Since I still love Tom Ford but not White Patchouli, I decided to give a test run to his other (slightly older) fragrance, Black Orchid. On first whiff, I knew that this one would be much better for me than White Patchouli. It is much darker and more sophisticated and is somehow unlike anything other fragrance that I currently own. I don’t even know how that is possible since I really thought that I owned everything on the market today. Need I even mention that this turned into a huge obsession for me?
This fragrance falls into the woody oriental group. The orchid flower itself is one of the heart notes of this fragrance and is hard to both grow and find. That might be the key right there as to why I own nothing like this already. The woods and the fruit notes in it help to both bring out the orchid notes and the make the fragrance unique on everyone’s skin. Unique is a huge deal for me with this fragrance because I hate walking into a party and having three other people wearing the exact same fragrance (Marc Jacobs Daisy is a huge offender in this situation).
The notes are: bergamot, mandarin, black gardenia, jasmine, ylang-ylang, lotus wood, orchid, spicy floral accord, orchid (Tom Ford Black Orchid accord), patchouli, sandalwood, incense, vanilla. Definitely not a fragrance for the faint of heart!
Why are orchids so rare? They can be grown all over the world in every different climate, so it made little sense to me as to why they are said to be rare and fetch a very high price in the perfume market. This is why - orchids have developed high specialized pollination systems and therefore pollination is very rare. The plant will die without spreading any of its seeds around and no more will grow. Many of the flowers can only be pollinated by male bees and some are only able to self-pollinate. That’s the key to the rarity of these flowers.
I picture this fragrance with a black dress and great heels to be worn when enjoying the fabulous life in Manhattan. Think Samantha Jones dressed up to go out when you smell this fragrance. She is the first thing that popped into my head when I first smelled this fragrance. Hopefully this little treasure of a fragrance will be joining my collection ever so soon.
photo courtesy of Sephora
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