Tom Ford White Suede: Leather Made Feminine

I feel the need to apologize for flooding you with Tom Ford propaganda this past 2 weeks… it is by no means an attempt at subliminal messaging (except perhaps I’ve fallen victim of it!)… or worse a complete brand sellout. Although selling myself to Mr Ford does not quite seem like such a bad thing to do. And rather than postponing this by yet another week just for the sake of giving things some breathing room, I really want to share with you this fragrance that I’ve been loving so much lately that I simply can’t bear to wear anything else!

Tom Ford White Suede was originally launched as part of the White Musk Collection in 2009, with a white and gold colored packaging. It was later integrated into the Private Blend family with the mahogany packaging, and whilst there are some whispers floating around that the brew was also reformulated, I can’t verify that since I never had a whiff of the original. The flacon that I have today has been part of the permanent collection for awhile now, but only very recently made available in Singapore.  Which is the reason why I am only now singing its praises.

To say that I love White Suede is a little of an understatement… this particular fragrance has awoken something in me that I never knew existed. The name on its own is somewhat pedestrian, and I’m not normally a musk kind of gal. At first spray, a beguiling cloud of fragrant flowers drew me irresistibly into their embrace. Lily-of-the-valley and Rose, oh those 2 sweet innocents, they did a kind of fairy dance laced with a dash of saffron like a warm summer’s eve. The warmth builds and the initial floral burst starts to retreat to reveal the sensual suede at the heart of it all. There is a kind of amber-led oriental feel to White Suede, but instead of going where most other floral-musk combinations inevitably end up, I suddenly find myself face-to-face with leather laced tight as a corset.

Leather was something that I had always loved, on handbags and shoes. But my encounter with Tuscan Leather left me convinced that this was a fragrance note that was best reserved for the gents. Add in a dash of spice or citrus, a very sexy man awaits. But on me, leather generally left me feeling as if I’ve been run over and left with skid marks all over my face. And so I was completely bowled over when I found the leather in White Suede to be soft and supple.  There is still that unmistakable dry and leathery quality, but it is intoxicating, wafting in and out of the musk medley, enforced by sandalwood and amber.

White Suede has been described by many as powdery, but I think that is more an illusion of a dry sort of floral rather than the honeyed variety.  It is both feminine and masculine, a perfect harmony.  And that is precisely the balance that I have been craving – taking a traditionally male fragrance note and making it my own.  Tom Ford has created something that is very clean and modern with White Suede, and yet one that has a very strong and distinct personality.  Although it does not have a strong projection, White Suede has impressive longevity, staying on me for 6 hours before starting to fade gently.

_{This post featured a product that was kindly provided for my consideration.  Regardless, all opinions expressed here are my own honest and unbiased views.}