Tom Ford Noir Anthracite
Tom Ford (2017)

Very fruity-spicy at the beginning, like Sichuan peppercorns. The spiciness lingers into the heart and base notes becoming more pronounced, with spicy cedar and spicy sandalwood. For the first few minutes I honestly thought it smelled like marijuana, but now that it's calmed down it's much better - classic Tom Ford: deep, dark, rich, and spicy. It took a while, but today, in this weather, I think I've finally figured out this fragrance: it's a super tight cypress accord. Yes, there's lemon or bergamot at the top; yes there are some cedar or sandalwoods at the base. But, it's cypress I get in massive doses. This shares nothing in common with the original Noir. I don't know why TF chose for it to be a Noir flanker when it really should be its own fragrance. As a green cypress chypre, it's extremely straightforward and linear - there's not much going on with it. But that simplicity might be its strength. Unfortunately, it's just not enough for me to keep wanting to come back for more.

I am wearing this today and I am realizing that this scent smells almost just like MAC My Heroine. It has the same smokey leather quality of that scent. Both scents are discontinued so I’m not surprised they were because these scents are really not mass appeal scents. They are very niche quality which I could see an indie perfume house putting out.
Glad I have both so when I want to feel like a vampire opening up his concrete crypt open, these are the ones to pull out!

Noir Anthracite opens with a fresh burst of bitter citrus and spice, sharp and clear, with a smooth, slightly sweet and creamy, yet dark woody note (ebony) emerging from the base within a few seconds. There's a good amount of green pine (surely cypress as well) in the opening, the sharp and aromatic green woody notes pairing well with the darker, more brooding base of woods and leather. The sharpness of the pine is complemented by biting spices - which are never overbearing nor gourmand, so there's no fear of smelling like food. Instead, the dry spices (lots of pink pepper) add a slight aromatic lift to what is otherwise a gloomy and deep aroma. The ginger and pepper notes are mild and never distinct from the central body of the scent, although as the fragrance develops there is a certain tang of heat that conjures the sensation as much as the smell of these spices. Overall, the scent melds in to a brooding mass of greys and browns, peppery and dusty clouds on top of thick slabs of grey rock and slick, slightly sweet woods. The fragrance is aptly named and certainly evokes something mineralic. Noir Anthracite has the smell of petrichor, of the air after rainfall; or perhaps wet stone; or, indeed, cold charcoal after a fire. Released the same year (2017) as Oud Minerale, it's not hard to see how these two fragrances relate to one another. Both have a distinct mineralic quality and, in fact, there's more than hint of the saline accord (think slightly rotten seaweed with the Oud Wood's synthetic oud note) that dominates Oud Minerale in Noir Anthracite as well.

This is mostly a base-driven fragrance, however, and the main ebony base accord is one reminiscent of Ralph Lauren's Purple Label (a fragrance considered something of a precursor to Aventus, which I will come back to). Most obviously, Noir Anthracite's ebony note will remind wearers of Acqua di Parma's Colonia Ebano - with which it shares a similar pairing of ebony and peppery spices. Noir Anthracite seems a more accomplished and less divisive fragrance than Ebano (the latter has a sickly sweet quality to it which really jars with the overall scent), although this is not a universally appealing fragrance. It is a distinctly serious and masculine fragrance, released at a time when men's fragrances have veered sharply to the feminine side of perfumery. On that, Noir Anthracite eschews the instantly recognisable leather note/accord that is synonymous with Tuscan Leather: the brand new handbag and gummy fruit smell that has become increasingly common in both men's and women's fragrances in recent years. To my nose, this type of leather note bears a fragrance firmly in to feminine territory. Noir Anthracite opts for a darker leather note instead: it is leather as conjured by cypriol and birch instead. Comparisons to Carner Barcelona's Drakon are somewhat apt, although Drakon is a cruder, darker, far more overbearing use of cypriol, missing the many nuances found in Noir Anthracite (as well as conveying a different 'feeling'; Drakon has no petrichor or mineralic quality, it is much thicker, less airy, has no sense of smelling like charcoal). The charcoal element in Noir Anthracite - which is easy enough to find after the opening has died down - is not a particularly common quality in fragrances. It may be more widely available in later fragrances but the only other scent I can think that conjures something similar is Jovoy's La Liturgie, with its highly evocative saltpeter note. In all of these fragrances, it is surely the combination of green woods (pine/cypress/fir) with the dark and pleasing note of birch. What I find interesting is the lack of recognition Noir Anthracite has in relation to the phenomenon that is Creed Aventus. Imagine 'zooming in' to the base of Aventus, cutting out the musks, fruits, and sweeter notes. This a more than decent way to conceptualise Noir Anthracite. Extend Aventus' base of smoky birch-leather and woods, flesh out the pink pepper (a note that often conveys heat without much in the way of aroma to my nose) with other spices, and give the whole thing more base and body with a recognisable wood note (ebony): you have effectively turned the base of Aventus into its own standalone fragrance. This, for all intents and purposes, is Noir Anthracite.

