London by Tom Ford Review

I’ve had a sample vial of Tom Ford’s London, for the past six months or so, and just never got around to writing up my review of it. I’ve worn it a few times, in the intermediate time, and so have gathered my thoughts on this cent. As usual, I will cover what in this perfume, what it smells like, how it performs, and whether or not it’s actually worth a purchase.

What does London by Tom Ford Smell Like?

Notes include: black pepper, tobacco, oud, saffron, coriander, jasmine, cedar, birch, cardamom, coffee, cumin, and more

Click here to try: Tom Ford London Eau de Parfum Spray, 1.7 Ounce

My Full London Review

London opens up with a lot of warm spice and some oud, which will grow in strength later. The spice aren’t really sharp, but there’s just a wide variety of them. Particularly, I get black pepper, coriander, and cumin. It’s sort of like a spice rack, you’d find in your kitchen joined with some indistinct warmth, and wood notes.

A few minutes into the wear, I get a smokey incense note, surrounding plenty of the cumin and coriander. At this point, I’m not sure what to make of this fragrance. It’s not really pleasant, but I don’t totally hate it either. Pretty much, indifferent to London, completely.

It all comes together as very dark, warm, and spicy. Then, as it dries down, I get more of the oud with some of the tobacco. It does have some similarities as Tobacco Oud, but I think that Tom Ford is the better scent overall.

The final part of the wear is heavy with the oud, smokey incense, musk, jasmine, and the cedar note. It’s probably at its best, during this stage. Less spicy, less sillage, and just more of a subtle fragrance with a masculine edge. I’m still not completely on board with this perfume, but it’s much less annoying to my nose, at this point.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, the sillage is solidly strong at first, but not monstrous. Then, it comes down into a much more moderate scent. You won’t bomb out a room, but it’ll get noticed.

The performance is good overall, from the sillage to the longevity, which lasts somewhere in the 8-10 hour range. After testing the sample out a few times, it doesn’t go beyond 10 hours on my skin. Not the best of the best, but great.

When paying Tom Ford prices, this is much more important to me, than it otherwise might be. However, it’s up to snuff with how it performs.

Seasonally, I could only see wearing London during the autumn and winter months. It’s a cold weather scent, all the way. The heat would take this warm oud and spice mix and make it unbearable to wear. So, if you’re in a tropical climate, this isn’t for you.

London is a fragrance that you could wear to the office or out for an evening or formally. I wouldn’t call it sexy, it’s more of a masculine scent. More niche, than crowd pleasing.

Overall Impressions of London by Tom Ford

Overall do I like London by Tom Ford? Ehhh, it’s okay, but I don’t really enjoy it. I’ll never understand these high end designers, complete obsession with oud. It’s in like every damn scent they make.

Here it’s quite strong and when combine with coriander and pepper, it can kind of take on a body odor smell, at times. Not the whole way through, but there are definitely spots, where it’s not great to wear.

Again, this one is going to have a very limited appeal. Oud fans, who like lots of cumin and coriander? I guess, but for most of the rest of folks out there, London won’t be worth the price of admission.

Best Men's Colognes

Best Men’s Colognes started back in 2013, as a way to share my learning experiences with different fragrances, as I dove head first into the hobby. Since then, I have written hundreds of reviews and other pages about perfumes and colognes.