Gender Bender: Tom Ford Black Orchid EDP (2006)

by: Dr. Marlen Elliot Harrison

Hello and welcome to “Gender Bender”, an exploration of aroma, gender and scented freedom. Though by no means do I personally prescribe to fragrance having a gender, sociocultural stereotypes about masculinity and femininity often prevail at the fragrance counters and are viewed as important distinctions for many fragrance fans. Join me as I explore some of my favorite 20th century masterpieces of perfumery in my quest to challenge marketing rhetoric and address the question, “How does fragrance transcend gender?”

Summary: Designer Tom Ford's (Gucci, YSL) first solo venture into fragrance, which celebrates its 10th anniversary next year, Black Orchid EDP is both a disturbing and comforting blend of traditional floriental and vanillic gourmand notes that is decidedly unisex and utterly captivating. Though originally launched without gender ascribed, advertising and marketing often hinted at the scent being "for women". Today the bottle is as often found on men's fragrance counters as women's.

Try this if You Like: Drinking a Starbucks Caramel Macchiato; creamy, buttery, milky scents; aromas with an earthy, animalic, or sweaty edge; orientals with white floral accents such as gardenia or tuberose; sweet, resinous, ambery basenotes.

Reminds me of: Similar feel as Fendi Theorema with less of a focus on citrus and offering richer, more luxurious basenotes; Comptoir Sud Pacifique Lait Sucre/Matin Calin; Molto Missoni's ambery basenotes; Collection Extraordinaire Precious Oud Van Cleef & Arpels; Horseball's Orchid Version; the sweetness and creaminess of Dior Hypnotic Poison; Black Orchid's lower notes recall the resinous amber aroma of Ormonde Jayne Tolu.

Pros & Cons: A vanilla aroma with a moderate floral heart and rich, surprising nuances that are anything but average – black truffle (think mushroom) that the designer actually intended to come across as (cough, cough) sweaty crotch (!!!). Black Orchid EDP offers powerful longevity and sillage – I received immediate compliments from both men and women! I'll admit that I find the outer packaging a bit odd and in the opening 5 minutes, the ylang and truffle notes might be a little off-putting to some and especially stand out at the start before fading altogether. A slightly higher pricepoint also puts this one out of reach for casual purchases – it's a luxe product and likely not a great blind buy.

Reactions to this one are all over the place, likely one of the most divisive aromas since Mugler's Angel with some finding the scent unbearable and heavy and others reveling in the extraordinary richness of the overall aroma. This being said, if you hate foody scents, and vanilla in absolutely any form makes you gag, you're gonna have a problem with this one.

Notes: "Black truffle, ylang ylang, bergamot, black currant, black orchid, rich fruit accord, floral accord, lotus wood, patchouli, incense, vetiver, vanilla tears, balsam,sandalwood." TomFord.com

Designer's Description: "Tom Ford Black Orchid evokes the timeless luxury and worldly glamour reminiscent of classic fragrances from the most elegant fragrance houses. A luxurious and sensual fragrance, Tom Ford Black Orchid, with its rich, dark accords and alluring potion of black orchids and spice, is both modern and timeless." 2006 Press Release

Number of times tested: 100+ over 9 years.

Number of sprays applied for this review: 1 spray to the back of hand from a 2010 bottle gifted to me by a friend.

Fragrance Strength: Eau de Parfum.

Development: ( Linear / Average / Complex) Black Orchid is well-blended and practically linear but for the opening 30 minutes as glimmers of ylang, truffle, currant and vanilla cream vie for attention. Though this sounds surprisingly sweet and youthful, I find the scent to be quite mature and serious. As the scent relaxes on the skin, the richness of the beautiful basenotes (sweetbalsam and sandalwood, especially) becomes more evident, all resting on a creamy vanilla accord – not your typical vanilla, but as noted above, similar to the vanilla used in Comptoir Sud Pacifique fragrances, almost like a buttercream.

