Tom Ford Ombre Leather: The Fragrance Every Man Should Wear

Big Fashion is a long-standing partner with the fragrance industry. A signature bottle that appeals to a large audience, with a botoxed Hollywood visage (or an unsettlingly attractive centaur), can be a vital revenue source for designers who have a huge parent company.

In an industry flooded with crowd-pleasing, ephemeral fragrances, very few of these make it to the collections of true perfume heads. Many of them are from Tom Ford.

Ombre Leather, a tribute to the American Midwest’s desert heat, is not the loudest scent on the designer/director’s list (one is actually called Fucking Fabulous), but it’s the most sophisticated. Ombre Leather captures Mr. Ford’s trademark sexiness in a subtle way, while many scents go overboard with attention-seeking.

Although leather scents are ubiquitous, they are often loaded with aggressively masculine notes that aren’t always conveying masculinity through modern eyes. Ford’s Ombre Leather is a lighter version of tobacco, tonka, and spices. Instead it uses powdery florals. It’s a Western with no testosterone and Eastwood without the cigar.

Raspberry lends a touch of sweetness to the supporting roles. Oakmoss and amber provide a rich, long-lasting base. It leaves a buttery scent, less leather jackets and more fresh-out of-the-box loafers.

While purists will always choose the original Ombre Leather, floral-loving perfumers should consider the new Ombre Leather Parfum. This is a more modern version of the original which focuses on the violet leaf as well as cedarwood.

No matter what you choose, this piece will go with everything in your wardrobe, no matter if you are a Tom Ford leather-trouser or not.