Tom Ford Fleur de Portofino, Costa Azzurra, Mandarino di Amalfi Private Blend Eau de Parfum Reviews & Photos
Tom Ford Fleur de Portofino Private Blend Eau de Parfum
Tom Ford Fleur de Portofino Private Blend Eau de Parfum ($215.00 for 1.7 fl. oz.) begins with an initial burst of crisp bergamot and an almost bitter citrus before it shifts to a smooth, more honeyed citrus with softer floral notes within the first few minutes. This phase is characterized by a sheer, airy quality; it’s not a powerhouse Tom Ford scent (much like the other scents in the Portofino family) while it is worn. It has low sillage and hovers above the skin for most of the wear, though it takes about two and a half for two sprays to become a skin scent, and it lasts about eight hours on me. For those who want a more discreet scent that only they can smell, this is more in line with that preference. The scent doesn’t change much as it wears on: it’s always a lightweight, warm, sweet citrus with white florals. It is the most floral of the Portofino family and feels the lightest. The scent seemed well-blended, but ultimately simple, with moderate longevity against many fragrances but short longevity relative to other Private Blends.
- Top Notes: lemon, mandarin, bergamot, tangerine, bitter orange leaf, violet leaf, syringa
- Middle notes: white acacia, cassie tree, mimosa, magnolia, orange flower templar, Moroccan rose absolute, jasmine grandiflorum concrete
- Base notes: acacia honey, white vanilla, tolu balsam, civet, ambrette seed
Tom Ford Costa Azzurra Private Blend Eau de Parfum ($215.00 for 1.7 fl. oz.) opens with a salty, spicy breeze of subtle, sweetened mandarin. The first half hour sees the appearance of other notes in the scent, like lavender and lemon, with dry woods, while the mandarin recedes and becomes crisper and less sweet, and the scent becomes more dominated by juniper, driftwood, and oud with a salty, aquatic undercurrent. After an hour, the fragrance first smells salty, lightly aquatic, dry and woody (some of the cedar finally comes through), and I get a fair amount of vetiver (which I think tends to be more prominent on my skin) draped over everything. The scent becomes creamier, smoother as the day goes on, as a blend of wood, vetiver, and vanilla with something that keeps it lighter and a bit dry and green.
The fragrance had more low-to-moderate sillage for the first two to three hours, then dropped to low and finally became more of a skin scent by the sixth hour and lingers just hovering over the skin until about ten hours. As a reference point, Tom Ford’s true powerhouse Private Blends (think Oud Wood, Amber Absolute) are detectable even 24 hour later (as a skin scent, of course). Of the Portofino flankers, this one seemed to be one of the more complex ones with greater and longer sillage and wear. There are a lot of notes in it, and they pop-up here and there throughout the wear, though salty, dry driftwood tends to be in the forefront for much of the wear. It reminds me of a cool, crisp day at the beach.
- Top Notes: fucus, seaweed, driftwood, agarwood (oud), ambrette seed, celery seed, cardamom
- Middle notes: armoise, juniper berry, myrtle, basil, French lavender, Italian lemons, yellow mandarin, oak, cedar, cypress
- Base notes: Lentisque Shrub, olibanum, incense, vetiver, vanilla
Tom Ford Mandarino di Amalfi Private Blend Eau de Parfum ($215.00 for 1.7 fl. oz.) opens as lightly bitter, crisp and green, and zesty with grapefruit, lemon, and mandarin are detected on a long inhale, but it’s all on the soapy side to my nose; very clean, bright, and green initially. Within fifteen minutes, the sillage has dropped noticeably to hovering about six inches over the skin while that soapy element continue to remain. After an hour, that soapiness finally faded away and gave way to the bloom of the sweet floral note of orange blossom, which gave the fragrance a heavier, more indolic feel compared to the opening stage. The scent dries down to an earthy, softer blend of sweet florals and light citrus with a hint of muskiness after two and a half hours and remains in this stage throughout the rest of its stay. Of the three, it dropped down to a skin scent quickly and seemed to fade fastest on me, only lasting about six and a half hours in all.
- Top Notes: tarragon, spearmint, black currant bud, mandarin, bergamot, grapefruit, lemon, basil
- Middle notes: black pepper, coriander seed, orange oil, orange flower, clary sage, jasmine, shiso leaf
- Base notes: vetiver, amber, labdanum, musk, civet
Fleur de Portofino
PPermanent. $215.00.
Costa Azzurra
PPermanent. $215.00.
Mandarino di Amalfi
PPermanent. $215.00.
See more photos!
