Tom Ford Tobacco Oud Unisex 100ml/3.4oz Eau Tester

Premiere: 2013
Size: 100 ml (3.4oz) Gender: Men and Women Notes: Oud, tobacco dust absolute, coriander, cistus, labdanum, cedarwood, patchouli, sandalwood, roasted organic tonka bean, castoreum.

It was Tom Ford who pioneered the oud note in contemporary Western perfumery way back in 2002 during his tenure as the artistic director of Yves Saint Laurent, with the groundbreaking M7. In 2007, he was still one of the few to showcase it in his own Private Blends with Oud Wood.  Along with the latter and Oud Fleur, Tobacco Oud is part of the brand-new “Oud Collection”. And in case you were wondering, any resemblance with Tobacco Vanille – a firm favorite in the Private Blends – is most emphatically not coincidental, since Tobacco Oud was composed by the very same perfumer, Olivier Gillotin.  Here, the vanilla is ousted by – obviously – oud. The tobacco accord is less of a mellow pipe tobacco though it retains the delectable almondy inflection of tonka. Instead, it was inspired by “dokha”, a traditional “blend of herbs, flowers and spice-laden tobacco”. And a heady blend it is, matching the fragrant smokes of oud resin and aromatic tobacco, with none of the side effects…  If you've been hankering for a darker, sultrier, woodier version of Tobacco Vanille, or like to tame your oud with a touch of sweetness, a whiff of this might turn your head: it's one of Mr. Ford's most addictive offerings to date.