Plum Japonais Tom Ford for women

After getting my hands on a decant of Plum Japonais, I finally understand why it’s so sought after in the community. This is by far one of the best Tom Ford fragrances I’ve ever smelled, it’s beyond me as to why they would discontinue something so beautiful.

The thick, sweet and candied juiciness of sticky dried plums, warm and spicy cinnamon combined with the dark, rich woodiness of oud and sweet amber creates one of the most alluring scent profiles out there. The sweet floral hints of saffron, plum blossom and immortelle are ever so gentle and yet brighten the overall scent profile just enough.

As I said I understand the hype behind this, it’s an incredible scent. But I don’t think it’s worth paying the obscene prices to get a bottle when Plum Harajuku by Insider Parfums is about 98% similar at a fraction of the price.

I love this fragrance very much but despite a lot of attempts I simply can't pull this one of. It is a very dark, hay-like powdery earthy fragrance with a syrupy jam-like plum sweetness emanating off the dark notes. This fragrance is super super super strong and cloying to the point of almost being offensive. I can spray this one time in the air and even three days later I will still be able to smell it in the air. It is a very mature fragrance that I think is more suitable for a refined gentleman in their 40's to 60's. It isn't really for a younger demographic in my honest opinion. I think for people in their 20's - 30's that it seems out of place. Even dressed up in professional attire it wouldn't suit a younger person. It simply smells too oldish for that demographic

Anyone have a 50 ml bottle for sale?

I'm selling decants of this from my bottle, shoot me a message.

I finally got hold of a decant of this Plum Japonais, after having worn a few clones of it. Yep, just as good as I anticipated. Immediately in my top handful of Tom Ford's, with my bottles of Beau de Jour (my favorite), Ombre Leather, Grey Vetiver, Oud Wood, Tobacco Vanille, and Tom Ford for Men Extreme. Plum Japonais may even come in at #2. It's a brilliant balance of plum, sweet spices, and that earthy, woody oud poking through just enough. Just perfect sweetness. I do not find it very similar to Serge Lutens Feminite du Bois, which is more of a dry, sharp-edged, warm cumin-spiced woody scent, like shards of glass in the nose. If you insist on any similarity, Plum Japonais is a much, much improved Feminite du Bois. I think Plum Japonais is a near masterpiece, and I don't like Feminite du Bois. This is feminine-targeted, which is a huge marketing mistake, because the scent of Plum Japonais is entirely unisex. I would love a full bottle of this, but of course it is dis-fricken-continued. And with bottles on Ebay going for up to $600-$800 USD, I'll have to stick to my clones and save this decant juice for very special occasions. The ScentualObsessions clone of Plum Japonais is good, and surprisingly the Phoenix Shaving inspired expression of Plum Japonais is great. Of course not as high quality, deep nor nuanced as the real thing, but its superficially right on the basic scent profile, and is a joy to wear.

Discontinued gem. Top 3 TF fragrances of all time.

Try Insider Parfumes - plum harajuku. Very close to the original. Performance is even better

Long story but I wanted this as so many have said it is like the long discontinued Feminite du Bois Shiseido

Then I realised that THIS was discontinued too!

I have used Eden perfumes from Brighton England for years for good quality, cruelty free, vegan dupes. I ordered No.670 Japanese Plum which arrived Friday and smells so much like how I remember Feminite du Bois Shiseido that I’m a happy girl.

Hopefully this recommendation helps someone in the same boat!

You are wandering through a bustling spice market in a brightly mismatched suit—cinnamon and saffron dance in the air, beckoning you deeper into the back alleys. A dark, enigmatic stranger, you are so compelling in your androgyny that even the moms are swooning. This must be how bright-eyed 17-year-olds think their gap years went, except you're actually living it. You are so, so interesting. The bazaar's vibrant cacophony of colors and sounds swirls around you- the chatter of vendors haggling, the clinking of cups in tiny tea shops, the rustling of silk and hand-woven cotton garments hanging in careless rows. You're also tall- at least 6"5- so the top of your head grazes the branches heavy with Japanese plum blossom, basked in the amber warmth of a sunset in a foreign land. Benzoin and fir bring the damp forest floor- mud, dead leaves and decay- beneath your feet. Some white guy describes you as "oriental", maybe even "exotic", and somehow this is complimentary without the intellectual burden of Edward Said, without condescension, without history. Then right at the tail end, is that vanilla? The gift that gives on giving, 10/10

The first initial blast of Plum Japonais I find absolutely gorgeous - spicy and sweet, with a tangy, fresh resinousness. It's warmly elegant and luxurious.

However, those magnificent opening notes are quickly joined by a sharp, dry, slightly sour edge that I don't particularly enjoy. I suspect it's mainly the immortelle and cypress mixing with the oud that comes across a little too sharp for my nose. That initial greatness is still there, but for me something in the balance is just slightly off.

Then, as the dry-down continues, the composition becomes drier, rounder, smoother—the notes all mellowing into a warm, languorous haze. After an hour or so I get a kind of wheaty scent, like spiced plum pull-apart bread served beside a crackling fireplace, accompanied by a cashmere throw and a generous glass of single malt.

I’ve got a chance to test this perfume and I really liked it. It is well blended, good for autumn and winter. This is first perfume that have oud note in it and I liked it. I am not a fan of T.F perfumes. Didint liked any, until I’ve tryed this one. Sad this perfume is discontinued 😭

Honestly, not really a fan.

I’ve been on this hobby for around 5 years now and have smelled lots of fragrances, both designer and niche. And while niche fragrances are still a little heavy for me (maybe because of my age), I do understand why they’re so loved and even I own partials/testers and would like to own some of them, the ones I consider appropriate for me to wear of course, but as stated before, even the ones that I don’t wear, I understand their liking, complexity and art behind them.

Anyway, cutting the chase, I can’t really say anything good about this other than it is indeed unique, but unique doesn’t always mean good. This smells like an old raisin, yes, an old raisin, raisins are technically old already but this fragrance manages to make them feel even older. No offense whatsoever towards elderly people, but this gives the vibe of an old lady from a retirement home after breakfast and a couple medicine pills/syrups.
It’s boozy, it’s sweet but really dark and deep at the same time, but it’s honestly kind of nauseating too.

Don’t expect compliments while wearing this since this is by no means a mass appealing fragrance, which is not all that matters because if you do like a fragrance then go ahead and wear it any time you feel like it, but still, you probably don’t want to annoy people or provoke bad feedback from the people around you, and this is definitely an acquired taste, only a few people will like it and understand it’s roots, other than that, trust me, if you do like this please understand that this will be most likely a fragrance that you’re going to wear only for you because you like it and you don’t care what anyone else says.


Smell: 2/10
Uniqueness: 10/10
Projection: 8/10
Longevity: 8/10
Mass appeal: 1/10
Value: 7/10

I first purchased Plum Japonais at the beginning of my deep journey into perfume collecting. That was four years ago, and my impressions were all over the place due to my novice nose. For some reason, I didn't reach for it often, and I'm happy I didn't, because it has matured into something so rich, distinctive, cozy, yet still sexy. It's definitely unisex, but I feel quite feminine wearing it. The strange thing is that at first, I definitely smell incense. Looking at the notes, I was surprised not to see it listed, though the very smooth oud and the fir might be causing that effect. It's what I call an "onion" perfume, not because it smells like anything close to onions, but because there are so many layers, it reminds me of peeling an onion. At the same time, it's well blended. You can enjoy it as a whole, or you can sniff close and pull out each individual note. Of course, plum dominates, followed by woodiness from oud. As mentioned, the oud is very smooth - nothing medicinal and no barnyard funk. It's very much a Westernized version. The cinnamon also dominates, adding a spiciness to the plum, that along with the liquor, makes it smell like a spiced wine served around the holidays at the end of the year. Finally, the vanilla and benzoin create a lovely base and the slightest touch of sweetness. It is not a gourmand vanilla at all.
So now I have more than 3/4 of a bottle left of what has aged into the most gorgeous elixir, unique, and concentrated. I don't want to reach for it too often because as we all sadly know it's another casualty of Ford's almost sadistic delight in discontinuing some of his best creations that are deeply loved by many people, but I will be using it over the holidays and on other occasions when I want to smell delicious and not in an ordinary way.

The juice in the bottle I'd purchased back in 2013 is a different beast. It has morphed into a spicy, dark, incensy high-class courtesan with a dash of plum. I'm glad I held onto it, as it's a definite improvement.

Just arrived, will need a few more wears....

Initial spray...very boozy and heavy. Not picking up much (if any) oud. There's a lot of complexity to this scent.

This is opulent and narcotic. Heavy-wearing (in the good way, if you like that) and with its sweetness nicely balanced by boozy notes. Really intoxicating stuff.

I haven't even received my sample of this in the mail but that's how excited I am to finally sniff this concoction. Perhaps it's this feeling Japan evokes for me. Maybe it's the girl from Sapporo whom I had a long distance fling with yet never met. Enticing, elusive and seductive all around. Plum Japanois, is this you?

Well the scent profile is brilliant. I don't have the real thing but will be seeking a decant of it for reference purposes. A full bottle of this stuff now is ridiculously expensive. Instead, I have a very good clone by ScentualObsessions, and another clone in EDP concentration along with its deodorant stick by Phoenix Shaving. I spray on top of the applied deodorant for better performance. Very nice. Its difficult to rank Tom Ford fragrances because there are so many great ones released in his relatively short brand duration. The brand has DNA themes that connect many fragrances. I've seen plum and dried fruit in Tom Ford's before. And truffle of course. I have a few partial bottles of Tom Ford for Men Extreme and that has a truffle note. And of course Dark Orchid. Tobacco Vanille has a nice dried fruit note. I'm a big fan of dried fruit, plum, date and fig nectar notes. I just don't get the "pencil shavings" accord some reviews point to. I do get the plum note. As a matter if fact, I get all the notes listed on this page, although a few are quite subtle. This will fit in around 5 or so in my TF rankings. Maybe after Tom Ford for Men Extreme. Somewhere around Tobacco Vanille.

I'm a complete novice and learning about perfumes. I noticed the cinnamon and fir woods immediately. There's undertones of plum, vanilla, and florals that come out the further away you are. The initial is a bit too masculine for my personal taste, but I can definitely see this on my sister for example who likes to wear unisex perfume - or on a guy. I think it'd be quite sexy on a guy because of the fir, leathery, pencil shavings effect. It's well done but not to my taste. Again reminds me of the inside of my Nana's wardrobe with the high end leather brands and mothballs

A plum, boozy fragrance, with a woody undertone. It is incredibly boozy, but smooth and not too sweet. Quite pleasing to smell. Sadly to be discontinued, as it's quite unique.

If you're looking for anything similar, try Vanille Havane, from Les Indemodables. They are both quite similar in the scent profile. However, while Plum Japonais goes for a more discrete woody drydown, Vanille Havane is more loud and sweet with the Vanilla. But the main boozy profile is very similar on both.

@Rottigrlnyc I am interested in your bottle if you still have it. (The plum japonais)

MASTERPIECE

Plum Japonais… where do I start?

I started to have this from January, from a seller that only has ONE of this in their shop and I quickly grabbed this for the considered-reasonable price of around USD 150.

This perfume is the definition of fine blend and complex fragrance. Upon spraying, you can sense the boozy, heavy, beautiful soft plum with stars behind it. There is this quality of saltiness in its body, almost foody but grand and speaks class. 10 minutes in, it is soft yet solid and projecting like no other, until the very dry down. It is beautiful, nostalgic, mature. This is best on colder days.

I don’t think there are many perfumes with good quality that are taking the direction of what this perfume offers. I’m actually a bit sad and pity for those who can’t have it since the price is unreasonably high. This is why you don’t discontinue a perfume that everyone loves, Tom Ford.

I loved this fragrance, but I still cannot justify its price. From the fruity fragrances I think I will stick to a more potent TT Draco, or if I am in the mood for light ones, I prefer Diptyque Ilio or BDK's pear fragrance. This plum fragrance from Tom Ford is surely beautiful. It's woody, spicy, well round, made with harmony and thought. But its high price currently in my opinion would prevent most people from buying it. There are other interesting and spicy fragrances on the market with fruit accords, that would be 2-3 times cheaper.

my absolute favorite fragrance of all time. smells so incredibly invigorating and complex. the dry down feels like an absolute warm hug with the sense of a happy child experiencing the winter holidays. “a happy soul experiencing the holidays” in a bottle.

i love it.

