Best Tom Ford Cologne
If you’re looking for a killer cologne to wear at work, with friends, or at formal events, then Tom Ford is a fantastic brand to go with.
Tom Ford as a brand prides itself on excellence and premium quality, throughout its clothes lines and colognes. It’s a brand you can trust, since the man it’s named after embodies the lifestyle and has a keen sense for what works in men’s fashion and fragrances.
Whatever your aroma preferences, you can find just the right scent to compliment your style with Tom Ford’s cologne collections.
Let’s dive into our top Tom Ford cologne picks. Here they are…
👑 Our Pick for Best Overall
⭐ Our Other Tom Ford Cologne Picks for Men
- Our Top Pick: Noir Extreme
- Runner Up: Tuscan Leather
- Bronze Medal: Oud Wood
- Best Smooth Scent: Tobacco Vanille
- Best Woody Scent: Grey Vetiver
- Best Warming Scent: Black Orchid
Best Tom Ford Cologne Reviews
Noir Extreme (👑 Top Pick)
Noir Extreme, not to be confused with Noir de Noir or just Noir, belongs to the Noir collection of Tom Ford colognes. Not at all confusing, I’m sure you’ll agree.
Naming aside, the Noir Extreme cologne by Tom Ford is an outstanding fragrance and one of the brand’s best selling scents. Extreme, as you might imagine, isn’t for the faint of heart. This bold offering is the best Tom Ford cologne due to its strong aroma full of woody, fruity, and herbal notes. The assortment of exotic ingredients ranging from Italian fig to truffle combine to make a truly unique and enticing smell. Imagine yourself sitting in a cafe by the sea in a warm, exotic country cigar in hand and you’ll get a good idea of what this cologne smells like.
Features:
- Top notes: Thai basil, chamomile, Persian lemon, coriander, cistus, cardamom, cinnamon bark.
- Medium notes: cedar wood atlas, Parma violet, sandalwood, saffron, thyme, black plum.
- Base notes: amber, balsam, fig, truffle, Haitian Vetiver, Vieux, caramel.
- 3.4oz bottle
Tuscan Leather (🥈 Runner Up)
Just the name of this cologne by Tom Ford should conjure up images of the good life. Tuscan leather will mean something different for everyone, especially if you’ve spent time travelling around Italy. Whatever it brings up for you, it’s likely a very suave, sophisticated scent that reminds you of Italian elegance.
Even the bottle of this cologne is classy, so you know you’re investing in quality if you get your hands on this Tuscan leather. The surprise addition of raspberry might take you aback at first, but over time provides an excellent compliment to the bold scent of leather and suede.
Features:
- Top notes: saffron, raspberry, thyme.
- Medium notes: olibanum, jasmine.
- Base notes: leather, suede, amber, wood.
- 1.7oz bottle
Oud Wood (🥉 Bronze Medal)
Oud wood is one of Tom Ford’s most popular colognes for men, and has become such a hit that it is also available as a shower gel and beard oil.
What you can expect from the oud wood cologne has a subtle, yet distinct fragrance mainly characterised by oud and Brazilian rosewood. It’s a classic aroma great for the traditional gentleman, and is versatile enough to be used for casual occasions just as much as formal get togethers.
Features:
- Top notes: Rosewood, cardamom, Chinese pepper.
- Medium notes: Oud, sandalwood, vetiver.
- Base notes: Tonka bean, vanilla, amber.
- 3.4oz bottle
Fucking Fabulous
Also worthy of mention is the boldly-named ‘Fucking Fabulous’ cologne, which delivers as a fragrance and lives up to its name.
The scent of this cologne is a pleasing mix of almond, Tonka bean, and leather. It’s a very rich, decadent aroma which will indeed make you feel fabulous, and is one to reserve for special occasions or nights out when you need that extra confidence boost.
Features:
- Top notes: clary, lavender.
- Medium notes: bitter almond, leather, vanilla, orris.
- Base notes: Tonka bean, leather, cashmeran, amber, white woods.
- 1.7oz bottle
Tobacco Vanille (💎 Best Smooth Scent)
Tobacco Vanille by Tom Ford is a wonderfully rich and smooth scented eau de parfum cologne, perfect for just about every occasion.
The unisex cologne offers up a breathtaking combination of smooth and spicy ingredients to spark your energy and boost your mood. Among the bold ingredients are tobacco leaf, spicy notes, vanilla, cacao, and woody notes. While tonka bean, vanilla, and cacao are responsible for the smooth character of the cologne, it’s accentuated with the curious aromas of tobacco blossom and tobacco leaf as well as the kick from the spicy notes. The cologne’s complexity is further deepened with the dried fruits, which add just a hint of fruit to the mix.
