The latest fragrance release from designer Tom Ford is Orchid Soleil, a new addition to the designer's Signature Collection of feminine fragrances and a flanker to 2006's Black Orchid. I have to admit that I didn't really care for Black Orchid, nor for Violet Blonde. Something about Tom Ford fragrances just doesn't "fit" me. But I received a sample vial of Orchid Soleil with a recent makeup purchase, so why not give it a try, right?
Orchid Soleil's composition of bitter orange, pink pepper, cypress, tuberose, black orchid, spider lily, vanilla, chestnut cream accord and patchouli supposedly "captures the seductive warmth and reflective bare skin of the Tom Ford woman." Since I'm apparently not "the Tom Ford woman," I was surprised to find that I enjoyed it more than its sister scents. It has a heady white floral heart that smells (to me) more like frangipani than tuberose. It's not an animalic floral note like a true tuberose could be, but it's still fairly attention-getting. I'm also getting hints of sunny neroli surrounding the white florals and a (very) slightly dirty, patchouli-inflected musk underneath.
Orchid Soleil has noticeable sillage and good staying power, and its "rose gold" bottle is certainly eye-pleasing. However, it isn't as closely related to Black Orchid as you might expect if you're a Black Orchid fan. Instead, it reminds me strongly of Guerlain Terracotta's creamy tropical flowers and musky vanilla, with the addition of a metallic, slightly mentholated edge; it also feels "related" to the cult classic Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse.
Allure magazine recently described Orchid Soleil as "the sexiest, most sophisticated sunscreen on the world's sexiest, sophisticated (and likely naked) woman."1 Vague adjectives like "sexy" and "sophisticated" in perfume copy always make me yawn and roll my eyes; on the other hand, they fit here. Orchid Soleil isn't groundbreaking, and it isn't "me," but if the above description appeals to you, give it a try. You might be more of a "Tom Ford woman" than I am.
Tom Ford Orchid Soleil is available as 30 ml ($82), 50 ml ($120) and 100 ml ($168) Eau de Parfum. The Tom Ford Signature Collection is widely available at department stores.
1. Allure, "Best of Beauty: Scent," October 2016, p. 229.
I wear Black Orchid from time to time, as I got a huge bottle as a gift. I like to only wear it in the crook of my elbow where it heats up fastest. I do find it’s the perfect for for a woman in her 20’s with perfect skin, a $100 updo, and a gala dress cut both high and low. It’s perversely fun to wear.
I have tried Orchid Soleil on a card twice. I might be ready for a skin test. 🙂
“Perversely fun” would be a good tagline for the TF line! and do give Orchid Soleil a skin test — it “blooms” really nicely with the warmth.
I enjoyed your review Jessica! First, I’ll admit that I’m a big Tom Ford perfume fan. There are only a few that I dislike, and many that I love! Recently I had an interesting conversation with a TF sales associate. He felt that OS was very similar to Black Orchid layered with Soleil Blanc. He then sprayed them on a card and had me take a sniff. He was right. I think OS is a perfect big white floral for the heat of the summer. So I will fight the temptation battle next year!????
Yes, I completely agree – to me it smells like a mix of Soleil Blanc and Black Orchid. I don’t wear these on their own (I like but don’t love Black Orchid and might love Soleil Blanc but it’s too weak), but I am considering a bottle of Orchid Soleil for next summer.
I’ll have to try that combination next time I’m near a Tom Ford counter! Maybe I’d prefer Soleil Blanc. Thanks!
The rose gold shade bottle is certainly pretty to be displayed on the vanity!
I was expecting a darker, more velvety scent when I first read the list – chestnut cream, black orchid, tuberose.. It turned out to be much “easier” than anything else – tuberose can be too much for me sometimes so I was glad to see one that’s tolerable.
It does sound a little “deeper” than it is — it’s actually v wearable, although maybe more fitting for a party than for the office!
I really can’t wear tuberose soliflores — I’ve tried, over and over! 🙁
I’m the proud owner of a bottle!
I love it.
I smell a very realistic Tuberose (I planted them on my balcony a couple of years ago, to know what the flower in my favorite perfumes smells like!) plus a surprisingly realistic gardenia…all the way down to the gourmand-chemical odd dissonant addicting base. It’s fun, it’s tuberose, it’s gardenia…I love it! It’s strange but I find it so easy to wear…go figure! No other beachy scent smells like this. It’s tuberose criminelle meets velvet gardenia meets vanilla on black orchid’s base, plus something department-storish far away! Yay!The cheap white musk? They were left on the beach. Going to spray some on right now. Brave brave launch.
Definitely no cheap white musk here!!
The white-floral-plus-menthol part definitely reminded me of Serge Lutens Tuberose Criminelle, too!
