Tobacolor

Today I'm going to knock out the other Dior La Collection Privee fragrance I have; Tobacolor. Just like how some people say Vanilla Diorama is one of the best vanilla fragrances on the market, some people say Tobacolor is one of the best tobacco fragrances on the market. As a lover of tobacco fragrances, particularly smoky tobacco, I was very interested in this fragrance after hearing all the hype about it. Vanilla Diorama wasn't exactly what I expected it to be, so I'm hoping Tobacolor doesn't do the same. Let's get into it; Scent: The opening is sweet, warm, and smoky. The primary notes I get are tobacco, honey, smoke, and plum. The strongest of the notes are the tobacco and honey. Right off the first spray, the tobacco is intense and aggressive. The tobacco accord in this fragrance is actually split between two notes; tobacco and tobacco leaf. The way I interpret this difference is warmth and herbaceous sweetness from the tobacco leaf note, and a heavy, smoky accord reminiscent of burning tobacco from the tobacco note. The honey is equally as prevalent in the opening with a sticky sweet, syrupy kind of sweetness. Almost reminiscent of the type of honey used in Zoologist Bee, but not nearly as strong. It's still a very realistic honey note, but it's more like the aroma of a spoonful of honey compared to Bee which smells like honeycomb pulled straight from a beehive. Up next is the smoke and plum. The smoke plays a duet with the already smoky tobacco, boosting the smokiness up a few more levels. The inclusion of the additional smoke note makes this fragrance very comparable to the smell of a burning tobacco pipe. Lastly, the plum is noticeable in the background as a distinct fruity note, bring some balance to the opening and keeping it from teetering into a sweet, smoky mess. The dry down is sweet, smoky, and ambery. The primary notes I get are tobacco, honey, smoke, and amber. The strongest of the notes are still the honey and tobacco. Both notes are largely the same as they were in the opening, with the primary difference being that they are a bit smoother and the smokiness isn't quite as aggressive. This is followed by the smoke and amber. The smoke note still confers the same smokiness from the opening, but like the tobacco it's more rounded and smoother than it was. Lastly, the amber has emerged in the dry down as a sweet, resinous note to add a bit of depth in the background. Performance: The projection within the first hour is very strong and can fill a room. Sillage matches that intensity with a dense and heavy scent trail. After about 4 hours the projection was still at least 6 feet and the scent trail was still easily noticeable. At the 8 hour mark the projection was still about 6 feet and the scent trail was a littler quieter but still noticeable. The fragrance didn't become a skin scent until around the 11-12 hour mark. When to wear: Tobacolor is a fall/winter fragrance best suited for evening wear. This is definitely not a casual wearing fragrance, and is best reserved for special or formal occasions. Date nights, anniversaries, weddings, black tie affairs; these are the types of settings where you would put on Tobacolor. This is a deep and powerful fragrance, and as such is not appropriate for the office. Blind buy: I haven't really worn anything I can adequately compare this to. I've worn fragrances like Stronger With You Tobacco, Herod, Naxos, and even Le Male Elixir that feature similar tobacco and sweet notes, but none of them are close enough to draw comparisons to Tobacolor. However, I can say with confidence that if you like sweet and smoky tobacco fragrances this is a safe blind buy for you. Final verdict: Tobacolor was a very exciting and enjoyable wear. Thankfully it didn't throw me for a loop like Vanilla Diorama did. It advertised itself as a tobacco fragrance, and it delivered on that promise. Sweet honey married to superlative smokiness; it's exactly what I look for in a tobacco fragrance. Performance doesn't disappoint either, with very strong projection and scent trails for at least the first 4 hours, and lasting about 11-12 in totality before fading away into a skin scent. Versatility isn't the greatest; it's a wonderful pick for special or formal occasions during cool evenings, but that's about it. But like Vanilla Diorama, this isn't meant to be an everyday fragrance so I can't fault it. Mass-appealing is not a category Tobacolor falls into. It's going to resonate very well with people like me that enjoy strong tobacco fragrances, but that's a pretty niche population. That being said, I don't think anyone would find this objectively bad. In conclusion, Tobacolor hits the primary checkmarks I look for in a fragrance; enjoyable scent profile and strong performance. However, $330 is a steep price to pay for a fragrance and I have several others that slot into this same category. Unfortunately, this isn't one that I'm able to find at discounters; so I would be stuck paying full retail for a bottle. Based solely on the price, this is probably one I'll skip. But if I ever find it on sale at a discounter or elsewhere, I'll definitely scoop it up. Scent: 10/10 Longevity: 8/10 Sillage: 9/10

