TOM FORD Soleil Blanc Eau de Parfum

Pithy Review:
Soleil Blanc opens with energetic hits of cardamom, pepper and bergamot. Within short order, the salty, aquatic smell of the ocean's water takes over as it moves into creamy dollops of coconut infused with the hint of white flowers. The fragrance finally settles into a musky, sunbaked skin scent for a couple of hours before it completely disappears into a memory.

Illustrated Review:
The alarm goes off right before dawn. I throw on my suit. My bare feet pad out the bedroom door. A quick inspection of the ocean's waves from the glass expanse of my grandmother's kitchen says it's going to be a good morning. I brew a cup of masala chai and the energetic notes of cardamom, pepper and bergamot open my sleepy eyes. Silently, I slip out the door and down the wooden stairs to the beach. My hair smells musky and slightly floral from the night before. The sand feels cool and silky under my feet. I breathe in the salty, froth from the breaking waves. As I wade into the surf, I get the heady scent of coconuts from the oil I rubbed on my arms. I dunk under the water, onto my board and paddle out to deeper waters. Nothing smells as good at the beach at dawn.

This scent cured my seasonal depression.

The summer imagery this scent evokes is just insane.
Spraying this perfume is like going down a water slide
of coconut curry with a salty sexy sunburned surfer
who isn't a boy but also isn't a girl but it doesn't
matter because you're just going to eat popsicles and
suck the leftover juice out of the stick a little before
throwing them in the bonfire and making out, passing half a stick of Red Hot back and forth.

This is heat bottled up. It’s standing on a football field in mid August, watching the heat waves melt the turf pellets in the end zone. It’s sipping horchata on the curb in your homemade daisy dukes until the hot sidewalk leaves a pebbled impression on the back of your thighs. It’s dreaming of the chlorinated steam of a hot tub and the accompany thirst that catches you off-guard. This fragrance is the nostalgia of a golden hour summer fling.

THIS IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! It smells exactly like suntan lotion, straight up. Sexy! Sultry! Only critique is that it lacks longevity. Although I love it and it smells like summer at the (nude) beach, I would not actually wear this to the beach (yes I wear perfume at the beach). I think the scent of Soleil Blanc puts me in a longing state. I will wear it in the heat of the city or at the park with the family when I am *wishing* I was at the beach. Aaahh!

I live an oxymoron. I've only been on a beach ... one time, in nearly 40 years of life. I prefer my urban dwelling that is surrounded by the Smoky Mountains. But, give me a tropical, coconut cologne and I suddenly become a beach bum on my balcony overlooking non-stop traffic. Maybe that's one of the best parts about fragrances? I'm stuck where I'm at for awhile and these beachy scents let me get away ... sort of. Most of the problems others have noted with this Tom Ford are not happening to me. I have a very nice, somewhat sweet coconut with some light florals floating around behind it. I don't know if I would buy a full bottle but I find scents like these are worth buying a 1.7 of or if you have a trusted decanter to sell you a 20-30 ml decant of. I'm kind of stuck on whether I like this or Creed's Virgin Island Water better. I do think the VIW is more masculine than the Soleil Blanc but both are now in my spring/summer rotation. Check back in September, I'll be all out of these two and the heat of the summer will have me begging for cold weather and I'll be swearing off coconuts for good. It's a cycle, you should try it.

How does this smell like? Like summer in Greece. Don't judge it immediately after spraying it, let it dry for at least 30' and then...it smells like a feeling.

No, I don't have anything to win from TF, mostly from Private Collection that is so expensive (70% not worthy) but, this perfume is a success story. You wake up in a Greek island, morning sea breeze awakens your soul, bright sun gives you the need to go to the beach. You apply cream suntan lotion, no matter how 'glamorous' or not. After your sunbathing, your skin is sunkissed and treated with sea's salt. This is exactly what Soleil Blanc reminds me of. This thing must be experienced to get my point. The only notes that can clearly detect are: Cardamom, TF's tuberose, a touch of amber & benzoin and a whisper of real coconut/pistachio leaves.