Features:
- Top Notes: Tobacco leaf, spicy notes
- Medium Notes: Vanilla, cacao, tonka bean, tobacco blossom
- Base Notes: Dried fruits, woody notes
- 1.7 oz bottle
Grey Vetiver (🌲 Best Woody Scent)
Grey Vetiver is an excellent cologne from Tom Ford that predominantly features woody notes that contribute to a classically masculine fragrance.
In this cologne you should be able to detect a variety of smells. The first impression comes from grapefruit, orange blossom, and sage, so the fragrance opens up with a herbal, aromatic profile. This continues into an intriguing blend of nutmeg, orris root, and pimento as the middle notes which are perfectly balanced with the rich woody notes of vetiver, oakmoss, and amber. This is the kind of cologne that will make you feel like a sophisticated man who isn’t afraid of outdoor adventures and has a rugged personality.
Features:
- Top Notes: Grapefruit, orange blossom, sage
- Medium Notes: Nutmeg, orris root, pimento
- Base Notes: Vetiver, woodsy notes, oakmoss, amber
- 3.4 oz bottle
Black Orchid (♨️ Best Warming Scent)
Tom Ford’s Black Orchid cologne is marketed mainly for women, yes, but hear us out on this one.
Back Orchid is a unique, opulent fragrance that lives up to Tom Ford’s high standards and delivers on several levels. It is an elegant cologne that offers up a storm for the senses, which is warming in nature but also includes elements of citrus as well as herbal notes.
There are many scents used in the creation of this delicate fragrance, each carefully selected to complement the last. Of particular note are the premium ingredients found in this cologne, including truffle, Mexican chocolate, ylang-ylang, and Amalfi lemon. This is a cologne that hits your senses right out of the gate with an intoxicating infusion of citrus fruits like bergamot and mandarin orange, and then follows it up with a one-two combination for a knockout scent. The middle and base notes include all kinds of herbs, flowers, and spices, and range from the warm and spicy to the smooth and subtle.
If you can overlook the fact that this cologne is marketed towards women, it’s a fascinating fragrance that will no doubt capture your attention and likely that of your date, too.
Features:
- Top Notes: Truffle, gardenia, black currant, ylang-yland, jasmine, bergamot, mandarin orange, Amalfi lemon
- Medium Notes: Orchid, spices, gardenia, fruity notes, ylang-ylang, jasmine, lotus
- Base Notes: Mexican chocolate, patchouli, vanilla, incense, amber, sandalwood, vetiver, white musk
- 1.7 oz bottle
Ultimate Buyer’s Guide
When it comes to choosing a cologne, there are a variety of general factors you should pay particular attention to.
Since we’re focussing on Tom Ford, we’ll also go into factors specific to the brand, such as the aromas they offer and the different collections of cologne.
Tom Ford: The Brand
In case you aren’t familiar with the brand, we’re going to give an overview of Tom Ford so you can get an idea of what exactly you’d be investing in if you settle on one of its colognes.
Tom Ford, the man behind the brand, is the kind of classy character you’d expect to see in a James Bond film. As a fashion designer, he has top credentials, having worked for both Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent before as a creative director, no less. During his stint at the fashion giant Gucci, Ford managed to completely turn things around and make the company what it is today. This shows that he not only has an in-depth knowledge of the fashion industry and what works, but he also has an incredible financial nouse. It also lets you know that he knows his stuff when it comes to creating clothes fit for the most formal of occasions.
His clientele has ranged from big name celebrities to Hollywood actors, and just about everyone in between. Upholding his reputation as a fantastic brand for men’s designer fashion, Tom Ford designed several suits for Daniel Craig. That’s right, this is the brand behind three of James Bond’s very own suits. If that doesn’t give you confidence in the brand and its aptitude for the masculine lifestyle, then I’m not sure what will. The fashion designer also worked with other big names like Will Smith, Hugh Jackman, and Superman himself: Henry Cavill.
Tom Ford even managed to land a cameo in a song by Jay Z, which is named after the fashion designer. As you might imagine, this skyrocketed sales and placed the spotlight on the brand as one of the leading men’s fashion brands. He has also personally been awarded a whole host of titles by fashion publications due to his sense of style, such as the Guardian and the British GQ. This praise has lead to his widely-acknowledged status as a style icon, a title which carries a lot of weight.
