Tom Ford — Oud Wood
Another masterpiece perfume killed by reformulation
Tom Ford Oud Wood, launched in 2007, is a part of the exclusive Tom Ford Private Blend collection. Created by perfumer Richard Herpin, this fragrance represents Tom Ford’s vision of making an oud fragrance more accessible and wearable for Western audiences, compared to the traditional, more challenging pure oud oils. Oud Wood artfully blends a synthetic recreation of oud with warm spices, rosewood, tonka bean, and a sweet amber accord.
It opens with cardamom and Sichuan Pepper, giving way to the oud accord with its leathery and woody notes. The oud is balanced with creamy sandalwood notes and fresh-floral linalool, the most prominent compound in rosewood. The sweet base contains tonka (coumarin), amber (vanilla and labdanum), and musks.
While the fragrance has been widely considered a masterpiece and a trailblazer, introducing the West to the oud scent profile, fans of the original have complained that the 2017 reformulation is too sweet, generic, and mainstream. There are also many complaints about its weak performance. It has lost the dark, mysterious character that made Oud Wood so alluring and unique. The oud is less authentic, and the increased vanilla and tonka bean notes make it resemble other popular fragrances.
