Still Life with Frankincense by Melville Holmes (1995)

As we head to the halfway point in the year I was realizing that I hadn’t seen a new perfume from one of my favorite perfumers so far. Almost as soon as I had that thought a package showed up with the new Tom Ford Signature Collection Sahara Noir inside. I was excited because in the press materials accompanying my sample this was described by Tom Ford as, “Sahara Noir is rich and exotic; it wraps the balsamic, incense-touched notes of frankincense in gold and honey-coloured light.” for once Mr. Ford’s description is spot on as I took my initial sniff and spritz, I thought this is a frankincense “soliflore” in the middle of a desert. I then wondered who the perfumer was and I had a lot of ideas in my head. When the press office got back to me with an answer to my query I couldn’t have been more surprised when it turned out to be Rodrigo Flores-Roux.

Rodrigo Flores-Roux

Sr. Flores-Roux is one of my favorite perfumers and the main reason is because he has a deep intimate relationship with the floral and citrus “colors” of the perfumer’s palette. He has coaxed more nuances and depths out of those two sectors than, arguably, any other perfumer. He has done woody and even woody orientals in the past but the great majority of his oeuvre is citrus or floral themed fragrances. In fact Sr. Flores-Roux had only rarely used frankincense in the 82 fragrances he had created. To choose him as the perfumer on a fragrance meant to wrap frankincense in “gold and honey-coloured light” seems like it might be asking Martin Scorsese to make a romantic comedy. Talented artists can create no matter what but they definitely have their strengths and I would have said that an incense perfume would not have been one of Sr. Flores-Roux’s strengths. I should’ve considered that an artist will take the unfamiliar and bring new vision to the way it is seen and perhaps accentuate a part of the note that others might have become oblivious to. In Sahara Noir Sr. Flores-Roux has taken one of the highest quality extracts of frankincense and created a still life where both he and the wearer are asked to examine it from all sides.

Model: Lais Ribeiro

As a Senior Perfumer at Givaudan, Sr. Flores-Roux has access to their proprietary Orpur essences which are the jewels in the Givaudan crown as far as raw materials go. The expense of using these is why there are, usually, not more than one in a fragrance. In Sahara Noir there are two Orpur essences in use, the first is the opening note of cistus. This radiates a sunlight infused amber quality and it is surrounded by grace notes of orange, calamus, and cypress. These latter three are easily overlooked as the cistus is so rich and mesmerizing it is hard to take one’s senses and focus them elsewhere. Then the Orpur essence frankincense arrives and this amber and frankincense duet truly begins to soar as this forms the core of Sahara Noir and it lasts all the way to the end. Throughout the rest of the development it is like other notes come and go as a way of examining this frankincense. First a pinch of cinnamon adds some heat to the cool resinous core. Oud slides into view and out almost as quickly. Rose and jasmine make a foray across the senses and bring out the slight floralcy evident in the best frankincense. Beeswax evokes the honeyed aspect Mr. Ford spoke of wanting. Finally at the end what is left to admire are the two central notes of cistus and frankincense together creating a fantastic perfume.

Sahara Noir has overnight longevity and above average sillage.

I have seen some compare Sahara Noir to the discontinued Tom Ford Private Blend Amber Absolute and after comparing the two side-by-side I can’t even think to see why the comparison is being made. Amber Absolute was a strong smoky amber and incense fragrance which was almost too forceful. Sahara Noir is the opposite of this as Sr. Flores-Roux created a much more mannered composition and this is as a consequence much easier to wear. I love frankincense and many of my personal favorites are frankincense centered perfumes. Sr. Flores-Roux has composed a frankincense still life that will sit next to those favorites and enhance my enjoyment of frankincense for years to come.

Disclosure: This review was based on a sample provided by Tom Ford Beauty.

–Mark Behnke, Managing Editor