I am not an impulse buyer. So before I spend $$$ on a parfum, I did some extensive research. First, I knew I wanted to have a Tom Ford because of his reputation in making parfum. Then I narrowed down the choices to the 5 most preferred private blends by online reviewers. Then I bought .5ml sample for each. After trying them one by one, my husband made the choice for me: Noir de Noir, but my favorite is Amber Absolute.Vanilla Tobacco is really sweet and nice, with straight forward vanilla tabacco notes. Vanilla is sweet and yummy. The tabacco smells like Turkish tobacco: sweet and sexy. I can imagine that whoever wears this could be quite irresistible. This is one of my favorite. However, compared to Noir de Noir, I feel that it lacks a bit complexity. It is a bit straight forward Vanilla and tobacco.From my research and trial, I find that parfum is very personal, and you have to try it in person. It is better to try it at home and wear it once or twice before you buy it at a store. The 5 scents I tried:- Noir de Noir: complex, sweet, lovely scent. Not overwhelmingly floral, not overpowering, and not sharp/edgy. This is my husband's favorite when I wear it.- Vanilla Tobacco- Amber Absolute: Unique, herbal. Stronger than Noir de Noir. Initially, I couldn't stand Amber Absolute. It smelled to me like Chinese medicine box. But then I am totally in love with it. It is very unusual. It has a very unique dried herb fragrance and very complex. It reminds me of the fragrance in the air in Big Sur, CA or Mono Lake, CA when the flowers and plants are drying in fall. The fragrance is not floral, not particularly sexy or feminine.- Tuscan leather: couldn't stand it, very leathery.- Neroli Portofino: didn't like it at all. Just like some reviewers said, it smells like Tide.

Cinnamon, sassafras, vanilla and the smell of very rich pipe tobacco. Imagine walking into an exclusive English men's club in the early 20th century, completer with leather chairs, a fire and the carved oak walls and ceilings and what it might have smelled like- Or the smell of a seaport store room in that same age- full of rich spices from Tahiti mixed with the finest Virginia tobacco leaves. Imagine the smell of your grandfather's winter wool coat. This new Tom Ford fragrance defines a new type of fragrance sent that evokes these types of memories. It is a serious fragrance that balances the pleasure of vanilla with the provocative character of pipe tobacco.

Smells nice but only for the right man at the right place. It's a sophisticated, classy upscale scent. A blue collar worker or teenage Abercrombie/Hollister, Yeti Cooler and light bar kind of guy couldn't pull it off (Stick with Polo Red or Abercrombie Fierce if you're in that category). It would confuse everyone. The kind of guy that pulls this cologne off is either in a suit, nice dress shirt and slacks or womanizer grandpa during the fall and winter. Never wear this in the summer or in a t-shirt, shorts and flip flops because my brain will hurt from the confusion. You can either say it smells like a sweet cigar or root-beer, both are valid descriptions for this scent. It lasts all day!

This cologne is a keeper! My wife loves it also. When we go out everyone asks what I'm wearing. It's a little pricey, but 1 spray lasts all day. I'll buy it again.