As if that wasn’t enough, he also went on to direct several Academy-Award-nominated films. While this might not have much to do with the brand’s ventures into creating various cologne collections, it gives you an idea of the kind of lifestyle the brand embodies.
If anything, the colognes of Tom Ford are the ultimate supplement to the elegant clothing lines and sharp accessories. If you want to feel like a suave gentleman, then you need the whole package. It isn’t enough to just have the suit or the fancy pair of shades, you need a suitably elegant aroma to match too. The colognes live up to the lifestyle too, they certainly aren’t mere afterthoughts. This sentiment was expressed by the man himself too, who once claimed that he would rather be without his elegant clothes than a pleasant aroma.
In fact, Tom Ford’s colognes have been a staple in all the big stores for many years, due to their overwhelming popularity amongst men. It’s rare to find a well-dressed gentleman who hasn’t at least tried a Tom Ford fragrance once or twice, such is its ubiquity.
What’s great about each Tom Ford cologne is that they all have their own distinct aromas and each evoke a different personality or style. He describes how he wants to evoke a ‘sophisticated sex appeal’ through his brand, and this is characterises as much by the clothes as it is by the colognes. There’s the exotic Extreme fragrance that’s for the cigar-smoking man who enjoys the good life, and the Tuscan leather fragrance that provides all the class of an Italian gentleman with a subtle and surprising twist in the form of raspberry.
Italy comes up in a lot of Tom Ford’s colognes, with ingredients like Italian fig, truffle, and Tuscan leather taking centre stage in some of the more popular fragrances. This makes sense because the fashion designer lived in Italy for a period of time in the 90s, so his sense of style and smell must have been shaped by his time spent in the country known for its fashion.
Tom Ford Cologne Categories
Tom Ford is known as a (mostly expensive) designer brand, but it offers colognes to suit every budget.
This is reflected in the two large collections: Private Blend and Signature. Within these two collections you’ll find several smaller lines of colognes, so there should be something not only for every budget but also for every taste.
Collections
Private Blend. The private blend collection is for the luxury, adventurous colognes. In this group you’ll find a whole host of different aromas, each with its own distinct smell profile designed to allure and entice. Some of the most common aromas are leather, black violet, and tobacco. Each of which should leave a lasting impression on whomever happens to walk past and get a whiff.
Signature. The signature collection is for the established, popular colognes which are enjoyed by many. The colognes that fall into this category are more suited to casual, everyday use, and can quickly become your new staple fragrances if that’s what you’re looking for. The colognes that belong to this collection are more affordable, but still offer intoxicating scents for every preference.
Groups
Noir. The first group, or mini collection, offered by Tom Ford is called Noir. This title refers to a series of 4 scents called Noir, Extreme, Anthracite, and Noir Eau de Toilette. Each of these fragrances is different from the last, and each offers up bold aromas that are perfect for the classy black suit and tie wearing gentleman. Some common scents include wood, spices, and citrus notes.
Oud. Oud refers to a series of wood-based fragrances, which are hugely popular among Tom Ford’s customer base. Oud Wood, which we singled out as the third choice option cologne, has been very positively received, and is also available as a beard oil and shower gel. Other fragrances in this series of note include the tobacco oud which offers a smoky fragrance, and the oud fleur which offers a floral scent.
Porto fino. The portofino range of scents encompasses a series of very aromatic, fruity colognes. The fleur de portofino is a highlight of the range, and the neroli portofino acqua is a great option too.
Know Your Notes
You can’t expect to find the right cologne for you if you don’t know your notes.
You might be wondering what exactly a note is, and how you can use that information to your advantage.
Well, when it comes to colognes, there are three notes to every fragrance. There’s a top note, a medium note, and a base note.
The notes of the cologne will take turns, and sometimes overlap, to deliver a complex aroma which changes gradually over time. If you have the chance, it is even worth heading down to your nearest department store or perfume shop, so you can put this knowledge into practise. The various notes come through at different stages, and this is important to know since you might end up just investing in a cologne based on the initial top note, which might not be a wise strategy as it’s so short-lived.
Top
The top note of a cologne is what you will smell straight away. This scent can last anywhere up to a few hours, or as briefly as 15 minutes.
This is the first impression you, and the people around you, get when you wear the cologne. As a result, you want something that will entice the senses and provoke a sense of curiosity as to what else is underneath the initial intoxicating aroma.