Anyone sad that this got discontinued, Perfume Parlour UK, KDJ Inspired, or Alexandria Fragrances sells an excellent dupe in extrait and oil versions. I go there to get all my discontinued fragrances. I can see how this perfume is best for colder months but I am finding this very comforting even as we approach summer.

Running low on my bottle. Looking to buy anything from 50-250ml in EU, please message me

Once upon a time, I had lost hope on losing my v-card. That was, until I overpaid for TF JP. Since then, I have to call our local authorities almost on a daily basis to get all of the local women away from me.

On a serious note: It's great but definitely not worth the prices being charged for decants/vintage bottles (unless you're a SERIOUS collector). Use a fraction of that money on some Colgate and it will go a long ways.

Awe this one is just so beautiful, if u know u know. No need to describe this masterpiece. I have a 50ml back up bottle for sale. It’s a 2019 batch. New in Box. I also have a few decants all over so I don’t need the back up. Message me if you’d like to buy it .

Cinnamon spiced plums in a flambe of 151 with a generous pour of simple syrup. Bombshell amber aura with burning woods. This oud type lends noticeable animalic and leathery accords without being barnyard. Bracing evergreens surface every now and again, as do exotic florals. I am repeatedly and obsessively smelling my arm -- intoxicating. One of the best fragrances I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Reminiscent of an animalic and smoky Rouge Sarây- but better. Liquid Exstasy. Sooooo beautiful.

💊✨😶🌫️🥃😌💗

its cool. bit overrated, imo not worth the heavy +400 resell but not a bad scent. on my skin its spicy, very slight fruit, and pencil shavings. it is put together well tho, not too heavy one way or the other.

Anyone interested in this scent I have several large decanters worth of this as well as amber absolute (2013/2014 batches) as well as many other discontinued scents from various houses. Message me if you’re wanting to sample and/or do some trading. Located in the southern US

My god!!!! What an incredible masterpiece, this has to honestly be one of the best fragrances ever created. What a huge mistake discontinuing this beauty

i’m genuinely gonna lose my mind WHERE CAN I GET THIS? AT LEAST 10 ML? oh my god please i just want to try it ONCE at least..

Right off the bat, I get blasted with a dose of plum. True to the name. It evokes memories of drinking glasses of Umeshu at a hundred-year-old Izakaya in Japan. So sad it was discontinued.

I secured multiple samples of this one, each time I bought another TF, I’d ask for a sample of this one. As a result I’ve had about 30ml over the years.

If you can find it, get it! You won’t regret it. One of the most stunning creations in his lineup.

This is such a sexy gem of a fragrance despite being discontinued. Straight off the bat I get blasted with a gorgeous rich plum and spicey cinnamon duet with a hint of saffron lingering in the back. The plum smells quite smokey but in a dark rich way, not like a campfire. The fragrance then develops a beautiful subtle floral vanilla, and woodiness that I'd assume is the Oud (it's not a middle eastern Oud). The plum and cinnamon remain at the top throughout but become more smooth and creamier during the drydown. I personally believe fragrances are better in colder weather period but anyone can wear this, whenever and where ever. Probably be quite cloying on a 40 degree C day with humidity though... :)

Why they discontinued this masterpiece i’ll never know. I currently have 10ml remaining and savour every drop.

A rich plum liqueur, surrounded by smoky woods. If I could just keep 1 fragrance it would be this. I’ve heard of many interpretations of this but nothing beats the original. The only one i’d class in the same vein, that truly captures PJ is forbidden plum - Alexandria.

The best Tom Ford creation without a doubt.
I have owned almost every Tom Ford fragrance in my fragrance journey, i sold all of them and this is the only one i have left in my collection.... i have a 50 ML bottle that i use and a sealed 250 ML decanter.
I have also tried a lot of dupes/clones of this and nothing comes close, it's just not the same.
This is so dark, fruity and alluring with that plum/oud combo, it's just fantastic.
I like a lot of Yann Vasnier work, but this one is something else.
Perfect for winter time.

Lucky, lucky… LUCKY!!! Managed to get two 50ml bottles of this gem. Was willing to purchase the decanter also but the lady at TF said they cant and destroy these bottles once discontinued… What a waste!!!! Can’t add to what already has been said about this gem- the longevity, sillage and overall exclusivity.

Now for the next part of the journey. If i can only find a bottle of Amber Absolute…. If anyone wants to swop a 50ml bottle of Amber Absolute for one of my bottles (still sealed and bought at TF Authorised seller), then please PM me

TOM FORD'S LUSCIOUS TEXTURE AND AROMA

I remember the first time I sniffed this Plum Japonais at the private corner in Galeries  Lafayette, I didn't give a serious attention to it as many of you. After a few years, I started to appreciate it and found it both very attractive yet satisfying. This is called nose maturity.

The house has launched this charming and discontinued piece from the private blend the year of 2013. Years  after the spreading of the private blends was topping almost everything in the market. That period, as still the American and European markets discovering the best sellers; Tobacco Vanille, Oud Wood, Tuscan Leather and Jasmin Rouge which made a whirlpool around the world, the brand's emerging markets namely the Middle eastern and the Asian one the same year have been enjoying  new releases including this one, Noir de Noir, Tobacco Oud and London.

Those Plum Japonais big brothers were strapped between inviting, seducing to wowing at a point a point of suffocating. The historical market penetration shown by the brand came not from blueprints without nothing to climb the pinnacle, since the great achievements made  and the solid experience of the founder itself were the regarded as the saver and guaranteed the creative works! Almost everyone knows and enjoys the most sought after Yves Saint Laurent M7 and Gucci pour Homme series and that, to the time you are reading this article.

Technically, I think it was conceived with a lot of attention and love. This beautiful fragrance didn't much escape from the house DNA, it shares a lot of similarities with its eldest brother Amber Absolute (heart down to bottom) as I  discovered the ambery balsamic almost woody  layers. In fact, it's above than a delicious plam, it's about an aged jam melted in a quality grade liquorish raw vanilla absolute to give to this blend a super gentlemanly tone. I liked the way the perfumer used of the Plum blossom too, well mixed with a bunch of spicied sweetness  warmed by the amber accord driven by that  deep balsamics set in a wooden barrel for a  mysterious fermented plum surface.

It's worthing to be in your olfactive library, it depends on the price. I've been given this 2013 dated sample as a gift.

Thank you.

Plum Japonais gives me flashbacks of following my mother, in the downtown railroad hub of our small city, into a particular Christmas decor shop, that had been hiding several floors up, in the heart of an old apartment building. You get an overwhelming, smokey, spicy plum. And now, several hours into the wear, I'm smelling a beautiful, dark oud, which was the base all along. Wish this was more affordable/available; I would pay private collection prices for this, but not $10/mL.

How can I possibly write about this scent and do it justice?...

This discontinued beauty has been on my list of all-time favorite fall/winter fragrances since the moment I first sniffed it. This is, quite possibly, due to the fact that the mid-phase smells *exactly* like the inside of my grandma's house when she was burning incense in the middle of winter. (I let my mom get a whiff of this, and she made the same, immediate connection without being prompted, so I know it's not just me. For us, it's a fragrant -- and stunningly accurate -- trip down memory lane.)

Since the rest of the world didn't hang out at my grandma's house, I'll do my best to explain what I experience when I wear PJ.

The opening notes are rich and spicy -- I get a blend of cinnamon and plums (which have been cooking slowly on the stove all morning, marinating in the spice... it is the aroma of fruit being simmered on low heat... something which requires patience to prepare). Overall, it's a very "warm" and comforting scent. Soon after, PJ evolves; the plum and a hint of cinnamon remain, but a smoky incense note joins in. It's a fir-based incense -- just like my grandma's favorite incense cones of long ago. (It's not the smell of a so-called "hippie" shop, and it's not church incense... not that there's anything wrong with either of those things, because I enjoy both of them, but this incense is in a class of its own.) Eventually, the translucent veil of incense fades away, and the drydown settles into a cozy base of dry vanilla, amber, and what must be the benzoin, with a lingering hint of plum and fir. I don't really get any oud, but I don't feel that the perfume lacks anything simply because I don't *happen* to experience that particular note... for me, it's fine just the way it is. It's never "too much" of anything -- never too fruity, never too sweet, never too spicy, never too smoky. It's deep and dark, but not "midnight" dark. It's blended to perfection.

It also has reasonable longevity and projection. Chances are good that people will be able to smell this from arms' length.

Had I known that this was going to be discontinued, I would have bought every bottle I could lay my hands on. (As it is, I've resorted to rationing what I have left and saving it for special occasions, and I consider myself fortunate to own what remains of my bottle.) This is truly a masterpiece, in my opinion... and I wish TF would bring it back (in its original, unaltered form, of course).

I used to work in a Yankee Candle as a Seasonal employee as a teenager. This fragrance reminds me so much of their holiday candles thanks to the Cypress note. At first I couldn’t place it and was thinking more along the lines of Potpourri but no, it’s definitely the candles during the holidays. I actually really enjoy this decant I got but it’s definitely not a daily wear type frag. More like a special occasion in the Winter type frag. So I shall hold onto my decant until such even comes along. Either that or I’ll just lay in bed and sniff it every now and again.

Watch this getting re-released in a couple of years for triple the original price.

Beautiful, gorgeous, magnificent. Words aren't sufficent enough for me to express my love for Plum Japonais.
An addictive dry spicy plum cocktail with a vanillic-oudy base. One of the few masterfully blended fragrance in my collection.

If I'm honest, its name is a picture-perfect scent of the Japanese fermented plum - Umeboshi. It does make my mouth water from time to time as the plum in here is very sour and juicy.
The note is apparent from opening until far drydown, supported by cinnamon and saffron.

The oud becomes more and more noticeable as the plum note fades little by little (but never completely).

With only 2 sprays, it is potent enough for people to notice you and either come closer or get as far away as possible. Surely, not a scent for everyone.

There a few fragrances that are quite similar to TF Plum Japonais - CdG Floriental being the closest and Lalique Fleur Universelle.

CdG Floriental is the closest alternative you can get, though it's a more tamed version of Plum Japonais - not as loud, softer in performance (but still good) and the plum is not as sour and juicy as in TF's blend.

Lalique Fleur Universelle is a sweeter and warmer, just without the plum.

10/10 (I'd happily give 11/10 any day)

My love

Anyone decanting or willing to sell a partial? I’ve been dying to get my nose since I started collecting fragrances several years ago; near impossible to find a relatively good deal on a partial or a sample. PM if you’re willing to make a deal with me on either cause I feel left tf out on Plum Japonais

I would give my left nut for Tom Ford to un-vault this majestic scent.

Tom Ford Plum Japonais is becoming a unicorn, a legendary creature that commands mythical prices. I managed to get my hands on this, and I'm really glad that I did. It's such a complex and beautiful fragrance. Dark, rich, and undoubtedly a Tom Ford.

I've been exploring several niche brands recently, and invariably I come back to Tom Ford. There is something about the house's DNA that just works for me. Granted, there are some (especially their newer Private Blends) that are quite lackluster in my opinion, and it is a real shame because many discontinued PBs had some real character. Case in point: Plum Japonais.

This really reminds me somehow of another discontinued TF which is Tom Ford Extreme, or Tom Ford for Men Extreme. It has that same dark incense note that is so smoky and spicy, and very well blended. However PJ goes off in a fruitier and plum direction, whereas TF Extreme goes into patchouli and truffle. Both in my opinion are absolute masterpieces.

PJ is unisex but it really does lean masculine, however I can totally see a woman rocking this proudly. On my skin the incense and smokiness of the formulation really come out, and it is quite dry and projecting. I imagine on a woman the fruitier and plummier notes might be more forward.

Longevity and projection are really good here, above average for a TF. One spray on my forearm lasted for 6+ hours and the smell really radiated out to arms length and filled the car / permeated the room.

Identifying notes here is quite hard in this case, which is a good sign of the perfumer. Everything hangs together very well, to me it smells like a very rare and precious incense that is being burned in a golden brazier. Then, someone deftly adds some dried plum to the burning substance and poof!

This is not blind buy safe, but if you like very intense and incense-like, dark and smoky fragrances, this might work out for you. It's a shame this is discontinued really.

I previously published a review on this fragrance, but I felt compelled to rewrite it now that I’ve had some more time with it. In my review, I mentioned how I didn’t feel that Plum Japonais (henceforth referred to as PJ) was worth the inflated asking prices you find these days. In the months since, after thoroughly wearing my decant out, I find myself eating my words as I forked out for a 50ml.

