Noir Tom Ford (2012) Eau de Parfum

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7.4 / 10 306 Ratings

Noir (Eau de Parfum) is a perfume by Tom Ford for men and was released in 2012. The scent is spicy-oriental. It is being marketed by Estēe Lauder Companies.

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Top Notes	Italian bergamot, Verbena, Caraway, Pink pepper, Violet
Heart Notes	Egyptian geranium, Iris, Nutmeg, Clary sage, Bulgarian rose, Black pepper Orpur®
Base Notes	Amber, Styrax, Opoponax, Indonesian patchouli, Vanilla, Vetiver, Civet, Laotian benzoin, Leather

Ratings

Scent

7.4 (306 Ratings)

Longevity

7.4 (209 Ratings)

Sillage

6.8 (217 Ratings)

Bottle

6.8 (217 Ratings)

View Video of Noir (Eau de Parfum) (Vimeo)

Submitted by Kankuro, last update on 11.11.2018

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Reviews

11/10/2018

8.0/10

6.0/10

9.0/10

Xanthon

Beautiful darkness in a bottle

Tom Ford is a great man for whom masculinity is somewhat wild, somewhat tamed and definitely mysterious. Guy is absolute legend. I am sure a few decades down the line, the trends he has set are going to be timeless and will tip the style more towards mature wildness, exactly as Tom Ford sees it.
I wanted to express my views on Tom Ford before explaining the fragrance, as it is absolutely important to understand what is intended by TF Noir. First of all, notes can be read anywhere, internet is full of them. But what I am really interested in, is the impression it gives! This scent is for sophisticated, mysterious and wild gentleman, the thought of this kind of person excites me. A mysterious gentleman is withdrawn from the world and sees the world from his own eyes and want to figure out what's out there and sort it. He is patient and most tolerant on things which he doesn't much care about and extremely ruthless about things he does care about.
Now, this fragrance is complex, dark and beautiful. This scent evokes true passion and want in wearer's soul. I know there are lot of reviews on scent being poor in longevity. You know scratch it! This scent is posh, and I wouldn't wear it everyday, it is only meant for elegant parties in my opnion. This stays for 4-5 hours and this is good enough for parties, as a mysterious gentleman wouldn't stay too long in a party. This is capable of becoming signature posh party scent for so many absolutely fantastic people out there. Guys, do smell it and share your views on the scent.
This is infact beautiful darkness captured in a beautiful bottle.

P.S. This is not exactly cheap. Buy a miniature instead which comes in 6 ml splash bottle which you can wear for about 15-20 parties. Absolutely great for posh parties on the travel.

09/29/2018

7.0/10

8.5/10

SchatzSucher

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SchatzSucher

Greatly helpful Review 13

Not deep black but dark enough

Noir, Black, Black... It can't get any darker. Brighter however already.
Tom Fords Noir suggests the inclined consumer by the name Noir and the very simple, I would like to say almost unimaginative, very dark bottle something deep black, abysmally deep, enigmatic. which is to be enjoyed perhaps only with extreme caution and in smallest doses.
But in this case this is almost faking false facts, because I don't think Noir is deep black and dark. I would like to give the fragrance a very dark velvety red with a touch of blackness, that could fit quite well. A bit baroque, because the scent itself is very opulent and expansive.

There is a rather lavishly arranged orchestra playing a melody that is quite loud at the beginning. You get a little shaken up by the first chords. Pepper pricks a little bit in the nose, first sets the tone and then gives way to a very vigorously ruched violet. It is quite amazing how much radiance such a small, normally rather inconspicuous flower can have. It's probably the chords around it that have made the violet so distinct and that it is so present and remains so for a long time.

The other flowery and spicy chords stay a little behind, play second fiddle so to speak and make sure that the melody is softened a little, but still clearly audible. Later the still leading violet is supported by a strong note of patchouli, which fits perfectly to the violet,
Finally, fine traces of civet, leather and vanilla are mixed in, but only in the background and supporting. Violets and patchouli remain in the foreground. But a course in the scent melody from loud to quiet is well recognizable and beautifully worked out.

