Tom Ford is launching a new perfume in the Signature Collection, which includes fragrances like Black Orchid, Tom Ford Noir, Violet Blonde, and White Patchouli. Sahara Noir is inspired by the Middle Eastern perfume tradition and the incense notes. As Ford says, “Middle Eastern culture has an extraordinary appreciation for the luxurious, emotional and memorable qualities of fragrance; perfume is worn there in a way that feels very familiar to me. Sahara Noir is my interpretation of this heritage. It is a deep and substantial perfume that caresses the senses.”

Sahara Noir is a woody oriental perfume based on frankincense. Bitter orange, cypress, calamus, cinnamon, papyrus extract, Egyptian jasmine templar and rose absolute from Morocco are used to accent the heart of the composition.

“A beeswax extraction from Burma lends body and a supple, honeyed-animalic richness. The dry down is amber-laced and warm. It is formed by a special blend of two facets of labdanum—labdanum absolute and a uniquely rich natural fraction of labdanum known as ambreinol—with rich benzoin from Laos and vanilla bean from Madagascar. Lebanese cedar, frankincense resin, agarwood and Peru balsam add luxurious substance and lasting presence.”

Available at Tom Ford Beauty counters starting May 2013. 50ml bottle of Eau de Parfum retails for £100. Via press release

Marni is a ready-to-wear Italian fashion line that recently launched its namesake fragrance, Marni. Rather than attempting to decipher the label’s appeal and its relation to the new fragrance, I will simply say that some qualms about lasting power aside, Marni is excellent–wearable, chic, and refined. And now I want other people to smell a haze of Marni around me and follow me down the street asking, demanding to know, what this marvelous fragrance is.

Perfumer Daniela Andrier created Marni in collaboration with Consuelo Castiglioni, founder and designer of the fashion house. Andrier is the author of Prada Infusion d’Iris, Maison Martin Margiela Untitled, and Guerlain Angelique Noire, among others. Like many of her creations, Marni is a weightless, ethereal blend, despite the fact that the fragrance is based on rich woods and sweet spices.  At its heart Marni is a rose and incense fragrance, something that became clear to me half an hour after I applied it and began to get small gusts of a dry and woody rose rising from the back of my hand.

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The latest Jo Malone fragrance—Blackberry & Bay—is categorized by the maker as “fruity,” but on my skin it’s far more interesting than that.  Blackberry & Bay fully succeeds in conjuring a fantasy English countryside and more precisely a rambling walk down a country lane, with healthy flush to the cheeks and solid walking shoes for skirting muddy patches. Somewhere along this dream excursion there is naturally a hedgerow from which appear fat black berries, their juice tart and edging on sour, their leaves green and sharp.  Just when I found a hole in my fragrance wardrobe, just when I lamented finding a fragrance that would uncannily recreate a specific holiday sensation, up pops this beauty from Jo Malone.

I will confess that I don’t pay all that much attention to the Jo Malone line.  While I love the Red Roses bath oil, I often find the colognes to have standout notes that don’t do much for me, whether that be the smell of stables in Pomegranate Noir or the strong citronella (mosquito candle) in the aforementioned Red Roses.  I wondered if Blackberry & Bay would not be a sweet and musky thing but hearty and possibly “masculine” thanks to a dose of bay leaves.

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Shimmering silk saris, henna curlicues, rose scented Indian sweets… I was ready to experience it all as I sprayed Etro Rajasthan on my wrist. Inspired by a state in the western part of India, this perfume from the Italian fashion house, promised to take me away from my routine to someplace faraway and exciting.

It takes me a few moments to realize that Rajasthan doesn’t transport me further than the local beauty counter. It smells uncannily like a rose and violet scented lipstick, but admittedly, it’s a pleasant scent. Its rich composition is based on rose and amber with a jammy accent of violets and gardenia. The rose is creamy and warm, while the marshmallow sweetness of orange blossom gives it a gourmand finish. As the perfume unfolds on your skin, it becomes soft and powdery, with fluffy vanilla rounding out all edges. It has a big presence, noticeable sillage, and a retro chic character.

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How do you organize your perfume collection? How do you store your fragrance samples and decants?

Last week my reader Ariadne asked how I keep my samples organized. I would love to tell her that I have a state-of-the-art system in place for tracking my samples, but the truth is that my method is more chaotic than systematic, and I just rely on my memory to recall where on earth I stuffed that sample of Britney Spears Curious or Francis Kurkdjian Amyris. Since my memory is far from infallible, it means that I often spend a fair bit of time digging through piles of samples or boxes of decants.

Now that I’ve presented you with the worst possible organization system–I dare anyone to top it, I would love to hear how you organize (or would like to organize) your samples. Ariadne and I need your inspiration and help!

Photography by Bois de Jasmin