Tom Ford Black Orchid arrived in November 2006, when Tom Ford introduced it as his first women's fragrance. It was also the first entry in Tom Ford Beauty, developed with a big beauty group as a partner, so everything the label has done in perfume since traces back to this one bottle. Fragrantica credits the perfumers David Apel and Pierre Negrin.

I like it because it does not pretend to be sweet and pretty. According to Fragrantica's note list, it opens with truffle, black currant, ylang-ylang and jasmine, then moves to orchid in the heart and settles into patchouli, vanilla, incense and amber. That is a lot of darkness in one bottle, and yet it wears smoother than it reads on paper.

The Eau de Parfum with Black Truffle & Ylang Ylang is the original, and it is the one I would start with if you have never smelled it. Black Orchid Parfum is the more concentrated version, for people who want it to last through a long dinner. Black Orchid Reserve is the third option, and I would try it side by side with the first to see which one suits your skin better.

Two sprays are plenty, and I put one on my scarf. If you prefer a quieter start, apply it at home an hour before you head out and let the opening sharpness soften, so that what people meet at the door is the warm middle, not the loud first minute. It stays around for hours, and the drydown, once the top settles, is the best part.

Once you like one Tom Ford, you tend to want to try the next. The line is built on rich, dense, often smoky perfumes, and what I enjoy is how different they feel from one another.

Ombré Leather Eau de Parfum, with patchouli and vetiver, is the leather one, dry and earthy. Oud Wood, with sandalwood and pink pepper, is the woody one, warm and a little spicy. Tobacco Vanille, with tonka bean and ginger, is the cozy one, sweet and thick, a scent for winter coats. Soleil Blanc, with amber and bergamot, is the sunny outlier, and the one I would take on holiday. Lost Cherry, with black cherry and rose, is the playful one, dark fruit and flowers. Eau d'Ombre Leather Eau de Toilette, with vanilla and amber, is the softer, lighter cousin of the leather scent.

If you are shopping for the first time, do not test all six in one go. Your nose will stop telling you anything after three. Try two on one day and the rest another, and use different arms so you can compare them side by side.

A useful test is to ask what you want your scent to say. Dry and serious points to the leather, comfort points to tobacco and vanilla, and something brighter points to the sunny amber. Choose the mood before the bottle, and the decision gets much easier.

Store them the way you would store good wine: cool, dark, and away from the bathroom, where the steam and the heat shorten their life.

After dark is a category of its own. The best of these perfumes share a sweetness that has some edge to it, a bit of coffee or dark fruit, or a vanilla that does not smell like dessert.

Yves Saint Laurent's Black Opium, with coffee and white flowers, is the most obviously nocturnal one. Viktor&Rolf's Flowerbomb, with vanilla and jasmine, is a big, warm floral, the sort that fills a hallway. Miu Miu's Miutine Intense has blackberry and bourbon vanilla, which gives it a jammy, velvety feel. Valentino's Donna Born in Roma Extradose Parfum pairs vanilla with blackcurrant. Prada's Paradoxe Sweet Chemistry is built around blackcurrant, and Armani Beauty's Power of You, with passion fruit, is the brightest of the six and the one I would wear when a heavy scent feels like too much.

What I would skip: spraying a rich evening perfume on a warm afternoon or in a small, closed room, and layering two of them on the same night. These are made to project, and one clear signature reads as more confident than a mix. Wear the heavy ones after sunset, and choose the lighter one for the office. Sweet perfumes also tend to bloom in warmth, so a single spray goes further in winter than you would expect, and two can be too many.

If a scent feels too loud after an hour, wash it off and start again tomorrow with a single spray.

Here is how I would wear these. One spray on the chest under your clothes, one on the back of the neck, and one on the inside of the elbow if you are going somewhere warm.

Spray on moisturized skin, since dry skin lets a perfume fade faster. Give a new bottle three separate wears before you decide, on three different days and in three different moods. If you are buying as a present, choose the version of a scent that suits the person's usual style, not your own. And once you have a favorite, keep it for the evenings, so it stays special. A small travel atomizer filled from the bottle is handy for a night away, and it keeps the big bottle out of the bag, where heat and knocks can spoil it. Tuck a tissue with a spray on it into a coat pocket if you like to be reminded of it later. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Tom Ford Sunglasses Guide and Tom Ford Perfume Dupe.