Tom Ford is well known for his not exactly low self-confidence. You can transfer that to the scent very well. The fragrance is self-confident and expressive.
But one or two small weaknesses cannot be denied. One could assume that such a composition should be a monster of durability and projection. That's not quite so.
You are well noticed but you don't fill an entire concert hall with the scent. And the shelf life is also rather average, it ends after about 6 hours. There would have been some air to the top.
Nevertheless Noir is a successful composition, which I like very much and which I like to wear.
The opulence fits very well into the coming cold season and the quite interesting fragrance does not make Noir boring.
I also find that the fragrance also passes through as unisex. Flowery-spicy I would like to call him also gladly and for evening very well suitably, even if I had him today times again with to the work.

You could have thought of a little more with the bottle. It's a bit very plain. But there are less attractive flacons.
If you are looking for an opulent fragrance that is not too exhausting and overloaded, and a lush violet that harmonizes with strong patchouli, this is the place for you. And if one is not deterred by the somewhat misleading designation Noir as well. If the whole thing might seem too loud or even too feminine to you, you won't enjoy it here.
I like Noir as he is,

8 Replies

11/07/2015

4.0/10

GMK

GMK

Helpful Review 2

A modern release with a 'dated' vibe

Undoubtedly Tom Ford has managed to create some of the very good fragrances but I don't know why he has been focusing more on being inspired rather than being innovative, majority of his releases are evident , you can see the connection of his fragrances with many famous niche hits.
I find Noir very dated from the start, with a sweet , powdery and flowery notes , they tried to produce a similar vibe like Guerlain Habit Rouge but failed imo , too much synthetic sweetness and spices ruined it and makes it difficult to wear for me , marketed as masculine but to me it leans towards unisex or feminine side.

09/14/2015

10.0/10

5.0/10

10.0/10

Omid2am

another masterpiece

Dark and mysterious , i love it soooooooooo much , very nice smooth powdery and fresh fresh fresh SPICY

1 Replies

01/18/2013

6.0/10

Greysolon

Greatly helpful Review 10

Noir or Soir?

We often speak of the aesthetics of perfume and music as being analogous. The two arts even share descriptive terms. For instance, we speak of notes and accords (or chords). There is also the analogy of the scent pyramid functioning as a complex triad of notes just like a musical chord, arpeggio or even an entire composition. I would like to add one more item to the list of analogies: the similarities of naming a piece music or a perfume. One could go into some depth on this topic but I’ll stick to the genre of musical works known as “character pieces”. Don’t worry, this isn’t a music lesson! I’ll get around to how this applies to Tom Ford Noir very soon.

In music, character pieces have titles meant to evoke a general mood, feeling or character. If you’ve ever been to a classical concert or taken music lessons as a child you’ve probably heard of these titles: preludes, caprices, nocturnes, impromptus, arabesques. These names have nothing to do with a specific musical form, like a symphony or a sonata. They are simply meant to place the listener in a broadly understood musical environment.

By analogy, character pieces also exist in perfumery. Think how often the words soir, nuit, sensuelle, fraiche, sport and noir are used in the name of a perfume. These words don’t tell us the specific genre of a fragrance (like a chypre or oriental) nor do they tell us the dominant ingredient or note of the scent. The “character piece” word in the name of the fragrance simply indicates a general mood or enviroment the perfumer would like us to experience while wearing a fragrance: Allure Sensuelle, Rose de Nuit, or Tom Ford Noir. Unfortunately, Tom Ford Noir is far from what I’d describe as a “noir" character piece.

Our present day usage of the word “noir”, with its strong connection to French and American cinema of the 40's and 50's, has come to imply a sensual, moody or mysterious quality. Think of the movie Double Indemnity with Fred McMurray and Barbara Stanwick and how they are drawn to each other by a dark, lascivious obsession that is dangerously beyond their control. With that in mind, noir doesn’t simply refer to some general tonality or feeling of darkness. I imagine a stereotypically noir perfume as a character piece consisting of notes such as smoky vetivers, tobacco, patchouli, dark florals, animalics or perhaps bitter, pungent herbs and spices. Notes that would give a carnal edginess to an overall dark tonality to create a sense of intrigue and desire.

