Black Orchid (Eau de Parfum) by Tom Ford

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Black Orchid Tom Ford 2006 Eau de Parfum

7.6 / 10 2480 Ratings

A popular perfume by Tom Ford for women and men, released in 2006. The scent is floral-oriental. Projection and longevity are above-average. It is being marketed by Estēe Lauder Companies.
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Main accords

Floral

Oriental

Sweet

Spicy

Woody

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Black truffle

Bitter orange

Ylang-ylang

Bergamot

Heart Notes

Black orchid

Black plum Rum

Rum

Base Notes

Patchouli

Vanilla

Perfumers

David Apel, Pierre Negrin

Ratings

Scent

7.62480 Ratings

Longevity

8.62138 Ratings

Sillage

8.32083 Ratings

Bottle

7.92046 Ratings

Value for money

7.11302 Ratings

Submitted by Kankuro, last update on 11/16/2025.

Interesting Facts

The fragrance was awarded the "Fragrance Hall of Fame" prize by the Fragrance Foundation in 2022.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Black Orchid (2015) Eau de Toilette

Black Orchid Parfum

Oud 24 Hours / عود ٢٤ ساعة (Eau de Parfum) by Ard Al Zaafaran

Oud 24 Hours Eau de Parfum

Black Orchid Reserve

Batcave

Precious Oud

Reviews

222 in-depth fragrance descriptions

07/26/2012

7Scent

Coutureguru
237 Reviews

Coutureguru

Top Review 11

Bewitched, bothered and bewildered

Hmmm ... how to begin? Perhaps I'll just eat my hat and then sit around simpering bashfully .
I don't like Tom Ford. I get the same feeling from him as I do from the Kardashian brood ... common and trashy.
I also had a dance partner who drowned herself in Black Orchid soon after it was launched. She turned out to be the raving bitch from hell and blamed it on being bi-polar.
I DETEST heavy Patchouli.
Why then, when I closed my eyes and applied three hefty sprays of Black Orchid to my right arm today, did I instantly and irrevocably FALL IN LOVE with it? It beggars belief that a fragrance with so many negative connotations for me ( and not tested on my skin all this time for those exact reasons) could bowl me over in the way it has. It's glorious!!
I'm going to shut up now and just glue my nose to my arm!

08/24/2025

10Scent 8Longevity 8Sillage

Merlotsupern
97 Reviews

Merlotsupern

Top Review 9

Ageless and Genderless

Let's start by saying that Black Orchid EdP was released 20 years ago - perfumed by Mr Negrin, who went on and released a few more iconic scents (for other houses). In 2006, it was quite ahead of its time and it remains ever so relevant today, as flankers are still being released.

Black Orchid is a somewhat complex fragrance with a few interesting shifts. It sits in that genderless fragrance purgatory where despite its floral facets, it transcends fix gender classifications.
As most of the Tom Ford repertoire (perhaps not including the latest releases), it has that je ne sais quoi that puts their perfumes in the middle, between what is "designer" and what is "niche".

The opening is a mix of truffle, bitter orange and a earthy sweetness. As it settles, a floral core of wet mildly indolic orchid emerges, balanced by a quasi-minty patchouli and spices.
After 2-3 hours, as the dry down unfolds, Black Orchid reveals a warm and long-lasting base of vanilla, incense, and dark plums. There is some boozines, but it is short lived in my opinion.
Overall, sweetness is moderate, preserving the composition's maturity.

Performance is notable, 8+ hours on skin with a rather strong sillage for at least a couple of hours.
Similarly to Portrayal Man (another one from Mr Negrin), this is an autumnal scent and even better for evenings.

To be clear, Black Orchid is not a perfume for everyone, as it has a polarizing quality. It could be perceived as heavy, hence not ideal for daily wear.
However, for those who appreciate the Tom Ford aesthetics, Black Orchid will be an effective olfactory accessory.
It's not my favourite scent ever, but in my opinion it is worthy of a 10 for its rather visionary (at time of release, at least) composition.

11/12/2012

LiliumLibido
51 Reviews

LiliumLibido

Top Review 9

A glorious, sexy, hot mess!

There are actually many more notes in this fragrance than the ones that are listed. In fact, there are so many notes that only a few truly stand out, while the others are meshing together in a sort of background tapestry, showcasing the big players.

The most evident combination, (to me) is the truffle/ambregris duo: it creates an aura of such overt sexuality that it's hard to smell it without blushing. (Actually, Tom Ford was quoted as saying that he wanted Black Orchid to smell like a man's crotch, so there ya go, lol)
In terms of dark, naughty florals, this fragrance is way up there: in this case, the jasmine is as perfectly indolic and borderline inappropriate as it should be and plays beautifully with the vetiver and the patchouli. Added to the killer duo mentioned above, it's practically an arrestable offense in a bottle, lol.

12/12/2012

10Scent 10Longevity 7.5Sillage

Ysbrand
84 Reviews

Ysbrand

Very helpful Review 11

Blushed and disturbed and in love

There are so many great reviews of Black Orchid i don´t think another description is needed. But i have to say something about this fragance. It climbed up to my top 10 favourite fragances from the first sniff. Just like that. I agree with the many who find Black Orchid a quasi-pornographic scent. I agree it does smell to man´s crotch (a clean enough one) and it does smell to orchid (some cymbidium orchids have the same type of flower scent) which is something to praise amidst all the broken orchid promises of so many fragances. In my imagination Black Orchid´s opening and part of its developement are a fragant version of a mix between the humid atmosphere of an orchid greenhouse and the stuffy room where sex has been performed.

I am sorry for stressing the raunchy, more inappropriated qualities of Black Orchid, i am probably a sick pig. The truth is that it does smell wonderful. It can be messy and a bit confusing, but all those notes work out together somehow. Its the only vanilla i am confortable wearing so far, it joins a very lactonic sandalwood and the result is more creamy, fleshy indeed, than is sweet. Sweetness comes from flowers instead. I love its strange floralcy, its gourmand chocolate (with the cool patchouli smells almost minty) part, its smokiness, its milkiness... IMHO I see it more as a bold modern male oriental than a very femenine fragance, but, as always, what is gender in perfume?

09/16/2013

Beachgirl2
19 Reviews

Beachgirl2

Very helpful Review 9

Unearthly

I adore this fragrance! I notice the opening notes of course of woody spices, incense, patchouli and bitter dark chocolate, but then I just don't care anymore. I loose myself in the fragrance and it overwhelms my senses.

The scent reminds me of a dark primeval forest full of strange, intoxicating and hauntingly beautiful fragrances. Slightly sweet yet very esoteric and compelling. Like rich, sweet woody roots buried beneath the soil in a shadowy wood full of unearthly scents, it speaks to me in a very visceral way.

Pablo Neruda expressed my thoughts better when he wrote " I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul."

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