Tom Ford Fleur de Portofino Private Blend Eau de Parfum
Tom Ford Fleur de Portofino Private Blend Eau de Parfum
Tom Ford Fleur de Portofino Private Blend Eau de Parfum
Tom Ford Fleur de Portofino Private Blend Eau de Parfum
Tom Ford Costa Azzurra & Mandarino di Amalfi Private Blend Eau de Parfum
Tom Ford Costa Azzurra & Mandarino di Amalfi Private Blend Eau de Parfum
Tom Ford Costa Azzurra & Mandarino di Amalfi Private Blend Eau de Parfum
Tom Ford Costa Azzurra & Mandarino di Amalfi Private Blend Eau de Parfum
Tom Ford Costa Azzurra Private Blend Eau de Parfum
Tom Ford Costa Azzurra Private Blend Eau de Parfum
Tom Ford Costa Azzurra Private Blend Eau de Parfum
Tom Ford Costa Azzurra Private Blend Eau de Parfum
Tom Ford Costa Azzurra Private Blend Eau de Parfum
Tom Ford Costa Azzurra Private Blend Eau de Parfum
Tom Ford Costa Azzurra Private Blend Eau de Parfum
Tom Ford Mandarino di Amalfi Private Blend Eau de Parfum
Tom Ford Mandarino di Amalfi Private Blend Eau de Parfum
Tom Ford Mandarino di Amalfi Private Blend Eau de Parfum
Tom Ford Mandarino di Amalfi Private Blend Eau de Parfum
Tom Ford Mandarino di Amalfi Private Blend Eau de Parfum
Tom Ford Mandarino di Amalfi Private Blend Eau de Parfum
Love the bottles and the scents sound heavenly. Wish floral and fruity scents worked with my body chemistry, but alas it isn’t so
The bottles are stunning!
I had a friend in college who could hardly wear any perfumes as they all turned badly on her!
Oh how would love to own any one of these! soapy /floral/aromatic and aquatic scents are my favorite. I was an avid perfume collector before I really got in to cosmetics. ..but Tom Ford is definitely a once in a lifetime purchase for me! Lucky you Christine!
Have you considered decants or samples? I’ve only bought a few of the TFs in the 50ml size, because they’re definitely pricey – so only the absolute favorites!
aww what a great idea. I just ordered a spray decant from the perfume court of Costa azzura. ..I *think* I will like that one the best!
Love that you reviewed these!! I’m such a TF addict and I find his scents to be particularly interesting (tho many are not at all for me). I only currently have one Patchouli Absolu, they are uniquely beautiful and he seems to put great thought into each. I miss mine, its too warm now to wear it – I have to sniff these out!
I am the same way – many seem quite lovely and well-blended to my nose – but many aren’t my personal cup of tea.
You’re telling me… my favorites are Oud Wood and Amber Absolute, and both are such heavy scents that 90 degree heat makes them seem inappropriate, lol!
The Costa Azzure sounds heavenly. I don’t like a heavy fragrance on the daily. So, these are up my alley,minus the price. I was lucky enough to receive a pretty nice size sample of the Neroli de Portofino and the other one I think id Fleur de Portofino(something like that) . They are both gorgeous too. I ordered the body oil form the summer collection and they seem to almost coordinate. At first, I was thinking there is no way I am paying that much $ for a fragrance! I bought Velvet Orchid during the fall VIB sale and kept it in the package for the longest time feeling guilty for paying just $90 for a fragrance,lol! But, I have fallen in love with them and think I am going to eventually sock away a little at a time. I was settled on the Neroli de Portofino. Are you going to be reviewing those? I would like to know how they compare? Also, would you consider this a warm weather only fragrance ?
I’m so sorry..the first one was Fleur de Portofino..change that question to, Do you think you will review, or have you experienced Neroli de Portofino? Thanks and sorry again!
Here you go, Nicole! 🙂 http://www.temptalia.com/tom-ford-neroli-portofino-eau-de-parfum-review-photos
Thanks! I didn’t realize it was that old.I guess good thing stick around! I called the SA that I worked with from Nemans where I ordered the products from the summer collection. I told her I waa interested in possibly purchasing one in the near future,but would like to compare it to Costa Assure. She was so sweet . She’s sending me a sample of it! I would be so broke if there was a TF counter near.:)
Time flies, lol! I didn’t realize I reviewed it all the way back in 2011!
So glad you’re getting a sample of it!
I think you could wear it in cooler weather, though I personally tend to associate really cool weather with heavier, cozier scents, so these are ones I’d consider wearing for spring/summer through early fall, depending on where you live!
I mean, I still wear really heavy, typically fall/winter scents even in spring and summer if I want to, but I usually wear Neroli Portofino during summer if I expect to spend any time outdoors.
i really love the jasmine one! the mandarin is OK but to me jasmine is better.
I think I favor a heavier citrus, just because I’m less of a floral person.
I received a sample of Costa Azzura last summer from Nordstrom. It wasn’t a scent I expected to gravitate to, yet I loved wearing my sample all summer! Time to get another sample (he,he). TF Shanghai Lily is one of my winter faves.
Haha! 😉 I don’t know if I’ve tried Shanghai Lily…
Fleur de Portofino sounds heaven!
🙂
Can you believe I’ve never tried a TF perfume?? I’ll have to try and get my hands on some samples and see which one I like best.
I am surprised!
Makeup, now also perfumes… it will be my ruin! 😉
Don’t worry too much! I don’t review perfume often! I find it quite a challenge to describe scents!
They all sound nice to me!
Yay! 🙂
I’m in love with the bottle, so simple and eyecatching, but holy moly, this would definitely be a once in a lifetime purchase!
I hear ya! I have only bought a few full-size bottles myself!
I do believe this is my first time reading perfume reviews on your site! I enjoy the details and wording of your reviews, in addition to the gloss overs…please write more!
Aww, thank you Toni! 🙂