Char

Like Noir Exquis by L'Artisan Perfumeurs....but a cheaper price. Or maybe one of the PenhaIigons ..I have a whole wardrobe, maybe like Constantinople or Cairo, not sure... Regardless, you get the same ambiance without paying major $$$...HR uses quality ingredients in their perfumes, and you can smell it. So far, it's lasting well and I will have to get an FB at some point because it's a good one. I smell no Char or smoke. I really hate that smokiness..don't want to smell like a lit match or a fireplace with the draft closed...if it's there, my chemistry doesn't register it. A warm, mellow very unisex, woody drydown..on me the Tonka stays put. I like it on me but Men will smell very sexy in this.

Henry Rose gets so much hate on here. It seems a little sketch. I find Char completely addictive. What am I smelling? A slightly sweet, faintly smoky green patchouli and tonka bean. It seems like there is sandalwood too but it's not listed. Char, Torn, Queens & Monsters and Dark is Night all share similarities in my opinion. Char is my fave, followed by Torn and Dark is Night. The latter strangely doesn't last long on me unfortunately. Queens & Monsters is ok, but that petitgrain note is off putting.

This is a fluffy, warm, comforting tonka. I love it more than other tonka fragrances I've tried, including BDK Velvet Tonka. I get some other woody notes such as labdanum. Thankfully not the vetiver, as I do not like how it smells, at least on me. I am not really getting any earthiness from the patchouli. Smells like a vanillic, powdery, slightly woody tonka to me. I have Queens & Monsters, and I think this will be my next HR purchase. To the top of my wish list it goes!

Not nearly as smoky as the name would imply-- in fact, not smoky at all. The opening is zesty, somewhat citrusy from the ginger and it quickly settles into a sweet tonka/patchouli combination. Patchouli is notoriously polarizing, but this patchouli is not dirty or overwhelming. It is a sweet, herbal patchouli. As a vetiver lover I am enjoying the drydown. Very much unisex but coming from someone who likes very feminine fragrances, I can easily say I would wear this.

Testing this out today and I love it. THIS is what I wanted By The Fireplace to smell like. I get smoky but not too strong then the ginger comes in and it gives it a cinnamon like spice to it. Very fall and Christmas, it remines me of sitting by the fire in your living room snuggling up and watching a movie with a good spicy candle lit. Very warm and cozy.

absolutely beautiful i have never been a big fan of vanilla fragrances but this one is breath taking i could wear it everyday. it is so warm and cozy with the woody notes and the vanilla gives it a very sophisticated business woman vibe like wearing stilettos a black trench coat and a cashmere scarf . it is a perfect scent for a winter in a big city

One of two full size bottles that I purchased after getting the sample box (the other being Queens & Monsters). To me, it's a nice earthy and creamy fresh scent that can be worn year round. Due to the weaker longevity and sillage of the line, however, it'll probably perform better in the fall and winter.

Char is a lovely, low-key fragrance that makes you comfortable. Nobody will be alarmed when you walk by wearing Char. But they may well stop you and ask what you’re wearing! It’s not too sweet nor too woody and the vetiver does not take over the whole fragrance. It’s very well balanced and smooth.

I found this for $30 at a TJ Maxx. The opening scared me initially, it is very vintage and mature. If you give this a chance to sit on the skin it completely transforms, and it is so pretty. A little smokey, sweet, and clean. I feel it was worth the blind buy.

imagine you took every fragrant ingredient out of a perfume and were left with that kind of background “perfume smell” and you stirred a pinch of sugar and cigarette ash into it. sensual and completely magnetic

the opening spray literally smells like Warheads spray candy maybe green apple flavor... yum :3 but when it’s dried down definitely get the woody musky scent with still a little sour candy lingering

really nice going out on a date perfume, warm and sensual and just a little bit dangerous. reminds me of drinking hot toddys at christmas. smoky gourmand with a bit of an edge.

Tonka, ginger and orange flower enveloped in a delicate, smokey aura -- absolutely beautiful.

Smoky amber, love the orange and ginger notes. Sexy winter/holiday scent!