Disclaimer: This review is my opinion. I recommend trying it before potentially basing your choice of purchase on my personal feelings. The "this reminds me of" portion of Fragrantica is probably the worst part of this site. People smell 1 similar note and immediately compare it to something else. I had Sweet Tobacco before and it is not similar at all. Sweet Tobacco is very heavy on the honey, the fragrance feels very thick and strong and it has a different type of tobacco scent to it. Everybody comparing this to BR540 in any way, shape or form are reaching. This does NOT smell anything like BR540 and the obsession with that mediocre (in my opinion) fragrance needs to end. Reading these reviews, it's clear that people do not read descriptions of fragrances and how they are intended to smell. Francois Demachy wanted to evoke the smell of a cold hookah and he did a damn perfect job of it. As somebody who personally enjoys a little hookah every now and then, I always went for the peach flavor as it's typically a favorite when it comes to food, drink and otherwise. This fragrance upon first sniff instantly transported me back to the first time I tried peach shisha at a local hookah lounge. It's smooth, fruity, smoky and honestly such a comforting and joyful scent. The photo used in marketing of the syrup covered peaches over the bed of tobacco leaves is such a perfect visual of how this one smells. It is not room-filling nuclear, but it leaves a beautiful scent trail and lasts all day long. Scent: 10/10 Longevity: 9/10 Sillage: 8/10 Price: 8/10 (I feel all Maison Dior fragrances are affordable and a great value compared to other houses with private lines considering a 250ml can be had for $350) Profile: Unisex, though more masculine leaning with the smoky aspect of it.

Let me start with a confession: I bought a 100ml bottle from the Dior boutique, and within a few weeks, I tracked down a 250ml bottle from a discounter. That's 350ml of one fragrance, and I have zero regrets. That alone should tell you everything! Tobacolor is a tobacco scent that defies every expectation. There's nothing stale, nothing heavy, nothing that reminds you of an old ashtray, which was the initial assumption I had about this scent. Instead, Demachy wraps the smokiness in something airy, peachy, and plummy. Warm without being cloying, comforting without being dull. My wife finds it sexy and intriguing, and I think she's spot on. It leans mature but not dated, approachable but never boring. It's the kind of scent that just lifts you up and hugs you. Demachy himself put it perfectly: "I wrapped the tobacco's characteristic smokiness with sweet, fruity and warm, joyful notes. Tobacolor is as powerful as it is cheery. It is an enveloping, comfortably endearing fragrance." That's exactly what this is. The ratings here honestly don't reflect how special this is. Part of me appreciates that because it feels like a discovery. But I'd be doing a disservice not to say this; I was told by a Dior SA that Demachy's work in the Privée line may be discontinued. Vanilla Diorama, New Look, and Feve Delicieuse are all now history. If that's true, this is genuinely your sign to act. Demachy created Miss Dior and Sauvage. He's the reason Dior became what it is in the fragrance world, and his work deserves so much more respect than it's getting from Dior in my opinion. This is an olfactory journey and a genuine art piece. Grab it while you still can!

I knew right as I sprayed this fragrance that I loved it. The opening is sweet, fruity/jammy (in a tasteful way), wonderfully smoky, with rich tobacco and a syrupy/honey-like note. It is a simple, elegant, almost generic - not in a bad way - yet mature fragrance, one that I imagine most people could pull off. Unfortunately, it quickly dries down to a subtle skin scent, so it was hard for me to really discern how the fragrance changed upon dry down (see edit). I applied this fragrance 3-4 hours ago, and I have to bury my face in my shirt to be able to smell it. It's a shame, because I've heard the longevity/projection are decent on this fragrance, but also because it's truly wonderful smelling. Tobacolor is sweet without being too sweet, has the perfect amount of tobacco, it's balanced with some deep, jammy fruit, and has a syrupy, smoky warmth. There is also a pleasant subtle vanilla note that appears after drying down the rounds things out. If not for the performance (which, after seeing more reviews, seems to be my problem rather than a problem with the fragrance more generally), it would be an ideal fall/winter signature scent, and honestly, it could probably work in the spring since it's not too dense/heavy. I hope I got a bad batch and the performance would be better if I bought a bottle, because scent-wise, this is certainly bottle-worthy. Edit: I'm relieved to say I think I have just become a bit nose blind to the scent. When I walk around, I catch a whiff of a trail of the fragrance behind me. This is not the first time I've mistaken nose blindness for poor performance. Now this is definitely a contender for my next bottle!

Tobacolor to me is the best take on the honey tobacco DNA. I haven't tried every single honey tobacco fragrance out there, but I sampled Xerjoff Naxos, Guerlain Tobacco Honey, Carolina Hererra Mystery Tobacco, Mugler A*Men Pure Havane, and Kilian Back to Black. To me Tobacolor had the best tobacco note, as well as the best balance of tobacco and honey. Tobacolor opens with slightly ashy tobacco, it's not too harsh, it's not synthetic, and it doesn't go all out "ashtray". In the opening, the tobacco takes the spotlight, and it's supported by some slightly fruity sweetness. As it dries down a little, the ashy note fades, and the honey note really starts to shine. The opening makes Tobacolor out to be a bit difficult to wear, but as it dries down, it sheds that slightly challenging (but beautiful) opening note, and gives way to a very wearable and a beautiful heart of tobacco leaf and honey. I don't know how else to describe this fragrance other than "beautiful". If you like tobacco fragrances, and want a wearable tobacco fragrance, this is a great option. And in my opinion, this is the best take on the tobacco honey DNA. Is it the most wearable fragrance out there? No. But notes such as a tobacco and honey aren't the most wearable and mainstream notes to begin with. It's a beautiful fragrance for colder seasons, and I've gotten away with wearing it on cooler summer nights as well. I get around 8hrs of longevity, and it has strong projection.