• Tom Ford Private Blend Arabian Wood EDP Perfume Review

    Date: 2011.06.07 | Category: fragrance | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,

    Tom Ford Arabian Wood

    Arabian Wood was a Kuwait exclusive and there is a little story behind it saying that Arabian Wood was a bespoke fragrance for a “sheik”. I think the name of this perfume really throws people off. People are expecting something with roses, oud, frankincense: a woodsy “Arabian” styled perfume. Instead Arabian Wood is an old-fashioned green floral that is so incredibly 1970′s. I think Arabian Wood could benefit from a name change.

    Arabian Wood opens up as mossy woods and greens. This perfumes settles, I get something that reminds me of the new formulation of Lancôme Magie Noire, Piguet Bandit, and Maja. It’s galbanum, lots and lots of galbanum. It’s green, bitter, and sharp. I love galbanum so this works for me. I also get a “barber shop” clean lavender mixed with spring florals like lily of the valley. I get dewy, green rose and a ton of other florals: orange blossom, ylang ylang, tuberose, etc. This is that “everything but the kitchen sink” perfume, a style I like. The entire feel is very old school feminine. These are the types of fragrances now perceived as masculine, making Arabian Wood a great unisex fragrance. And the dry-down is woodsy orris, smooth, and once again, old-school feminine with good quality ingredients.

    I really like Arabian Wood. It’s fresh, green, floral. It’s big and grand. And if I lived in a hot, dry climate by saltwater like Kuwait, this is the kind of fresh, but not too soapy luxury perfume that I’d want to wear, not a heavy woodsy perfume.

    Notes listed include precious woods, green notes, rich florals, and exotic spices.

    Give Arabian Wood a try if you like fragrances like Balmain Ivoire, Jacomo Silences, Maja, Guerlain Vega, Van Cleef & Arpels First, and/or Piguet Bandit.

    The 1.7 oz. bottle of Arabian Wood retails for $190. Other sizes are available. Private Blends are available at Nordstrom and Selfridges (UK).

    Victoria’s Final EauPINION – Despite loving the “classically styled” Arabian Wood, I won’t buy it. My collection has fragrances like this. I suggest if you want something like Arabian Wood, then buy a green floral launched in the 1970′s like Balmain Ivoire or Jacomo Silences. Or if you can, buy vintage. And it will all be cheaper than a bottle from the Private Blend Collection.

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