Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Rediscovering Tom Ford Black Orchid

As I returned to the inferno today and was pleased to discover that our temperatures decreased in the last 24 hours from 110 degrees fahrenheit to a mere 105, my thoughts turned to fall and warmer, lusher fragrances. (Yeah, right!) All kidding aside, I decided to re-test Tom Ford Black Orchid, the fragrance that originally turned up my nose and raised hair on the back of my neck. Thanks to Paul at Saks Fifth Avenue, I have an abundance of samples of this fragrance, so why not use them?

Breaking down the nuances of this fragrance is proving difficult for my travel- and work-weary mind and body. I'll leave that to the expert Robin at Now Smell This who does a beautiful job here. What I am picking out this evening is coconut, among the flowers and resins. I'm not kidding. Perhaps my senses have been altered by the sweltering chile relleno dish I had in Santa Fe, New Mexico last night. Or I am becoming more well-rounded in my fragrance appreciation, veering away from easy-to-love white florals and citrus scents. Whatever the case, I find Black Orchid rich, lush, a tad sweet and very wearable today. Interesting. Perhaps I will add it to my fall rotation.

This brings up a perhaps controversial but very valid discussion. Black Orchid is the second scent in the last six months I thought I would never wear yet upon retesting found delicious. (The first was Cartier Le Baiser du Dragon.) Considering changes in seasons and weather, environments and perspectives, I challenge you to retest a fragrance this week that you had previously deemed unwearable. You may be just as surprised as I was this evening or it may add a little excitement to a previously humdrum day. Let me know the results of your experiment!


Image courtesy of ipcmedia.com

10 comments:

Divina said...

Black Orchid strangely suddenly grew on me as well. I thought I hated it and then suddenly, months later I smelled it on a friend and fell in love. I still don't know whether I could wear it myself... I must certainly experiment.

Anonymous said...

Hi Tamara!
Wow - have you been busy!! In general, I don't revisit fragrances because I already have too many I like/love as it is - LOL! But, I know that on different days or during different seasons fragrances smell different on me. For example, I can only wear SL Un Bois Vanille during cooler weather. Hope you are doing well - would love to see you again soon!
Patty

IrisLA said...

Hi, T.

I tried Black Orchid three times in an effort to "get" it, and I still don't. It's a scrubber for me.

Guerlain Iris Ganache is one I didn't like on the first try. Because a friend raved about it, I tried it again and like it now. It is strangely addictive.

ForTheLoveOfPerfume said...

Hiya D.,

I'll be interested to hear if it ever works for you. It falls into the category of "love it or hate it." Have a great day!

xo,
T

ForTheLoveOfPerfume said...

Patty! Good to see you. It's always busy around here. ;-) I was just thinking I would love to get a Fall Sniffa going. I could contact our friends at the Biltmore again and we could check out the new offerings!

You must be getting much further along. I hope you're still feeling great. At least cooler weather is on the way!

xo,
T

ForTheLoveOfPerfume said...

Iris,

Guerlain Irish Ganache is scrumptious! I'm glad you gave it another spin. I completely understand your thoughts on Black Orchid since they were mine before last evening.

Anonymous said...

I can already hear your gasp, but for me, Bond's WestSide was a sleeper hit. I think I thought it was just so pretty it bored me but now I'm really diggin'it. Could be the fact that I'm 9 months pregnant too. I'm feeling SO not pretty and this scent just glows. Beautiful blog by the way, your writing is always inspiring ;-)

ForTheLoveOfPerfume said...

Wow!! Different strokes. It sounds like you read my review. West Side had me doing backflips the first time I tried. So glad it's making you feel like the beautiful woman that you are right now. :-)

Anonymous said...

Hi Tamara! I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of cooler weather so that I can wear Tracy by Ellen Tracy. I love it to pieces when it's cold out, but in warmer, wetter months, it turns flat and a bit nose-wrinkly on me, almost like a cheap body spray. When the weather is right, though, the whole fragrance blossoms evenly on my skin.

ForTheLoveOfPerfume said...

Well hello there Toasty! Isn't it amazing how some seasons highlight certain notes beautifully, while others render them drab? Aren't you coming up on your 1st wedding anniversary? If so, I hope it's wonderful!! :-)