Description
A new fragrance that is part of Tom Ford‘s signature collection (which includes Black Orchid, Violet Blonde, White Patchouli, etc.) has gone on sale in May 2013. Tom Ford Sahara Noir is an Ode to incense and is inspired by the traditions of the Middle East. Tom Ford said: “Middle Eastern culture has an extraordinary appreciation for the luxurious, emotional and memorable qualities of fragrance; perfume is worn there in a way that feels very familiar to me. Sahara Noir is my interpretation of this heritage. It is a deep and substantial perfume that caresses the senses.” Sahara Noir is inspired by the mystery, beauty and luxury of the Middle East. Tom Ford decided to focus on incense, a highly valued ingredient which symbolizes respect and devotion and has been used in religious ceremonies for centuries. The balsamic and resinous shades of incense remind us of distant lands and stimulate the senses like a breath of desert wind. Sahara Noir is an oriental-woody scent based on incense. Bitter orange, Levantine cypress (known as one of the plants growing in the gardens of the 1001 Arabian Nights) and cistus essence Orpur® (Orpur® are high-quality natural ingredients of extraordinary purity, developed by Givaudan) open the composition. The heart blends frankincence essence Orpur®, cinnamon, cool papyrus extract, rose absolute from Morocco and Egyptian jasmin with honeyed and animalic shades of beeswax from Burma.The base centers around warm amber notes – made of labdanum absolute and ambreinol (an intense natural labdanum fraction), cedar, frankincense resin, benzoin, vanilla, oud and balsams. Sahara Noir is available as 50 ml Eau de Parfum.
The nose behind this fragrance is Rodrigo Flores-Roux.
yuskovs – :
Incense and a massive labdanum accord combine with cinnamon, clove and orange to create something almost Christmas-like (as the reviewer below points out)
Dusty, smokey and drier than sand on a hot desert day. There also seems to be some oud. Very little florals to speak of, but there does seem to be a bit of rose de mai in there along with a fresh, non-indolic jasmine. Frankincense, also
Жан Рок – :
Having received a very odd decant of SN recently (not SN), I went on a mission to rediscover the real thing in its entirety.
Sahara noir is a spicey, deep golden Frankincense fragrance. It is dry yet waxy. It is rich, yet by no means dense, there is light and air.
I get plenty of cinnamon spice to begin, green cypress and a bitter orange, smoke, combined to give me quite a yuletide feel in fact. as it dried down, it heads pretty much straight to the heart and base notes side by side.
it is not a sweet amber (labdanum, vanilla, benzoin), this is not amber centred. it is not straight up incense either (or is it – I am today reading about Frankincense, to gather that the facets i perceive in this, are pretty much those of Frankincense).
the greens cut through the balsams and provide a balance to me, allowing the incense to shine through without being too smokey or engulfed in ambery sweetness. there is nothing sharp. what makes this so enjoyable for me is that none of the green, wood, resin, incense, bitter orange, spice, “amber” domineer.
Though no way as sweet or as fleeting as Penhaligon’s Elixir, there is that yuletide thing going on – i can’t smell ginger ale in this thankfully. I am not smelling the sweet herbal amber, to which others are comparing this, of Ambre Sultan. There isn’t the the creamy, clove, dark brown, almost nutty aura of DK Black Cashmere (of which other comparisons have been made).
I would not say I am particularly a Tom Ford fan, but I find this scent really very compelling and is my favourite incense fragrance so far. (I am yet to test Avignon.)
SN captures its components together within an enveloping meditative elixir.
longevity and projection are above average. it wears off skin after about 7 hours, which is fine by me. Amber Sultan stays on my skin for 24 hours for example, a longevity I find a bit disconcerting. So not a monster on me, but unless I am going wild with my 28 La Pausa, I only ever do one or two sprays of any perfume.
I sold two unopened bottles of this stuff last year, purely because of my indifference to the Tom Ford fragrance hype and formed a picture based on the reviews on here and I have to say, I now regret not hanging onto them. this stuff is captivating.
note to self: must sniff some real Frankincense.
ferki – :
I wish I could smell what the rest of you are describing. Sadly, I’m only getting subtle cedar and beeswax. Love TF but CDG’s Avignon and Guerlain’s Encens Mythique remain my favorite incense scents, for now…
hubih – :
I loved this upon first whiff( at Saks 5th Avenue)
It was the perfect perfume at the time though it took 3 year to acquire it. I was in love with Black Vetyver Cafe and it darkness towards the end of its existence and this in it warmth was release. It was so unique , so strong so rich I thought for sure this was a Tom Ford Expensive Private Collection( Shanghai Lily was release around the same time and I had sample card of both –how fragrant my room was)
I got sample after sample of this. Then I got a credit card at a certain department store and I thought what is the first thing I can buy with it and it was this.
