Tom Ford Champaca Absolute Eau de Parfum

Now that the holidays are over, and the New Year is well under way, the question remains:  what perfume does one wear to keep the party going long after the last of the ornaments and choruses of Auld Lang Syne? Perhaps there is a winter wedding or you are planning a gathering in your home or meeting friends at a restaurant.  You want something celebratory, yet tasteful, and also something that has an edge to it.  You want options for an elegant house party or an all-night limo ride from bar to bar.  Your scent should carry within it all of these possibilities, while still containing enough of its own character to blend in anywhere you might end up.  For me, Tom Ford’s Champaca Absolute created in 2009 is the scent I’ll be wearing for the first few weeks of 2015.

The real trick to this opulent fruity floral fragrance is the opening notes of Tokaji wine, cognac and bergamot.  From the get go you know you’re wearing a scent meant to commemorate an event.  The wine and bergamot notes instantly bring to mind a tall flute of an exotic, expensive and very adult beverage – one that may have you teetering on your heels or swaying in your suit before long.

Art Deco Wine Painting Connoisseurs Party For Two By K Madison Moore Picture

But fear not – because the opening liqueur-ish notes are immediately escorted into a more sophisticated and sedate portion of the evening by a trio of jasmine, magnolia and champaca heart notes.  While I wear this scent, I imagine being taken by the hand by a woman in long white satin gloves, who’s whispering something about "How I Just HAVE To Meet So-and-So Standing across the Room, Dahling".    The champaca is the driver here – it’s airy, slightly minty, and suave – perfectly exotic in all the right ways for a night meant for celebrating.

Lovers Serenade a painting inspired by  K Madison Moore Picture

Finally, Tom Ford Champaca Absolute settles down into a sweet, balsamic base of sandalwood and amber – with both avoiding overt creaminess in favor of a light touch of sweetness.  Champaca Absolute is about style, chance meetings in hotel lobbies, and quick exits into waiting limousines.  Or perhaps just allowing your favorite people over to the house (maybe one of them looking for love and an introduction from the hostess).  It is a delight to wear, and  the first fragrance with the audacity to list Tokaji wine as a top note is definitely riding shotgun with me no matter where I end up even if it back at home with my wife, sipping a glass of wine.

Notes: Tokaji wine, cognac, bergamot, magnolia champaca, orchid, violet, jasmine, vanilla, amber, sandalwood and marron glacé

Disclosure: From my own collection

–Steve Johnson, Sr. Contributor