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Private Blend: Atelier d'Orient

Shanghai Lily Tom Ford 2013

7.9 / 10 257 Ratings

A popular perfume by Tom Ford for women and men, released in 2013. The scent is spicy-floral. The longevity is above-average. It was last marketed by Estēe Lauder Companies.
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Main accords

Spicy

Floral

Oriental

Sweet

Resinous

Fragrance Notes

Clove

Tuberose

Black pepper

Cashmere wood

Frankincense Jasmine

Jasmine

Pink pepper Rose

Rose

Siam benzoin Vanilla

Vanilla

Bitter orange

Castoreum

Cistus

Gaiac wood Vetiver

Vetiver

Ratings

Scent

7.9257 Ratings

Longevity

8.2208 Ratings

Sillage

7.5206 Ratings

Bottle

8.3201 Ratings

Value for money

6.650 Ratings

Submitted by DonVanVliet, last update on 08/06/2025.

Interesting Facts

The fragrance was part of the collection Private Blend: Atelier d'Orient.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Devastatingly Chic

Lily & Spice Eau de Parfum

Nu (2001) Eau de Parfum

Anonimo Veneziano Eau de Parfum

III-IV Tango

Opium (1977) Parfum

Reviews

11 in-depth fragrance descriptions

10/06/2023

FantOmaSS
35 Reviews

FantOmaSS

5

The good old times...

Shanghai Lily...
This is exactly we expect from a TF fragrance.
A devastating beauty, an absolute masterpiece, an olfactory jewel, no more, no less.
How happy im to own a full bottle of this wonderful nectar !!
After sniffing the juice for the first time, i literally fell on my knees...
I was left speechless !!
I couldn't help but sniff the back of my hand over and over...
That's the old TF that we love, one of those unfortunately discontinued fragrances that gave all the charm to the fabulous Private Blend Collection.
Amber, spicy, floral, sweet, addictive, warm, powdery, chic, sexy, mysterious, smoky, suave, languorous, hot...
Words fail me...
It's as if Noir de Noir and Plum Japonais had merged.
A kind of a thousand old and sweet spices, bouquets of flowers that have reached perfect maturity, coupled with a mystical incense, all forming a magical threesome !!
You almost feel even more beautiful, more confident when you wearing this perfume.
Rather strong in the opening, and with a moderate/powerful sillage, almost eternal longevity and absolutely divine drying, it will therefore be completely useless to spray yourself with it excessively.
From my personal opinion, this perfume represents the perfect balance between seductive mystery and pure innocence.
A real olfactory cocktail, i also really appreciate this vintage, mature, almost old-fashioned side in the good sense of the word.
For me, both masculine and feminine, it will be perfect for the cold months, but not really recommended in summer.
One and only regret however, his discontinuity :(
Conclusion: Shanghai Lily, to be reserved only for REAL perfume lovers.
So only wear this gem on rare occasions.
My note: No need to mention it, it's a 2x5 out of 10
So even for 10 000 bucks, you won't get my bottle of Shanghai Lily :)

06/18/2023

8.5Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

Ostara
61 Reviews

Ostara

3

Gorgeous Spice Floral Incense

Shanghai Lily is amazingly well blended, so well blended in fact that its almost hard to pick out individual notes. On my skin it opened woody and spicy and then quickly developed into a muddled, thick, rich, floralized spiced incense. The scent is interesting and distinctive, full bodied but not actually lush since the spicy elements balance and dry the floral elements.

Many in the community have said it smells like YSL's Opium. I can see where they are coming from. I can't say that I think it actually smells like Opium myself, but it does remind me of it a bit. Though SL is complex, spicy and incensey, it is much more subdued. Opium relies heavily on spice and incense where this is more balanced between spice, floral, wood and incense. The underlying creamy florals change the timbre of the fragrance from Opium's throaty purr to something just as pleasant but a bit higher on the register.

I can see SL's potential as a unique but accessible signature scent for a particularly fashionable and polished person.