Common Aromas: Fruit, citrus, floral, powder, spices.
Medium
The medium note is the body of the fragrance, and will last a while. As a result, this is quite possibly the most important scent to focus on as you make your purchase decision.
This scent will come through once the top note has subsided, and will stick around for the duration that the aroma lasts on your skin. It is usually meant to lift up the base note.
The medium note can hang around for anywhere between 3 and 5 hours, and often compliments or overlaps with the top note.
Common Aromas: Grass, wood, spices, musk.
Base
The base note is the scent that comes through long after you’ve applied the cologne. This note will last between 5 and 10 hours, and tends to consist of a strong, bold aroma.
This is the essence of the cologne, and along with the medium note will shape what you smell as you wear the cologne.
Common Aromas: Tobacco, leather, sandalwood, musk, vanilla.
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Preferred Aromas
Now you know your notes, it’s worth thinking about which aromas you prefer, so you can make an informed decision.
Especially if you’re going in blind, that is to say you don’t have the opportunity to smell the cologne beforehand, then you want to be sure that it’s a fragrance you can get behind.
There are a wide range of aromas you can expect to find in colognes, and Tom Ford is very adventurous in the scents that they use in their products, so nothing is out of the question.
The following are some of the most popular aromas, and are found in Tom Ford’s colognes:
Leatherwood
Leatherwood is a scent extracted from a tree called eucryphia lucida, which resides in the rainforest.
The scent can be best described as a fresh floral scent with a strong hint of honey.
Amber
Amber is a term used in the fragrance industry for a scent that is both warming and musky.
It is sweet like honey, yet has a grounded earthy scent to it too. It can be a great compliment for any wood-heaven fragrance.
Vetiver
Vetiver is an aroma like citronella which has several defining characteristics.
It is earthy and woody, while also smoky and warming.
Leather
Leather is a traditional masculine scent enjoyed by many, and used in a wide variety of colognes.
It has an earthy smell that can also be quite sweet in tone.
Vanilla
Vanilla is an excellent aroma to compliment and finish off a variety of colognes.
It is sweet and mild, it also has a somewhat floral character.
Wood
Wood is used in many colognes, and can take on many scent profiles.
It can be a very pleasant fragrance to have as it balances out the more floral, sweet notes that may be present. It also goes well with spices and citrus notes.
Budget
What you’ll have to pay to get your hands on a Tom Ford cologne doesn’t have to break the bank. They range from double digit figures to triple digits. From the affordable to the premium price tag, there is something for every budget.
While most of the designer brand’s colognes tend to be more expensive, there are cheaper options which still give you all of the masculine scent you could ever ask for.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Tom Ford’s Cologne
Which is the best Tom Ford fragrance?
The best Tom Ford fragrance could well be Tuscan leather, since it combines a range of exotic ingredients to make for an exciting aroma.
The subtle note of raspberry is the cherry on top with this fragrance though, as it cuts through the leather to provide a pleasantly sweet complimentary note.
What is the best Tom Ford aftershave?
In our opinion, the best Tom Ford aftershave is the Noir Extreme cologne.
We think Noir Extreme is best because it offers up a cocktail of bold scents which evokes imagery of foreign lands and luxurious lifestyles.
It combines a variety of sumptuous ingredients ranging from cinnamon bark and Persian lemon to truffle and Italian fig.
Why is Tom Ford so expensive?
Tom Ford is a designer fashion brand that offers luxury clothing and fragrance options.
Brands like Tom Ford offer high-quality products, and are free to charge high prices since it’s to do with status and how you are perceived by your peers.
If you’ve ever been to a Tom Ford store, you’ll know that it isn’t just empty claims about quality and luxury though, this is a brand that means business.
Everything about the brand oozes class and elegance, which, if you’re looking to elevate your style, should be a huge plus in its favour. If you don’t buy into it, or feel like the price tags are over-inflated, then it’s worth looking into the man behind the brand and then you’ll see that he knows exactly how to create exciting men’s fragrances and clothing.
Even if you don’t feel like you have the funds or the desire to fit in with a more elegant crowd, you can still get your hands on a fine fragrance in the form of one of Tom Ford’s colognes to feel like you’re playing the part.
A Final Word on Tom Ford Colognes
Tom ford is a top designer brand, specialising not only in clothes and accessories, but in exciting colognes and fragrances.
Whatever your style, there’ll be a cologne to match. Whether you prefer the fruity aromatic scent or the musky leather one you can find it in Tom Ford’s range of colognes.