Strong is the major word I can associate with this. It has a dust like quality which make it relatable to its name. I don’t know if I was pull by the incense initially but it was the burning warmth that got me. Labdanum. There was just nothing like around and really since.
The bottle I bought was stolen later, and the only one I couldn’t replace because it was discontinued. The closest thing I could find was Diptyque Vinaigre but it doesn’t measure in its strength. Oud Palao by Diptyque is close. And I must shoot out Jo Malone Incense and Cedrat( second best to this and out of the brand league to look like anything but a copy of this)
Sahara Noir was an excellent, memorable scent. Very powerful, sometimes too powerful for me, but worth the possession. Glad I experience it, one of Tom Ford best!
Iamshara – :
Where do I start? I am reminded of my time in Jordan! The heatwaves over the sand and the palms failing to shield you from the unforgiving sun. There’s the smell of dates, hummus and goat cheese mixed with tobacco and sweat. So anyway, this is beyond glorious. I just sprayed some on, generously mind you, and layered it with a shot of Black Orchid and Diptyque Oud Palao. I smell like a Catholic church, dirty hippie and Jordanian woman combined, but I don’t care. It is Friday night in hot, HUMID Tampa Bay area in Florida, and in 30 mins, this blend of olfactory overload awesomeness is going to hit the streets of St Pete. 🙂
insider1 – :
I can’t get past the frankincense. 12 years of Catholic schools came back to haunt me. (Back in the old days when the nuns would, out of nowhere, smack you in the back of the head if they didn’t like your hair.) Talk about scents evoking memories.
I’ve been on the hunt for a rich, spicy fragrance, this isn’t it for me.
cantemir01 – :
Truly magnificent.
Exquisite.
Perfection….
Magick in a bottle…..
I’m certain there is a genie in there….
Granting wish after wish.
It takes you to far away places…
Impossible to describe…
That’s how you know it’s excellent
фомич – :
Sahara Noir is the most glorious incense perfume I have ever come across. Catholic midnight mass meets sensuous amber and magic occurs. I wish with all my heart this had not been discontinued. As it is, I am saving every drop in my golden bottle for those special occasions when I am in desperate need of balance and inner peace. This is medicine for the soul.
gusnik1 – :
Tom Ford said: “Middle Eastern culture has an extraordinary appreciation for the luxurious, emotional and memorable qualities of fragrance; perfume is worn there in a way that feels very familiar to me”
Palestinian lady here.
I agree Mr. Ford. thank you. When it comes to western companies creating Arab scents I usually tend to stay away. The westernized oud note in those is not pure. but this, this is a Masterpiece!You have created the perfect Middle Eastern perfume. The incense here is amazing! Amber is also present. Its a bit expensive but in my opinion worth every penny.
олеган – :
exceptional! I wore this and immediately was reminded of the original Black Cashmere by Donna Karan. Though SN has less of the clove that BC has. This is what the inner sanctum of an ancient Egyptian temple would smell like to me.
BAIUR.73 – :
This is a dry, smoky incense scent. After a medicinal green opening, It’s mostly a frankincense, cedar, cypress, balsam and beeswax scent. Sahara Noir is not a sweet incense or a clean, meditative incense. It smells like resinous unguents rubbed onto warm skin. The incense/woods/beeswax and the scent’s projection are wonderful, but unfortunately the medicinal herbal scent ruins it a bit for me, and the sour note of oud. I’m not sure if the medicinal herb smell is the calamus or the papyrus, as I’m not sure what these materials smell like. It smells a bit like stale basil and oregano, and persists through most of Sahara’s timeline. Similar to the notes that ruin Diptyque L’Eau Trois for me. I find Sahara to be a true unisex scent.
ystas63 – :
Sahara Noir is an olfactory interpretation of hot desert experience.
