For today’s review, I am finally getting around to doing a full write up of Tobacco Vanille by Tom Ford. I am still getting through my reviews of fragrances from this designer and this is among the most highly regarded of the bunch. This one came out in 2007. But how does it actually smell? Does it have good performance? What are the ingredients?
What does Tobacco Vanille Smell Like?
Notes include: tobacco, vanilla, dried fruit accords, cocoa, tonka bean, wood sap, spices
Click here to try: Tom Ford Beauty Tobacco Vanille Private Blend Spray/3.4 oz.
My Full Review
Tobacco Vanille opens up with a lot of very sweet tobacco, vanilla, cocoa, and creamy tonka bean. It is loud and really sweet, which I think puts off many people from giving this a fair shake, because it can kind of be overwhelming at the start.
The sweetness is somewhat offset by a layer of unnamed spice, but from what I can tell is mostly cinnamon. It’s a warm enveloping cloud of tobacco and familiar gourmand notes.
One thing about the sweetness is that it has a dry and powdered quality to the aroma. The cocoa note smells like cocoa powder and the dried fruit accord provides a different type of sweet scent from that of the strong vanilla and cocoa.
As it dries down, it becomes less sugary sweet, and more of a rich and dark aroma. It’s a very thick fragrance, smooth overall, but notes like the wood sap give it a resinous undertone.
As it dries down, I get more of the tobacco as a stand alone, that is less drowned out by the gourmand notes. It’s a green leafy tobacco, not a cured and toasted one. This is surrounded by sap and spices.
Plus, the sweet combo of the cocoa and vanilla, which lend it a creamy powdery disposition. It’s pretty much what I get for the rest of the wear.
Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility
Projection wise, the sillage of Tobacco Vanille is really quite strong at first. It’ll stay that way for a few hours, but I’d put it on the upper edge of moderate for the rest of the wear. It isn’t a super bomb scent for the entire way, but it can hit hard at first.
Longevity is great. It’s an all day wear, and can hit double digit hours of wear, with only a couple of sprays. Probably in the 11-12 hour range, at its best.
This one has always stuck to my skin very well and kept going. I’m not sure everyone will experience the same, but it’s one of the best performing Tom Ford scents for me.
Seasonally, it’s a cold weather scent. Too much warmth and sweetness to be of use for me in the spring/summer, but it’s great when the temperatures drop. Very versatile, sexy enough to be worn out at night, but mature enough for office wear.
Doesn’t offend and gets positive reactions from people, as long as you’re not doing a crazy number of sprays. Also, it’s more masculine than anything, but it is still within the realm of being a unisex scent.
Overall Impressions of Tobacco Vanille
Overall, do I like Tobacco Vanille by Tom Ford? Yes, it is a very good tobacco based fragrance. The dry down period is my favorite part, because it doesn’t have the same in your face sweetness, but I cannot say that I totally dislike the opening either.
It is expensive, but this is one of the Tom Ford scents that has really great performance, while being pleasing to wear. If you live in a very humid climate, it might not be the best choice. Obviously, you’ll also need to like the smell of tobacco.
For me, this is one of the Tom Ford perfumes that I can and do enjoy. Though, it isn’t my favorite or one that I personally want to wear all of the time. Especially since, the autumn and winter is when I get to break out a whole host of other scents with a dark, sweet, spicy profile.
Other Tom Ford scents like: Noir Extreme and Parfum. Different high end stuff like Oajan, Angels’ Share and Chanel’s Egoiste.
So, I do recommend giving this one a try at least. But, I already have a glut of fragrances with a similar use case, and this one gets left out of the mix for me.
Best Men’s Colognes started back in 2013, as a way to share my learning experiences with the different fragrances that I’ve owned, as I dove head first into the hobby. Since then, that new hobby grew into a consistent passion, helping millions of readers along the way. I have personally test out and written reviews for well over 800 perfumes and colognes for both men and women. This is along with writing hundreds of other in-depth fragrance guides. You can also follow me on: YouTube, Instagram, and Tiktok!
– Guilty Black has the slight edge, in my opinion, as the best Gucci Guilty cologne. It doesn’t open with the same citrus top notes as the others, and instead has neroli and orange flower, to simulate that aroma but take it in a new direction.
– It is a tough choice to put Guilty Intense at number two, because I really do like this stuff. It shares the same lemon note, as the original Guilty Pour Homme, but tones it down and amps up the lavender and amber notes.