Look. I’ve tried the clones. But they don’t fill the void. Take Forbidden Plum by Alexandria, for example. Many people prefer it since it uses a sweeter, juicier plum and amps up the projection and longevity. I own it and can attest to both of these being true. But PJ has something that no clone of it could possibly hope to have. It’s a Tom Ford. And I’m not referring to brand cache, each Tom Ford fragrance has a certain something… I affectionately call it the Tom Ford ‘thing’. It’s the dark, heavy, sensual quality that comes out very prominently in many of their scents. It immediately grounds PJ and turns it from fruity and playful to dark and mysterious. Whereas some of the clones of this fragrance could lean unisex, PJ is undoubtedly masculine.

Normally, I’d break down the notes and provide my (admittedly, reasonably amateurish) thoughts on how they all work together and compliment each other. But I refuse. Not for this one. This is a fragrance that, to me, cannot possibly be broken down to its components. To quote the movie Amadeus; “Displace one note and there would be diminishment. Displace one phrase and the structure would fall.” - Plum Japonais is a masterpiece of a fragrance. It is one of the few fragrances that will stop me in my tracks when I smell it radiating off of myself. Every time. If there was ever any doubt that perfumery was an art form, here’s the proof. And it’s proof that this wonderful art doesn’t have to be inaccessible.* This isn’t a fecal oud fragrance that will get you sanctioned for violating the Geneva Conventions. It’s not going to knock absolutely everybody’s socks off, but you’d be hard pressed to find a single person who was repulsed by it.

* = Let’s talk about accessibility now, shall we? These days, this is a $400-500 fragrance. For a 50ml, it winds up approaching the near mythical $10/ml mark. So - is PJ worth that kind of scratch? It was to me. But as I mentioned, this one floored me from the first moment I smelled it. And every single time I wore the decant, I found myself checking out the ebay listings. When you are really, truly struck by a fragrance like this… you feel it. I recommend trying this one before you buy it. Decants of the stuff aren’t exactly cheap these days, but for 2x the retail price as the standard going rate… I don’t know that I’d consider it particularly blind buy safe.

This is a truly beautiful fragrance very unique... And intense.... So glad I stocked up on two extra backup bottles... As I always do when I live a fragrance.....
But I seriously wouldn't pay the crazy prices for what it's being sold at now... NO WAY....

Really a fun sexy scent that is dominated by the plum note and boozy surrounding it that makes it so addicting. A+ fragrance :)

Simple review here, it smells like Tobacco Oud with plum, it lasts about as long and has the same sillage.

This is a darkish but not heavy or beastly (to me) plum and thin wood/incense to strengthen or darken, the amber brightens and/or makes the whole thing feel like it was encased in brass and makes the sound of a continuous gong to me. The woman wearing this is maybe deep/mysterious, but hidden behind office clothes, brass buckles? I like the comparisons to Féminité Du Bois as the dark fruit/floral note is similar, but Féminité db is more bubbly and unrestrained, more shades of the pinks and purples, the wood is blended seamlessly, like maybe a similar woman when she is undressing rather than going to the office. I think the super focused, restrained feeling is probably what Tom Ford was going for (and I don't mean restrained in performance, but more the tightness of the scents and how you can feel the neat layers).

I think it is a beautiful fragrance, but not sure when or how to include this one, it's like a mysterious moody woman who is a bit brass polished and I don't think she really changes over time or at least not in a way that intrigues me (the fruity floral fades and the wood becomes more prominent, and though it is nice and does its job well, it's not the most distinguishable woody note to me). This to me is definitely a fall scent above all else, day or night.

Edit: Okay, it seems it did morph a little bit. After about an hour, the slightly glistening yet softer oud comes out (I never thought I'd describe oud that way) and it is very lovely indeed, the plummy, woody, oudy parts all evenly support the trinity, and this is the best time with the fragrance. It does add more mystery, more intrigue to where you do want to spend more time with it, as it takes one a step further into the purply forest. I've decided this would be great fragrance for a mysterious artist to explore the depths of the human experience (feminine) but not while she is creating. She wears this while presenting and packaging her creations, like at a gallery showing of her works.

I paid an embarrassing price for my little 4ml which I am happy to keep, but I think even if he were to re-release it, I am not sure I see myself getting a full big bottle. And I am mostly glad this whole journey made me discover SL Féminité Du Bois. I had tried Bois de Violette years ago, but wasn't able to venture much further that direction until now. So glad for this community that we can share our experiences and journeys this way!

Got a sample of this to compare to BDK’s Wood Jasmin. This is much more masculine. I’ll be giving this to my guy. It does smell nice, but just not as feminine as I would like.

I truly regret not buying a bottle of this when I had the chance, $225 for a decanter bottle, so sad. Now the prices are absurd since it’s been discontinued. $500 for a 50ml or $1500 for a decanter is simply insane. It’s nowhere near that good.
I picked up a 50ml of Muddled Plum from Molton Brown for $25 and it’s just as good so that will have to do. Although it’s not really an exact clone, or really not a clone at all just very very similar.

Why would they discontinue this masterfully blended plum dream?? It’s so gorgeous, just the right amount of spice and fruit, not too much one way or the other. I feel sweetly ladylike with this scent but I can see it being just as stunning on a man. It smells evocative, like I am being transported to another world….

I know there are dupes out there, but when I buy a fragrance, I buy it for the whole experience. The only dupe I own is Montagne Parfum’s Lost Cherry dupe, and that’s because I’m addicted to LC but it lasts less than an hour on my skin- otherwise I wouldn’t think twice about snatching up the original. A dupe of Plum Japonaise would feel like a letdown. Off to sample Feminite du Bois I go…

Discontinued Plum Japonais, Tobacco Oud, Amber Absolute for stuff like Lost Cherry, Fucking Fabolous and Bitter Peach just wow absolute troll. Huge fan of older Tom Fords but absolutely hate his new private blends

I have dramming bottles and Decants of this. My ig name is my screen name. Or PM me.

As someone who's slowly moving into niche and more challenging fragrances, this one swept me off my feet, and it still does every time I put it on.

If you're concerned about the oud note, as I was initially, do not worry: It is masterfully balanced to add a dark and sensual depth without striking one as animalic. The plum smells incredibly ripe and mulled with lovely cinnamon and just a hint of exotic saffron. The boozy note makes this fragrance all the more intoxicating, but never cloying or heavy. If you're confident, you could wear this well into the spring and maybe summer, but it will be louder for sure.

As another reviewer said, it's perfectly unisex. On a woman, this would smell dark and steamingly seductive. On a man, such as yours truly, I like to think it does the same, but with a slightly more artistic and powerful connotation as well. It demands to be worn with smart and at least quietly flirtatious outfits.

After months and months searching for this, I have finally got it! I was about to buy plum cognac as I couldn't find Plum Japonais due to it being discontinued but low and behold, today I found it in a perfume store hidden in the cupboards, no longer on show!

Haven't had a chance to smell it yet, its a blind buy but managed to get the 250ml bottle... Will update this in the next few days to give my impression but I am super happy I found it.

There are x2 250ml bottles and x1 50ml bottle available that I have asked the store to put on the side for me, it's in Morocco but if anybody is interested, I can ship it globally or can bring it to the UK when I return there in the next month or so! DM me.

To my nose this is very similar to Orchid Leather by Van Cleef & Arpels.
So if anyone is looking for, and can't find, Plum Japonais, since that has been discontinued, this is a very good alternative. Do note that Orchid Leather is a bit sweeter and more unisex, in my opinion.

Blind test
Sweet plum, very boozy.
Bit of spicy/cinnamony musk ?deer musk
Plus civet type poo musk
Powdery notes, maybe lavender
Typical TF leather, suede type
Pipe tobacco
Sandalwood

No greens
Possibly a hint of rose or jasmine but not overtly floral

I am a sushi and sashimi addict. Everytime I go to a Japanese restaurant, I always order plum wine. 🍷

Smoky, spicy and balsamic plum. I don't get much of boozy vibe here.
It's very interesting scent (sort of CK Secret Obsession direction), spices are very prominent so perfectly unisex.

Too bad it's not my cup of tea.

5/10

Dark boozy plum spiced with cinnamon, incense & a smooth leather nuance provided by the saffron & supported by an Oud base that smells of dry aged wood. In fact, the Leather nuance creates an image of what you'd imagine the dark ripe Purple skin of a Plum to smell like. Its without a doubt one of Tom Fords sexiest fragrances.

I’m so sad it was discontinued.

Just a quick one to say PLEASE BRING THIS BACK

Begins as a very smoky plum.
Settles into a cinnamon plum.
Spicy, fruity, and warm, even smells a bit like incense.
Really nice, unusual, I need more.

Oh my goodness, I have never been more obsessed with a perfume before in my life. I managed to get a decant from a friend's bottle and now I'm lowkey wishing I didn't because I won't be able to buy my own bottle without forking over an arm and a leg :///
The initial scent is reminiscent of a cough drop/cough syrup, which doesn't sound entirely positive but it dissipates rather quickly. Once the plum has settled, it just smells so warm and juicy! After a good few hours, it leaves behind a lovely, approachable oud scent (coming from someone who isn't typically a fan of oud). I'm saving my sprays for special events during fall and winter!!

This is a beautiful juicy plum and is such a happy and friendly fragrance, its so just so refreshing and sweet but not off putting sweet, its beautifully blended and you just become happy when you wear it.

Why oh whyyyyy Delialaaah! is this discontinued? Why?
10./10 for sure and one of my favorite "happy" fragrances

Why did they discontinue this masterpiece? It is very loved in the fragrance community so I would imagine sales were good. My girlfriend has a 50ml bottle and I have tried to find more and all stores and online sites are out of stock and people are flipping them on ebay for triple the price or even more, really sad.

Please bring this back.

I do really like this but it's not for me. I was in need of a cold weather, night-out fragrance to replace my beloved TF Men Extreme because I wanted something longer lasting, and I was recommended this a few times. I bought a decant online last year, and subsequently a full bottle. After a season of use I decided it's just not for me. It's nice boozy plum (but dry, which I quite like) with a woody background. It maintains a nice balance and never strays to be too sweet, but there is something constantly present in it that comes across a tad too feminine for my liking. I get a sort of "cosmetics" vibe from it, overall. I believe this is sort of the typical Tom Ford DNA that was common to this era of PB collection releases, and I don't usually mind it in other TF PB compositions of the same era, but it was little too prevalent here. Also, my girlfriend wasn't a fan of it, so that's that (lol).

It remains a 'love' for me, but I decided to part ways with it. I'm glad I obtained my 99% full bottle for $140 back in 2020. I currently see people on eBay asking $400-$500 for unopened, boxed bottles. I have no idea if people are actually paying that, but GOOD GOD.

Quite a nice fragrance, but not nearly a holy grail. And considering the lack of availability, I would strongly advise against paying a crazy price just to try this. The only Tom Ford fragrance that I haven't been underwhelmed by though is my adored Tobacco Vanilla. So that's for perspective.
Anyway, if you are looking for a warm, kinda boozy, definitely fruity thing, I HIGHLY recommend BDK Rouge Smoking!

Dry Dark Woods + Earthy Funky Oud + Spices + Black Pepper + Bourbon Vanilla + Amber + Green Pine or Bush + Cinnamon + Sugary Sweet Dense Plum

omg this is awesome! Only had access to a few sprays and it's a kick-ass frag!

To me the base of this frag is what they use in TF's 'Oud Wood' plus added a yummy plum note. Common now, that sounds so good right? Well, it is!
Good news, there is is actual REAL Oud in here! It's not the best but it's real, dark earthy with a touch of intriguing funk to it. Actually, in mid drydown, the Oud type was identical to Frédéric Malle's 'Musc Ravager' and Killian's 'Love Don't Be Shy (2022 Special Edition)'. Upon further investigation, today they are all owned by the same Parent company Estée Lauder, which probably uses the same suppliers for note ingredients.

Need a bottle, need them to wake tf up and rerelease this un-reformulated. Please god! I needs this in my collection because i want to wear it!! lol
TF aka L'Oréal is re-releasing discontinued TF frags, *fingers crossed that this is coming back!

4/5 Woofs!

Where can I get this in the UK except eBay?