Close your eyes, use your imagination, dream your little dream… And then you can find yourself right there, in the desert. The air is warm and dry, sand dunes all around, uninterrupted sunlight up above your head – and in calm weather, a Fata Morgana can be seen. And caravans of camels carrying incense, Egyptian balsam, amber, benzoin & spices, of course.
You can smell it, you can feel it, you can touch it – sandstorms, pebbles, shiny brown desert varnish. And maybe a hospitable oasis with an artesian aquifer is hidden out there, surrounded by date palms and calamus palms.
With Sahara Noir, this beautiful dream may never come to an end.
Spectre-Ghost – :
This is an almost perfect scent… It just needs a little bit of apple or a citrus and remove the cypress or tone it down and it will be perfection
lapin.vasily2012 – :
It’s been since last Fall that I wore this, and I never liked it as much as today.
I thought I liked Ambre Sultan or TF Amber Absolute better, but now I see the beauty and complexity of SN ,as never before.
It’s more than a great incense fragrance, or it is one of those great incense fragrances that add so much more.
Like Amouage Memoir Man.
Sahara Noir is like a blend of Montale Full Incense and Tom Ford Amber Absolute, ruffly.
Then you have the great green notes here and the beeswax. I see so many twists and turns in this now. The florals appear in and out. It smells like an old attic, with old books, the papyrus perhaps.
2slipknot2 – :
Upon application of this wonderful smoky perfume, I had to know what it reminded me of….. got it! Andy Tauer’s L’air du desert Marocain but this has more smoky notes and a tad less of the dry amber. Very unique for a T F fragrance who usually stays away from smoky scents. Bring back a great smoky perfume Mr Ford, or bring Sahara Noir back PLEASE. So as far as this being Tom’s best scent….. hmm…. that’s a HUGE statement as the man’s a fukn genius. Oud wood, Noir de Noir, Amber absolute and the list goes on and on are stunning perfumes
I’ve tried every single private blend ever made except Bois Rouge which is very hard to find! Keep the great ones coming Tom. You don’t need to use words like FUCKING fabulous to get my interest or attention
My favourite house, Tom Ford!
popalexandr – :
Sahara Noir is easily Tom Ford’s best scent. And not just in his favourite category, the oriental.
With a ludicrous marketing campaign Sahara Noir was doomed to fail from the beginning, so thank heavens for the vintage market! What was going through their heads when this was brought out, I can’t even come to imagine.
This is an incense (frankincense) scent through and through. In fact I waited for ages before writing this review until I could get to try some true incense (the type that is burned, usually in a church) before reviewing this scent. There is little else going on here – it’s frankincense from beginning to end and hence the progression is minimal, if it’s even there. Incense, medicinal, meditative and to me the sort of gift a wise man would be carrying on the way to Bethlehem.
Projection and longevity are both nuclear, which makes it a shame that this scent is now discontinued.
For those looking for incense, this should be your starting point and it may well be where you end up staying. It’s just a shame this house can’t produce anything quite as good and keep it on the shelves.
olewer276 – :
I just received my sample that I ordered from eBay – granted, I’ve only had it on for about 5 minutes, but I think I may have to cough up the $150+ for a full bottle of this!
This is gorgeous, a smoky and spicy experience that really transports you to another place and time. I can see how this would be deadly in hot weather, but perfect for cool autumn and winter evenings. My nose is not extremely sophisticated, but the strongest notes I detect are the incense, cinnamon, and cedar.
iuk64 – :
This was an amazing incense scent, which unfortunately smelled like tomato leaf on my skin. I gave my samples to my mum who loved it.
bjork – :
Sahara Noir opens with a burst of fleeting bitter orange, along with a slightly acrid, dark calamus and Labdanum. Cypress is mentioned in the notes but I dont detect it individually. The heart to me is a rich, dark, vibrant Incense blending with a dry beeswax and papyrus. The incense papyrus blend in this is reminiscent to me of L’Artisan Timbuktu. The base is again a rich blend of balsamic amber, benzoin, and resinous labdanum with some woody nuances from the cedar and oud notes. In summation, I would call this a Balsamic Incense n amber frag.
Projection is strong for the initial hours and being EDP concentration, longevity is excellent as well. 3-4 sprays lasts 10 plus hours on me.
Sahara Noir has been discontinued which I think is a shame. Now this was officially marketed for Women which I think was a little weird. Now dont get me wrong, I personally feel all frags are unisex free to be worn by anybody but this is a composition that is not going to appeal to all women. None of the women among my family or friends, although they liked it on me for the most part, could see themselves wearing it. The Consensus by and large was it was more on the masculine side and because of this, I think Tom Ford would have been better served putting this in the Private Blend Line.
