Tom Ford introduces Jardin Noir, a collection of Private Blend fragrances that reinterprets 4 classical flowers: narcissus, hyacinth, rose and lily. “When you showcase their darker and less innocent aspects,” he says in an interview with New York Times, “flowers can become so thrilling and beautiful, they could almost ruin you. That was the sensation I was after.” There will be four fragrances: Jonquille de Nuit, Ombre de Hyacinth, Café Rose and Lys Fume.
Jonquille de Nuit–“Unusual top notes of wild Alpine cyclamen, acacia and angelica seeds, balanced with Egyptian violet leaf and bitter orange leaf absolute, provide a contrasting structure which allows the heady narcissus heart to spill into the senses. This powerful floral vibration is pushed, heightened, and teased to the brink—until a sensual, hypnotic base of orris and warm amber arrest this frenetic blossoming.”
Ombre de Hyacinth–“Merged with the rich earthiness of galbanum and the green drive of violet leaf, then enhanced with a glamorous veil of Magnolia leaf ORPUR and cool, incense-inflected Olibanum, lovely Hyacinth becomes a maddening enigma. It plays distance against desire with gem-like shimmers of pink peppercorn and jasmine absolute that tease and entice. The tension finally breaks as Persian galbanum, benzoin and musk pull back the curtain to reveal Hyacinth’s addicting sensuality.”
Café Rose –“Three precious rose essences dance with exotic spices and dark coffee. Saffron and black pepper entice the tight blossoms of Rose de Mai to unfurl. Then, the lush and saturated heart of precious Turkish rose oil and Bulgarian rose absolute creates an enveloping, narcotic haze—until a teasing bite of coffee essence cuts through the romance and awakens dervish passion. Incense resin, amber, sandalwood and patchouli surround this dance with sensual, creamy depth.”
Lys Fume –“Soft notes of Italian mandarin and pink peppercorn and cool, spicy nutmeg and turmeric entice you into a lush and overgrown garden of night-blooming tropical white lilies, tangled with ylang ylang from Moheli. The intoxicating air, soaked with this expansive floral effect, is streaked with the beautiful, sub-tropical melancholy of balsamic, South Indian davana essence and West Indian Demerara rum essence. A woody harmony of rich vanilla absolute from Madagascar, amber-toned cistus labdanum, styrax and oakwood creates a dreamy, hypnotic warmth.”
There will also be two limited-edition color products from the Fall 2012 Cosmetics Collection inspired by the
Jardin Noir fragrances: Aphrodisiac, a shocking rose-pink lipstick; and Dominatrix, a deep purple nail polish.
The collection will be available from all Tom Ford Private Blend counters from September 2012. 1.7 oz – $205/8.4 oz – $495
Via press release and tmagazine
23 Comments
Amer: Would it be too much to expect some complexity out of those for a change? Most recent private blends were nice but lacked the element of surprise. August 16, 2012 at 8:11am
Victoria: I also missed the element of surprise in most Private Blends, but the Signature Collection is excellent and very well priced. I cannot wait to smell Tom Ford Noir. August 16, 2012 at 9:19am
Amer: Yes, I find the signature collection consists of well designed and well edited products but it is mostly the female oriented ones that stand out so far. Grey Vetiver was the one I really wanted to like but it didn’t deliver. It was a very safe and unexciting vetiver. On the other hand violet blonde was genius. I am very curious about the new Noir for men. August 16, 2012 at 6:02pm
Victoria: Tom Ford for Men was well-crafted and elegant, but a bit safe. But the Extreme version was interesting. I wear Black Orchid and Violet Blonde, so I agree with you, the feminine range is more exciting. August 17, 2012 at 7:20am
graindemusc: Can’t presume of the scents before smelling them, but the ad copy… Jardin Purple, non? Also, the pedant in me is truly annoyed by the Frenglish… if you’re going to give a product a French name, spell it right: “Hyacinthe” with an “e” would have been just as intelligible. “Lys Fume” means the lily smokes… Maybe “Lys Fumé”, “smoky lily” would have made more sense? Also: “incense-inflected olibanum”? Dear people at Tom Ford: the stuff *is* incense.
That said, I am looking forward to smelling them. August 16, 2012 at 10:13am
Victoria: The incense-inflected olibanum was something that I noticed right away. There was something about amber-toned labdanum too. On the one hand, at least they are explaining what these materials smell like, because most of the time the copy writers just throw out things like benzoin and hedione without any explanation what those things are.
