Shanghai Lily Tom Ford 2013

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