In closing, I would say Sahara Noir is a genuine classic. If you like fragrances like Lutens Ambre Sultan, Tom ford Amber Absolute, Dior’s Mitzah ( another discontinued gem) MFK’s Grand Soir or the above mentioned Timbuktu,do yourself a favour and do check this out. I am really glad I have it and really enjoy wearing it in cooler weather or for nights out
Kingston – :
I sampled this one a few years ago while sniffing Tom Ford Private Blend fragrances and loved it! So much that I brought home a full bottle. Sahara Noir is a terrific incense fragrance is that is warm, dry, and has that sandy-desert feel to it, for sure. I basically get incense, myrrh, oud/woods and a wonderful blend to support the composition. I do sense amber but it’s not a fragrance that becomes amber dominant in the dry-down. Instead, this one remains an interestingly mysterious incense scent, which is appropriately named.
Sahara Noir projects well above average and lasts a long time on my skin; 12-hours and counting in most cases. Sahara Noir is similar is some ways to Comme des Garcons Avignon, but only for a moment or two. Then they are two vastly different incense fragrances. Avignon is cool, crisp, clean and ethereal while Sahara Noir is warm, dry, sultry and a little naughty. Sahara Noir is a fragrance one wears while sinning while Avignon is something one wears while confessing their sins.
I envision myself wearing Sahara Noir while enjoying an interlude with Sister Mary Elizabeth (my 6th grade teacher) and Miss Hall (my 3rd grade teacher) who are both wearing Avignon. Needless to say, they are both down on the knees confessing their sins to me. (Lol) There is oud in this fragrance, but don’t let that scare you as it plays only a supporting role; it is an elegant and smooth oud much like how Creed uses oud in Royal Oud…certainly not sweet or medicinal.
IMO, Sahara Noir is 75% masculine and I don’t feel that most women, in general, would enjoy wearing this one. Most of the sales clerks I asked did not like it, but one absolutely loved it. To me, physically and mentally strong women such as Xena: Princess Warrior can rock this one. Then again, the same can be said about men wearing this fragrance as meek, weak and mild-manner men need not apply it to their skin. Finally, while I do love Avignon, I love Sahara Noir even more. To me, it is a much more interesting and better performing fragrance. It’s certainly worth a try.
usisha – :
I adore the smoky, church incense of this and was lucky to get my hands on a bottle. It is such a shame that it was discontinued – I think partly marketing this as a female fragrance (and one in a gold flacon) was the death knell for it. The longevity and sillage are remarkable, and it garners a lot of compliments. I typically spray it conservatively on top of M7 and invariably get asked what I am wearing. Of the other incense fragrances on the mainstream market, like Ensens Satin or Incense & Cedrat, nothing can hold a torch to this.
zholobigor – :
WoW…….reminds me of Middle East (Saudi Arabia),villas,desert,tents,luxury & shit load of money
proff75 – :
I’m going to be the dissenter here and absolutely disagree that this leans heavily masculine. I spray it on and wear it, and cannot imagine this scent on a man. It is smokey and dense, but also very sweet throughout. It may not be “girly”, but it doesn’t have to be to favor the female end. I guess unisex isn’t unreasonable, but to my nose, there are far more masculine leaning scents that are marketed as unisex.
It is very, very memorable. I just wonder how long until we have to pay $300 for a bottle of this. I dread that day!
ProduceR – :
Do you know that smell that sticks to your clothes and hair after a weekend camping and sitting around a fire? That’s exactly how Sahara Noir smells when putting it on – smokey, incense, and full of ash. Sure, it is masculine as heck, but I don’t want to put myself through that until the top notes finally fade away.
2445503 – :
Gorgeous incense balsamic woody scent, but I have to toot the horn of rouge bunny rouge Embers that one is better in this category. This one is slightly dusty church smelling in a way it may be the beeswax, whereas Embers is more clean peppery fresh. If you love this, please try Embers.
