Noir de Noir

Tom Ford's Noir de Noir is a cult dark-floral oriental, prized for a velvety rose and saffron opening that darkens into an unusual, almost bloody patchouli-truffle heart before settling into vanilla, oud and oakmoss. SMEL.' version keeps the same rose-to-oud arc, opening with rose and saffron before patchouli and a touch of black truffle bring an earthy, brooding heart, then closing on vanilla, oud and oakmoss. The dupe reads recognisably dark and rosy, but the truffle facet - one of the hardest accords to replicate cheaply - comes through thinner and less shadowy, while the vanilla base is pushed sweeter and louder than the original's more restrained finish. The result is a simplified, more straightforwardly sweet dark rose rather than the complex, wine-and-earth character niche fans prize. It still performs well as an evening or cold-weather scent, best suited to dates and formal occasions where its sweet, sultry character has room to project.