Longevity: (Short / Average / Long-lasting) Lasted about 8 hours on my skin and slightly longer in its final stages.

Sillage: (A little / Average / A Lot) A little goes a long way; use with caution! Black Orchid might not be great for close quarters. Could be a good one to spray in the air and walk through.

Where Can I Buy It? Retails at $115 USD for a 50ml Eau de Parfum spray at various department stores.

Note About the Packaging: Unusual. The outer box of striated, textured gold with simple black and gold label and lettering might suggest minimalist chic. But then the bottle, striated black glass, almost like a flask, with gold-plate label and vintage-style gold elastic cord cinched with a "TM" signature gold square suggests 1920's modernism. Not quite what I'd expect, but almost genderless and at once striking and surprising.

The Bottom Line: "Wow! Whoa! What the heck? Ahhhhhhh. Hmmm. Huh?" seemed to be my initial reaction when first testing this fascinating fragrance a decade ago. Legend has it that a black orchid was actually created specifically for Ford and this project, having never existed in nature before. I don't doubt it. By far one of the sexiest designer/directors (in my humble opinion) in the public eye and consistently the best dressed, it's not surprising that I should also be thrilled with this first of his signature fragrances.  

Without any idea what the scent would smell like, and without any knowledge of the notes used, I first tried this back in 2006 and after 5 minutes had to do my best to resist the temptation to drink it! I remember writing, "What's up with these coffee drink scents? Have designers secretly had access to my dreams recently? Is this the Starbuckian influence reaching far into our daily lives?" Yes, florals are noted in the list of notes along with bergamot, a fruit accord, and black currant, but where are they? The patchouli accent is almost imperceptible but for a spicy almost cinnamon-like edge, and I get zero vetiver. Sandalwood, cream, ylang, and sweet woody resins are what I most sense when sniffing myself.  And here's the best part – there's a little "dirty/kinky" in Black Orchid, a slightly yucky accord, and I'm guessing it's the earthy truffle. Wish it lasted slightly longer, as a little "yuck" can be a good thing…but I'm more than happy with where the scent goes instead. This is what I wanted Theorema for Men to be, Cartier Must for Men to be, and hoped Donna Karan Gold might be. 

As an aside, a story: About three years ago I had a perfume party at my house, the kind of soiree where everyone goes home with a decant of something. A now-retired colleague from the English department had exclaimed her passion for Black Orchid, “There’s just something in there that really grabs my attention.” I followed with the infamous story behind the scent’s creation – according to Ford himself, the truffle notes were meant to evoke a man’s "sweaty crotch" – and we all broke out in the kind of laughter that brings tears and stomach cramps. My colleague went home with a decant of what was newly dubbed “Sweaty Crotch” and we still laugh about it today when I simply ask her, “How’s your sweaty crotch?” This usually works to maximum effect in company unaware of the back-story.

Just yesterday I was at Nordstrom men's fragrance bay admiring the fact that there were glass jars of plastic fragrance sample vials available to customers to fill at their pleasure. And as I reached for the new Tom Ford Noir Extreme, which to me is the perfect counterpart to Black Orchid with the vanilla toned down and the woody resins turned up, I noted the presence of Black Orchid (though not Black Orchid Voile de Fleur) among the Grey Vetiver and Tom Ford for Men bottles. As I sniffed my way through, an older gentleman picked up the tester bottle of Black Orchid and doused himself in it. His female companion offered, "Mmmm, smells like the chocolate Dior one." Wow! I never considered the similarities among Dior Hommeand Black Orchid; I don't find the compositions all that similar but I suppose the overall effect isn't all that different, another example of the unisex, modern, gourmand oriental.

What have your experiences with Black Orchid been like? Many of the Tom Ford line are marketed without gender while yet others do in fact carry the "for men" designation; which other fragrances from Ford would you classify as gender benders? Tell us in a comment below!