Ohhh no!!! Absolutely not. Lol I heard this was being discontinued and it was so hyped on the YT Fragrance community so I got a decant. My 1st impression is that I'm not ready for this fragrance, no ma'am. It smells like a smoky cardboard box. It's quite Insensee and doesn't develop much...im a bit disappointed. I was hoping to get a plum, liquor, saffron, cinnamon vibe and got a cardboard box with ashes smell. Welp I see why it's on the discontinued list. I second TFs decision, this got to go.

Strong, polarizing, dark sweet plum. I love this! One spray filled up my apartment. Really something for when you want to feel comfort in cold weather at home. Won't recommend for outside use though.

Smoky plum wine. Very linear on me. Extremely powerful. Almost too. Love this, but can only wear it about three times a year, during the winter months. Otherwise, it becomes too clingy and noxious on my clothes and sheets. It's for that special date night with just ... myself. Partner hates it. What can I say? My 10 ml decant has lasted since 2015.

I have a small decant filled with around 15ml of the perfume, must say, this is up my alley !

Sweet soft plum immediately opens this perfume with a hard, very solid foundation of oud. The other notes seem to blend together to create the colour but the main melody is the plum, and the oud uplifts it. I love this Tom Ford perfume, it’s one of my favourites from the house. This is definitely ‘oriental’-smelling, so if you’re not into bold exotic flavours of the east you won’t like this. I absolutely love this perfume I would spray a little on my chest area before bed just to smell this right when I fall asleep. Simply a beautiful perfume. Of all the Tom Ford perfumes this one is the golden egg in my collection and it’s highly underrated too. I want it to keep that way. Your scent isn’t easy to describe Plum Japonais but when people do understand you, you’re a prize for life. Stunningly beautiful bottle too, a dark amber bottle revealing itself only through scent.

Notes: Plum and oud really is the spotlight on my skin, it stays plum for a few hours and then the oud is leftover, almost a smoky scent, but not quite.

Longevity is long, this is worth the money for a perfume collector. Sillage is moderate to large, people will smell you when you’re beside them.

Simply divine, this is truly an acquired taste.

Edit: This is a discontinued perfume. I’m upset this one AND Shanghai Lily are being discontinued. These were my favourites from the privé line. So much for hoping to get myself a bottle later on.

My fav TF. Cinnamon opening is realistic. After this I get boosy plum with coniferous oud. Everything is held together by calming notes of amber-vanilla-benzoin combo. Complex well performing, but not scratchy.

Too heavy for me to wear. Very strong incense-oud in background, which almost is ashy. I love the rich stewed plum and cinnamon notes, which dominate along with the saffron, spices and oud.

I don’t get much benzoin or amber or vanilla (maybe a little of the latter two ) despite what people rate on the notes. But then I’ve just been trying the likes of Soleil Neige (benzoin) or the vanilla heavy Tobacco vanille/vanille fatale or amber monsters Ambre nuit and grand soir. So maybe that’s why I don’t detect much.

I love this rich perfume. Borders on being too heavy/incensey but doesn’t fall over the edge, and the boozy plum is just intoxicating. So sad that its time to buy more and it’s now discontinued. Really hope they bring it back! Also it’s lovely layered with tobacco vanille.

Exotic, mysterious, decadent, deep, moneyed. For special occasions. Maybe with a velvet jacketted dinner suit? This leans feminine to me though, confident, sexy, woman, 30+. If sat next to someone wearing this, not sure I'd be able to concentrate.
4.5/5
PS I saw bottles on ebay going for crazy prices (double what I paid), might be better to find a clone.

A masterpiece. A complex STUNNER of a fragrance full of dark purple fruitiness and cinnamon spiciness. I will never understand how this was discontinued as it is probably THE most intoxicating fragrance I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing. FULL BOTTLE WORTHY and you will be tempted to treat it like a precious heirloom.

Really interesting one, multifaceted and alive, unlike many Tom Ford's. I think most lovers of tobacco vanille will love this too, but I prefer this take on heavy spiced dried fruit. The Oud tones down the gourmand aspect,while the amber adds some needed sweetness. The cinnamon keeps the amber from being too sticky as well. Nice balance, nice scent

In the opening I get a strong similarity to Amber Absolute, albeit very toned down and frankly way better. In the drydown I smell Dior Santal Noir. If you love the drydown of Plum Japonais and want a fragrance that amplifies that drydown starting right at the top notes, I highly recommend Dior Santal Noir.

Smells amazing. Not sure if it’s been mentioned before but The opening is like a Tobacco Oud with fruit. (Plum) you get the ash smell from TO mixed with sweet plum.

I have a 4ML decant if anyone is interested. It’s my last one so when it’s gone it’s gone. Message me for a link.

I got this as a sample and man I'm in love. As other people have commented, this for sure isn't a women only perfume - I'm a guy and find it very unisex. I find it similar to oud wood with a mix of plum and booze with a cinnamon aftertaste. The dry notes left afterwards is of oud and fir with a fruity background. Very complex and adventurous typical. I want more of this and I know people are offering to sell but not sure how to contact you guys. I can trade or buy if you wish!

I just got a flacon from 2013 and this is probably the best fragrance I've experienced in a year! This is gorgeous. I'm willing to sell decants if anybody wants one. The flacon is 250ml so I won't be able to use it all in my lifetime. Send me a PM.

I also have two new 50ml bottles still unopened in cellophane I'd be willing to let go since I also have the flacon. Send me a PM.

For those of you mourning the loss of yet another one of TF's best, it occurred to me tonight that Blue Silk by Agent Provocateur has a definite resemblance. I think it's the combo of fir and cinnamon. Of course, there is a big difference in the quality between the two, but given you can find bottles of APBS for around $25, it might be nice to keep on hand if you're cherishing your last bottle. I find Blue Silk to be strikingly good and pretty much outside the typical AP wheelhouse.

If anyone has a 50ml they want to sell me, please message me! Just discovered it’s discontinued and absolutely heartbroken. It’s my wedding fragrance and I only have a little left. Xx

I’ve gone through all my decants and still on the hunt for a bottle if you have one you’d like to re-home. It’s a delicious fragrance and different than any other perfume I’ve had.

I get a lot of plum and oud in the opening of this, like a lot of oud. Then it dries down into that sweet plum goodness with cinnamon and amber notes, really nice.

I can see the love for this one and I really enjoy it, but not a love for me. So sad another classic PB is gone for good, shame on TF and Estee Lauder.

If you want more sweet plum, check out Bond No. 9 Andy Warhol. If you want something more animalistic and adds leather, but carries the plum throughout, check out Happyland Plum Loco.

I feel like this is the only Tom Ford scent worth owning, which is fitting considering it's discontinued. Tobacco Vanille never spoke to me the way Plum Japonais does and the tobacco dry down on this is amazingly beautiful and everything I wanted Tobacco Vanille to be but never was.

It was launched in 2013. The name is inspired by a kind of Japanese liqueur (Umeshu) which is made from plum. That's why this fragrance is associated with a strong fruity and boozy smell. On the other hand there is a great woody backbone too. This woody vibe is made by a calm and smooth Oud base.

Tom Ford Plum Japonais seeks a supporting role between Serge Lutens Féminité du Bois and Tom Ford Lost cherry.

What a pity. The Lost Cherry's Mama is discontinued!

It’s sad this was discontinued, but it’s not entirely crazy that TF did. Love or hate it, look at their current lineup and what they’re putting out now. This is rather out of place, especially considering it never was the most popular offering like Tobacco Vanille and the like. This fragrance showcased what the Private Blend collection was all about, and it retained beautiful niche qualities, while still being enjoyable by the general population.
I slept on this one for so long, and I didn’t actually try it until it was discontinued. I was instantly enamored. Had a a hard time tracking it down, but I bought several bottles that I sold and kept 3 since this became in my top 3 of Tom Ford.
For it to be so potent, it’s so smooth. The oud is in the background and not really even detectable as oud, helping this to not become offensive.
No idea why it doesn’t say it’s unisex because it clearly is. I’d say it’s more masculine than feminine. It’s got great sillage, too. Overall, it smells expensive, and it’s one of the few fragrances I’d pay full price for.

I believe I’ve read others say it, too, but it reminds me a lot of Vanille Fatale, which I also love. This is the more “sophisticated” version of it, perhaps even better suited to cold weather.
I highly recommend it!

Purchased 2 mL off a reputable decanter on Ebay. I have yet to meet a TF fragrance that I absolutely hated/needed to scrub off-- all of the decants that I've tried have been well balanced, even if they're not notes that I particularly enjoy, I feel it necessary to give credit where credit is due.

My very first job was at a hibachi restaurant, and this is incredibly reminiscent of the plum wine that they served. I've tried varying brands of plum wine over the years (side note: I have a personal philosophy that I have to try something a minimum of 3 times before I can declare that I "hate" it), and I just can't get into it. If you DO enjoy plum wine, then I think you will really enjoy this scent.

The cinnamon in this blend is not my favorite, which is why I'm between a "like" and an "okay" on this one. I'm leaning more towards "okay" because of the performance/longevity, which was around 5-6 hours on me. Additionally, if you can find full bottles, I (personally) don't think they merit the asking price.

At the risk of sounding stereotypical I will invoke the word "geisha" to capture the imagery of this masterclass of a fragrance. Mystical, traditional, haunting, beautiful, sweet... It is thought that geisha smelled like the wood and incense their kimono were stored in and with. I am also reminded of the practice of kiribi, an old ritual re-popularized during the Edo period of Japan among entertainers. Before departing for work, stone and metal were struck to create sparks, a good luck charm of protection for the day. Plum Japonais carries this mood to me. It's not smoky, but the spark is there among the spicy plum, oud, and sweet liqueur. The saffron makes it feel luxurious by association, though I wonder if a more Japanese ingredient would convey the message instead. I like this fragrance very much and can understand the enthusiasm for it. There might be similar scents out there, maybe even achieved through layering. A shame it appears to be discontinued.

For the people who have had either japanese plum wine or umeboshi, this is the one for you. I love both flavours and love this fragrance. From the first spray you immediately get the saffron, sour plum and cinnamon and it stays generally the same until 3-4 hours in where the amber and woody notes kick in.

The only thing I would change is that maybe the amount of liquor could be toned down and a bit more sourness and amberadded in. Since sour plum is such a wild and bold flavour I was expecting it to be a bit more tart and wild, but I guess after all you need to cater to the majority of people who are new to this flavour profile.

It's a shame this is discontinued because the prices are insane, Ebay is the way to go if you want to try this.

I was lucky enough to get my hands on this scent. This is easily in my top 5. This stuff is unbelievable! Definitely unisex and maybe a tad bit masculine. If you can get your hands on this stuff I would highly recommend it. Blind buy worthy in my opinion.

The fact that this one is still labelled as women's fragrance is so weird.. Its a unisex leaning masculine in my opinion

Think of tobacco oud.. With less tobacco and more designer like fruity and cinnamon vibe.. The fruit isn't all plum in my opinion as I believe plum isn't a strong smelling fruit.. However this is one of the best takes on oud I've ever seen

I feel like this is one of the only perfumes that I really "identify" with. This might even be my all-time favorite. Spicy and unisex. Fall and winter vibes. I love it.

This smells good, don't get me wrong. But when I sampled it at the department store, it triggered memories for me. My mom used to buy us perfume for Valentines growing up. Not expensive perfume, but little gift sets from the drugstore. One Valentine's Day, I got Chloe and my sister got Elizabeth Taylor's Passion. We shared a room so I would sneak hers sometimes. When Plum Japonais dries down, I smell a close resemblance to Passion. If you mixed Versace Crystal Noir with Elizabeth Taylor's Passion, it could pass as this from a distance.

Why market it as for women? It's definitely a unisex fragrance, that leans more towards masculine IMO. Still, I adore it.

The opening is a big blast of Oud, Fir and strong (so strong that it smells like hashish!) Cypress. At this point, I checked the bottle. It was so masculine. The Saffron, Immortelle Cinnamon, Plum, Benzoin and Amber gradually overtake the Fir, soften the Oud and tame the Cypress. There is a hint of boozy vanilla, that I wish was stronger and lasted longer. I get no plum blossom or Camellia.

The dry down is is gorgeous. Slightly smokey, resinous Oud, rich spiced Plum, sweet cozy Amber, with evergreen in the background.
Perfect winter, dare I say, Christmas scent!

