Juicy, plump and exotic, these fragrances embody all the beauty of the cherry.
Blink and you’ll miss them. We’re in the middle of cherry blossom season, with much of the fluttering appeal tied to inherent unpredictability.
Cherry trees bloom when they want, guided by climate conditions and there’s no guarantee
Later in the year, during high summer, the plump fruit provides further scentful inspiration. Juicier and more sensual, the pert stone fruits symbolise fertility, desire and seduction – but with just as short of a season they too are tied with transience.
Longer lasting, and less weather-prone than the fleeting seasons that typify the blossoming and fruiting seasons, cherry fragrances can embody beautiful delicateness and confident audacity. Some like Estée Lauder’s Dream Dusk are fresh and floral, others like Tom Ford’s Lost Cherry are woody and spicy. Below, a spritz of fragrances that embody all the beauty of the cherry and suit all moods – from the delicate petals to the darkly cardinal fruit.
L’Occitane Cherry Blossom 75ml eau de toilette, $115
Imagine cherry blossoms carpeting a landscape and Japan likely springs to mind. In actuality, the flowering phenomenon heralds the end of winter all around the globe. In France, for instance, the cherry tree is a staple of the landscape in Provence, where the fruit is used to make candied fruits and preserves. The region is also home to L’Occitane, and the French beauty brand sources cherry extracts locally to include in its Cherry Blossom eau de toilette. Softly floral and faintly tart, this warm and delicate fragrance also incorporates notes of freesia, and lily of the valley, underlined by a base of amber and musk.
Estée Lauder Dream Dusk 40ml eau de parfum, $195
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Advertise with NZME.Designed to conjure the smell of “a secret garden at dusk”, this petal-forward perfume has top notes of cherry blossom blended with crisp blackcurrant buds and uplifting geranium. Jean Marc Challian, the nose behind the blend, says the ephemeral nature of early spring provided inspiration for the scent, which is meant to symbolise the hope of new beginnings. Thematically, this makes Dream Dusk a sweetly sentimental pick for those seeking a wedding day perfume. Some people find cherry fragrances don’t have longevity on the skin, but Estée Lauder says its long-lasting ScentCapture Fragrance Extender™ technology means this scent stays put for 12 hours.
Who Is Elijah Cherry Fiesta 50ml eau de parfum, $160
It makes sense that iterations of cherry fragrances that centre the blossom tend to be lighter and more delicately floral. At the other end of the cherry spectrum lies Cherry Fiesta, the vivacious scent from independent Australian fragrance brand Who Is Elijah. Bold and mischievous, it says the fun fragrance is a powerful “celebration for the vibrancy of life”. More practically it’s a sweet-smelling blend of the juicy red fruits with mandarin and pear blended in to wake the formulation up. An energetic scent for those with lively summer plans.
Tom Ford Lost Cherry 50ml eau de parfum, $650
Tom Ford has three cherry scents and Lost Cherry sits in the middle of the trio – punchier than the gingery and lightly floral Electric Cherry, but less intense than the smouldering Cherry Smoke. Balanced, playful and luscious, a spray of Lost Cherry starts with a ripe flush of black cherry fruit with touches of bitter almond, rose and jasmine adding depth to the mid notes. Once you’ve taken all that in, the gleaming fragrance dries down to reveal a seductive amalgam of balsam wood, roasted tonka, sandalwood, vetiver and cedar.
Juliette Has A Gun Juliette 50ml eau de parfum, $196
Like cherry but don’t want it to be the first note people smell on you? Juliette Has A Gun has your back. Flirtatious and rebellious, cherry notes are hidden in the heart of this warm and spicy spray marketed towards people “who want to feel powerful”. You might not get a nose of red fruit on first spritz – pink pepper, jasmine and tonka bean are the headline acts – but after some wear beguiling dark cherry notes reveal themselves.
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Kayali Lovefest Burning Cherry 48 50ml eau de parfum, $146
A little sweet, a little spicy, a little woody – there’s a lot to love about Kayali’s gourmand scent. Like a wearable clafoutis, this sultry bottle holds a hypnotic jumble of roasted cherries and raspberries, caramelised over a woodfire of earthy palo santo and guaiac wood into a bed of toasty praline. Yum.
Floral Street Black Lotus 50ml eau de parfum, $175
Feisty and floral. Black cherry plays a keenly supportive role alongside jasmine, saffron and papyrus in this complex rose perfume that describes itself as “powerful, ambery and woody”.
The 7 Virtues Cherry Ambition 50ml eau de parfum, $175
This Leaping Bunny-certified perfume is fit to bursting with cherry blossoms and floral notes, but there are warm undertones too – swirls of vanilla, amber suede and musky guaiac wood underpin the sweetly candied spritz.
Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium Red 50ml eau de parfum, $242
Visually akin to the cherry tree, coffee makes a great bedfellow for the rich dark fruit – there’s a reason cherry is often singled out in the tasting notes of sweet, low-acidity coffee blends. It tracks then that YSL would turn to cherry when developing a fruity reworking of its signature caffeinated scent. The result? A juicy, deliciously sensual, liquoricey elixir.
The Virtue Holy Smoke 50ml parfum, $229
If florals and fruits aren’t your bag, but you’re drawn to the theological symbolism of the cherry – consider Holy Smoke, the divine scent from New Plymouth-based perfumery The Virtue. Cinnamon bark, clove, tonka bean, frankincense and amber take a pew alongside cherry wood for a saintly scent they say “will send you straight to the confession booth”.
More on things that smell nice
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Perfumer Jo Malone CBE On Creating Scents & Legacy. The British perfumer speaks to Ashleigh Cometti about the innovation and intention behind her second fragrance line, Jo Loves.
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