Tom Ford fragrances have long walked a tightrope between seduction and excess, evoking everything from sunlit Mediterranean villas to the shadowy corners of downtown speakeasies. Yet, recent years have left some fans disillusioned, accusing the house of sacrificing edge for opulence, boldness for broader appeal. With Black Lacquer, however, Ford offers a provocative rebuttal. This is not a scent for those seeking comfort or safety; it is a daring composition that revels in contrast, texture, and depth, offering an experience as enigmatic as its name.
Opening: The Echo of Obsession
The first mist of Black Lacquer is arresting—a sharp, rubbery tang that feels unapologetically industrial. It’s not the kind of opening designed to charm on first sniff; rather, it grabs you by the lapels and dares you to follow. The initial burst recalls the tactile sensation of a freshly lacquered surface, smooth yet volatile.
Elemi resin and olibanum dominate this stage, but their usual brightness is cloaked in shadows. These notes unfold with an almost smoky austerity, bringing to mind the ashen embers of burnt incense or the raw scent of a temple altar after a storm. There’s a distinct synthetic undercurrent, deliberate in its execution, evoking an image of molten vinyl pooling beneath candlelight. This is not nature distilled—it is artifice embraced.
A Dance Between Softness and Smoke
As Black Lacquer settles, it begins to reveal its dual nature. Peony—unexpected in a composition so heavy with resin and smoke—emerges, lending an airy delicacy to the fragrance. But this isn’t the peony of a spring garden; it’s a muted bloom, wrapped in shadows and stripped of its typical sweetness.
The inclusion of rum and apricot further complicates the scent. The boozy warmth of rum hints at decadence, while the apricot adds a muted, almost velvety fruitiness. These elements don’t overpower but instead act as whispers beneath the smoky veil, creating a surprising sense of balance. If the opening was a declaration, the heart is an exploration—one where contrasts coexist in restless harmony.
The Lacquered Edge: A Synthetic Elegance
What truly sets Black Lacquer apart is its embrace of synthetic innovation. The sharp, almost rubbery accord that threads through the scent is an olfactory metaphor for lacquer itself—sleek, reflective, and intentionally unnatural. While some may perceive this as divisive, it’s precisely this daring use of synthetics that elevates the fragrance from mere perfume to conceptual art.
Tom Ford has never shied away from fragrances that feel tactile, almost architectural. Here, the glossy sheen of lacquer is rendered in scent form, its smooth surface hiding a maze of contradictions beneath. The fragrance teeters between industrial sharpness and artisanal softness, creating an effect that is as cerebral as it is sensory.
A Smoky Finale with a Quiet Linger
The dry-down of Black Lacquer is its most meditative phase. The resins and woods that dominated the opening settle into a leathery, smoky base, softened by whispers of birch tar and ebony. There’s a quiet bitterness here, not unlike the taste of burnt sugar or the scent of a dying fire, which lingers close to the skin.
It’s in this stage that the true genius of Black Lacquer emerges: its ability to tell a story in layers. Where many fragrances taper into simplicity, Black Lacquer deepens, its smoky heart revealing pockets of warmth and cold, sweetness and dryness, light and shadow.
A Bottle That Mirrors the Fragrance
The design of the Black Lacquer bottle is an extension of the fragrance itself—sleek, polished, and enigmatic. Rendered in reflective black glass, it captures the duality of the scent within. It’s a minimalist statement piece, one that feels almost ceremonial in its weight and texture.
A Return to Risk
With Black Lacquer, Tom Ford has reasserted itself as a provocateur in a world of increasingly safe luxury perfumes. This is not a fragrance that pleases everyone, and that is its strength. It challenges the wearer to embrace its contradictions: the synthetic with the natural, the rough with the smooth, the dark with the luminous.
For those weary of fragrances that play it safe, Black Lacquer offers an antidote. It is a scent of risk and rebellion, elegance and artifice—a modern masterpiece lacquered in intrigue.
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Words by AW.
Photo courtesy of Tom Ford.