy and long lasting on my skin, the tobacco is noticeably stronger when heat is involved but then is quickly subdued by the feminine touches of vanilla. And by the way this is high quality vanilla (neither synthetic nor candy sweet), rich but not overpowering.  The tobacco is also gracefully crafted without being over-pungent.

This is one of my favorite fragrances from Tom Ford; second only to Café Rose…they are dissimilar but beats along the same vein. Having experienced this, makes you never want to go back to a world without it.

Top Notes

Tobacco/ Spices

Middle Notes

Tonka Bean /Tobacco blossom /Vanilla /Cacao

Base Notes

Dried Fruit/ Woods

Oh my, this perfume is a coffee lover’s paradise! I‘m not usually into gourmand scents (Thierry Mugler’s Angel for example), but today I surrendered my inhibitions to this gorgeous love potion called Café Rose. For me this fragrance captures the true essence of an Italian coffee bar along the canals of Venice. First impressions are of a rich Mediterranean espresso, combined with luxurious rose…then drying down into a powdery coco.

The combination of elegant floral with grounded coffee beans does for me what chocolate and strawberries could not; it made me feel cozy, comforted, happy, and adventurous. I’m not sure how Tom Ford does it, but there is a feeling of European coffee shops during the fall, with sparkling lights, cobblestone streets and fresh roses blossoming into the night.

Overall a delicious concoction in an innocuous little bottle.

I tried to love Velvet Orchid, I really did…in fact I go back and forth with decanters of this fragrance in order to understand its massive popularity, but no matter what I can’t appreciate its rebellious nature.  Tom Ford perfumes are finicky in my opinion; you will either love it or you will hate it. I don’t feel Velvet Orchid in particular is a “people pleaser” scent; it’s more of a personal preference thing. It’s too defiant and unruly for my taste; too dark and disloyal …which isn’t my personality at all.

First impressions are of a smoky tobacco with rum and something extremely unpleasant. Which I later found out was suede, for some reason my nose only picks up the suede and that turned me off immensely.  I also sense no hits of orchid…it’s just leather and smoke combined to give a very awful burning smell.

Velvet Orchid is an olfactory power house for me, but it is also obnoxiously loud, which is why I cannot love it. If you are interested in bold and nonconformist scents, this one takes the cake. If you are a sweets and florals person with very little desire for something adventurous, I would steer clear of this wild flower.