05/04/2018

10Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

VintageGold
1 Review

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VintageGold

Top Review 102

Lily - my Shanghai Lily

Study abroad semester. USA. The first time I visited the States and the first time I lived in such a multicultural haven as my dorm, where there were so many different nationalities that no one cared where you came from and everyone was just human. No one asked where you were from, what kind of accent that was, but rather, “what are your dreams?”, “which places on this planet have you traveled to?”, “what do you want to achieve and accomplish in life?”. An ambitious and at the same time totally human atmosphere. And that was Lily. Lily, the exchange student from Shanghai. Right on the first day, she caught my eye and sparked my interest. Her skin was so pure, smooth, like porcelain with a slight tan. Her eyes, large and dark, her long, straight, deep black hair flowed over her shoulders as if it were silk. The hosts, the students who lived there and helped us exchange students settle in during our semester, organized a first shopping trip to the nearest Walmart on the first evening. There we gathered our supplies, and I kept trying to get closer to Lily. She didn’t make it easy for me, as she was wandering around in the unmistakable women’s sections while I struggled to pretend there was something I needed. Again and again, I caught a pleasant and unique scent from her, so I quickly found her again when I walked down the neighboring aisles to gather my things.

But soon I also noticed the numerous rivals who had the same intentions as I did. One of them clearly had her attention, Alejo, a spirited Ecuadorian who stood out from the group because he carried his guitar everywhere to strum on it. On the way back, she sat next to him on the bus, and a mix of jealousy, disappointment, and despair left me simmering with a lump in my throat throughout the ride. During the trip, I tried to cheer myself up; there were still so many other pretty girls sitting with us on the bus. The Irish and British girls were dressed quite revealingly and made it clear how they wanted to spend their study abroad semester. It would have been so easy, but my head wouldn’t allow it. They were sexy and pretty, but too easy to get, and besides, they smelled like crap - compared to Lily.

The first week passed, there was a lot of partying, kisses were exchanged here and there with the easy girls, my roommate was a square, went to bed at exactly 10 PM, and wouldn’t let me bring any girls to our room. So I spent more time in the girls’ section of our dorm than with the guys. Lily was still present in my mind, and every time I saw her with Alejo, a bit of jealousy boiled up, but that feeling gradually subsided. I avoided getting too close to her because I knew it would only bring me down. But then in the second week, it became unavoidable. We were out partying again, and on the way back from the club to the dorm, I got into the same shuttle as Lily and Alejo, along with a few others from our group. Alejo sat at the front, directing the shuttle driver, and Lily took a seat next to me. Slightly tipsy, she laid her legs across my lap and leaned back against the door. The heat rose to my head, my hands rested on her legs, and I didn’t know what better to do with them than to stroke her. Alejo kept looking back, concerned, asking Lily if she was okay. Slightly annoyed, she let him know that everything was fine. At some point, she leaned forward and whispered in my ear “Schrein.” I asked her what she meant by that. “Pig” was the answer. “Aaah, you mean Schwein…”, I replied. Yes, that was the word she meant, and she nibbled on my earlobe. Goosebumps spread all over me, and I probably sounded like a complete idiot as I started to chuckle nervously. When I finally managed to stop the ridiculous chuckling and began to ignore Alejo’s disapproving look, I turned my head to Lily. The moment I wanted to ask her what she was doing, she kissed me. Explosion. In my head, in my chest, in my pants. Alejo no longer existed at that moment, and everyone else seemed not to care about what was happening. With our arrival at the dorm, my senses returned; until then, it had been a whirlwind of passion in which I was trapped, like a dream that lasted forever. Alejo flung the door open, offered Lily his hand, and escorted her out. To this day, I don’t know how much he saw; it felt to me as if he hadn’t seen the kiss at all, but realistically, that borders on impossibility.

Again, only a hint of Shanghai Lily remained in my nose. She always wore it; it was her signature scent, her identifying mark, her personal fragrance brand. The next day, I ran into her in the communal kitchen. I asked her if she remembered yesterday. Her smile, the lowered gaze, and silence revealed to me that what had happened was real and not a drunken accident. Her cheeks turned slightly red, and I knew that if I didn’t show her what that moment meant to me, I would never play a bigger role than a brief, passionate moment in her life. I stroked her cheeks with both thumbs, tilted her head up, and kissed her like I had never kissed a woman before. She tasted good, she smelled good, like an aphrodisiac that released powers; I grabbed her by the waist and lifted her onto the table. If there hadn’t been others in the room, I don’t know if I would have known any boundaries.