LoranBekmambetov – :
This is very heavy on the resin, cedar and labdanum. Church incense softened but despite listing rose, not sweet (especially in the beginning which is pure smoke and labdanum) and not uplifting as many incense perfumes are for me. This one is church incense, yes but a church that’s been abandoned, the scent is still there many years later, a memory of something better. Sturdy, dry and humourless, like a beautiful face that just can’t crack a smile under any circumstance.
sergionsk – :
From a sample I get…the inside of an old wardrobe I used to have. British wardrobe I brought all the way back from England to America.quite unique and memory invoking!
Oh..and a wee bit of rye/caraway bread…I know..strange huh?
vjhflt-h – :
Such a majestic piece, with a well chosen name. I can actually feel the heat and sunshine and dryness, it is so dry. Beautiful and unique creation. Smoke and woods, all black, dry, dark but at the same time hot… not just warm, hot.
ldf199speagoessenda – :
Arabian oil company al aneeq do a copy of this called oud sahara. It’s about 4 pounds on amazon. Worth a try for oil lovers
Nightfalls – :
Just sprayed it
Rich, thick and oily frankincense
Resinous and balsamic
Animalic
Must be labdanum and castoreum
From a distance it is more ethereal
Up close it is thick incense smoke
No sweetness at the top
Dark and Gothic
It’s not quite how I remembered it
It has sparkles of genius
The wafts of the skin are dreamy:
Close your eyes and you are transported back in time to midnight mass on Christmas day 800 a.D.
Charles Magne has just been crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire
You are an illiterate peasant, have no idea of the significance of what you have just witnessed, but know deep down in your soul that the air you are breathing, that perfumed smoke is godly
You are transcending your physical self
Reaching eternal peace from within…
And then SNAP!
You are back in 2016, sitting on the sofa in the lounge next to a bottle of Tom Ford Sahara Noir
Nothing has changed, but you have, you have traveled far and wide all through the hidden genie in the bottle next to you, which you release sparingly with a single puff
You are back in reality and life is normal again, inside you still feel the warmth of Sahara Noir which crackles away on your skin like the distant embers of a fire dying out
You smile.
Svobodnaya_Krasotka – :
In fact now you’re all talking about it I’m gonna have a squirt because it’s so calming I sometimes forget what a masterpiece it is.
djadise – :
CHURCH! That’s all you need to know.
IgYork – :
@konga It is discontinued from 2015.
Блондер – :
Labdanum is huge on this one. Tons of amber and incense as well which create a very dry, oriental/arabic scent. It really conveys the impression of being in the desert smelling the sandy air.
There are also some sweet spices, it shares some similarities with L’air du desert marocain, this is a bit sweeter and more feminine though.
igorkukur – :
As I have had this fragrance for a while now, I wanted to share with you my killer combination. This has garnered so many compliments I almost feel like I should create my own bottle to sell!
I combine:
Tom Ford – Sahara Noir
Le Labo – Vanille 44
Prada – La Femme (2016)
The result is a balsamic, sweet, woody concoction. Well-balanced. Simply stunning. The KEY is Sahara Noir.
If you can’t get your hands on Vanille 44, try Tender Romance.
Kurkdijan’s Absolue Pour Le Soir has NO SIMILARITY. Please stop with that. Two very different kinds of balsamic. APLS is much more sour. Actually sold it recently as it wouldn’t blend well with anything.
Sahara Noir is a softer balsamic.
avo_post – :
@Sophia, you definitely own totally something else. None of your description – ingredients, projection, longevity or accords are from Sahara Noir.
Karpei161 – :
I only have a sample of Sahara Noir, and I don’t know if it’s an accurate representation of the perfume, but I do like it. It’s reminiscent of an older woman’s perfume, not at all masculine to my nose. It doesn’t seem very woodsy or smoky either, as others have described it. The scent is sweet, floral, and honey-like, and slightly heavy as well. It doesn’t have much projection, as it’s a very close to the skin type of scent. It’s an enjoyable scent, and could very well be someone’s signature. My initial impression was that it smelled a bit like Chanel No. 5, although I haven’t smelled that perfume in quite some time and could be mistaken. This perfume is more of a classic scent, in my opinion, and should be reserved for special occasions or fall and winter months, which would complement the deep, slightly heavy scent.
Eckos – :
This is amazing and I only love it more every time I wear it. I cannot figure out why is was in the market such a short period of time. I find it far more masculine and just a great scent
sasanos – :
Simple and yet beautiful composition around a dominant central labdanum theme. As it happens, labdanum is one of my favourite notes and in Sahara Noir it manages to thrill me from the moment it is sprayed until the time I can no longer detect it on skin (which is to say more than 24 hours later).
