Forbidden Apple Croque Moi

Blind bought this per BenScents saying it was an amazing gourmand, and also for some reason apple fragrances are some of my favorites to smell/seek out (Apple Brandy OTR by Kilian is one of my favorites). I tried to go around to Sephora's to smell this as its listed on their website but this brand is certainly hard to track down, and funnily enough I think it's getting put into sephoras soon. Upon initial spray, this opens up with a bright and juicy sweet red apple as if you bit into one and let the juices run into your hand. The juicy nature quickly fades, but not the freshness, as the brown sugar slowly comes in adding a thickness to it but not in a syrupy way. As it dries down, the apple tones down quite a bit, and the rum, cinnamon, and vanilla come in to create an amazing powerhouse of a gourmand dry down. The freshness of the apple tones down for the apple to simply be an accent in the scent while the rum and vanilla create an incredible dry down of smelling like slightly creamy, baked apple dessert. The rum is balanced by the sweetness to not be overbearingly thick and boozy, but the vanilla is not overpowering to the point where there is a cupcake like sweetness to it. Simply amazing and would definitely shine in the winter/fall nights. More of an apple pie scent than Angels' Share in my opinion, but doesn't have a baked pastry scent to it to necessarily say its an apple pie!

The note of ripe red apple is rendered with remarkable realism, as if it were lightly baked and delicately caramelized. But don’t get me wrong, the fragrance is not overly sweet or cloying. Instead, the sweetness is refined, elegant, and beautifully balanced. In the background, there is a soft boozy nuance that adds depth to the composition, while a gentle touch of cinnamon brings a subtle hint of spice. The fir facets are present as well, but they are so delicate that they only reveal themselves when you pay close attention to the fragrance on the skin. Overall, this is a very pleasant and harmonious scent. It is an incredibly wearable gourmand that never becomes overwhelming. Rather than trying to impress with excessive sweetness, it captivates through its natural character and soft, graceful composition. 🎼

This is a pulpy fresh red apple with a creamy vanilla base, with the most heavenly mix of flavors added; brown sugar, cinnamon, rum, etc... but every note is done in such an AIRY, light and etherial way! Nothing in here is heavy. It’s gourmand, fruity, boozy, cozy, pretty and couldn’t be more perfect for fall. The most prominent notes I get are Apple, vanilla and brown sugar. It’s definitely on the lighter side so you do have to spray a lot which is a down side, but it smells heavenly. 🍎🍦🥮🍬☁️🍹🍓🪾🍁🌬️ Edit: ohh my god layer this with Queens caramel and thank me later 😍 the perfect caramel apple combo 🤤🤤🤤

I love this fragrance but it's one of those scents that come and go and even when you can smell it, it's a skin scent to me best. Just have a sample right now so I'll give it some more time but first impression is it's not full bottle worthy only because of price x sillage/longevity. I just wish I could smell it more. Edit: the longer I have it on the more I can smell it and the longevity is actually not bad. Rethinking this one more positively. Too bad, I really shouldn't spend more $$! ;)

This scent is Autumn and Autumn is this scent! This is crisp apple sweetened with pink pepper & brown sugar, wafts of nature out in the clean air Vetiver & Fir. It is cozy. My only complaint is that you have to overspray to get sillage and longevity which is a shame because it smells so inoffensively warm and good. I give the scent a 4.5 Longevity and sillage a 3. Overall this is a solid scent at 4.1 ish only because of performance issues. But I dig it.

This fragrance is a beautifully sophisticated apple gourmand. I disagree with the comparison to BBW. It’s way more elevated and complex to my nose. I don’t perceive strawberry at all. The vanilla note is the second most prominent note to my nose. And on my skin, the deep dry down develops into as a soapy musk, similar to Clean Reserve’s Skin. It’s lovely! The travel size bottle will definitely be upgraded to a full bottle.

Ever have caramelized apple slices with vanilla ice cream, or vanilla ice cream with apple pie an a cold winter night? That's this scent, and it's incredible at being exactly that. It's not candy sweet, which is wonderful, rather being a nice, honest apple that really warms the heart. I will be buying more of this immediately to add to my collection after having tested this. Highly recommend.

It’s funny how my first reaction after sampling this was “woow” with a surprise expression on my face. Went back to sniff the back of my hand and found myself smiling. For now, it’s a love but I’ll do a full wear test tomorrow to confirm if I still feel the same. NB: if you like Kayali’s Vanilla Candy Sugar, you’d love this also although this is a better option IMO.