My semester became turbulent because of that. I wanted to spend every free minute with Lily; unfortunately, that wasn’t 100% mutual. She still spent time with Alejo. Alejo and I had become something like friends. We actually liked each other; I found his style cool and it impressed me. Likewise, he liked my easygoing and open-minded nature. We accepted that Lily was a free spirit and didn’t want to settle down. We also had flings with other girls when she left us hanging. When I look back on that time today, I miss it like nothing else. It was the best time of my life. Lily is now married and has a child. Her husband looks a lot like me… me and not Alejo. Sometimes, no, actually quite often, I think that I should have just tried and asked her if she wanted to be my girlfriend. I’m sure I would have married her one day. All that remains for me now is this scent from Tom Ford.

Now I’ve told a long story, but the information about how I actually learned about Shanghai Lily is still missing. At first, I didn’t know that Lily wore a perfume and thought it was her own body scent that simply smelled fantastic. Because she tasted good too, I attributed it to her body chemistry. At some point, I noticed the bottle in her room and asked her if it was a coincidence that...

10/02/2013

10Scent 7.5Longevity 10Sillage

Lilienfeld
48 Reviews

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Lilienfeld

Top Review 31

"Shanghai Express"

The Tom Ford fragrances from the 'Atelier d'Orient' series, which arrived two weeks ago,
were eagerly waiting at the House of Beauty, not far from Steffel,
for their chance to touch my skin and be explored nasally.
I already knew them from a quick test on a strip, which is why my primary interest was initially in Plum Japonais and Rive d'Ambre. Hm...yes.
Plum reminds me of Noir de Noir, a bit of TV, but mostly of Powidl:-)
Rive comes across very friendly, a bit sweet like mandarin, but not for long, then Amber arrives, that gray amber which already shows me in the scent Versilia Vintage-Ambra Aurea where my
limit is:) I'm an amber softie, the one that's too sweet, the gray one is too strict.
And that’s why I want to emphasize again, such a test only on paper usually leads to error.
Shanghai Lily, the name appealed to me, it has a cheeky quality :-) I was curious,
wondering what would come my way, how the courtesan (if that’s what it is) would present herself to me.
Is she as charismatic, mysterious, dramatic, and seductive as Marlene in Sternberg's film? She comes across spicy, sprinkled with cloves, fruity and well-peppered, loud and very
very interesting her top note shows itself to me. Orange/clove, there
is no significant transition into the heart note, it quickly moves forward, bright floral. Honey-sweet jasmine (nothing indolic far and wide), tuberose (you have to like it too;) and of course rose, which I don’t find so blonde, it is a dark, velvety/heavy,
bloomed, dew-drenched and sugar-dipped, a wicked representative of its kind.
Fruity sweetness gives our heroine a certain youthful/happy cheerfulness, lightening the heaviness a bit, and the rising incense prevents a slide into too floral.
The flowers are well embedded in this oriental floral.
A little smoky, somewhat melancholic, styrax does its calming duty, benzoin, milky - soft and heavy with vanilla sweetness is the base. A hint of castoreum may be in the base, but it doesn’t affect me at all. Kashmir wood/Cashmeran works particularly well with lush-sweet flowers and cedar,
I love this full soft musky note:-)
In the drydown, a light vetiver note joins cedar/incense and gives
this caressing, sweet, very feminine scent a dry - bitter touch, something crackly.
So the lily remains sexy, enticing, lascivious for a good 6 hours now, a hint of played tristesse paired with elegance lingers in the air and yet also
something light, casually cheerful.