I don’t understand why it is so rare to come across perfumes such as this when without exaggeration, the recipe has been known since the dawn of time. Even now Sahara Noir is not available to all the sale points of Tom Ford perfumes, it is thus a kind of rarity among his mainstream titles. Apparently people are still intimidated by such “archaic” scents and this fear alone is what usually confines them in the “niche”.
Don’t buy that “for women” either! There is nothing exclusively feminine about it. Sahara Noir is drier and more powerful than any powerhouse frag aimed for men but I admit it, this is a smart marketing move; to sell something traditionally masculine to the female consumers is a fashion statement by itself.
sergramirez – :
This scent reminds me of the lines from the song “Desert Rose” by Sting: “I dream of [fire] in the desert sand”, “I dream of flames”, “shadows play”, “this fire burns”, ok, I scrambled it a bit, but the line that well defines me: “no sweet perfume ever tortured me more than this” Haha. Just kidding.
Dunno if you’ve ever been to a desert safari, but late at night in front of a bonfire is the exact picture captured in this scent (at least to me). The dry, warm weather, fire and sands, darkness and shadows, burnt wood and smoke. When you keep staring at the flames in that silence and nothingness with only stars above your head, it just makes you wonder about how small we really are. It has some spiritual effect like no other experience.
I don’t really know who the nose of this masterpiece is, but I must say he/she is a real magician. And Tom Ford’s taste, flawless as usual.
som184InsuffBooni – :
Sahara Noir: a type of marble quarried in Tunisia and transported to be used in many churches throughout Europe. Nothing to do with the Sahara Desert. The effect: evocative of religious ceremonies and rituals stemming from the time Song of Solomon was written, evidently Tom Ford researched at length the types of botanicals and resins described in the gardens at the time (aloe being substituted by rosewood). He used those very same botanicals for this creation.
These include frankincense and myrrh, cedar, beeswax, various fruits including raisin and pomegranate, cypress (not sure about the mandrake 😀 ). How are those incorporated into a fragrance?
At first, a harsh, burning incense note reminiscent of a freshly lit incense stick (you can’t help but have a sniff of the smoke, even though your eyes start to water). I get a very dry cedar or sandalwood. Under that is the sweet piney frankincense and the mellow, creamy beeswax. I’m not getting any food or citrus either, but as the fragrance wears on (and the lasting power isn’t great but the first hour is enormous sillage and you will sniff yourself!) it kind of poops out into a sizzling pile of dead lilies on the piano which you forgot to dump after last weekend’s party.
My thought on this: you will smell like an ancient eastern woman (or man) of stature, when animals were sacrificed to Isis or to Jehovah and incense burned in the temples and kings and queens were carried in litters with 1,000 goats and 50 bulls. There would have been rich gardens and soils containing corn, dates and plenty of merchants and crafters making fine jewelry and silken cloth. You may cause others cronoclasm, and perfume haters a headache but I doubt you’ll do anything other than ADORE Sahara Noir. (This is based on a purchased decant and I will be buying a bottle!)
борман – :
It’s hard to put words on how lovely this is. I’ve never been a church goer, so I can’t compare it to that. But I have tested many other incense fragrances, and they have all fallen short. This on the other hand is just right. To me this is more than just a fragrance. It’s something almost spiritual about it. I’ve had a decant for years, but now that it’s rumoured to be discontinued I bought a bottle of eBay. This is just too good to be without.
tolik-lapa – :
= MONTALE FULL ENCENSE
Gomosmoon – :
This is a real copy of Black Cashmere by DNKY. Both of them are unique and quite strong to make people feel you meters away in a ball room.
Naumof – :
It comes out of the gate very firey and smokey at first spray with a bitter orange sweetness that reminds me of a watered down (not in a bad way) Versace Oud Noir mixed with Terre De Hermes. It’s a beautiful opening.
Settles within 15 minutes into a melange of resins and incense and cypress tree notes. I am not getting very much oud out of it but that’s okay because the blend does come off as complex and resinous and the barest hint of gourmand around the edges. I also detect an absinthe-anise note that isn’t listed but that may be the way the patchouli mixes with the other notes. It’s nice.
