Velvet Orchid is the eau de parfum Tom Ford launched in 2014, a floral, softer counterpart to Black Orchid. Antoine and Shyamala Maisondieu, Calice Becker and Yann Vasnier made it an oriental floral: bergamot, honey and rum in the top, orchid, rose and jasmine at the heart, Peru balsam, myrrh, suede and vanilla in the base.
The Candy Perfume Boy likes this well-executed floriental, less daring than other Signature scents; ÇaFleureBon finds it more refined than Black Orchid and Gaia praises its drydown, while Elisa Gabbert, on Bois de Jasmin, finds only a sweet, artificial fragrance.
What critics say
The Candy Perfume Boy, July 2014
The blogger finds Velvet Orchid very enjoyable, a well-executed floriental that nods to Black Orchid without copying it, in a more dressed-down version suited to hot days. Yet he finds it less distinctive and less bold than other fragrances in the Signature collection.
ÇaFleureBon, August 2014
Nancy, the blog’s beauty editor, initially put off by an opening of citrus and magnolia, is won over by a creamy heart and a spicy base. She finds it more glamorous than several Private Blend scents: of Tom Ford’s orchids, Velvet Orchid would be the tiger that purrs.
The Non-Blonde, November 2014
Gaia, not sold at first, finds the opening so close to Black Orchid that she wonders why a new fragrance was needed. The drydown, richer with myrrh, suede and honey, wins her over: more mohair than velvet, Velvet Orchid is worth trying but not essential for Black Orchid owners.
Bois de Jasmin, December 2014
Elisa Gabbert gives it just one star: a big candy note in the opening, a sweet, artificial flower, a generic balsamic base that reminds her of hair products. She finds it thinner than Robert Piguet’s Fracas, whose style it echoes.
More perfumes from Tom Ford
Also composed by Yann Vasnier
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- GabardineBurberry
- Whisky & CedarwoodJo Malone
Also composed by Calice Becker
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- J’adoreChristian Dior
- L'Air du Temps Nuit PourpreNina Ricci
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