Champaca isn’t a flower that I had heard of, or even smelled before, so Tom Ford’s Champaca Absolute wasn’t on my radar. But I had time to kill at Holt Renfrew one day and ended up at the Tom Ford Counter smelling all the perfumes. And I wasn’t feeling any of them, but then the sales associate, who knew her stuff, offered me Champaca Absolute. You’re going to love it, she said.
And so I got this scent for my 30th birthday – so I’ve had it for a while, but haven’t ever reviewed it.
Champaca Absolute is unlike anything I’ve smelled before. Champaca is part of the magnolia family, and this scent is very magnolia forward. Top notes are: bergamot, cognac, greenwood, but I don’t really smell any of that. Maybe the warmth of the cognac, but there isn’t much bergamot in the opening which is a relief.
The middles notes are orchid, violet, champaca and jasmine, and really it’s a mix of champaca and cognac that you smell for the first hour or so. The drydown is vanilla, amber, sandalwood, and marron glace. The vanilla and amber give a bit of sweetness to the floral notes in the middle, and the sandalwood is super subtle.
The scent is fresh, floral, and powdery all at the same time. It smells unlike anything else I own, and have ever smelled, and I have a lot of perfume. There’s tons of lasting powder and one spray gives me waves of scent all day.
Tom Ford perfumes are expensive – but unique and this one is totally worth it.
$290 for 50mL.