The boozy vanilla I wished lasted longer? Plum Japonais with a spritz of Vanille Fatale, creates pure, eyes rolling into the back of your head, heaven! ❤️

I swear....I feel like I am in a dysfunctional relationship with this "thing". Sometimes I hate it and it wastes all my money....but on some cold days when I feel lonely I just cannot do without it...I don't know how it does it, but it lingers romantically. What the hell is this witchcraft?

Salty pickled plums right at the top, and a smoky greenness that now and again smells pleasantly, if unnervingly, like weed. The sharp, green smoke fades early and leaves behind a vivid memory of small-town Taiwan. There is a salty-smoky powdered plum seasoning that is sprinkled on just about everything there. It suffuses the air with a complicated sweetness that seems to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. This, shot through with the higher-pitched smoke of temple incense, is Plum Japonais for me.

I know this has more wood in it for some, but I am learning that I go nose blind to the common synthetic oud pretty fast, so after 10 minutes, I just smell everything else. 😣

Though I would not call it especially feminine, when the fall weather turns, I overspray this gorgeous perfume on my middle-aged-lady self, and wrap myself in the gentle warmth of it. Love.

"Was" the best Tom Ford frag in my opinion, by a long shot. Discontinued. Of course!

But where one market closes, another opens.

There are a couple dupe companies doing this frag, and doing it even better, as happens with clones. I have a BR540 dupe that is def better than the original, as if that were possible.

And in both cases, at really decent cost savings over the original.

(Perhaps that's why some frags are discontinued...?...Hmmmmm)

We gotta stop slamming dupe houses folks; they keep the best frags alive, and often enough do them even better.

Capitalism at its best.

Upon sniffing this fragrance i immediately knew this was something I had to get. Supposedly it’s discontinued. I got the last one (250 ml) from Sephora and when it was shipped to me I was actually pleased to see it was a 2018 batch.

I don't get the comparison with Feminite du Bois - it is dewy (has this peachy-juicy note) and this Plum Japonais is balsamic and more suave. If I have to pick one -- Tom Ford it is!

I own a bottle of this incredible elixir that I bought in 2015. No doubt the quality of Tom Ford fragrances were far superior then.

Bar none my absolute favorite fragrance of all time. I’ve bough/sampled 100s of fragrances and this one just hits everything I want.

As the fragrance has aged the cinnamon, amber, and oud have really become the star of the show and wearing it just makes me incredibly happy.

I only have about a quarter of my 50ml bottle left and I am saving it for my wedding day.

This was discontinued to make way for the inferior Black Orchid Parfum. Estee Lauder is killing Tom Ford.

Discontinued masterpiece! Such a shame that Tom Ford is discontinuing a lot of great fragrances and pushing stuff like Lost Cherry and Fucking Fabulous which are mediocre fragrances at best..

Honestly didn’t love it. All I get is a very linear sweet/warm hinoki fragrance. Great longevity but kinda boring and not enough plum. Jealous of the experience so many others get; but happy for my bank account~

*EDIT 09/2020 I found a 2013 bottle and really enjoy it. I'm not sure if its age or reformulation, but the older one has more plum and is jammier

Lasts all day and night... Masterpiece

it's beautiful and approximately simple! It opens with oud and a kind of medicinal scent, but quickly dries down to a plum scent, like a plum bubble gum .Based on some reviews I was expecting plum to be more masculine, but it's not, I think it leans more feminine. Lovely!

Love it. Should have been marketed for both men and women. Great for evenings all year and during the day in the spring.

I was hoping this was more feminine leaning however it's more masculine. It opens like you poured slivovica on yourself. Yum. However that quickly dies down and the very woody (almost incense like) with wafts of that slivovica smell. It's absolutely delicious and so blended. Unfortuantely not for me as it's quite masculine and don't think I have that vibe to pull of male scents. Def a winter night out.

Tom Ford Plum Japonais opens with a moderate and very pleasant combination of mostly oud and plum notes. The opening is very sweet, it contains floral, resinous, earthy, spicy and gourmand notes and all of them contribute to the fragrance. The oud found in the fragrance has a very strong wood accord however, it isn’t pungent or animalic, it comes as a fresh and vibrant wood tone. The plum, and plum blossom mix with the vanilla and cinnamon creating an exquisite gourmand tone that is prominent. The saffron, immortelle, and camellia, add their aromatic floral tones but they are not as prominent as the plum or oud. The liquor adds its boozy accord which combines well with the sweet and fruity tones. The benzoin and amber contribute with their sweet and aromatic accords. Once Tom Ford Plum Japonais reached its full dry-down, it can be summarized as a very aromatic, moderate projecting, resinous, sweet, fresh oud, and plum fragrance with floral, spicy, boozy and fruity accords. The fragrance feels delectable, elegant, exotic, expensive, exquisite, formal, high-quality, inviting, masculine, mature, modern, nicely-blended, refined, rich, sophisticated, sweet, unique, versatile, warm, woody, and very pleasant.

BATCH REVIEWED: 2020.
WOW RATING: 10/10. The combination of notes in this fragrance is fantastic.
DISLIKE RATING: 1/10. The oud could be offensive to some people although it feels more like fresh aromatic wood. The boozy accord is very mild and it is unlikely to be offensive.
UNIQUENESS: 10/10. Tom Ford Plum Japonais is a unique recognizable fragrance.
MASS APPEAL: 9/10. The sweet, gourmand, fruity, and floral tones score a high mass-appeal.
PROJECTION: 4/10. Moderate, about 4 feet around the wearer.
SILLAGE: 4/10. Moderate, about 4 feet behind the wearer.
APPLICATION: Four atomizations will suffice. It is unlikely that additional atomizations will make the fragrance offensive but just improve performance.
LONGEVITY: 4/10. About 2 hours with 2 of good projection.
SEASONS: Winter, fall, winter. Any mild or colder days and climate-controlled environment.
OCCASIONS: Formal events, outdoor gatherings, office, business, casual, holidays, romantic, dating, clubbing. This is an office-friendly fragrance.
VERSATILITY: 8/10. This is a highly versatile fragrance.
GENDER: Masculine, the oud, and boozy accords lean it to the masculine side.
AGES: 30 and above.
RECOMMENDATION: Tom Ford Plum Japonais is a fragrance difficult to find discounted, and with a price tag of $240 for just 50ml, it goes to the nice-to-have list.
BLIND-BUY: Yes, but only if you are familiar with its main notes.
SIMILAR: Dua Fragrances offers Plumlicious, a great clone of Tom Ford Plum Japonais.
SUMMARY: A very aromatic, moderate projecting, resinous, sweet, fresh oud and plum fragrance with floral, spicy, boozy and fruity accords that feels delectable, elegant, exotic, expensive, exquisite, formal, high-quality, inviting, masculine, mature, modern, nicely-blended, refined, rich, sophisticated, sweet, unique, versatile, warm, woody, and very pleasant.

What a sexy beast! (Tom Ford himself too)

I get a little smoky plum, some oud, which blends beautifully, because I normally can't stand oud on my skin, some saffron, and a lot of fir and cypress, which I love. I fell in love with Vert D'Encens and did not think I could like anything better that's relative to it, but this eclipses it.

I'm trying this in late May, and it's so good I can imagine trying it in winter in the cold. It would be a great Christmas season scent.

If I had to choose, I'd say it leans a tad masculine: 55/45.

Plum japonais is slept on hardcore!

Probably the most criminally underrated private blend. Opens really rich, like a boozy dark plum liqueur. Awesome smell, great when it’s layered with something else like a tobacco vanille or a noir de noir.
Doesn’t have the greatest performance on my skin(6 hrs max) but the overall smell is just awesome, there’s really nothing like it!
Appears to be slightly marketed toward women.......don’t read into that, works for men thanks to the darkness of the notes

Whispers that it’s been discontinued, neither confined nor denied by people I’ve asked.
I’ve gotta track down a 250ml flacon of this devine smelling potion👌

Interesting fragrance. Spicy, woody, a little bit sweet, but the sweetness comes and goes on me. Fairly strong and rich/dark smelling, almost too much so for me but I generally prefer softer scents so I can't count all that against it. Would make a great fall scent. I don't really pick up any plum at all, just a spicy sweetness almost like a fancy fruitcake. The dry down is heavenly, and I was still able to smell it on myself after 12hrs of wear. The glowing reviews made me curious to try a decant, which I will save for cold weather and hopefully enjoy, but not full bottle worthy to me given the price.

So firstly, this is a beautiful scent in a typically beautiful Tom Ford private blend bottle. I have not explored much of the house of Tom Ford so I thought I would start here...

However, I didn’t pay much attention to the notes or other reviews before sampling this and so I got quite a surprise when I sprayed Plum Japonais on my skin, because it is not what I was expecting. To my nose, on my skin, this is a amber scent first and foremost- a balsamic/resinous amber spiced with cinnamon, with just a hint of plum for sweetness and oud. Which as I said was a surprise to me...

The quality and performance is what I would expect of a luxury designer house. Definitely unisex. I will have to try this again in the autumn, as I think that is where it will shine...

Great scent! It's strong at first, but once the alcohol fades it has a spicy, deep, woody, refreshing scent. I get hints of plum and patchouli, but I also get a sizable hint of ginger. I'm surprised that no one else has mentioned the ginger. Maybe that's just how this scent works with my body chemistry? Either way, it's deep, complex, and elegant. My fiancé loves it on me as well, which is another great bonus!

Oh my dear. One of the most captivating of the Private Blends. As sensual as Noir de Noir.

To make stewed fruits as a veil over spiced oud, it’s fantastic. Plus its superb use of vanilla that goes hand in hand with the benzoin and immortelle. It might not be a la Guerlain when it comes to making vanilla ganaches but this one can make you smile just as Angelique Noire or Cuir Beluga can.

It doesn’t feel heavy despite the components but feels svelte. Contemporary with hints of vintage. Sweet. Plummy. Dark. Wispy. What more can I say?

Can stay side by side with the high-browed Poison and Feminité du Bois. Also to mention, it shares similarities with Zoologist’s Nightingale.

Oh my, oh my...how very, very beautiful this is! This is so lovely that it's emotionally touching.

I've spent time in my late teens wandering the Asian district of Seattle, and have truly been enriched by tasting the culture there. I wish I could travel and afford to experience more, but Japanese flavors are so rich and exquisite and this embodies that. I don't expect everyone to feel the same, this is quite a subjective response and emotional reaction; and I admit (and am cool) with that. It shoots me into memories of packaged dried fruits and spicy bags of ingredients in the market in the incense-heavy air.

The plum is so, so dry along with the warm ambery tones and the cinnamon that it's comforting and exotic all at once. I love juicy plum, but I feel as if I love this more (if you had asked me yesterday I would've claimed it to be impossible) I recommend wearing it as it is today in the PNW; damp and chilly. This sings in the gloom!

I adore the quality of the notes here, including immortelle (usually known as "helichrysum"), which is unusual but i actually happen to own the essential oil as well, this includes and utilizes that weird note beautifully. Immortelle also tends to smell very dry. You can detect some saffron too, but it's not too "expensive", it' remains very "streetmarket". This is strange, dark, striking and arid. Not much vanilla in the drydown, it's an oud-y broody experience that leaves one with the burning desire to wear dark clothing in either maroon or deep eggplant.

It's understandable that this is being contested for not being labeled "unisex", and I agree that it should absolutely be. These notes are all just gorgeous on humanity of all kinds. Gender specificity cheapens it in my opinion.

Overall, I am beyond thrilled with this (I consider 5 ml or over "having" a fragrance) and I'm seeking to acquire another substantial decant. It's stunning.

Exactly - it is like a preserved salty Japanese plums with a bit of oudy, which sounds like a lacquered Japanese wood. as if you were eating the plum in a tiny old Japanese eatery, which is a tiny hole near a busy train station.

Also the more I familiarize with Yann Vasner works the more I am impressed.

Wow, this is a really special scent.

This could be the male version of Poison. But the notes are inverted. Instead of Poison's voluptuous, ripe jammy plum notes, this is more like salty preserved plums you get in a Japanese grocery store - sweet and sour, almost medicinal with some astringency.

I swear, I almost get an Umami savory note as it warms up on the skin. Something almost like rice wine. I think that's the oud.

Like with Vert d'Encens there is a mix of green and amber, but here they work together more harmoniously.

Great for the man that loves Poison. Best in cool weather but I have found this to be wearable year-round. The cypress really projects forth in the heat making it more herbal.

9/10- Dark sensual plum- fruity oud.

Plum Japonaise might make you fall in love with oud. An exceptional blend of plum and oud with supporting greens and woods.