I was intrigued by the ethos of this house - perfumes made with clean, safe, cruelty-free ingredients, with Michelle Pfeiffer at the helm, no less. Given the name, I expected a smokiness to Char, and there is - it is a smoky, spiced vanilla scent with dry woods. At first sniff, it reminds me of Maison Margiela By the Fireplace, which shouldn't have come as a huge surprise. It is a pleasant woody-vanilla scent, dry and muted, but nothing unusual. Despite it not being among the listed notes, vanilla is very prominent to my nose from initial spray - here sweet, dry and paper-like. Soft, warm spices enhance it nicely, more cinnamon than the listed ginger. The tonka bean follows, its balsamic nuttiness melding nicely with the spiced vanilla. Dry woods creep in as it develops, with good-quality vetiver adding its distinctive dry grassiness to the base. I get some orange blossom as it develops, adding smooth sweetness to Char. It is uncharacteristically subtle, and works really well here, adding a floral nuance to this scent. The dry vanilla lingers as it fades, with a nice balsamic amber undertone lingering until final fade. Sillage is intimate and longevity is moderate. It is a transeasonal daytime scent, more for colder weather. Pleasant and good-quality, Char is a unisex take on vanilla, being dry and muted. Nice, but too subtle for my liking. 3/5.

I received this and another HR mini spray as a gift with purchase for another scent and never tested, I never heard of the brand. I recently came across them again. Both scents were surprisingly gorgeous and I’m surprised to see so much hate for both of them here. This is one of the nicest vanilla woods blends I’ve smelled in a very long time. No screechy cedar or masculine sandalwood. Just a very mellow expensive woody vanilla. Nice vanilla, no VS body spray or cheap BBW vibes here. It isn’t gourmand. Unisex, but very soft and pretty, feminine-leaning. Slightly smoky and musky, but very light on these notes so it comes off more fresh and clean. This could have been my signature scent 10 years ago. This was the type of scent I loved back then. I tend to gravitate more towards florals these days so I think I’m going to end up getting the other HR mini I received, Flora Carnivora, which has a rich girl tuberose garden vibe and I am here for it. I’m definitely keeping this on my radar for the future though.

Though this fragrance is right up my alley as far as the notes and overall feel go, it's... kinda boring. There is no smoke in this. Especially compared to the likes of fragrances like Lune Feline, By The Fireplace, and Memoirs of a Trespasser. It falls into the sweet spicy category, like some cinnamon or gingerbread cookies baking, but someone overdid the spices in them a little bit. It can lean "Yankee Candle" as well, so if you're not into that, this might not be for you. It doesn't last for anything - I put this on in my car at 7:30AM and I was digging my nose into my arm to smell it by 8AM. It becomes a skin scent REALLY fast. I suspect this is because Henry Rose are "clean" scents that market themselves as being free of "toxic" ingredients which I can appreciate, but in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter much to me. I just want a good quality fragrance. All in all, I would probably buy this if I had some throwaway money lying around. Or I might ask for it as a gift. 6.5/10

Feels kind of redudant if you have Queens & Monsters or Dark is Night from Henry Rose - these three are strikingly similar to all be from the same house, but I do like them all nonetheless (but I am a little confused by how similar they are). They've all got that floral gourmand, patchouli, amber, sultry, seductive thing going on. On a scale from leaning more floral to leaning more gourmand, I'd say Q&M is the least gourmand and DiN is the most, with Char somewhere in between. My favorite of the three is Q&M, but I found this at TJ Maxx for $30 and felt like it played the role similarly enough that it was worth it to grab a bottle of this vs spend $120 on a bottle of Q&M. It's very nice and fits well in my collection as a sophisticated, sultry date night fragrance.

Lightly sweetened ginger candies on the initial spray, but dries down into sweet vanilla patchouli. It's a polite fragrance with an edge of dirtiness, it's versatile between a daytime and a nighttime fragrance. I'm conflicted on if this fragrance would be appropriate for office wear - it's just on the edge between polite and sultry. Depends on your work environment I guess. It's not polite enough for daytime use for me, and not fun enough for a nighttime scent, so although I like it, I fear I wouldn't ever reach for it. I love the brand's vegan/cruelty free/phthalate free formulations though, I hope something else from the brand speaks to my nose.

