My Favorite Things: Cherry

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There are some perfume notes which I think are problematically labeled as “cheap”. Cherry is one of those; the result of being the ingredient of too many plug-in air fresheners. It means more opportunity for perfumers to find gold within the dross. There aren’t a lot of cherry perfumes I own but the ones I do show the previous assertion is true. Here are my five favorites.

The People of the Labyrinths Luctor et Emergo– Before perfumer Alessandro Gulatieri would go on to found his Nasomatto line, he caught the attention of many perfume lovers with this gorgeous experimental fragrance. He at first uses a strong cherry but wraps it in an artificial cellophane accord. Then he embeds it in a Play-Doh casing for a different kind of artifice. One of the earliest groundbreakers in niche perfumery.

Serge Lutens Rahat Loukoum– Perfumer Christopher Sheldrake also uses cherry as a keynote in the top accord in this release to help further define the nascent gourmand style of fragrance. He takes a marzipan almond and matches it to a syrupy cherry liqueuer. Based on the Turkish Delight confection it eventually heads deeper into sweet confectionary territory, but it is always the cherry-almond opening which stays with me.

Ramon Monegal Cherry Musk– This is a perfume which simply lives up to its name as perfumer Ramon Monegal takes a concentrated cherry followed by a cocktail of white and animalic musks to provide a fascinating counterbalance. It is very strong and some days I’m not up for it; on the days I am spraying it on I like being swept away by it.

Beyonce Heat Rush– Within the celebuscent category Beyonce has produced a better than average collection since 2010. I liked the original Heat but the one bottle I own is the second flanker Heat Rush and it is all down to the cherry note. Perfumer Honorine Blanc re-works the fruity nature of Heat as she uses a top accord of cherry, passionfruit, and orange instead of the peach of the original. It turns this into a summer party.

Prada Candy Gloss– Perfumer Daniela Andrier completely leaves behind the formula from Candy for this flanker. It revolves on an axis of cherry, orange blossom, and vanilla. This is a transparent version of those usually heavy notes full of effervescence. I have come to like it better than the original.

Disclosure: These reviews based on bottles I purchased.

–Mark Behnke

Colognoisseur Holiday Perfume Buyer’s Guide 2017 Part 1- At The Mall

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The Holiday shopping season is about to begin in earnest. In the US it is signaled by the day after Thanksgiving dubbed Black Friday. Every mall in North America will be filled with shoppers. I thought I’d help those who are out shopping with a checklist of the new mass-market perfumes which have come out this year. This all comes with the caveat that I think buying perfume for someone else is a very difficult task. My "How to Give Perfume as a Gift" can be found in this link. If you want to buy a bottle for someone here are thirteen you will probably find at the mall this weekend and throughout the Holiday shopping season. All are linked to the original review earlier this year.

In the Department Stores

At the fragrance counters of the bigger stores you will find these four:

Bottega Veneta Eau de Velours– A fruity floral leather ideal for the colder temperatures

Jason Wu– A transparent jasmine for someone who doesn’t want something “too perfume-y”.

Jo Malone Green Almond & Redcurrant– A fragrance equivalent of fruit cake; in a very good way.

Tiffany & Co.- An iris soliflore as brilliant as an amethyst solitaire.

The New Ones from the Big Names

2017 saw three mainstream releases from three of the biggest brands in perfume all of them seem to be aiming for the younger demographic. These should also be available widely at anyplace which generally carries these brands.

Twilly D’Hermes– A simple ginger, tuberose, and sandalwood fragrance meant to be someone’s first perfume.

Chanel Gabrielle– A slightly more complex white flower accord sandwiched between citrus and sandalwood.

Thierry Mugler Aura– Here the white flowers are found in a humid green jungle brimming with vanilla.

The Flankers

There have been some good flankers released this year here are three to consider:

Tom Ford Noir Anthracite– This is a very different version of Noir than the previous releases. More spicy and much darker.

Prada Candy Gloss– The cherry, orange blossom, and vanilla perfume is one of the most fun releases and one of the best of 2017.

Valentino Uomo Noir Absolu– A perfume for scarves and sweaters with spices, incense, iris, and sandalwood.

Bang for the Buck

These three are excellent choices at the lower end of the price spectrum

Elizabeth and James Nirvana Amethyst– A gorgeous tobacco fragrance. Honestly the entire Elizabeth and James brand is a best buy.

Commodity Bergamot– A shaft of summer sunlight in a bottle glowing with citrus.

Ellis Brooklyn Rives– A fougere framed with petitgrain, neroli, cashmeran, and leather.

If you must buy perfume as a gift these are all good choices. In Part 2 tomorrow I’ll highlight the brands you might find in the small independent perfume sellers for Small Business Saturday.

Disclosure: All perfumes mentioned had samples sent to me from the brand except for Chanel Gabrielle which I purchased.

–Mark Behnke

New Perfume Review Prada Candy Gloss- Cherry Baby

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When it was released in 2011 I thought Prada Candy was one of the best mainstream fragrances released in a few years. In-house perfumer Daniela Andrier composed a perfectly pitched gourmand fragrance for the masses. It continues to be a big success and that of course means flankers must surely follow. The first couple kept the caramel core in place but last year’s Candy Kiss signaled a move away from that as vanilla was the gourmand note. The 2017 flanker, Candy Gloss, finishes the move towards a more transparent gourmand; which is only part of the story of what Candy Gloss provides.

This lightening up of perceived heavy accords is presumably to lure younger perfume lovers to the brand. What is particularly interesting in Candy Gloss is that the path to that is also inspired by notes and accord also seemingly favored by the young. It comes together in one of the best mainstream releases of this year, so far.

Daniela Andrier

The simple description of Candy Gloss is cherry, orange blossom, and vanilla; which is accurate. If you read that note list and think giggly thoughts you might be surprised at what unfolds once you wear Candy Gloss. One of my favorite soda drinks is a Cherry Lime Rickey. It is made with cherry syrup which is what Mme Andrier evokes here. It also has the effervescence of that drink in the early stages before the floral and gourmand phases arrive.

The cherry syrup is apparent in the first seconds. What Mme Andrier does with that is to take the slightly sour green of blackcurrant buds with a tiny amount of peach lactone to give it much more structure than just sticky fruit syrup. The choice of the blackcurrant twists the cherry into a near sour cherry accord and probably would have if not for the peach lactone pushing back. The orange blossom comes in and it reminds me a bit of the orange blossom water used in European versions of marshmallow. That is confirmed as the vanilla-almond-cherry nature of heliotropin mixes in with the orange blossom. Using heliotropin allows for the cherry to return in the later stages with a lighter presence. The warm benzoin which has been the connective tissue of all the Prada Candy fragrances is combined with a few musks to provide a warm embrace at the end.

Candy Gloss has 8-10 hour longevity and average sillage.

If you get the impression I think Candy Gloss is a fun fragrance you would be correct. I don’t want to lose the fact that Mme Andrier has done a fantastic job at choosing her notes in-between to make this a fragrance of fun but one also constructed as solid as they come. It also brought back my memory of an old song of the 1970’s “Cherry Baby” by Starz. On the days, I wore this I couldn’t help myself humming the chorus of that classic while jonesing for a Cherry Lime Rickey.

Disclosure: This review is based on a sample provided by Prada.

–Mark Behnke