Tom Ford Fucking Fabulous

Few fragrances have had a harder commercial life imposed on them by their own name. Tom Ford launched Fucking Fabulous in 2017 into the Private Blend range, and a great many retailers and publications could not print it, say it on air, or put it on a shelf talker. It sold anyway, which says something about both the man and the juice. Ford has always used provocation as a design tool rather than a stunt, and the perfume is not a joke: it is one of the most technically interesting leathers the house has produced, and the one most likely to make somebody stop and ask what you are wearing. Tom Ford's own copy calls it an explicit, spicy leather fragrance with an intoxicating grip, and the brand lists the materials. Clary sage and fresh lavender open it, which is a deliberately old-fashioned, barbershop-aromatic move. Then the composition swerves: bitter almond oil, vanilla, an orris accord and a leather accord form the heart, and the almond against the leather is what gives the fragrance its odd, addictive, slightly medicinal signature, somewhere between marzipan, hot tar and a new handbag. Tonka bean and tonka resinoid, amber, blonde woods and cashmeran hold the base, warm and dry rather than sweet. The orris is the luxury in it; it gives the leather a powdery, expensive smoothness that most leathers of this weight do not have. Evenings and cold weather are where it belongs. It is heavy in Durban humidity and very good on a Cape winter night; it suits dark tailoring, restaurants, and people who are comfortable being noticed. It is not office wear and it is not for anyone who wants to blend in. Performance is among the strongest in the Private Blend line. Expect eight to twelve hours on skin, longer on wool, with heavy projection for the first two hours. One or two sprays maximum. Tom Ford also offers it in a parfum concentration, described by the house as amber leather glamour at full volume, if the eau de parfum is somehow not enough for you.