I hope more middle eastern houses make more such use of oud instead of learning too animalic and western houses to have more authentic use of Oud.

Deserves a permanent spot in the private blend. The CEO can take this for his clubbing while choosing Oud Wood for daily office.

What a gorgeous scent. But if you think Tom Ford’s alligator brief case is worth $15,000 on his website then I guess you think these private blends are worth $240 for 50 ml. Well I should say Estée Lauder.... of course it isn’t niche so you are in fact paying mostly for the name. BUT... he has got us by the balls in a way because his scents are so one of kind and unique. I put this on skin yesterday and it was done within a couple hours. Put a spray of Intense oud and noir de noir and fougere d’argent as I was going to buy one of them but waited to see how they performed... all lovely scents but this one died first.... very unique. I think if I’m gonna put this kind of coin down I’ll stick with niche as 80% of them last wayyyy longer. Intense oud lasted long but it’s also $320. Of course you can go to discounter websites and pay 40% less. But it’s also art and I get it. I’m just really let down with the performance on this one because the plum note is to die for and is such a beautiful scent, just not into frags that last 2 hrs...

Absolutely gorgeous! The scent is a spicy plum with incense, and good floral undertones. The oud is just enough to give it enough masculine edge to make it unisex. It's dark and elegant, but quite serene. Perfect for the fall. It sits a bit closer to the skin but it's a decent bubble and it lasts a long time. I definitely need to get myself a full bottle while I can.

This one has very smokey quality: oud, cinnamon and plum connect into something akin to “bacon” accord of Le Labo’s Patchouli 24. It is well behaved and less in your face. The similarity evaporates in the drydown where Le Labo turns full blown vanilla and TF fruity plum quality finally stands out. In any case, I appreciate both frangrances for what they are, but neither is a love enough for me to justify the purchase. I would definitely enjoy smelling it off somebody else though (totally unisex). It turns into skin scent within couple of hours, but you can smell it off your skin for next 24 hours easily, longevity is not an issue here, rather poor projection...

My top 5 love love love BUT longevity and sillage is poor even on clothes. maybe nose blind but I doubt it.

It's getting harder and harder to find fragrances that smell great, last 8+ hours and a 2 foot scent bubble at any cost...

Who says its discontinued? You can still buy it at luckyscent, and they had it at Nordstroms just today when I was there. Who knows but I’ll look into getting a bottle after my sample I picked up today. Feels like a great fit for the cold wintery air in my area of the planet at the moment. Got a great combination of plummy woods feels like a good cozy intimate fragrance

I recently found this beauty is now discontinued. So I bought the 8.4 oz. bottle as my first time purchase. Approximately 3,000 new fragrances are released annually. Therefore, brands are under such pressure to release new product in order to stay relevant, that many perfumes get discontinued if they fail to capture enough market share; otherwise any house's portfolio becomes unmanageable... and I question whether this business model, is doing fragrance brands and consumers any favors.

Fragrantica offers space for 6 favorites: 2 of those on my top shelf have been discontinued and 3 have been reformulated to a lesser version of their original selves.

As of today, between my "to test" and "to buy" lists I have over 1,000 perfumes to get through. Case in point: by the time I was able to try this gorgeous fragrance, researched and compared it with other plum orientals, selected this one, and my collection warranted another purchase in this segment, Plum Japonais was discontinued. This is the second time something like this happens to me, and I suspect there will be more to come.

EDIT: While this is still currently available at Sacks, Nordstrom, etc., Tom Ford is no longer producing this fragrance.

In this fragrance, Tom Ford takes another note that has been absolutely butchered by designer brands, and makes an incredible fragrance out of it.

He already did it before with Tuscan Leather. Case in point this time: Plum

I cannot stress enough how much I hate those cheap plum fragrances. From the garbage that are Beyonce Midnight Heat and Nicki Minaj Pinkprint, all the way to the well made but underwhelming Parfums de Marly Cassili.

Tom Ford does plum well because this fragrance doesn't have any unnecessary creamy florals jammed in to make it mass appealing. It's just smoke and spices surrounding the plum and the result is a very juicy and captivating fragrance.

Masculine leaning unisex and easily the best fragrance Tom Ford discontinued.

Warm spicy cinnamon with mildly-sweet fruity plums, supported by a woody-green scent of oud & fir.

I really like but not enough to pay the exorbitant asking price.

Very nice opening, but after 20 minutes I get a horrible bubble gum smell.

It is not the sweet "Invictus" type of bubble gum.

It is the one that I had in my childhood because of the soccer player stickers, not sweet, but definitely a cheap bubblegum.

I didn't care for the sample on paper. I then tried it on my skin. I really, really did not like it. And because of that, it refused to leave my wrist for HOURS, including overnight and into the next morning. Could not wait to shower. My husband and daughter also disliked it immensely. It's odd, isn't it? How much tastes differ?

This is a very beautiful scent, like autumn in a bottle. It's also comforting. You get the plum in the beginning, but overall I would say this is a cinnamon oud. It's dry, spicy, warm, and slightly bitter. It's lacking the floral and sweet aspect of something like, say, Chanel Coco Noir. Easily and truly unisex.

10-20-19 Today a woman told me I smelled 'so good.'

10-22-19 Today when I wore this I was asked who was wearing perfume that smelled like baby powder. (RB)

10-24-19 Got another compliment on this today (KK)

I just downgraded this from Love to Like. And I do like it very much! It's deep, woodsy, balsamic, boozy, and very much Tom Ford through and through. A very well made perfume with great longevity, it goes especially well in the cool weather. Why the downgrade? All fragrances are unisex and what we like or dislike is subjective, but this has started to lean more towards what I perceive as "masculine" on my skin. This is not a problem in general, but I do tend to prefer more stereotypically "feminine" fragrances. I'll still wear it (it goes great with a black leather motorcycle jacket!!), but I'm dying to see how it smells on my husband. I think it will be irresistible on him!

EDIT - Just sprayed some on his wrist, and I was right - irresistible! And he really likes it too. Wins all around!!

EDIT 11/20/2021 - back to a love again! Not sure why I downgraded this in the first place! It's been 2 years since I first purchased it, so perhaps it's just that it became smoother over time, but my more likely, my tastes evolve. Also, I stopped smoking over a year ago and things now smell different to me, this one for the better!!

I had originally written a long post to praise this, but, I changed my mind, I take it back.

It smells pretentious.

Sweet sour a little tingy smoky resinous gummy spicy plumminess.

I still like it, but, I don't know why it smells like trying too hard.

Hahahaa! Tastes and perfume! If Cynthia30 (revewer below) is right, you may call me granny any day of the week!

Last week I spent one afternoon at the TF counter and settled on 2 orientals: Noir Pour Femme and Plum Japonais. I sprayed NPF on one wrist, PJ on the other, put my samples in my bag and went to the supermarket.

That afternoon, I was stopped 3 times by ladies in their 30s: "You smell amazing! What is it?" I explained my experiment, and asked them to smell my wrists and select a favorite. And the winner is... PRRRRRRRRRR: Plum Japonais! This week, I've been using my samples. No one has inquired when wearing each of these separately. Here's what I've found:

1. While NPF is sweeter, PJ is dryer. These 3 ladies and I, appreciate its tempered fruit to woods ratio and spices balanced by fir. The phrase 2 of them used is:"This is more elegant".
2. NPF projects more than PJ.
3. PJ's longevity is 24 hours on my skin and lasts days on clothes, while NPF lasts upto 6 hrs and has a darker tint that makes me reluctant to spray on fabric.

I decided to use the last of my samples by layering 1 spray of NPF to 2 PJ. Again, 2 strangers asked: "What are you wearing?" I've found a new automnal/evenings signature scent!

This is perfectly unisex and IMO even leans more masculine. Especially the opening and drydown, (the mid is the most feminine to me). A hidden gem of mine since it's mainly marketed towards women; although I'd also love to smell this on a woman. You get a deep, dark, and elegant plum note, with smokey cinnamon and a transparent oud note in the background. Very rich, seductive juice for cold weather evening wear.

EDIT: after some time I think this is more feminine, a bit too "perfumey" for me if that makes sense. Still absolutely love it and would be intoxicating on the right woman.

If there was no cinnamon, this would be what I was looking for. I have allergic reaction to cinnamon and I really hate it.
But other than this, Plum Japonais is very strong and very good plum scent. It is rich, velvety, it is interesting and dark. And I think, very unisex. I really love it, it's just too spicy.

It starts off smelling like a beautiful boozy plum spiced pudding... a bit tart at the finish, which is delicious and intriguing.
It then starts to have a bit of a plastic plum smell as it dries down. Not too impressed overall... but the sour boozy plum is definitely going to turn heads.

"Plummy Leather" is what I first thought when I tried this from a sample a few weeks ago. This is a very dense fragrance. It's much more complex and interesting now. The oud is the sugared variety which I love in oud perfumes, but the composition is incredibly dense and narcotic and far too sweet.

I smell the plum, cinnamon, fir, cypress, amber and liquor. It's really way too heady for me and is among my least favorite fragrance type: "floral fruity (gourmand)". This perfume is incredible but it's not for me. Feminite du Bois is much more my style. -

A cult favorite in the Tom Ford private blend cabinet, Plum Japonais has turned its fair share of heads over the years. While it's somewhere in between a gourmand and a spicy floral, plum is unsurprisingly the star of the show here, so let's go right ahead and dig into that note first.

Plum Japonais uses umeboshi plum, so any notion of the purple succulent Western plums won't be precise. Umeboshi is an extraordinarily sour, fermented, jammy plum that would probably be too challenging on its own, but fortunately it gets along very well with others.

Vanilla and cinnamon fluff it up generously, but don't let that give you the impression of some kind of apricot cobbler. This cinnamon seems to have drifted right off of some resinous Vietnamese temple incense, and despite its gourmand qualities, Plum Japonaise is actually reasonably dusty. A safe oud a la Yves Saint Laurent M7 further emphasizes the mysterious, calming and opiatic nature of the scent.

Projection is average and rightfully so. Making this fragrance a screamer would totally defeat the purpose, so I'm glad they stayed away from the typical Tom Ford balls out beast mode formula. Longevity on the other hand is absurd, and it lasts on the skin for at least twenty four hours.

This would make a wonderful date scent due to its classy use of restraint. It's a tad bit more on the dressed up side, but down-to-earth enough for those who aren't concerned with smelling luxurious. I cannot justify what they charge for just a 50 ml, but dig around for a deal and you'll find yourself rewarded. Can we please fast forward to fall already so I can put this yummy stuff to use?

Dark spicy plum oud. This was a very nicely blended fragrance. Potent with outstanding longevity. I would recommend trying this if you are fan of TF fragrances.

Ohhhhhh Plum Japonais you are a spicy, naughty little minx. I remember when I first tried you, I thought you were a bit too oudy, a bit too smoky, a bit too spicy, a bit too je ne sais quoi. But you were just teasing me, you little vixen. I was the one who was wrong, not you. You were a star, a diva, a femme fatale, and I was nothing but a boy, a shy, inexperienced boy whose nose had no sense of decorum. But I went away, I smelled, I grew, I changed - I became a man, and I came back to you. And how wrong I was. Will you ever be able to forgive me?

Now I smell the floral sensuality, the deep booziness, the succulent fruitiness, the exotic harmony of saffron and cinnamon that swaddle you in that aura of intrigue, and the dark carnality of oud, resins, and balsams that make you seem so bottomless. Girl, you got stories to tell, you got your sh*t together, you lookin like a slice of fine a la mode, and you ain't takin smack from NOBODY. This is the aroma of a dark eyed beauty you lock eyes with across a smoke filled parlor of a Parisian jazz club, puffing softly at one of those long cigarette holders and delicately tracing a gloved finger along the rim of her martini glass. With a single glance she tells so much but reveals nothing, and when you join her at her table, it feels as if you've known each other forever - everything's already been said. She speaks three languages, she writes postmodernist novels, she's an accomplished playwright. To some she seems haughty, but there's a melancholy behind her eyes that inexorably draws you to her. The night is young, and she proposes that you find someplace quieter to chat. As you open the door, the icy cold winter air wafts in and mingles with her perfume, and in that moment, as the lights of Paris sparkle in the night sky, you know that you're hooked.

Quite unisex, but leaning femme. Performance is great, with powerful projection and sillage but moderate longevity. One of my all time favorites. If you want something that smells truly EXOTIC, give this one a sniff.