Into the dry-down it reminds me of a sweeter, less agressive Tom Ford Man Extreme and to my nose smells of old incense that has been burned hours ago and has settled into the open pore woods of some exotic Cafè. I now get the hi ts of cinnamon and the beeswax comes through beautifully. I swear I detect silver frankincense and a touch of ylang-ylang which is a welcome balance to the beeswax’s earthy waxy scent.
This is a masterpiece and could have easily been part of the private blend line.
Scent 9/10
Sillage 5/10 I expected more from a Tom Ford but it’s great for indoors and smaller group settings.
Projection 5/10 same comment as how I feel about it’s sillage. Becomes a skin scent after two hours on me.
Longevity 7/10. Not as potent as Tom Ford Man Extreme but has great lasting power all the same.
Would I buy it again? Absolutely.
yurasik1972 – :
This smells exactly like the incense used in Catholic churches – exactly. It is rather strong on first application but does settle nicely for the rest of the day. I was horrified when I found out it had been discontinued, however, Armani Prive Bois D’Encens is very similar and I’ll be purchasing a bottle seconds after my last spray of Sahara Noir.
21bek2007 – :
Catholic Mass, 10000%
And it is DIVINE
wolfandbear – :
Sahara Noir is the lust child of Tabu, Samsara and the original Poison from a ménage à trois in the 80’s.
romanov778 – :
This is so similar to incense that it drives my mother crazy . think of it as heavy smoke first and then creamy toward the end .
Not much I can say that has not already been said by my peers, but one thing I do know for sure is it certainly grows on you. My first time putting it on I hated it merely because the smokiness at the start tends to be overpowering if you are not expecting it .
After you sit with it for a while it turns into this delicious dreaming goddess almost Gourmand scent you tend to get addicted to . and I believe that’s what happened to me . I bought a full bottle from a tester. They got me.
Bedaadalrysah – :
One of my favorites and absolutely unisex despite what others have written. Very good layering scent as well, forms a perfect foundation for other fragrances, especially spicy or sweet ones. Luckily for me I don’t detect too much amber as people have compared this one to SL ambre sultan which I find too spicy for my liking. This reminds me more of armani prive bois d’encens on my skin especially in the opening.
It might not be listed but I get a lot of beautiful, well blended frankincense which seems to be the entire base of this fragrance. The other notes are simply complimentary. Sweetness starts to form in the drydown as the scent warms up on the skin. But this isn’t a sticky, amber sweetness that I actually detest. This is a pleasant, meditative woodsy sweetness with a very subtle hint of cinnamon and vanilla.
This is a very voluptuous fragrance- heavy bodied, plush and warm. It’s also smoky, seductive and sexy but still retaining a lightness to it. I don’t understand why this was discontinued, perhaps to the western nose this is way too much or reminiscent of Sunday mass.
A must try for any incense lover.
bezlove – :
Right up my alley. Unisex, for sure. Reminds me a great deal of Serge Luten’s Fille en Aiguilles, which smells like a balsam fir with resins and incense. This fragrance has the same coniferous tree scent mixed with a dry, earthy resin. There’s a very light sweet smell in the base. Now that I smell them side by side, they aren’t exactly the same but in the same “family” of smells. They could be siblings. This would be perfect year-round, is quite potent (1-2 sprays max) and lasts forever. I can see why this was discontinued as it has a very niche feel and was marketed at women. I think it would have been better suited as a masculine or unisex.
k45kash – :
I love it best when worn with a sweet gourmand such as Bonbon.
Just a touch of Sahara to ‘dirty up’ the sweets!
With Bonbon Couture to be precise. It’s richer caramel, with smokiness, rather than fruitiness, and Sahara adds a nice ‘unhygienic’ edge to it.
Pistols228 – :
Years ago, twenty years ago in fact, I traveled to Venice and in a little perfume shop I found Etro’s Messe de Minuit. I had been curious about it and really wanted to buy it but in the heat of July, the incence of Messe de Minuit was a bit too much for me. It felt more like “Interview with the Grand Inquisitor”. Waaaaay to churchy. So I passed, but always regretted it.
So 2 years ago, I finally bought Messe de Minuit, but with the reformulation, it now smells like Pez-candy-with-incense.
(Yes, I’m getting to the Sahara Noir part)
Today I received my bottle of Sahara Noir. I ordered it online, never having tried it before hand. Wow! It brings back the memory of that July in Venice and of that very churchy original Messe de Minuit.
Since my tastes have changed over th