For fall and winter I absolutely love this sweet, somewhat spicy apple and vanilla scent BUT: you have to spray this on like a body spray and still the longevity is not good at all. Because of the price I’m disappointed en will not repurchase.

This is primarily an apple fragrance with the same play-dough thing going on that hypnotic poison has or Trussardi Limitless Shopping. Two of my personal favorites. Must love the play-dough smell some fragrances have in order to enjoy this!!

This is delicious! It goes creamy on my skin and I love that - I love creamy scents. Lightly spiced apple scent with that creaminess - absolute fall heaven to me. Will be great for fall/winter and cooler spring days.

I hate frags with Apple. They remind me of cheap shampoos. But this perfume... wowed me. It’s beautiful, gourmand, delicious, sweet, creamy, spicy, ahhhhhhh I need a bottle! Thankfully I don’t get any play-dough 🥰

This one surprised me. Based on the name, I was expecting a bright, juicy apple fragrance, but that's not what I got at all. Instead, it smells like a warm baked apple dessert. I immediately picked up a waffle note with creamy vanilla ice cream on top and a noticeable bourbon note. It honestly smells like an expensive apple dessert with vanilla ice cream and a splash of bourbon. I can detect a little cinnamon, but I wouldn't call it spicy. It's sweet, cozy, and definitely gourmand. I don't usually go for dessert fragrances, so I wasn't sure how I felt about it at first. But the dry down completely changed my mind. As it settled into my skin, it became softer, creamier, and much more "me." The sweetness calmed down, the woody notes came through just enough to balance everything out, and it turned into this really cozy, comforting scent that I couldn't stop smelling. I can already tell this is going to be one of my favorite fragrances to wear this fall and winter. I would wear it on a cold evening walking around downtown, to an outdoor night event, or even to a football game. It feels a little dressed up, but not so much that you couldn't wear it casually. I honestly can't wait for cooler weather so I can wear this one more often.

Christian white girl fall in a bottle-- and I mean literally... Apple picking, cinnamon sticks... All jokes aside, I really enjoyed this fragrance. This is what I was hoping Angel's Share would give, tbh. Or even Apple Brandy OTR... they were just way too dense and LOUDDD for me. This is perfect--I can tell its strength and can control it as I please to get the desired effect. Smells like warm apple cider on a fall day.

This is really lovely. The apple is tart almost smells like a mix of red and green apple. It evolved nicely on my skin and stayed sweet and fruity. The brown sugar and cinnamon is a nice warmth. Where I get hung up is the rum. I’m not a fan of boozy fragrances. I’ll keep trying this and see if I can get past that. Otherwise it’s divine.

A seriously sexy apple scent. I don't usually like apple, I got this as a gift and I can't stop smelling it on me. Definitely going to save this for fall though

Wow that’s pretty. Juicy and crisp like biting into a freshly picked apple in a light rain shower.

Chris Collins is my favourite fragrance brand by far. So, when he announced Forbidden Apple as his latest release, I was beyond excited to get a whiff of it. Chris Collins has mastered the ability to tell a story that evokes vivid imagery with his fragrances. Sadly, Forbidden Apple totally missed the mark for me. As the name suggests, apple is the focal point of this fragrance. Apple can be a polarizing note for some, as some find it too screechy, or leaning to the side of a shampoo/hairspray-scent (think of Fructus shampoo). I was worried when I saw the listed notes that would be accompanying the apple note; strawberry and pomegranate. Sadly, this makes it lean full-on into the fruity-shampoo category. The brown sugar and vanilla absolute notes don't help things either; it's far too sweet for my liking. I'm not sure how this can be categorized as a unisex fragrance, because it's way too sweet and fruity to be considered masculine. It honestly leans into female celebrity-fragrance territory; fruity/sweet/generic. I find that Forbidden Apple bears a striking resemblance to Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday. I'm not sure where the "forbidden" aspect comes from, as there is very little in the way of depth or drama to this fragrance. There is a white rum note that is virtually undetectable, due to it being drowned out by the stronger fruity-notes. Actually, most of the notes, with the exception of cinnamon and pink pepper, get completely taken over. I was shocked that not even a note as famously potent as Haitian vetiver, could pierce through the collection of fruits. Once the fragrance is dry, it looses its fruitiness, and settles into a soft, creamy scent. There is no sense of excitement or dangerous flirtation that its name suggest; it's just super-sweet. I get the theme he was going for; red fruits in the Garden of Eden. However, in my opinion, he went about it all the wrong way. Starting with a red apple rather than a green one is fine, but you need to balance out the sweetness with spicy, citrus, or woody notes. Instead, Chris keeps piling on the sweet notes (strawberry, pomegranate, brown sugar, vanilla, fenugreek) enough to make you go into a diabetic coma. I think there should've been a citrus note for some much needed tartness; could've easily been blood orange if he wanted to keep in theme of red-coloured fruits. The strawberry was unnecessary and could've been taken out completely. I would've replaced the pink pepper with pimento or black pepper. The white rum note is also too faint and could've been amped up with a dark rum note, or even a vanilla bourbon note rather than just vanilla. If fruity and overtly-sweet is your thing, this fragrance has your name written all over it. By looking at the notes, I assumed that Forbidden Apple would favour more to the cold autumn and winter months, however, the syrupy-sweet/fruity aspect of it, puts it in the spring/summer months, for me. The longevity and performance are also nonexistent. It barely projects, leaves virtually no scent-tail, and becomes a skin-scent within the hour that you spray it. The saddest part of this fragrance is that it's one of the rare times that a Chris Collins bottle doesn't tell a story. It's just very safe and generic, and lacking any real character or uniqueness. Rather than the dangerously flirtatious vibe I think that Mr. Collins was going for, Forbidden Apple comes across more juvenile and inexperienced. Instead of the tempting, deliciously irresistible, serpent's fruit in the Garden of Eden, you get candied-apple at the local State fair.

