Shanghai Lily is my ode to Shanghai Lily by Tom Ford—an oriental floral that feels like midnight silk, lacquered wood, and a candlelit room where spice hangs in the air long after the door closes.

It opens with a bright, bittersweet flash of bitter orange, then turns quickly—seductive and alive—into a peppered shimmer of black pepper and pink pepper. Cloves arrive like velvet heat: warm, spicy, slightly medicinal in the most glamorous way, as if the air itself has been perfumed by an old-world apothecary.

At the heart, the florals don’t behave politely—they smolder. Tuberose blooms creamy and unapologetic, wrapped in jasmine and rose, with floral notes that feel more like petals warmed by skin than a fresh bouquet. The effect is sensual, not innocent—white florals seen through incense smoke and amber light.

Then the base settles in, deep and hypnotic. Incense—a duo of olibanum and resinous shadows—swirls with benzoin and labdanum, creating a balsamic amber glow that’s both sacred and sinful. Vanilla softens the edges, not sugary—more like vanillin in warm wood—while cashmere wood and guaiac wood add a smooth, smoky grain. A touch of vetiver keeps it grounded, and castoreum lends that animalic whisper—barely there, but unmistakably intimate.

Shanghai Lily wears like a secret: warm-spicy and ambered, floral at the center, smoky and woody at the edges—luxurious, mysterious, and impossible to forget.

Notes: Bitter Orange • Pink Pepper • Black Pepper • Cloves • Spicy Notes • Tuberose • Jasmine • Rose • Floral Notes • Olibanum • Incense • Benzoin • Labdanum • Vanilla • Cashmere Wood • Guaiac Wood • Vetiver • Castoreum