Falling in love irrationally and lustfully. Filled with a sick uncontrollable longing. Dark, complicated and sexy… After reading these descriptions on a day when I was feeling particularly frumpy and disgusting, I felt a masochistic urge to give this fragrance a try.

Black Orchid was the first release of the Tom Ford brand. It’s said that he felt that the designer perfume trends weren’t really offering anything unique or interesting enough and he hoped to bring to the table a smell of “old luxury and glamour” with an earthy bent.

The best features of this scent are revealed in it’s femme fatale opening. The gorgeous top notes of French jasmine, black truffle, gardenia, ylang ylang, bergamot, mandarin and effervescent citrus are almost intoxicating in their impact. If only it kept going with initial hypnotic quality, but the intrigue goes poof within five minutes. The heart of the fragrance suggests spicy floral notes which I interpret as the imaginary black orchid. Black orchids do not exist; orchids come in a variety of colors but the closest to black is actually a dark purple. The base includes woodsy notes of patchouli and sandalwood, dark chocolate, incense, amber, vetiver, vanilla and balsam.

I definitely see Black Orchid as an evening/autumn/winter unisex fragrance. Not something to wear into work unless you want to send co-workers running. It has a lot of personality but is a little too sweet for me. It reminds me of something an expensive hooker might wear.

The packaging is well-done and looks even better in person than in pictures. The jet-black, art-deco inspired bottle with an engraved metal plate adds to the fragrance’s overall glamour.

Fun Fact: this was supposedly one of Michael Jackson’s favorite scents.