In fact, Tom Ford Noir has some of those darker, edgier elements listed in its notes: Civet, black pepper, patchouli. But those notes, rather than providing the elements of the noir character piece, simply supply a pleasant depth and warmth to the fragrance. It is a perfume ruled by homogenous, dark florals (another "noir" opportunity missed) tempered by an equal dose of amber and vanilla. Kind of a lite version of Noir de Noir from Tom Ford’s luxury line which, by contrast, has a dark, decadent, sensual noir quality.

Honestly, Tom Ford Noir is not a bad fragrance. It’s warm, pleasant, comfortable, and conventional. In a way, I can understand its attraction. I liked it enough that, while testing it, I wore it to a concert last night. I felt certain it would not bother those in the audience seated next to me. It was nice and mannerly; not noir.

So why all the fuss about calling it “noir”? Because last night I could have picked from many other fragrances that would have been just as nice, conventional and mannerly. However, some of those fragrances might have had the descriptive word “soir” in the title. Soir, with its connotation of a pleasurably warm and gentle evening, seems more fitting to the truly benign character of Tom Ford Noir.

1 Replies

01/06/2013

7.5/10

5.0/10

Drseid

Overpriced Baby Powder...

Noir goes on with a sweet slightly herb-laced citrus and violet floral open before transitioning to its heart accord. During the heart phase of the scent the early citrus from the top notes all but disappears while the violet remains in the starring role, now turning very powdery as iris joins it as co-star while adding a soft synthetic smelling rose note to support the powdery starring floral duo. As the linear progression moves to the dry-down, the powdery violet and iris tandem remains as the rose recedes, now with relatively sweet vanilla and amber smoothing things out a bit from the base. Projection and longevity are both good to very good.

Noir is really a pretty straightforward linear scent despite its official laundry list of ingredients. I remember trying it on paper first at the store and being mildly impressed with what I sniffed. Unfortunately I only got the top notes from my quick paper test that while unoriginal, are indeed pleasant smelling. When I later sprayed a sample on skin for a more complete analysis those top notes disappeared relatively quickly and then disappointment set in as the scent profile turned into a giant bottle of baby powder/baby oil. That pretty much sums things up, as once you get to the powdery heart Noir does not change much from there, only turning a bit sweet later-on. Quite frankly, if this sounds like something you want to smell like I recommend just buying some inexpensive Johnson's Baby Oil or Powder to rub all over your body and save yourself over $100 and a bunch of buyer's remorse from this 2 to 2.5 star out of 5 generic disappointment from Tom Ford.

10/03/2012

7.5/10

6.0/10

Sherapop

"Poudre D'Orient is an exotic aroma of violet leaf, patchouli, vanilla and suede musk."

People have been comparing Tom Ford NOIR to everything under the sun. What it is not at all is black. Upon initial application, I was reminded immediately of Le Labo POUDRE D'ORIENT, which is summed up as follows:

"Poudre D'Orient is an exotic aroma of violet leaf, patchouli, vanilla and suede musk."

Shortly after, however, NOIR began to seem like a jumbled mess to my nose. I do not smell any civet--not a single nanodrop--and I am wondering who does? What I kept thinking of during the mid-stage of this perfume was Diane von Furstenberg DIANE, which is a sort of "try to be all things to all sniffers" perfume and predictably fails at all (I believe that it has already been discontinued)....

Interestingly enough, by the drydown of NOIR, I find myself thinking of POUDRE D'ORIENT again. I predict market failure for NOIR, because for the period of time crucial to that all-important purchase decision at the counter, this fragrance seems more like a DIANE-type fragrance being marketed to men. Whenever a composition reminds everyone of everything, there is a basic identity problem. In the end, the one perfume which NOIR really does smell like, to my nose (and one other reviewer whom I've read agrees), for most of its life, is the limited edition Anthropologie-Le Labo collaborative launch, POUDRE D'ORIENT.

I think that the Le Labo is a better perfume, so I'd say that anyone who likes Tom Ford NOIR should probably take a trip to one of the Anthropologie stores before POUDRE D'ORIENT disappears forever....