Orchid Soleil was included with a handful of other perfume samples from a recent Sephora order I placed, and I made the mistake of testing it alongside some of these other perfumes. It will clearly need its own arm, need to be tested alone and probably in warmer weather because the first impression I got was Black Orchid goes to the beach and I didn’t know how I felt about it.
The Black Orchid flankers I’ve tried haven’t necessarily grabbed me (still need to try Velvet Orchid) but maybe not having any other competing scents around will let OS shine more faborably next time around. It was just kind of strange to me as I don’t typically think of wearing Black Orchid to the beach, so the cliché sunscreen scent combined with hints of the original left me a bit baffled. 🙂
If it’s a “beach” scent, it’s definitely meant for lounging glamorously in a very expensive swimsuit on a private boat, not for more mundane beach activities!! lol.
Everything that Zazie said!Lol!I also do get immense joy from Orchid Soleil!Sooo easy to wear,really!AND I AM A GUY…lol.Really interested in Laura’s suggestion of layering it with Soleil Blanc which I also purchased on the day!(Yes Donatella,I did…)Sounds like a fun even more beachy layering option!Nice review as always Jessica!X
I’d like to smell this on a guy — the results could be very interesting!! So glad it gave you joy — that’s the real point of perfume, right? 🙂
I liked this one, too. I got a lot of lily out of it as well as the tuberose. Kind of in a quandary as to whether I prefer OS or Guerlain AA Lys Soleia. Wonder if anyone else has thoughts.
I also got a strong lily note in it, which is what I liked about it. Can’t speak to the Guerlain since I haven’t tried it.
For me, definitely lily rather than tuberose…although it still cries out “tiare” to me, too!
This has been on my mind recently. I did not like this at all when I tried it, but I am willing to give it another try when I visit the mall again just to make sure. I was hoping it would be a little sweet or smell like sunscreen but alas no. I was quite surprised because I really like his other orchid scents.
If it doen’st work for you, there are still plenty of other good alternatives! Try Terracotta for something a little sweeter, or Bond no 9 Fire Island for fancy sunscreen!
Yes to Fire Island and Terracotta – I like both of those better than Orchid Soleil.
Thank you!
Thank you for the recommendations!
I bought a bottle of Black Orchid Voile de Fleur years ago accidentally, thinking it was the original. I loved it and immediately got a backup bottle. Your review of OS sounds right up my alley and I will pick up a sample. I actually DO need another beach scent besides my old standby Coty’s Sand & Sable.
I wish they still made VdF! When my boyfriend bought me my Black Orchid bottle, he was shocked that it smelled different from when he last smelled it, despite the same bottle. I’m convinced he loved VdF but I’m not sure any bottles are still out there to test my hunch! What a shame.
Wow, Sand and Sable!! Truly a classic!
I was so excited to see a review of this! Tom Ford is my favorite perfume house right now, and Orchid Soleil quickly became my absolute favorite from him. I bought a bottle as soon as it came out at Sephora, and literally went through it in a month.
It’s weird to think that some people think this perfume smells like bizarre things like corn tortillas. It confounds me. The scent is so rich an intoxicating.
Oh, nice!! Wear it happily!
I’ve seen mixed reactions to this one, a lot of “I’m still not sure what I think…”, but I definitely don’t get corn tortillas from it! 😉
I’m not a big TF fan either. I’m all about loud perfumes but some from his line I find downright strident and domineering (I do love Café Rose, however.)
I smelled Orchid Soleil on a scent strip and was taken aback by the strong butter note. Like others here, I got a sample with a sephora order and got the same butter note on my skin (my notes say “buttercream frosting,”) though it eventually backed down.
For me it’s a perfume that would be really overwhelming in warm weather but maybe I just don’t spend enough of my summer season sunning on yachts. 😉 I may test it again in cold, cold weather to see how it fares.
I totally agree with your “buttery” assessment! Just a bit too much for me in that regard. And I’d never be able to stand it on a hot day, but maybe it would work well to evoke “summer” in the middle of winter? 🙂
I’m not a fan of this composition. I get what they were trying to accomplish but the effect for me is the overload or indolic notes that creates a cross between mothballs and a scented cat box that’s overdue for a change.
I even gave it a few tries on skin allowing for dry down and some of the indole to dissipate but the notes are overly tenacious. I love everything else that the perfumers for TF fragrances create but this one is a real miss for me.
I got a sample of Orchid Soleil in my October Sephora Play! box, and…..Just NO NO NO! Too many indoles in the recipe for my personal taste. I’m getting nothing but moth balls, and it ain’t pretty! LOL Not surprised though…most tuberose heavy scents are not good on my skin. Will be passing this sample along to a tuberose lover! 🙂