Beautiful buttery spicy tonka bean fragrance, not too sweet. I just received it and am happy with the first hour of wear. To me it is quite similar to L’Artisan Noir Exquis but more buttery and less sweet- an element of salt, warm spicy rather, almost like warm ginger cookies. The patchouli is present in the back, adding a savory peppery note. I am not able to smell the orange flower yet, hope it is coming soon. I would prefer more brightness, wishing for more fresh grated ginger rather than dried spice, may try layering some extra orange flower to bring up the fresh factor.

Reminds me of a lighter, fresher, slightly coconutty version of Angels Share. I actually like this better as it's not so gourmand and heavy. At first I was concerned about how long this would last and it does fade to a skin scent in a few hours. Because this smells so good, I don't mind. Go ahead and spray heavy and enjoy this one. It's a keeper

On my skin, the tonka bean/orange flower combination smells similar to a coconut scented sunscreen - lactonic, nutty, sun baked. Background notes of dry, grassy vetiver and peppery patchouli. Sweet, spicy, creamy, a little woody, a little smoky. It’s a happy scent, reminds me of summertime beach bonfires.

I'm not usually into sweet scents but I feel like the earthiness of the patchouli and vetiver grounds the fragrance really nicely. It's not quite as 'clean' as the other Henry Rose fragrances I've tried, more of a date night kind of scent. Really nice.

Smells like a little sister to Jazz Club or By the Fireplace. It’s super smoky vanilla plus some (lol) char. It's fine, but I would rather wear one of the replica fragrances instead.

Warm patchouli-esque honied amber. Shades of a more elevated BR Tobacco & Tonka Bean. If you have that, donate it & get this. You’re welcome. 😉

One of the only tolerable scents in the entire line.

I have a soft spot for Henry Rose since they are the house that started me on my collection journey. That being said I wasn't that keen on testing Char because I don't care for the name, but curiosity got the better of me and here I am reviewing a sample I got in the mail today. Char starts off w/ a very heavy tonka bean smell w/ ginger, I like the beginning of this perfume very much because I am fond of tonka bean. In the beginning is smells very much like gingerbread (also am fond of) but as the fragrance goes along it becomes very vetiver and patchouli dominate and almost has a sour quality to my nose that I am not liking. The dusty, sweet and lovely tonka and gingerbread smell is still there but they are overshadowed by a very strong vetiver and patchouli that really overpower what could have been a really nice fun perfume for the holidays. I'm glad I only got a sample of this. I bought the warm kit, the other samples in that kit are some of my favorites from this house so they will be easily used. My husband said he will wear this as he finds it as masculine leaning as I do but he isn't really that fond of this one either. We don't hate it, but we don't like it much either. It is a "meh" vote from the both of us.

I can see why some really like this. Sweet, sensual gourmand. Surprising, when considering the name. There wasn’t any smokiness at any point on my skin. Instead, it was very sweet, verging on too sweet for me. It was a sweet bomb for a couple of hours, and I forgot about it. When I approached my husband to sniff my arm, I took a quick sniff myself and realized it had become ambroxan-heavy, mixed with that previous sweetness. I liked that the prevailing sweetness wasn’t as strong, but it still didn’t win me over.

I'm by no means a pro nez, however I started realizing everytime I work this perfume, I smelled s'mores on a campfire, which personally I really enjoyed. The opening is a little sharp and I'd say it's really the only place the smoke and orange come through for me at all. But after it dries down, it's all s'mores w/ very little if no smoke left. I think of it definitely as more of a fall or winter scent.

Most Henry Rose fragrances are very appealing but have terrible names that don't describe them very well. This one reverses the dynamic. "Char" rally does smell like something charred--in this case, tonka bean and vanilla--, and yet it's very hard to imagine why someone would want to smell like this. It's not comforting to me: it just smells like something burned in the kitchen.

This smells like Amouage Guidance, to me. If you like Guidance, you'll love this. It's not my thing. It smells like play-doh when it's first sprayed. Then old lady like. I'm not a fan. There is no smoke or char to be experienced. The name doesn't make sense to me. Scent didn't last more than an hour.

This smells exactly like queens and monsters but there’s a slightly spicy, ginger opening. I was pretty disappointed because the notes on paper seemed promising. Glad I only blind bought the travel, and I just ended up using it as a bedtime scent paired with amber.