I found the sillage very filling in the first stretch, not just me ;D
A tendency towards kitsch, to loud 80s orientals like Opium is certainly not a
mistake but rather a prerequisite.
A similarity to Nu 2001 cannot be denied:)
I also have the feeling, when I take my nose off my wrist, that I catch a whiff of Teint de Neige...
A very close, full, multi-layered Tom Ford, and yet I find the series considerably
lighter to wear (also younger) than other scents from the Blend Collection.
The four have a certain relaxed charm, don’t take themselves too seriously and
despite the apparent theatricality, there’s a wink.
An absolutely feminine scent, clearly intended only for us women;)

I’m still unsure whether I see Lily dancing under a disco ball
to Falco's young Romans rather than in the thirties....

http://tinyurl.com/o3g6nrl

http://tinyurl.com/psvv2q9
….. still considering:-)

Kitsch as Kitsch can!
And a little about Cashmeran: http://tinyurl.com/og69ak3

08/03/2016

7.5Scent 7.5Longevity 7.5Sillage

loewenherz
917 Reviews

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loewenherz

Top Review 31

Zombie Bride

Sometimes you encounter astonishing beauty in unexpected, truly completely unexpected places. The reasons for this are convoluted and of little interest to the uninvolved reader, but just recently I found myself on a website featuring collector Barbies that were explicitly intended for adults, not children. That there are Barbies of Scarlett O'Hara and Holly Golightly hardly surprised me - I found the Chancellor (our) much more surprising - especially since her face and body are those of a completely normal Barbie. She just has shorter hair and a (surprise!) pantsuit, but if she weren't standing next to a black-red-gold flag at a podium, hardly anyone would recognize her.

However, I found the relatively new 'Haunted Beauty' edition truly magnificent - dark, eerie dolls with serious, sometimes sinister faces. My undisputed favorite in the collection is the Zombie Bride Barbie. Her complexion and hair are pale gray, she has demonic blue eyes and cracked, blood-red yet empty lips, and she wears a yellowed lace wedding dress that is soiled and torn at the hem from all the wandering - and dirty white shoes. In her hair, she has three gray roses and in her hand, a pale pink bridal bouquet - as if she is still wandering in search of her lost groom. She is the coolest Barbie I have ever seen - and beautiful.

I lead in so circuitously because the metaphor 'Zombie Bride' may seem unflattering at first glance for a fragrance - and 'bloodless', 'undead', and 'apocalyptic' are hardly attributes a perfumer desires. Yet it fits remarkably well with Tom Ford's Shanghai Lily, which is highly dramatic and dark - and in its over-processed density and opulence, simultaneously beautiful. It has a darkly flickering floral quality that is both alluring and untouchable (jasmine and tuberose, both squadrons among floral aromas) and profoundly flickering. These are the bittersweet clove and burnt resins that do not constrict its playful floral nature but give it a resonating body and a kind of silent echo.

There is nothing undead, let alone apocalyptic about Shanghai Lily (and in my nose, nothing Chinese either), yet its aloofness and surreal beauty remind one of the pallid bride in the soiled white dress, as she stumbles through a nocturnal park landscape with empty eyes. The Ford-immanent endurance and strength of its floral character are fascinating and relentless, bordering on obsession. If you love it, it is like a staggering moth before a pale moon, whose gaze follows until the night devours it. However, if you feel alienated by the accord of heavy flowers and burnt resin, it is like a gray doll bride with dull eyes, who steelily constricts the throat until breath is stifled.

Conclusion: just another manic Tom Ford Private Blend.

More reviews

Statements

57 short views on the fragrance

Lily3013

3 years ago

6Scent 10Longevity 9Sillage

1

After a strong floral-spicy opening, the scent gets softer. While flowery-spicy, it is not sweet. Strong Jasmine. Special, test before buy!

Licorice

3 years ago

7.5Scent

32

31

The cheerful floral trio
Ja-Tu-Ro has dressed up,
delicately spiced with clove
and dares to step onto
red carpets & chic parquet.

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SchatzSucher

4 years ago

9Scent 10Longevity 8Sillage

29

22

A magnificent spicy floral bouquet, dotted with cloves and infused with resin. Sensual, opulent, seductive, and beautiful.

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Spatzl

1 year ago

7.5Scent 8Longevity 8Sillage

26

43

Balsamic floral notes, warm cistus in the base, and Mr. Beaver sends his regards.

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Bastian

4 years ago

8Scent 8Longevity 8Sillage

20

18

A creamy soft carnation scent.
Very beautifully crafted.
Feminine
I really enjoy smelling it on a woman.
A fragrance for late summer evenings.
Wonderful

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