Before I even try to carry out any sort of review of Sahara Noir, let me start by saying that I think it is my favourite Tom Ford fragrance. I haven't tried a lot of the Private Blends to date, to be fair (although this is set to change, as Fenwicks in Tunbridge Wells is about to stock some of the PB range) but certainly Sahara Noir comes up trumps in the main line.
That's not to say that I dislike Tom Ford's main line, in fact I quite like all of them, but Sahara Noir smells like a niche perfume that somehow got misplaced and ended up in mainstream by mistake. Again, I should make it very clear that none of the TF perfumes in the main line smell ubiquitously mainstream, to their credit.
I have read a few reviews of Sahara Noir, and it seems like some people felt it smelt good, but at the end of the day was an incense perfume that smelt just like that: incense. Perhaps that is the case, but the question I would ask is how many full on incense perfumes are you likely to find in your local department store? I'd hazard a guess that it would be very few, if any at all. Now, I also have to accept that Sahara Noir is priced very high, and that may give you an indication as to the quality of the creation and the ingredients, although I realise that price and quality do not always correlate.
One other thing that struck me is that while Sahara Noir is marketed as a feminine perfume, it does not smell remotely gender specific. Take the picture of the sultry woman off the packaging and advertising and I would never have remotely guessed.
I'm not aware of the exact notes for Sahara Noir, but other than incense, there is a fair amount of labdanum in here. Some people have commented that the perfume smells only of incense, and comes across as one-dimensional. Perhaps they are right, but I love incense in any form, and on my skin the ambery accord does come to the fore in the dry down, when labdanum is very clear to my nose. There is a slight sweetening too in the base, possibly by a touch of vanilla, but it is true that Sahara Noir is a fairly dry perfume, which suits me fine, as I love that style.
I have to be honest and say that I think this is a lovely perfume, although it is by no means cheap. Someone commented that it smelt like it belongs in the Private Blend collection and perhaps that is true.
I assumed (and you know where that usually gets a person)that Tom Ford perfumes weren't available in my neck of the woods, but your review of Sahara Noir got me motivated to actually check the availability for myself and found that I can indeed go downtown and sniff the Tom Ford line. Guess I know what I'll be doing this weekend!
ReplyDeleteLovely review, as always. :)
Happy sniffing Cym, I'd be interested to find out what you think. Do they carry the Private Blends too?
DeleteI absolutely agree - no gender to this! I think it smells great, but do fall into the camp of not thinking I need it. You make a good point, however, that there aren't a lot of strictly incense fragrances out there, certainly not in the borderline mainstream space where Tom Ford lives. So it is nice to see Sahara Noir there on the shelf.
ReplyDeleteNatalie, its true that Sahara Noir does not put a particularly unique twist to incense. As you recongise, I am more excited by the fact that one can find a borderline incense perfume in a very accessible department store. Thinking about proper mainstream though, (and probably sounding very snobby in the process), I can't think of any incense perfumes. I'm probably wrong, and happy to be proven so.
DeleteI like Sahara Noir - which isn't a big surprise since I'm a Tom Ford's (the brand, not the man) fan. But for my nose it smells a lot like the discontinued from PB Amber Absolute (not identical but very close). And this doesn't upset me since I plan to buy a bottle of Sahara Noir at a discounter website when I'm done with the Amber Absolute decant.
ReplyDeleteUndina I never tried the Amber Absolute, but am looking forward to trying more of the PBs when the testers hit the shelves at my department store.
Delete