Oh yeah yup this smells like the fake flowers section of a Michael's craft store if yall know what that is....also the smell of the whole store. Not baadddd but it is giving potpurri

I was so excited to try this one since Torn didn't work out. But, Henry Rose disappoints again; I could barely smell anything, a very faint vanilla. So sad! I was looking forward to a campfire vanilla scent, but this didn't deliver. I love tonka, but all I got was a barely-there vanilla, with zero longevity or sillage. So far the only one from this line I have really enjoyed is Dark is Night, so I'll just stick to that one. I hate leaving negative reviews, but I'm just not feeling this perfumery line.

I’ve tried to like it but I just can’t get into this fragrance. It’s very sweet but earthy, green and damp at the same time. There are a lot of notes here. Maybe it’s the patchouli and vetiver not meshing with my skin chemistry, they tend to dominate on me and not in the best way. Also minor complaint that the name makes me think of a smoky fragrance but there’s nothing smoky here.

So glad I tried before purchasing. Char is definitely not for me. One tiny spritz on my hand and I smell a bit of smoke and then super cloying Huge Vanilla! Thankfully, after a half hour it faded to a very soft, powdery scent with a longevity of about two hours on my skin. Definitely a gourmand scent...if you love vanilla and tonka bean scents, you will like this.

Unlike others, my body chemistry makes this unbearably feminine. It goes way too sweet on me, but I can imagine on the right person it would be much better. I really only get the tonka bean and the orange flower.

This smells like the burnt crispy part of a marshmallow once it gets to that perrrfecttt black, well, char. It really is the most fitting name for it. Takes a while to really warm up, it's a little almondy-warm upon first spray but once it settles it's deep, slightly honey-like... ambery. Signature tonka, duh. I can *lightly* detect some ginger but it's not strong at all, I wouldn't expect to pick up on it very much. All it does is serve as some very subtle bite to the top. It compliments it nicely. She has some sensual, earthy grit from the patchouli that really grounds the fragrance. It's not loud, or stinky though. Like a sugary/crystalized patchouli. Just enough for some depth. Pulls you in. It actually kind of reminded me of Nemat's Musk Amber perfume oil at first, because of the warm/amber + patchouli combination. But they're not close enough for it to be redundant to have either, I'd layer them, tbh. Now that I think about it, this is kind of what I was hoping Solinotes' Tonka would be like, but it pulls WAY too cherry almond on me. Of course, I know more about fragrance now than when I bought Solinotes Tonka, and I'm not sure a fragrance in that price range could reflex the depth I was looking for. Char is perfect, she's sexy. Contrary to my one true vanilla love in my life, also from this house, Dave, this one sits quite close to the skin (not that Dave is obnoxious at all, but it's less subtle than this). It's enough sillage that you'll get a whiff few and far between. It's really nice though. Not every fragrance needs to yell. At least from my first skin test on the back of my hand, that's what I picked up on. Longevity is solid. I'm looking forward to wearing this again. There's a time and a place, though. Also, I really cannot fathom how people are getting Poets of Berlin from this...??? I blind bought this for $30 at TJ Maxx a few days ago. If you know you generally feel comfortable with these notes, this is for sure blind buy safe. Happy for a successful blind buy :)

When I first sprayed this I was instantly hit with a wave of nostalgia- I know I had smelled this exact scent before but couldn’t pinpoint what fragrance it reminded me of. I spent half the day smelling my arm and scouring the furthest recesses of my brain trying to recall what this long-lost perfume could be, and then it finally came to me- this smells almost exactly like M by Mariah Carey! I still have that fun purple butterfly bottle in my collection so I went to go dig it out of my closet to do a side by side comparison and they are indeed very similar. M is a little more marine and heavier on the vanilla, while Char is a more modern, grown up and slightly minimalist take but they both share that signature smoky marshmallow note. They really are both very very similar, I wouldn’t be able to distinguish the difference in the air or if I wasn’t comparing them directly side by side. I always thought M was a great perfume (especially in the celebrity world at that time), and I think Char is just as unique and lovely as well!

I recently purchased the HR discovery set and have found so many to enjoy. They are all well-blended and smooth, IMHO. Char is woody, warm, and spicy, with a faint, creamy, dry vanilla smoke that's reminiscent of the inside of a drawer in the nicest antique chest. I smell a hint of mellow oud, but it's not listed, so it must be the combo of the other woods approximating the scent. It's modernly sophisticated. Unfortunately, none of the HR fragrances last long at all on my skin and Char is no different, becoming a skin scent after little more than an hour or two. I've found that layering these scents with their corresponding body cream helps with staying power, but then you're paying even more for the scent (bottle price + cream price). If I'm going to drop the duckets for an HR scent, it wouldn't be Char. While it's so lovely, there are others I prefer (Queens & Monsters, Flora Carnivora, Fog, Windows Down. Last Light) and for the price, I'll have to pick one.

