Tom Ford Noir

Noir is a velvet dinner jacket: dark, plush and a little old-fashioned in the best possible way. It is the starting point of the Noir line and still the most classically tailored of the three.

Bergamot, verbena, caraway, pink pepper and violet open crisp and slightly spicy. The heart is the elegant part: black pepper and nutmeg wrapped around iris resin, geranium, rose and clary sage, powdery and refined. Then opoponax, amber, patchouli, vetiver, civet and vanilla give a warm, resinous drydown with a faint sensual growl.

It belongs in cooler months and dressy evenings. Compared with Noir Extreme, it is less sweet and more powdery; compared with Noir Anthracite, warmer and more vintage. Powdery iris-and-civet compositions can feel either polished or dated depending on the wearer, so 5 ml is the right test size.

Notes. Top: Italian bergamot, verbena, caraway, pink pepper, violet flower; heart: black pepper, nutmeg, Tuscan iris resin, Egyptian geranium, Bulgarian rose, clary sage; base: opoponax, amber, Indonesian patchouli, vetiver, civet, vanilla. Launched in 2012.