Tuscan Leather
Tom Ford (2007)

Tuscan Leather was part of the original Private Blend lineup that announced Tom Ford’s true intentions to the world after generating a lot of attention and questions with Black Orchid. Perhaps clearly from the releases themselves but also intentionally vague from the mouths of the brand, the goal seemed to be to update classic structures in Ford’s style of a bit of loud lasciviousness and obviously modern synthetic materials. Tuscan Leather is clear retake of Knize 10’s leather with fruit.

The top note of raspberry is instantly identifiable in Tuscan Leather. If you’ve smelled TL in the past and then go to spray it blind any time later, you’ll instantly recognize it. The raspberry is cool and hazy thanks to a hay-like saffron and some fresh thyme. In newer formulations the raspberry is significantly dialed back, and does not last nearly as long as it used to. The thyme, however, is one of the more interesting parts of TL. It strings down into the leathery and suede like heart and base layers. This gives the leather the profound effect of dryness, a bit of sunlit heat, well worn and aged. Does it truly smell of leather in the way that, say, Ombre Leather or Fahrenheit do? No, not really. This is an herbal and woody leather - “leather-esque”, but very convincingly so unlike, say, Tauer’s Lonestar Memories, which cannot really even be called “leather-esque”. You will not find any animalics, chemicals, or dirt here as in Ombre Leather or Fahrenheit. That said, it implies a classiness and elegance that Ombre Leather and Fahrenheit cannot. The newer formulations are also a bit quieter - lower projection and sillage - than original formulations, but given Tuscan Leather’s character I cannot say this does it a disservice; it is the kind of profile that shouldn’t be very loud, necessarily. The final skin scent is dark and aromatic woody, but managing to keep to the theme of dryness, dusky and dusty herbs, well worn and aged, and classy.

I adore Tuscan Leather. It is without a doubt one of the best perfumes to come from the Tom Ford house. Though the big question for many, particularly perfume enthusiasts, is “for what Tom Ford is charging for it, is the price worth a simple mimicry of an old idea that has been repeated many times?” Only you can answer that. Price is just as subjective as “smells good”, so let your own nose and wallet be your guide. In my opinion, in the way-back-when the price was worth it but seeing as how the brand have stratospherically raised their prices over the last several years (as have many/most houses), I can’t be certain it’s worth it now. However, again, that’s your decision. Regardless, it’s still fantastic.

Harry Fremont is one of my favorite perfumers so I decided to try this. For me, Tuscan Leather behaves much more like an ashy tobacco fragrance than a leather dominant one.

I enjoy that characteristic, but the lingering saffron and raspberry aren’t gettin’ it over the wall for me. Thankfully my sample is the latest formulation as its longevity is more than powerful enough.

Rasasi Tobacco Blaze is very similar, but that one has a better ashy tobacco and subs in apricot for the fruit. It works quite well.

For leather, my go to remains Dior Fahrenheit.


2.5 / 5 stars - Neutral

Sorry the current version has been reformulated & watered down👎 not the same scent it used to be!

Raspberry scented ashtray. That's literally it. Nasty.

Typing more characters because I have to. It's not necessary, the first line says it all

The classic raspberry-leather scent that seemed to ignite a trend for similar compositions across the industry. I quite liked the concept of this one, but ultimately found it to be a little too loud, screechy, and sweet. I prefer other takes on the same concept more, such as the Clive.

I love the way Tuscan Leather reminds me of a few things: raspberries, BDSM parties, and, of course, cocaine. There's a flamboyance to it. It's a joke, but not at your expense. It's like a well crafted zinger, with enough edge to sting but not enough to hurt. It's an antihero fragrance, maybe a bit of a mercenary. I imagine Deadpool would scent his suit with this, but we'll never know, because Disney has yet to release each character's signature scent, even though we all know they have this on a whiteboard somewhere. There's no way they don't. Think of the cross platform tie-ins. Actually, come to think of it, Deadpool would probably wear Rasasi La Yuqawam instead, but he'd tell everyone it was Tuscan Leather.