Lys Fume Tom Ford 2012

is the title of Lucia di Lammermoor's disturbing aria in Donizetti's opera of the same name, also known as the 'Mad Scene', one of the most dramatic moments in operatic literature. Betrayed by her own, married to one she does not love, and trapped in love for another, Lucia stabs her fiancé on their wedding night. The white dress completely stained with blood and the knife still in her hand, she staggers into the assembled wedding guests and sings there - in the most famous section in a duet with a glass harmonica or a flute - dramatically losing her mind for twenty minutes.

Lys Fume, Tom Ford's smoky lily, embodies all of this; it is highly dramatic, it is immense and - when over-applied - undoubtedly disturbing. The lily alone, intoxicatingly fragrant, stands at the center here and silences everything else. Nutmeg, pepper, labdanum, styrax are little more than bystanders, standing in the half-light at the balustrade, only able to watch as Lucia descends into madness in their midst.

The commanding presence, this 'silencing everything else', bears a distant resemblance to the dark rose in Noir de Noir. Lys Fume is also one that seeks a stage, that needs a stage, that can become whiny and unbearable if it does not get one. Its sillage is breathtaking, and its longevity lasts for hours. And because the lily - at least in my perception - is even more intoxicating and expansive than the rose, one might caution to choose it with care and consideration!

Conclusion: the fragrance is beautiful. However, I can hardly imagine where one would want to wear it. After all, one rarely intends to wander around disturbed and bloodstained - and if one does, I imagine one has other concerns than choosing an appropriate perfume.