I Stopped Someone To Compliment Their Scent—Turns Out It's Harry Styles's Fave

Have you ever smelt a smell so good that you have to do everything in your power to know what it is? Normally, for me this is reserved to baked goods and meals infused with garlic, but recently I had it happen with a perfume. Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille.

I was in an extremely packed rooftop bar in Manhattan, and I got a waft of what can only be described as the sexiest scent ever as my friend and I stood there clutching our drinks hoping that a table would free up soon. As we scouted, doing a complete 360, a woman and her friend, who were also scouting for a table, sauntered past. It was a nanosecond but also love at first sniff. Immediately, I turned to my friend and shouted over the music, "Someone smells incredible!” By the time he pointed out who he thinks it was, she was rushing away so I chased her. I chased a woman through a bar, weaving through drinks and people and picture-taking and dancing to find out what scent she was wearing, praying she wouldn’t gate-keep it.

"Oh, thank you, it’s that Tom Ford. You know, the one that Harry Styles apparently wears too!” I believed it. Of course, Harry Styles would smell this good. But slight problem– she couldn’t remember the name; I think she decanted some into a travel bottle for her New York trip. Five minutes of scouring the Tom Ford website with patchy network coverage we found it, we think. It took a trip to duty free on the way home to confirm our suspicions.

If you haven’t smelled it yet, Tobacco Vanille is a sweet, spicy and warm scent. I’m not going to sugar coat it, it’s not for everyone, in the sense that it’s quite confronting, so if the notes aren’t your bag, it can be overwhelming but if you like an enveloping, sweeter scent you’ll love this. It has a rich creaminess to it thanks to the heart notes of tonka bean, vanilla and cacao, like a moreish winter cocktail. But the top notes of tobacco and base of wood move it away from being sickly sweet and push it towards the sexier end of the scent spectrum. I love to layer fragrances to make them unique to me and this perfume layers well under woodier scents to bring that depth out. However, if this scent is just too gourmand for you, you need to smell Tom Ford Tuscan Leather; it’s equally as warm but the black suede give it a deeper edge.

I have a fear this has unlocked a Tom Ford scent obsession.

More Vanilla Scents To Try

Jimmy Choo Vanilla Love Eau De Parfum

Van Cleef & Arpels Orchid Vanille Eau De Parfum

Byredo Vanille Antique Eau De Parfum

The Body Shop Vanilla Eau De Toilette

Edeniste Vanille Irrésistible Eau de Parfum

Kay Ali Vanilla Eau De Parfum