Vert d'Encens Tom Ford 2016

Now I still hold it in my hands, this for me almost legendary fragrance of Tom Ford. But in turn...

For the first - and actually also the only time - I was allowed to smell this fragrance a good year ago in a perfumery. I immediately liked it extremely well and I thought to myself, what a great forest fragrance. The following week I wanted to show it to my wife, but - what a shock - I was told that this fragrance was no longer available and had been discontinued. Since then, however, this fragrance has lived on in my memories, put on a pedestal and tried again and again to relive it in my mind. Loosely based on Aristotle, I held this pleasant fragrance tightly in my memory.

Fast Forward by a Year. Here in the souk, a brand new bottle, still shrink-wrapped, is offered, and I get sweaty palms. Can this really be, should I dare? Now the pleasant in the form of hope set in. After a short and nice exchange with the corresponding Parfumo like-minded (thanks goes out), the bottle was also already on the way to me.

And now this one is - the moment of truth. Is the fragrance really as great as I remembered him or did I suffer from an acute case of memory distortion? Can the fragrance also convince in the present and my - now much more "experienced" nose - still so very flattering?

The fragrance
I fall equal times with the door in the house - Yes! The fragrance is as great as I remembered. It is really a great, authentic forest fragrance, as I have always wanted. But, of course, not all woods are the same. Bracken Man for example is also a great and very very authentic fern scent, as you can also perceive in the forest. But Vert d'Encens is completely different here. The fragrance is much darker, more opulent and also more resinous.

The fragrance starts relatively fresh with bergamot and lemon, intermixed with some lavender. This opening dissipates but relatively quickly and goes into a green, resinous-smoky heart note and thus makes here all honor to its name. You can now clearly smell the incense and fir. The fragrance immediately transports me to a beautiful autumn walk in the forest on a Sunday afternoon. Anyone who knows this beautiful, fresh, but also resinous forest air, can certainly understand what I'm talking about. The incense additionally gives a slightly sacral mood.

In the drydown, the fragrance, then becomes increasingly sweet and light chocolate and vanilla notes are still added, even if these are not listed. Here certainly shows the heliotrope responsible, which, as is well known, also contains a sweet almond note.

Vert d'Encens is really an extraordinary fragrance. He is fascinating, peculiar, almost decadent (in the product description it says he would fit at the court of Louis XIV or Napoleon Bonaparte), growing and demanding, both for the wearer and for fellow men. Therefore, the fragrance is certainly not for perfume novices, but those who get involved with the fragrance will be rewarded with one of the most complete and refined fragrances of recent times.

Overall, it must be noted that it is a very typical, but at the same time atypical Tom Ford fragrance. Typical because of the really high perfume art and the almost uniqueness or daring of the fragrance, which can act quite polarizing. Untypical but because this fragrance is not so loud, not so "in your face" comes along, as other fragrances from the Tom Ford Private Blend series.

Rather, the scent is almost for oneself; another review wrote "contemplative", which I can definitely relate to. The fragrance isn't designed to go full on and make you feel elated about life; in fact, the opposite is true. The fragrance is suitable for "coming down", to reflect on oneself and one's environment and to simply let one's soul dangle. And what is better suited for this than a walk in the woods?

The fragrance is by no means quiet; the sillage is quite moderate and the fragrance can be perceived well. The durability is very good and the remains happy 7-8 hours on the skin. The fragrance fits nicely in autumn and winter, although spring is also quite feasible. Only in very hot temperatures, you should use the fragrance rather carefully. Even though the fragrance is marketed as unisex, I see it leaning in the masculine direction, but ultimately it really can be worn by anyone. For me, he has in the opening certain similarities with London for Men Eau de Toilette, although the Tom Ford is of course much more complex and higher quality, which is also reflected in sillage and durability.

All in all, I'm very glad to have been able to get hold of a bottle of this wonderful fragrance, even if I will certainly use it rather rarely and mainly for me at home.