But these are just the minor qualms. I’m looking forward to smelling these perfumes. August 16, 2012 at 10:19am
Lynn Morgan: I am intrigued…. can these scents possibly live up to both the hype and the price tags??? Granted most people’s intrepretation of ‘dark’ and mine seem miles and miles apart- I definitely lean to the Gothic side of things- I have to admit Tom Ford’s original Black Orchid ( a scent suspiciously similar to the fragrance he launched at YSL that tanked, Nu)is a sultry favorite, and I am still mourning the loss of his Velvet Gardenia. I love hyacinth, and would love to experience a deep, dark and sultry version of this innocent spring flower, and a truly naighty rose is always welcome. Still, the prices are obscene. August 16, 2012 at 6:44pm
Victoria: Lynn, you and me both! I cannot believe that my favorite Velvet Gardenia was axed. I love it. I also enjoy Champaca Absolute, which smells exactly like magnolias in bloom, leathery leaves included. August 17, 2012 at 7:27am
Undina: Being Tom Ford’s fan (perfume-wise) I look forward to trying these. And I don’t even mind liking them because those big bottles are just asking to be decanted – so it won’t be as hard on my wallet even if I like all of them (I’m not too enthusiastic though after several most recent Private Blend releases). August 17, 2012 at 3:31am
Victoria: I have a decants of most of them too (I mean the Private Blends that came before this new collection), and a full bottle of Velvet Gardenia. Decants do suffice for me, especially since the lasting power is excellent. August 17, 2012 at 8:01am
eminere: Private Blend is becoming quite public, isn’t it? How many fragrances *are* there now in the collection? August 17, 2012 at 12:03pm
Victoria: I didn’t count, but it started out with a dozen or so. August 17, 2012 at 12:43pm
George: The one I am most looking forward to smelling is Cafe Rose, as darkened roses are my thing, and by extension the rest of these, because that makes me think I might like the other florals in more darkened settings, and that might be more appropriate for a dude. Which brings me to a request. There is no review of Portrait of a Lady on your excellent blog, though you refer to it quite a lot. Would love to hear your thoughts on it. I found it very interesting when smelling Seville a l’aube recently (albeit very quickly) that that seemed to be almost an orangeflower version of that perfume, using the template of a large dosage of that particular flower and then orchestrating a arrangement that makes the orangeflower the equivalent of a female vocal in a pop song, supported by the drums and bass of incense and animalics. The overdosage of an expensive ingredient in POAL also seems to go back to what Chanel did with No.5, in an attempt to create a fragrance that just from the point of cost there will be few imitations. As one of the points of the Malle range is the use of expensive ingredients, it also strikes me that those types of perfumes which benefit from expensive ingredients are those that are generally the best in the range. Whereas those which benefit from cheap ingredients are those which are the less striking. Anyway, a review and your thoughts would be very much appreciated. And of course, keep on blogging! August 21, 2012 at 9:47am
Victoria: George, that’s a request I’m very happy to take up, since Portrait of a Lady is one of my favorites. I’m not even sure why I haven’t reviewed it, but I’ll be sure to do so in the coming weeks. August 21, 2012 at 9:49am
George: I look forward to it! August 21, 2012 at 9:55am
Annunziata: I would very much look forward to seeing your thoughts on Portrait of a Lady, as well. August 27, 2012 at 11:33am
Victoria: I already started writing the review! 🙂 August 27, 2012 at 11:46am
mridula: I don’t see the Portrait of a Lady reviewed. If I am being dense and just missing the post then please ignore this comment.Otherwise, can you please review it soon. I am almost as addicted to what you say about perfumes as I am to the scents themselves. April 21, 2013 at 1:44pm
Victoria: You’re right, I haven’t reviewed it yet, but it’s on the list. Thanks for giving me a nudge! April 21, 2013 at 5:04pm
mridula: Very much looking forward to it. Thinking hard about POL vs Kilian’s Rose oud vs L’Artisan’s Voleur de Roses.Which one merits an anniversary present from the dear partner. Yes, I get to pick and prefer the first two for how expensive they smell, but Voleur is lovely, as well and within budget.Your review will help decide . April 21, 2013 at 9:39pm
L.: Do you know who authored these? I can’t find it anywhere. August 29, 2012 at 8:54pm
Victoria: Ombre de Hyacinth is by Calice Becker, and for the rest I’ll need to check my notes. I don’t remember off the top of my head. They were all done by Givaudan perfumers. August 30, 2012 at 3:39am
L.: Thanks for the info! – if you remember to whom the others are credited I would love to know. I loved what Yann Vasnier did with the last couple TFs, they were so luminous especially for the Private Collection line.
I got to try these very briefly, on test strips, but when there’s four at a time, it’s difficult to get a sense of what’s what; I’ll have to come back to them one by one. Hope there’s one or two winners here. August 31, 2012 at 10:18pm