Tom Ford – Black Lacquer – Back In Black?

Do you secretly hope to hate new-release perfumes whenever you try them for the first time so you’re not tempted to buy them? Or is that just me? I haven’t had to worry about Tom Ford’s releases being up to the mark for some time. Their flood of fragrances featuring ever more juvenile names and escalating price tags always coming up short in quality. Well, the laws of probability dictate they would eventually release something half decent, and finally, it’s happened with Black Lacquer. And it’s more than half decent; it’s one of the best compositions the brand has delivered in years. Indeed, on the back of one release, it’s too early to proclaim that the brand is back, but at least they’ve given us something to break up the string of mediocrity.

Like the best Tom Ford perfumes, Black Lacquer will be divisive. From the off, its rubbery, smoky, and inky qualities will alienate the brand’s contemporary customers. Instead, older Tom Ford devotees may admire its abrasive coarseness, a hallmark of earlier Ford staples such as Tuscan Leather, Oud Wood, and Tobacco Oud. While sampling Black Lacquer, I thought of Bvlgari Black and John Varvatos’ Dark Rebel Rider and their slightly off-kilter unconventionality. However, it most closely resembles Comme des Garçons Black and Akro’s Ink and their smoky, inky arrangements. Like the Akro, Black Lacquer becomes aromatic, woody, and resinous as it progresses. Elemi and olibanum provide the smoke, spice, and resins, but they feel stripped of their usual lemony sharpness in Black Lacquer.

The perfume suits the name with its dark and tarry details, and the combination of notes conjures up images of glossy, varnished wood. But, perhaps due to the influence of some of the accompanying notes, such as peony, apricot, pepper, and rum, it doesn’t feel completely black. These notes ensure the fragrance doesn’t become too inky, dark, and unwearable. Something dusty and leathery beneath the inky aromatics adds to the intrigue of Black Lacquer. And compared to recent Tom Ford Private Blends, the sweetness smells subdued. Pricing on Tom Ford Private Blends is out of control. Therefore, I’m never tempted to buy a bottle from this house. But I did buy a decant, and I enjoyed wearing Black Lacquer on some of the cooler late August and September days and nights.

Have you sampled Black Lacquer yet? Did you enjoy it or despise it? I wonder who the perfumer behind the fragrance might be. It wouldn’t surprise me if it’s Rodrigo Flores-Roux. He composed Ébène Fumé, and there are some definite links with Black Lacquer.

Note: I purchased a decant of Black Lacquer after sampling the perfume in-store. All images are my own, except the Black Lacquer image, which comes courtesy of Tom Ford.

Here are some other images that make me think of Black Lacquer.