9/10

This is sooo good, dark smoky plum and cinnamon that’s perfect for a cold rainy day or a night by the fireplace. Something about this fragrance just takes me somewhere and makes me feel some type of way. I dab a little bit on my wrist before I go to bed because it’s such a comforting scent to me.. It’s a more spicy, grown up fragrance than I usually wear but I love it so much.

I’ve been getting by on samples of this because the full bottle is so expensive and also because I could see my husband hating this (his taste in women’s perfume leaves something to be desired lol) and then I’d be stuck with more of it than I’d ever use in a lifetime of just dabbing little bits on. One decant I have is older and smells more plummy and smooth whereas the other, newer decant smells more spicy and dry. I love them both but slightly prefer the first one.

Far from an fragrance expert but this blew my mind, it captures the essence of a warm, spiced plum pudding with vanilla ice cream.

I’ll be picking this up eventually as a cosy winter scent to last for years to come, one spray is all you need.

I had this on the other night, and my husband made a point of telling me that I smelled ‘really good ‘. Twice! So there’s that!
This has excellent silage and lasted about 4-5 hours. I do enjoy it- it’s unusual to smell this much plum in a fragrance. I agree with the below reviewer that it has a shnaps aroma to it. There’s also a little potpourri action to my nose that is caused by the cinnamon. So to summarize I primarily smell plum, cinnamon and liquor in this.
This leans feminine in my opinion, or at least it’s quite sweet. A moderate like for me.

Plum Japonais is only my second Tom Ford fragrance, after Velvet Orchid. For some reason, TF scents don’t work on my skin, and these two are just exceptions to the rule.
On my skin Plum Japonais is quite linear and smells like plum brandy (schnapps)! There are some other discernible notes (saffron, some exotic flowers and synthetic oud), but the smell of schnapps absolutely dominates. It’s not unpleasant at all - quite the opposite, actually! The only downside is that Plum Japonais only lasts about 5-6 hours max, and less than an hour after application it melts into a skin scent. I don’t know if anyone else has the same problem, because TF fragrances are supposed to be tenacious and long lasting - alas, not this one.

5/10

This one is too difficult. It starts with a big blast of camphor/tiger balm-smelling medicine (is this supposed to be cypress?), then an incense-like accord with cinnamon, evergreen and grassy notes mixed with booze and florals and fruit. This all turns quite screechy and sour on my skin immediately, and veers slightly makeup-powdery, which I can’t stand. The dry down does get better with all those notes and accords dying down and nearly disappearing within the first hour, except for some of the plum, mixed with the smoky agarwood oud and amber coming through, and fir, but I don’t smell the vanilla at all. It evens out to a pleasant, dry and crackling southwestern scent that is close to the skin, but I’m not sure it is worth going through that terrible opening. I do appreciate the smoky dry down, but I know there are better ouds for me out there.

I feel like I should like this, based on the notes, as I love evergreens and resinous ouds and amber and cinnamon. I love Serge Lutens Fille En Aiguilles, and love Tom Ford Sahara Noir, and many of the ouds I have smelled including Arabian ones. I’m beginning to wonder what in my nose and chemistry just does not get along with certain greens or fruits. It’s a puzzle that I can’t like a scent that is almost universally loved in the reviews.

Take the cinnamon out and it smells a lot like Robert Piguet Intense V. , both are fantastic !

Does anyone know if this one has been reformulated? I tried it soon after it was launched and I feel like this was way more potent back then...

light oud/plum...cypress spinning in...light floral ambery vibe....ginger "zing" too.
I now can see why people loved and missed this scent.
The only draw-back for me..is...projection/longevity is low-medium...on my skin. But, still glad to own this gem

It might seem like an odd comparison, bit the amber, immortelle, and cypress create a base that is really similar to Ambre Sultan.

Now there is a lot sitting on top of that base -- spices and plum and a really bright and airy floral. There is a lot going on, but Tom Ford is really good at not crossing the line into overwhelmingly too much. Fascinating and impressive

...I'm glad to hear that this is no longer on the chopping block! Way to listen to your constituents, Tom. I'm impressed! :) I have a decant of this and decided to wear on a rainy 55 degree Fahrenheit day and it's so smoky-sweet-gorgeous. Strong oud and plum in the initial spray, and then it settles in a bit and the cinnamon and saffron come through. I've had on for about 8 hours now and it's still very much ever-present on me. I need not raise my wrist to my nose (but I still do!) Reminds me of Japanese plum brandy and having an expensive dinner at a Japanese restaurant. It actually is now at a stage where it's very sweet plummy, and I thought, "Wait, why do I smell a soft Hypnotic Poison vibe?" Sure enough, I never realized that HP is plum-heavy. These two frags are definitely in the same wheelhouse, although HP is more feminine to my nose, and Plum Japonais is unisex. If you love Hypnotic Poison, and especially if you're a guy, you NEED this. This is a grown-up HP <3

This is more of a comment than a review. I accidentally grabbed this today thinking it was my little decant of japon noir. I knew I messed up bc I isntantly had a flashback of 18 years ago in algebra class and my teacher breathing on me with her bizarre smelling breath. I think my decant turned. Same flashback happened when I put on Violet blonde, so I am starting to question an existential crisis...

A masterpiece!! Plum and beautiful spices! and I own not one bottle that has spice notes, but this is amazing!
You smell and then you smell something else, the blending of this is just beautiful. And woody notes! pure heaven!
I feel amazing!!!!! A blind buy beauty! expensive but again you get what you pay for!! AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another enchanting and surprisingly gothic scent from TF has found me! The evolution is beautiful. This scent can easily be unisex, as it veers from feminine to masculine throughout it's evolution.

The initial blast is dark evergreens, which quickly morphs into a jammy plum with incense. 30 minutes in, the resinous woods emerge. Just when it seems the woods may grow too intense, the plum and evergreens gently return. The incense then blends with a soft cinnamon. I do detect a touch of vanilla. Make no mistake, as this scent "gently' morphs, it still projects at a pleasant moderate range. (Not the full blast Black Orchid range, but a comfortable level that won't fill the room or send anyone running for cover!) It is indeed safe to spray more than one spray, though only 2 sprays were perfect for me. 12 hours later, it's a beautiful smokey cinnamon campfire skin scent. Dark, sexy and comforting. Strangely uplifting. Perfect for this October!

From the other reviewers, this must perform differently in various weather & seasons? This review is from a warm, humid, rainy place. I can update from cold weather, when and if there is any!

Say it isn't so!! I just received a decant of this magnificent scent and thought that I might have actually found my signature scent. Then I started to read the reviews only to discover it is being discontinued! Unfortunately, the price point is too high for me to stock up, but as soon as I finish this review, I am going on line and ordering the largest bottle I can get my hands on. I am not going to bother describing it, as better noses have done a far better job than I could. I only know that it makes me feel both sacred and sexy, like some ancient priestess practiced in the art of seduction.

EDIT: Mission accomplished - plus
I had a $20 coupon from Lucky Scent, so I suppose it was meant to be!!

EDIT #2: It is a chilly November day, and I am falling deeply in love with this exotic juice. Stunning and sexy, I feel like I could just drown in this as I "plumb" it's depths!!

All I can say is wow! This is absolutely amazing. Some houses just do well with people’s chemistry and it’s seeming very clear lately that TF is going to be a winner for me.

The initial scent is strong and deep fruits like wine. So gorgeous! Then that saffron creeps in and that was it... I’m in love! This is so rich and deep and sultry. I’ve never thought of many fragrances being sexy but this is the epitome of a sexy scent.

I think it’ leans masculine but who care it is literally perfection to my nose. Dang it now I’m going to have to search for a full bottle of this discontinued beauty. If you can find it give it a try it’s a perfect winter fragrance.

finally bought this after years of lusting after it
when the duty free lady said its being discontinued I had to snap it up
was that just a sales tactic or is PJ really being discontinued?????

This has the dark and sensual tom ford base with plum fruitiness and lightened with some rose and other florals

I find this very nice, but not amazing like some others have

Overall this is unisex, but more feminine in my opinion. It could be very seductive and fits spring or fall nights best

another great fragrance from tom ford and I find this unique, but not off putting to most people, like a good niche fragrance should be I think.

6 hours longevity and fair projection and good sillage

• First spray opening is nice strong harsh spicy. Very nice, but then it turns to an Aziyade and Feminite du bois.
• I'd say closer to Aziyades horse stall smell, because of fir, agarwood, immortelle, liquor, cinnamon and amber, that all is opposite to my expectations about a Plum and Japan.
• I thought it would be more silky, thin and more delicate...
• Maybe it just needs different skin chemistry.

You know when you're stopped in your tracks and have one of those 'Road to Damascus' moments? Well I had one today right after I sniffed Plum Japonais in John Lewis. It's only happened twice before in my 30 years of fragdom, Black Afgano and TFNdN, totally mesmerised me, and today I think I found my Holy Grail frag.
I can't even begin to describe the emotional response to smelling this juice. If I had to pick a word to describe it i'd say 'Ethereal'.
As for the frag, sweet plum, resinous floral accords and an alluring smokiness that envelopes and take you on a journey to frag heaven!

My perfect 10!

I like the idea of a plum note. I’m inclined to say I dig it but when you don’t know the note breakdown for this and smell it blind it’s not so great and probably wouldn’t get a mention if it was from any other brand, I highly doubt people would be able to pick out half the notes in this, let alone 3. This is very mature. I thought it was sexy when I first bought it years ago but the more I wore it the more negative feedback I got as well. This reminds me of an older auntie/borderline grandma. Not my style. I used to love this but not all good things last forever. The whole private blend line has nothing I’d ever purchase again. I’m not into challenging fragrances anymore and whilst it’s not all of them, the lighter, fresher ones especially just arnt that flash to start with anyway.

I couldn't find the discontinued Andy Warhol scent from Bond number 9, and instantly went looking for this one based off of reviews and similarities. I must say that this one smells amazing. The plum, the oud, the syrupy, cinnamon amber all bottled up into sheer greatness. I eventually found a bottle of my Bond, but i can't say that this one isn't a close tie. I could probably close my eyes and grab either one of them and be instantly satisfied upon the first spritz.

A newfound classic in my book. A very Impressive aberration for a Tom Ford scent!


9/10.

كعادة توم فورد
يعيد صياغة عطور قديمة و احياءها مرة اخرى
لكن بلمسة اجمل و مكونات نقية و عمق آخر
..
عطر بلوم جابونيز
اراه تحفة هذا الوحي الجميلة
والأجمل على الاطلاق في المجموعة
..
بهاري خشبي .. عودي نوعا ما
مع بروز فاكهة الكوجا الرائعة
..
العطر عميق جداً
و كلاسيكي للغاية .. متقن ومحكم
..
عند تجربتي للعطر
شعرت انني اعيش في كوخٍ خشبيّ
وسط غابة تحيطني باشجار ثمرة الكوجا
..
العطر هو الاكثر ثباتاً و فوحاناً في المجموعة
رائع رائع .. عليّ ان اقتينه في أقرب فرصة
يستحق و بجداره هذا الثمن الباهض

Fragrance -Plum Japonais Tom Ford
Bottle from - 2015

Plum Japonais opens on my skin with a fruity,sweet,sugary, syrupy,smoky and spicy blend of plum and cinnamon.As time goes by,during mid development,bouquet of a bit green,clean and unusual flowers starts to emerge and bring some elegance into the game.
This all leads into a spicy,ambery,resinous,woody and oudy base with dominant vanilla,amber,oud and benzoin and with a wisper of plum and fir.
I think it's a unisex smell.A little bit more feminine,but it’s in the middle of the road.
It has some similarities to Fille en Aiguilles by Serge Lutens.

Longevity - 7/10(7+ hours)
Silage/Projection - 7,5/10(moderate to heavy projection and silage for the first 2-3 hours,than sits closer to skin for the duration of the scent's evolution)
Weather -best in autumn,winter and early spring.
Age - 23+
Compliments - 7/10
Scent - 8,5/10

Main notes according to me - plum,oud,saffron,fir,unusual flowers,cinnamon,amber.

The drydown is spicy,ambery,resinous and oudy and I get some -vanilla,amber,oud,spices,fir,plum and benzoin

Emotions -longing,seductive,sensual,romantic,desire.

Occasion -for more or less any ocasion,perfect for special occasions,romantic evening and date.

Another beautiful fragrance from the amazing house of Tom Ford.