When you first spray you do get that red apple sent, and then it dries down I really smell the brown sugar maybe pomegranate or strawberry it’s definitely not apple and some vitiver. I wish they didn’t add strawberry because it can come off synthetic and it does a little, but it hides behind the other note so it doesn’t bother me not quite sure this is a FBW.

After the good reviews here and on a FB Group i needed tot sample this. How disappointing.... i was (and am) really wondering if the sample that i received fresh from Skins could have gone bad, because it smells exactly like my old vintage Perfumes that have gone bad already for ages.... I get a slightly little hint of apple, but mostly just old / gone bad smell. Too bad!

This is not a crisp juicy apple. This is the apple you get from a Yankee Candle or BBW plug in that is supposed to smell like apple pie. This is terrible. Spicy holiday smelling -‘who wants to smell like That???

Just received a bottle in the mail, while it’s a pleasant fragrance, it’s not quite for me. Wear what you love, of course, but the initial spray is very fruity and sweet. Someone suggested Bath and Boy Works; I can see that. The opening is dominated by a strong sweet, strawberry, apple combination followed by cinnamon with a hint of vanilla. The drydown reminds me of Tom Ford’s Metallique, for which I own. I can see this working on a man, however, the fruity opening might be a touch too much for some and I'm not sure if one would be willing to wait for the dry down to occur. The dry down is where the magic happens and what may appeal to those who prefer less fruit-forward scents. Projection: 7/10 Longevity: 8/10 silage: 8/10 Performance: 7.5/10 Overall: 8/10 (A nice fragrance, however not for everyone.)

This is freakin' AMAZING and totally worth the hype. I have been looking for my perfect apple perfume and here it is. It's a juicy, very lightly baked apple sprinkled with brown sugar and cinnamon, but it's not a foodie gourmand. It's so delicious and cozy but there's nothing artificial or cloying here . I only wish the sillage and longevity were improved because while the other scents in the Chris Collins sampler will stay on my skin just about all day, Forbidden Apple Croque Moi lasts only a few hours and even then it's mostly as a close-to-the-skin scent. I will wait until the Autumn to purchase, maybe by that time Chris Collins will release a Parfum or Extrait version of this? Wishful thinking lol.

I bought a sample of this after hearing positive reviews on YT. I've been in the market for an apple spicey autumnal scent. This really fits the bill for me. It has a lovely bright apple opening to my nose with some cinnamon and vanilla. In the dry down I get a warm, sugary hazelnut with vanilla vibe. Interestingly, I don't get much alcohol scent but my wife and daughter say it smells strongly of alcohol chocolates. I occasionally get the playdough scent in the mid dry down.

Primarily a really nice apple hand soap or shampoo smell. Develops a light whipped cream scent as it settles and the apple mellows out. Fairly generic and clean. No detectable cinnamon, but the pink pepper pokes through a little when the scent warms up on your skin & clothes. If you prefer photorealistic scents, this might be a little perfumey for you.

As a black man, this is what I think of when I think of a signature scent for us. Apple with brown sugar with a boozy background to my nose. Fun scent with a lot of compliments. Chris just gets it!

OOOOOOOOOOOOO this is about to be CRAZY for the cold season! I can't wait to get my nose on this