Another pass on a Henry Rose fragrance. I wish I smelled the Tonka coziness that others are describing. To me, it smells like a synthetic woody element (a nauseating fake sandalwood). Where are the gourmand notes others describe? I wish I could detect them. Even pressing my nose to my wrist, I only get a lifeless chemical woodiness. I was hoping for charred marshmallows and I only am getting smokeless, safe synthetic woods. Somehow, most of the Henry Rose perfumes smell almost the same to me (Queens and Monsters, Torn, Dark is Night). Disappointing clinical feel for "clean" perfumerie.

I get a citrusy clean, some vetiver and some ginger. Nothing smoky, no tonka. Not at all what I was expecting. This is definitely more of a fresh scent to me. Edited: Nevermind, I DO get the tonka in the dry down. As it dries down it becomes more gourmand and less fresh smelling. I get mostly tonka and ginger. Love it. Definitely unisex leaning feminine. The buttery feel of the dry down is mouth watering honestly. I also own Dark is night by Henry Rose and absolutely adore it. Im going to have to get Queens & Monsters next!

I have an 11 scent sampler pack of Henry Rose and kept ignoring Char because I find the initial notes boring and too masculine for my taste. But then I realized how much I love the base notes. After a couple of hours it settles down to an addicting and comforting scent of sweet vanilla and smoke. I agree with another reviewer here that it smells of toasted marshmallow and campfire. It evolves into a very feminine scent and now I’m wanting to buy a full size. It’s a perfect winter cozy scent.

I find this quite similar to Torn from the same house. On my skin it’s a sugary floral with deep woods and amber on the base. It smells a bit posh and sparkly like sniffing a fine rose or champagne? It must be the orange flower and ginger that opens kind of tart. It’s pretty addicting because it’s so soft but covers a lot of bases. Could see it being a versatile signature. It definitely has ambrox or something causing that oh so popular faint rubbing alcohol aroma.. Still very much enjoy it

This is certainly a strange one with my chemistry. Right away I got an accord that smelled of popcorn. As it wore on, the popcorn note has stayed, but it's a definite burnt popcorn. The vetiver is also very strong in this-too strong for me. It's not a bad scent at all, but definitely strange with my chemistry! I don't get any orange flower (bummer), patchouli (real bummer), ginger or tonka bean. The Vetiver is drowning out everything else.

This smells like unsweetened vanilla, ambiguous florals, and a faint vetiver. It's very grown-up, which sets it apart from the many other gourmands out there. It makes me think of a nicely-furnished room or an upscale hotel lobby. I think that wearing this will give the impression that you have your shit together. This is clean, smooth, and polished, but not trying too hard...good stuff.

This is labdanum forward fragrance which I don't mind as it is a favored resin for me. Cistus with perhaps a hint of tonka and vanilla but no sweetness here. Ginger may be included but is not a standout. A completely unisex fragrance for those who like a warm enveloping scent profile with no pretense. The lotion provides this perfume well with very nice moisturization. ✨

I found this at TJ MAXX today and blind bought it. I LOOOVE it. It’s what I wanted By the Fireplace to smell like. While BTF smells like a bonfire and nothing else. It’s like when you’re camping and you wake up in the morning and your hair still smells like soot. Ok but this, THIS is sexy. It’s Unisex but fem leaning. It’s a beautiful smoky vanilla tonka. YUM.

Sweet and powdery with a touch of earth. I'm not generally a lover of sweet fragrances but this has a unique spin. The tonka balanced by orange flower and pachouli. It is like munching on your favorite sugar cookie on a swing in your old backyard that bleeds into the thick woody forest you used to play in as a child.

Getting a little Black Orchid here, only slightly more refreshing. A used pillow. The produce section of a grocery store. Patchouli, ginger, orange blossom do just an okay job keeping things lively. A unique combination of popular notes, which I'd say are better off not being mixed together. Doesn't last very long.