TOM FORD Ombré Leather Eau de Parfum

Deep, dark & delicious.
I suppose everything has been said about this perfume already, so all I want to add is that I believe Tom Ford has absolutely hit the sweet spot between mainstream and niche, both scent wise and price wise.
Ombré Leather really feels 'alive', revealing different aspects of its character every time I wear it. Amazing stuff.

OMG. Talk about dark and sexy. Opens a little sweet, but not quite fruity, before quickly transforming into an incredible black leather scent. Rough leather. Like holding a brand new leather jacket pressed against your nose. This leather isn't even in the same realm as the Bottega Veneta leathers and the Eau de Gaga's out there. The moss drags the scent down, heavy and dangerous, speaking with a dark timbre in its voice. As Ombre Leather develops, I pick up smoke, growing darker all the time. Not cigarette smoke, more like black soot, standing too close to an open fire in a clearing in the woods, almost burning your nostrils. Intoxicating. After a while, the darkness lets up, growing a little sweeter again. It's an experience.

This is a fantastic perfume, but I'm picturing a biker with a black beard. Or a pirate. I might do him, but I wouldn't wear him, if that makes sense.

This stuff smells like power. Self-assured power that's taken for granted because it is granted. The person wearing this is ruthless and dangerous. If it is a woman, she's a rarity. She's no-nonsense, possibly a shrewd lawyer in stiletto heels.

The scent does not make the (wo)man though. On a scrawny kid just out of his teens, this would be laughable. Even Christian Grey from the movies is too metro to pull this off. Someone wearing this might yell 'This Is Sparta'. You have to either be the devil, the Terminator or Idris Elba, so beware.

EDIT: I woke up this morning, smelled my wrist and was confused for a second because I thought I smelled Gucci Guilty Intense (for women). Turns out, these scents both have amber and patchouli for a base, and the moss in Ombré Leather is barely detectable after 12 hours. So there's a bit of a Cinderella thing going on where you go to bed with Idris Elba and you wake up with Evan Rachel Wood, but it's still hella delicious.

Tom Ford's Ombre Leather is quite polarizing. My first impressions were simultaneously 'I do not want to smell like this at all' and 'this is an AMAZING high quality leather scent' lol. For reference I'm in my mid 20s so I do think this is a bit too mature, grown up and serious for me personally. But on the other hand as a fragrance-head, I can't help but adore how masterfully Ombre Leather was put together.

In the opening you immediately get this strong, sharp, and super realistic leather. It literally smells like an expensive leather jacket or the interior of a luxury car, in the BOLDEST, most intense way possible. It's also quite animalic, which could be a turn-off for some but I think it gives it an unique character, because this isn't supposed to be a safe crowd pleaser, you're making a statement every time you put this on. This also has a warm and spicy vibe to support the leather. Cardamom gives off a slightly exotic touch. Slight earthiness from patchouli and moss in the base. Also slightly smokey. Amber adds to the warmth and that unmistakable expensive and luxurious feel. Ombre Leather is such a masterpiece that just screams class, masculinity, sophistication and confidence.

I'm definitely still too young to pull this one off unfortunately, but I will report back in 20 years when I pull up in my Rolls Royce, dressed in all black, clean cut tailored Tom Ford suit after taking care of my business meetings!

Color me skeptical when it comes to Tom Ford. The seemingly endless number of scents released under his name, the steep pricing, the crass take on marketing and naming (Lost Cherry, really?!?!?!)... What I’m trying to say is... When I fall for a Tom Ford scent, I don’t just have to love the fragrance itself, but I have to overcome that initial resistance to the brand too. Unfair, probably, but true nonetheless.

And despite those hurdles, I’ve fallen hard for Ombré Leather. That first spray: a modern, near industrial, leather note, like the interior of a brand-new luxury car. Berries soon emerge to soften its hard edge, and as it dries down, jasmine enters to play a similar softening role. Underneath it all, a mossy patchouli with amber tones, sustaining the fragrance on skin for hours and hours.

Some have likened Ombré Leather to Tuscan Leather’s younger sibling. I agree with that assessment. But while others have offered that as a point of criticism, for me, it’s a major plus. I’ve always found Tuscan Leather to be too hard, too abrasive, possessing an over-inflated ego with a puffed-up chest. Ombré Leather is just right, confident, but not overly so, alluring, but not too loud. Tuscan Leather clobbers you into submission. With Ombré Leather, others lean in closer of their own volition. It casts a spell around its wearer. It enchants.

I’ve only fallen harder for one other Tom Ford scent: White Suede. These two pair beautifully, the juxtaposition of light, musky suede contrasting a harder, darker leather. Pure magic and utter delight.

Ombre Leather opened my eyes to the beauty of leather fragrances. This is such a sophisticated and sexy men's fragrance. The cardamom, jasmine, leather and patchouli exist in perfect harmony. Really excellent.