Performance is decent without being exceptional. It lasts about an hour or two before becoming a basic ashen musk, after which it grows soft around the 6 hour mark. The projection is a tad simplistic. Although you can pick up on the airy petrichor/mineralic quality - a lighter, slightly musky cloud on top of the relative darkness of the woody-spicy base - there isn't much in the way of complexity as such without digging your nose in to the fragrance. Which isn't a bad thing, per se, but this does produce a more love-it-or-hate-it experience that depends on how the wearer (and their company) judges the main woody-spicy scent. As seems typical with the signature (more affordable) line of the Tom Ford company, Noir Anthracite comes across as a more accomplished and generally superior fragrance to most of what is released in their private blend (and more expensive) line of perfumes.

This isn't the most wearable of fragrances given the smoke note, which could come across as somewhat ashen and therefore not always appropriate. Noir Anthracite suits evening wear, cold weather, smart casual rather than something more formal or easygoing. It would make for a good signature scent on the right person as there is certainly something quite gothic or even austere to it: like a Victorian headmaster. This will likely appeal to wearers of classic masculine fragrances from the 70s and 80s. Tom Ford is (was?) at its best when reinterpreting older fragrances in a retro style like this, making them more palatable to contemporary customers. Sadly discontinued, the value of the fragrance is an ever-changing thing, although 100ml can seemingly be had for around £120 (which seems fair compared to today's high-end designer prices).

Spicy,resinous and green woods, Smoky and piney... like a cross between Arso by Profumum and Sombre Negra by Yosh, a blast from the past, reminiscent of an eighties scent... ultimately a decadent juice, dark and gothic!

The opening is quite straightforward: bergamot and a potpourri of spices; the latter having a distinct undertone of white peppers.

The drydown turns crisp and flinty, with whiffs of cistus and an undertone that is rather Iso-E-like at times. Reminiscences of synthetic mossy impressions come to mind.

The base is a wood-fest, albeit a rather laboratory-chemical one. I get cedar mainly, with the touted sandal and macassar quite weakly traceable only. This is mixed with whiffs of a light, bright and mildly smoky patchouli not and a mossy undertones, resulting is a clean and clear aroma of nigh mineral-like character.

I get moderate sillage, excellent projection, and nine hours of longevity on my skin.

A bright fresh-ish and slightly harsh and pungent spring scent, which sports a few unusual moments and expresses some original features, but is let down a bit by its rather petrochemical nature, its lack of texture, and its linearity for most of its development. It - just - makes it to a positive score though, albeit by the skin of its teeth. 3/5

It's rare in this day and age that I review a Tom Ford-branded fragrance and conclude on a positive note. The entire Noir range for example has been a let-down to put it mildly, often reminding me of the cheap opoponax note that has been so frequently done in both cheap and niche scents alike (Jovan Sex Appeal, Chanel Coromandel, etc). Noir Anthracite is fortunately the exception and stands out from the pack like a brightly-lit Christmas tree in a dark street.

I initially sampled the scent blind and my immediate comment was that it reminded me of a bracing green gent's aftershave from the 80s. I can't quite remember what it was, but the peppers and galbanum bounced right off the spray patch. I don't detect much bergamot in the opening, but the green galbanum is very prominent, as are the peppers and spices of the mid. The dry-down is magnificent - long lasting woods, just like a classic 80s powerhouse after shave.

I managed to grab a bottle not long after, as I enjoyed my sample immensely. Of course, Tom Ford had to discontinue a perfectly good scent, just like he's done with his greatest creations sold under his brand - the original Italian Cypress and Sahara Noir. I suppose that explains why this one is such a departure from the rest of the pack. I only hope I can find more bottles of it in future.