I was reminded of this in the latest issue of GQ, and I haven’t had the chance to test any of the Tom Ford Private Blend (It seems to only be available to our Joburg charnas at Sandton bru), but I have been a big fan of Tom Ford and his style for quite some time. It’s effortless and masculine, and some of the advertising is ridiculously sexual.

Tom Ford: Effortlessly awesome (You see how style is also about how confident you are? Remember that…and you can wear pretty much what you like)

I have owned, and once my new order arrives from Cyprus, will once again own Gucci Pour Homme which is to me, the definitive mens fragrance. I won’t let you in on which Gucci it is, because no one has this one. You can’t buy it in South Africa anyway, and once you smell it, you will not want to wear anything else. But I like to keep it a secret It would be unfair to unleash it upon Cape Town because you would all be coming right so often, you wouldn’t have time to get to work.

Everyone has their signature fragrance they wear, and people know them for that. For me, this Gucci is my signature scent. I love real manly scents, with woody smells. Like the old school man, where leather and wood and tobacco were the scents of the day. I just feel that too many guys these days buy scents based on advertising. Just because Hugo Boss have released a new fragrance and it has a cool actor promoting it, doesn’t mean you need to buy it. And don’t be shy to be extravagant. Don’t stick with safe scents because then you’ll smell like everyone else. Try something different, throw on a fragrance that people are going to smell and go ‘WOW!’ Wear something out of the ordinary and push the boundaries. Tom Fords fragrances are a good way to smash through the boundaries of what is a normal fragrance.

Tom Ford Private Blend is a collection of 17 scents all mastered by Tom Ford. Some examples:

TOBACCO VANILLE

A modern take on an old world men’s club. A smooth Oriental, TOBACCO VANILLE opens immediately with opulent essences of Tobacco Leaf and aromatic spice notes. The heart unfolds with creamy Tonka Bean, Tobacco Flower, Vanilla and Cocoa, and finishes with A Dry Fruit Accord, enriched with Sweet Wood Sap.

ARABIAN WOOD

This timeless Chypre captures the mystique of the east with modern flourishes. A lavish blend of rich Florals, Spices, precious Woods and exotic Orris entice the senses while aromatic Lavender and Galbanum add a touch of elegance.

AMBER ABSOLUTE

A hallmark PRIVATE BLEND fragrance. AMBER ABSOLUTE is a honey-colored scent infused with the purest form of Amber, joined by a tenacious refrain of African Incense, Labdanum, Rich Woods and a touch of Vanilla Bean.

Tom Ford Private Blend is available at Stuttafords, Sandton City.