Sweetness done in the right way ,not overly sweet as the spicy saffron and floral heart with the camellia counteracts it ,rich oud really smooths this fragrance out ,long lasting yet does not choke people out when with others ,love this fruity Tom ford fragrance

This smells great, but, doesn't really last on me and becomes a skin scent pretty much instantly. Lovely scent but I really question the pricetag...

I like it

My favorite Tom Ford scent . Sweet and succulent plum with Oud and spices.
Initial spray and dry down are equally delicious
Definitely more of a warm weather formal scent .
Longevity-9/10
Sillage -8/10
Scent -9.3/10
Overall- 9.1/10

This is a spicy, uplifting plum with some floral vibe to it, but the benzoin gives it this very fresh metalic vibe at the opening which blends with oud in the background really well. The saffron and amber make this fragrance powdery dry. This is probably the most classy fruity floral fragrance, I have ever smelled. It is heavy, mysterious, opulent and sexy. I have done a review of this on my youtube channel, check it out if you like. The channel name is rvmvadati.

Now this one is worth a try! I got a sample on Luckyscent. It's really special, I enjoyed it very much, all 60 minutes of it. Might last longer on your skin though.. very lovely scent! Well done Tom! Another great concoction, but maybe you could come up with something longer lasting!?

I don't like scents like this. Would never consider wearing or even trying something like this.

Got 30ml from a really nice guy for free, because he really wanted me to try it.

This stuff is damn good.

Yes that means I like it. Yes, I do wear it.

Woman, Man, or Child you need to try this.


Edit: Wear this with Tobacco Oud. You won't be sorry.

Love it love it love it!!!!

Stunning intense aromatic plum with florals, background oud. I see some reviews not detecting oud, I'm getting a lot of soft oud, not stinky, lovely spice also background, and some light incense wafting with some lovely soft smoke too.

Best plum note ever, got to get me more of this. One of Toms best for me so far!

Very very dry plum and vanilla with some woods but not oud, all very dry

I LOVE this very earthy, woodsy scent. I can totally tell that Tom Ford has spent a lot of time in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This perfume has beautiful undertones of cedar. Very fall/ winter and very southwestern. It has a long lasting earthy scent.

I am in love with Plum Japonais! This elegant embracing sensual plum with velvety spices is a personal one on one dance for anyone who satellite around your sillage. The best compliments are from myself because I can't stop smelling my wrists. Plum Japonais is the poetry of Frida Kahlo in a bottle and it always says "Yo te cielo".
I'm not a fan of Tom Ford but destiny brought me to this magnificent scent and I give reverence to this creation by Tom Ford.

For a scent marketed for women, this one is great! A man can certainly pull this off as well! I'd like to think this one would perform beautifully in the winter.

It's sweet, but not overly sweet. It has that masculine edge from the cinnamon and that little bit of oud. I like the plum note in this one. I'm not a fan of the fruit, but I am a fan of that smell! It truly is nothing like anything I own. I don't find a lot of scents with plum notes in my travels. You definitely get the vanilla and amber in the dry down with Plum Japonias.

Out of his private blends, this by far is my absolute favorite (coming in second would have to be Champaca Absolute). I am discovering within myself, that I am attracted to oriental fragrances. Perhaps the most richest, decadent plum that I have come across.

The opening is a sweet, ambrosial and radiant plum, as if it was dropped in a vat of honey and left outside in the sun to ferment. As the fragrance warmed up on my skin after 3 minutes, I got a little kick from the saffron, and she seemed to have left the building, but she makes a revisit during the dry down. Now on the dry down, there is smoke, oud, imortelle, and a spice that I can't seem to put my finger on (a tiny licorice quality to it like Anise or Fennugreek).

Many people feel this fragrance is similar to Serge Lutens' "Fille en Aiguilles", "Ambre Sultan", or Bond No. 9" "Andy Warhol". While people are correct about the comparison to Serge Lutens, I thought this was certainly unique but after 8 hours, it reminded me a lot of Comme des Garçons "Comme des Garçons 2". They both dry down with pepper and warm spices that are pleasant in the room and have a synthetic ending and I don't mean that to sound smutty.

This is definitely a cool season fragrance for Fall and Winter. One could say this is an evening fragrance, but I believe it is sweet enough to wear on a very cold day.

I just blind bought. For me it smells identical to Serge Lutens's Ambre Sultan. Bummer, since I have that one in my collection already.

This is beautiful. Like a lot of the private blends such as Tobacco Vanille, Tuscan leather etc that are unmistakably masculine scents yet a woman could pull one of these off easy. Plum japonais in my opinion is no exception. When I smell this the dark juicy plum and woody combination with insence burning in the background it just puts me in a great confident mood. It’s one of those scents when you spray it you’ll be standing in the party knowing no one else smells as classy, elegant and just plain sexy as you. A truly amazing fall/winter scent that has good performance at least on my skin. Made a beautiful engagement present for myself and look forward to getting plenty wearings out of it this season.

My favorite Tom Ford private blend of all. Very high quality plum fragrance and I really enjoy it in all occasions. I get 10 -12 hrs of solid performance.

This one was a blind-buy for me after falling in love with Tom Ford's private blends. I looked at the notes on here and thought it would smell amazing, so i took the plunge. I opened the bottle when i got it and hoo boy, it's REALLY strong smelling, like incense, ancient resinous wood, and the richest evergreens. It's gorgeous and deep, but it smells terrible with my chemistry. My husband, on the other hand, wears it so damn well. Very sensuous and masculine, i love it.

This is almost the same fragrance as John Varvatos Dark Rebel, though this came out first. Exchange some of the Dark Rebel leather for gourmandy florals and you get Plum Japonais. The plum itself is more a composite of other accords: amber, benzoin, vanilla, incense, and cinnamon, lots of cinnamon. Really it smells like Hot Tamale candies, especially while being chewed. The pumpkin-spice effect would be good for holidays, or freezing temperatures outside then warm mugs of coco inside but that’s about it.
Hack: rub it in (i know it's a sin) and it smells intoxicating animalistic when mixed with body smells. This is very similar to Tom Ford Vert d'Encens, especially in the dry down.

Well, everyone already talked about this fragrance. The only thing I can add to this is, you should try to blend this with Tuscan Leather. It comes out a masterpiece. Spray Tuscan Leather first and then spray the Plum Japonais.The result will be lots of compliments.

Much of the Tom Ford oeuvre, fragrance as much as fashion, takes its shape as homage to a performance of masculinity otherwise lost to the culture since the mid-to-late 1960s through to the closing days of disco. Quite literally in the last cast, as the hauntology of Halston and Studio 54.

A less romantic - one is tempted to say, credulous - soul might interpret the work differently, of course. But even a rip-off, when it's well-executed, is necessarily a reworking and in many cases, a much-appreciated revival with so many fragrances carrying on in a grim half-life, shades of themselves.

Z-14 becomes Italian Cypress, Habit Rouge becomes Tom Ford Noir and, in this case, Poison becomes Plum Japonais. If you are too young to have encountered the original - and best of all the Extrait de Pargum - you might balk at the comparison, particularly when comparisons to several products of the Serge Luten line are both apt and ready to hand.

Sadly, for Plum Japonais, reformulation was not Poison's worst fate. Its popularity became ubiquity as it was reinterpreted and reinvented as cleaning products and air fresheners (much as white musks became "clean" white musks through their universal association with laundry detergents).

Plum Japonais is an impressive work but it is unwearable. With that said, I expect it would make a fine scented candle or room spray.

The guy below who said "Jubilation XXV with plums" was right on the money. PJ is a darker, smoother, somewhat sweeter version of Jub XXV (not exactly the same notes, but similar, especially in the dry down). I own and love both. PJ is rich, opulent, full bodied and complex. On my skin, longevity is beastly bordering on ridiculous and projection is outstanding. It's Amouage or Mancera like in its tenacious can't-even-wash-it-off-your-skin power. Ridiculously expensive, but 1 spray is all you need, so it'll last a very long time. Lovers of superficial soapy fresh scents need not bother with this one. This is heavy, sensuous and full. 10/10 but of course a perfume this rich does not fit all situations and environments, and I don't think it's applicable at all to a hot summer type of environment.

Very unique oudy plum in amber and cinnamon background. This smell is pure class. Very long lasting, don't overspray as become irritable. Masterpiece !

To smell different, unique, and downright sexy....Plum Japonais is the way to go. It carries all those features, in turn, creates this magnetic allure. It's an uplifting fragrance that enhances the mood, makes you walk with pride and talk with confidence. It's the final touch in your beauty wardrobe that turns heads and leaves a trail in people's senses. I wear this fragrance whenever I want to leave a long lasting impression. There are times i want to be tasted, not forgotten, nor forsaken. This is my go-to fragrance

briefly, sweet plum juice with oud and cinnamon
i feel other some notes... spice,amber, saffron...
It's one of my favorite scent for fall but not enough for winter

8/10

I get amber as the main note. A fruity resinous fragrance similar to Amouage Jubilation XXV.

I do get a bit of pine and immortelle, no oud or cinommon.
It is predominantly an amber fragrance, but the other notes really make it refined, smooth and enjoyable resinous fragrance. I like it better than Jubilation 25. It is rather sweet.
I have some nice amber fragrances so I won't be getting a bottle in the near future.

Your first few times you spray this on, you may think this is wonderful. It does have elements which to me overlap with reformulated m7.

Weeks down the track I find this slightly harsh. It is still ok, but the allure of those first few experiences tempered with the violence of the plums.

Then ***poof*** it' all just vanishes, like a hit and run.

I'm glad I just got a decant of this, Had I smelt it instore first time it would be like crack, I would have to have it.

It is still good, but unless you dgaf about how many frags at this price you own, then consider trying it on several occasions first.

There are no words to adequately communicate the extravagant superiority of this scent. I won't even try to break it down in any literal sense. It absolutely radiates the irresistible. For me, it defines the magnetic lure of the Tom Ford aesthetic and character at its best.

I could get drunk on Plum Japonais. So liquorous, dark, and smoky.

Sweetness, spiciness, sourness, saltiness, and sulfurous reminding me of dried Asian plums -- total flashback to my childhood. My Thai parents bought 'boi' every time we went to the Asian grocery store (I was raised in Australia so these were a special treat!). I believe 'li hing mui' is the Chinese equivalent. This scent is so reminiscent of that unique taste, right down to the slightly dried pickle and woody licorice aroma. I would pucker every time I put one in my mouth from the weird explosion of flavor but I would always go back for another. Totally addictive, just like this Tom Ford scent.

If you love Plum Japonais and are somewhat of a gourmet adventurer, next time you pass an Asian grocery store, pick up a pack of li hing mui and see how long you can savor one in your mouth (you have to suck the flesh off the stone). The parallels to this scent will fascinate you.

Epicurean memories aside, this is one sultry scent that will make you smell smokingly sexy and sophisticated all at once. I much prefer this over the other Tom Ford Private Blends I have owned (Jasmin Rouge, beautiful but performed poorly on my skin; Santal Blush, gorgeous but too heavy on the sandalwood). It smells like all the fleshy naughty parts in Costume National Scent Intense in the black bottle, but darkened and refined with boozy, sweet fruit and a wisp of tobacco (that one has also rotated out of my wardrobe).

Should I happen to be fortunate enough to acquire a bottle, I have a feeling that this is one that will stay in my small, fussy collection.

Oh, this is fantastic, really. I will mention that I'm a guy, and this has probably become one of my favorite fragrances out there - definitely unisex, in my opinion.

This starts out very plum-wine-gourmand on me, with florals and spices as a backdrop. It's quite fruity, while not being overly sweet; more of a mature, rich, wine-like opening. On my skin, I really get the plum and immortelle.

About a half hour later, I get a caramel-like toasty amber note that comes out, accompanied by a slightly withered flower scent; it's quite comforting and I really get the cinnamon notes at this stage. The plum is still present, but softer, and less pronounced; the saffron begins to emerge and shine here for me.

An hour later, I have a toasty amber, vanilla, spice-agarwood note that is delicious in a gourmand-like way; slightly 'jam-like,' as has been mentioned in various other reviews. The pine is slightly present here, and backs everything with a soft, cool evergreen note; the florals are just barely present, which lends a wonderfully soft drydown for the whole composition.

Overall, I will be totally wearing this quite a lot during autumn and winter; even spring would be a wonderful time to use this one. It's fantastic for rainy, cool weather; it really is something that encourages curling up with a nice book, or meeting with a good friend for tea on a rainy day.