Oud Minérale (2023) by Tom Ford

It smells like Betadine mixed with clean oud and a touch of rose when dry. A very interesting and different combination.

I’ve tried hundreds of perfumes and never thought it would happen to me, but this gave me the heebie-jeebies. Literally horrible.

It’s my favorite Tom Ford. On my skin, it highlights that musk base alongside the aquatic wood. Pure niche, with great longevity and trail. Looks distinguished and serious; not for everyone, and don’t buy it blindly. Unisex, though with more masculine character.

As a woman, I love it. My surroundings can’t handle it, but it’s incredible. At first, it’s strong and dark, but with heat and humidity, unique marine notes emerge. The oud is soft and clings to your skin all day. The next day, it lingers on clothes and pillows. Elegant and playful, only for those who know how to choose themselves.

It doesn’t really smell like the sea as they say. The opening is soft, earthy, and damp oud, with reminiscences of a refined WO/02. It’s very similar to a Zara perfume called WO/02. If you’re looking for salt and sea, try Megamare; this is more mineral with a touch of oud.

At first it seems like a challenge, but in reality, it’s very pleasant within its category of clean, soapy scents; it brings freshness. I wished the amber dry-down was more pronounced to add some sweetness, but overall it’s excellent. It won’t get you compliments, but you’ll stand out for being distinctive. It demands you dress well to match the aroma and create harmony. Good longevity and moderate projection.

Nothing to add that hasn’t been said before. A peculiar scent that might seem ‘ugly’ or ‘weird’ at first, but after a few minutes, it starts to reveal the quality and elegance it possesses. A very different scent from the conventional, but I absolutely love it. Good projection and longevity.

My favorite Tom Ford along with Costa Azzurra: you either love or hate this scent. The dry-down is the best. Try it out, because salty notes don’t suit everyone, but I’ve received great compliments that I smell good and different, mostly from girls, not guys xD. Something I like: some people seem to enjoy receiving compliments from men, hehe. Another thing: those who say it resembles Encre Noir Sport really don’t know where to put their noses, nothing alike. Maybe an Encre perfume, but nothing alike. Anyway, a gem for collectors.

Honestly, I didn’t like this. Unfortunately, I tried it several times, never with a good result. The quality doesn’t come through, at least not like other TFs, and the price is high. It’s not very complex: just salt and some oud with musk and a touch of pink pepper. It’s quite linear, lasts a good seven or eight hours before starting to fade on the skin. Not my style, maybe a bit bold, for fans of that type of aroma.

How curious, it’s Carner Barcelona’s Costarela with Oud. Both perfumes are by the same perfumer (Shyamala Maisondieu), and I imagine they used the formula from the first one. It’s a magnificent perfume, very masculine, and in my case extremely long-lasting, about 12-15 hours or so, with good projection the whole time. This makes me think of buying it; it works very well on me. A fresh, mineral oud accord mixed with a salty sea breeze scent, all without losing the woody character that makes it so masculine. One of the best designer releases in recent years (it wasn’t even that hard to pull off). As I said, if anyone wants to try a more unisex or feminine version, try Costarela.

This fragrance is something unusual in the designer world, something Tom Ford manages to achieve with almost all his releases. It’s in my small group of favorites. It has a strong, heavy scent; if you’re looking for longevity and projection, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. The scent isn’t common and may not appeal to everyone; it’s highly polarizing, generating both terrible reviews and great praise. It opens with aquatic and salty notes accompanied by very dominant seaweed and small traces of wood and oud. This initial marine sensation usually isn’t liked. As it dries down, the seaweed loses prominence, giving way to a woody character where the oud dominates, adding sophistication and making it more wearable while maintaining the aquatic and salty base. It evokes stories, reminding me of a mineral cave on the shore between sea and desert, surrounded by seaweed dragged by waves, with saline minerals, sand, and an old ship oxidized by salt. I recommend it to those who like aged marine scents and collectors looking to convey stories.

I just picked up Oud Minerale at the beach and want to share my impressions. In the end, this is subjective, but I get a smell of the sea (salt), something green (seaweed), and woody (oud). It’s a combination that sounds unattractive at first, but it’s the opposite. The scent is addictive; you spray your arm and find yourself constantly smelling it. It’s unique; I haven’t heard anything like it, and neither has the people around me. I saw a YouTube review saying it was unique but that they couldn’t see an occasion to wear it; I disagree. You can wear it on a hot beach day or night, semi-formal, and even with a suit (though there might be better options). Longevity is 8-10 hours on skin (beating Ombre Leather EDP), projecting well for 3-4 hours and lasting on clothes until the next day. It’s not a blind buy if you’re new to perfumes, but if you already have an all-occasion perfume, I highly recommend it as an essential. I used it at home to test it, and I’ll update you soon on how it performs when worn out and the compliments I receive.

But now, only love can bring me down. In some way, love must bring me down. I became a fan of the tambourine player. No, not me, not me. -The Chameleons. TF Oud Minérale 2023 is back to stay. The first time I encountered it in 2017, my head exploded; its unconventional combination fell in love with me from the very first moment: seaweed, styrax, and pepper create an incredibly addictive scene. Later, they pulled it from the market and tried to relaunch it under the Resort collection, which was a disaster, transmitting a plastic and unpleasant artificial sensation. Fortunately, its 2023 renewal arrived with the bottle included, respecting its original formula a bit more. We appreciate the opening with its characteristic salinity mixed with oily touches, giving way to a very particular pepper and woody note (very westernized oud), to finally linger on the skin with that dry salty feeling in the sun. TF OM isn’t for everyone; I’m not saying that pejoratively; it’s for very particular and defined tastes. If you have the luck like me that it fits your personality, congratulations, you found your signature! It has suffered a bit in longevity with each reformulation, but it still stands strong, fighting for 5+ hours. It’s definitely worth knowing, whether you like it or not. In my case, I’m very grateful it returned to the market at a much more comfortable price than its original Private Line version (which I happily paid when I found a bottle in someone’s hands who didn’t like it). Within my collection, it’s the only one I’m afraid they’ll discontinue again, my absurd reason for buying and accumulating bottles. And if it happens in the end, I’ll live happily knowing I experienced heaven for a couple of hours.

Oud Minérale is a fragrance that surprises from the first application. What strikes me most is its unmistakable quality, but it’s hard to define exactly what it smells like. This mystery generates uncertainty: you know it smells good, but you can’t describe it precisely, which is strange because you don’t know very well what you’re smelling. For me, it feels like a summer walk along the waterfront, with a freshly ironed shirt. It combines freshness, cleanliness, and a marine touch that intertwine in an intriguing way. It doesn’t fit into a specific category; it’s a sensory experience. It remains peculiar; imagine they tell you: ‘hey, you smell like a freshly ironed shirt from the port of Santorini.’ It’s ideal for those looking for something beyond the conventional, projecting mystery and sophistication without falling into the typical. Oud Minérale is for the non-conformists, those who enjoy the luxury of the indefinable.

It’s a scent you won’t smell anything even remotely similar to anyone else; it evokes drifting woods, aged wood, and very salty for me. It blew my mind, and I bought it. In a short time, it has become one of my favorites. Being a very particular perfume, it has the seal of elegance and sophistication of Tom Ford. Regarding performance, I don’t have especially good skin, and with two sprays, my wife told me at 12 hours that she could perceive me perfectly. In my case, it behaves like a beast. Occasions to use: being such a particular scent makes it versatile; it has enough weight to use it in cold seasons, but the salty marine touches make it summery (if it’s not too hot). I give it a 10/10.