New York the City of Dreams

New York the City of Dreams has a very pleasant cherry note first off that isn't so much a super dark cherry or a candy/maraschino cherry either. I'd say it's a fairly realistic cherry that is almost instantly balanced out of the opening by the florals, cognac, and a hint of spice. Really if anything I think the mid instantly takes too much away from the cherry it becomes just very slightly too powdery floral or creamy for my desires but it is acceptable all the same. The slight booziness helps keep it from getting too much like a playdoh and keeps it solidly in the vein of like a very mature spiced cherry cocktail or dessert but it really is edging on the side of some kind of playdoh or lotion simultaneously. There's definitely a lot of richness in the mid and it smells very smooth even for a fresher bottle but I hope the cherry will pop a bit more over time. The dry down just adds in a woody leathery note to go along with the fading cherry. It still has most of the rest of the notes in the scent but everything kinda begins to dull a bit. Again I wish the cherry popped a bit more here but its still powering a vague floral sweetness over the base and sometimes you get a touch of spice and cognac but those are tough to pick up if you aren't specifically trying to. I would say this is actually extremely versatile it's smooth and appealing enough that I think it is daytime appropriate for a rather refined date night sort of profile and I believe it would work in warmer days but perhaps not the hottest days of the year. I think that slight almost lotion aspect is actually a big benefit for the fragrance in that regard the florals pick up enough freshness and it's not overly sweet to the point that you might feel like you're overpowering anyone around you. That being said performance is just average for me personally but this isn't a loud fragrance either so it might just be the nature of the scent. I'd imagine this is probably pretty killer when layered with a sweet fruity fragrance to give it some push if you're into that. The longevity on my skin of the dry down is actually very long. Skin scent level we're talking in the 10+ hour range. I agree with some others sentiments that I believe there is some unnecessary/suspicious negativity towards this fragrance here on this site in the ratings and voting breakdowns. For example who here is really voting that this is overpriced like honestly it's regular clone pricing. As long as you understand this is a slightly mature cherry fragrance and not some loud sugar bomb you should understand if this may appeal to you regardless of what the numbers say on this page.

Right off the bat, on my skin, I get the cherry most prominently followed by the cognac, and some floral nuances as well as subtle spice that more so reins in the sweetness than makes the frag spicy as a whole. The cherry to me is realistic not medicinal, and for me the fragrence invokes the image of a cocktail of sorts (bases on the name I'm assuming they were aiming for the Manhattan cocktail, but I dont drink so idk, however, based on images, honestly this fragrence smells like how I think the cocktail would). I'm not getting a noticeable amount of earthiness or woods as much but there is definitely a darker undertones to this. Will do a full wear test tmr and update to see if that earthy base comes out more but so far I'm really loving this. Edit: as it got past the intial blast of booze and cherry with that spiced warmth and depth with the floral nuances the fragrence got more and more earthy and woody as time passed. Towards the end when it was more of a skin scent It developed into very well balanced earthy woodiness. The sweet fruitiness of the cherry and the smell of florals and booze from the cognac still whispered in the background of this drydown but like I said, mostly woody and earthy by this point. Total longevity out the box maybe 7 hours if not a little bit over so maybe 7-8 total. Working for like 2-3 hours with moderate projection. To me this kinda works all year round, with a more fall-spring leaning but summer nights and warmer winter days this could definitely work very well. Sig scent worthy if you like cherry but want it more masc and grounded.

DO NOT BUY THIS EXPECTING 1 TO 1 FRENCH DEFENSE. Are they similar in a way? Yes simply because of the cherry. This does its own thing compared to french defense. The cherry is not as blasted in your face like french defense. The cherry is only strong in the opening (not that it disappears later just takes a step back) and its a very very smooth cherry. Not synthetic or medicinal or car scent cherry none of that. This is more of a ambery slightly spicy cherry. Its so extremely smooth like im genuinely impressed with the quality here. It could easily pass as a $150+ fragrance. It is like a creamy boozy cherry idk how to explain it but it is so good. This is what initio narcotic delight wanted to be. Genuinely phenomenal and easily the best cherry fragrance ive put my nose on. Just go buy it. If you like boozy cherry ambery scent profile then you will love this. This is so good and might be the best lattafa IMO and I have all of the “heavy hitters” from lattafa. scent: 10/10 longevity: cant speak on it yet but oil concentration seems pretty high as my skin is glistening from one spray so id say 6-8 hours by default. Projection: not anything extremely loud as expected from this dna but people will definitely smell you. Id say abt arms length projection Sillage: You will definitely leave a good scent trail. Spray it on my hand and its been lingering in the room and i only sprayed it on my hand. JUST BUY IT

I really love this fragrance so much. When I got it, I didn’t think much of it, but by the second day, I was blown away! Why’s the rating low? This smells better than Vintage Radio to me, and they’re in that same fruity family. The woodiness and powderiness from the rose, mimosa, and patchouli in the dry down are so, so enjoyable. I enjoy the cherry, as it’s the first thing you’re greeted with. It’s not a syrupy cherry, but instead a soft, wine-like cherry on top of an amber background. The quality is excellent. This is perfectly unisex! If you think it’s feminine, give it a few wears; the woods will surely balance it out. Performance is above 7 hours on my skin, with above-moderate projection. This smells like something Initio would do. It’s hard to get a solid cherry fragrance, but I must say, this one surprised me. I enjoy the whole floral mix with cherry, patchouli, oakmoss, and what almost feels like tobacco. There's also violet in this fragrance! It shows in the dry down.... Beautiful stuff! Perfect scent for date nights and romantic outings. Unique enough to turn heads. I don’t care if it’s a clone of French Defense or not, but all I know is that this one is very good and way better and unique than many cherry scents I’ve tried. 8.5/10!

Perfect cherry all-season in my opinion. The opening is fresh, aromatic cherry. Within the first hour, the cherry greatly calms down and becomes more earthy and leathery thanks to the labdanum and moss. I also detect a rose and booze nuance, but it is not strong at all. This is a lightly sweet fragrance, not cloying at all, and though the projection is not super strong like other Arabic fragrances tend to be, the longevity is pretty good. I'd say about 6-8 hours. Not my favorite fragrance ever, but it's up there. And I'm not sure why people are saying it smells cheap—this does not smell cheap in the slightest! You could fool me with a $200 price tag and a Xerjoff bottle!

Honestly, I didn't like it at first spray on a tester strip. I sprayed my arm and was like, meh. So I figured I would let it sit for a few weeks. A couple of hours passed and I was like, something smell good. Wait, that's me. Omg, the dry down was so good. Right off the bat, I get the cherry, black pepper and nutmeg, then immediately a boozy scent and then the patchouli & cedarwood, just pulled it all together. Another Lattafa hit, in my book. I rate it 7.5/10 After maceration, I'll revisit it and rate it again. I honestly believe, it'll only get better

I was getting ready to be disappointed as Lost Cherry and all those designer/dupes fragrances that copy it's DNA are all boring to me but this was actually an interesting cherry. Opens up with florals and a jammy cherry with a bit of woodiness. I left the tester strip for a bit and came back to it and it was in the gourmand territory with the cherry fading a bit. The cognac and nutmeg with amber (that reminds me of vanilla antique) reminded me of a cinnamon cake, if you spread some cherry jam on top.

Here in the UK, I got a sample from siriussamples.com because I wanted a affordable alternative to my bottle of French Defense I got as a gift which is nearly all gone 🥲 but I have to say, the Lattafa does get really close. There is a twist with the introduction of cognac which in my opinion makes the scent profile more seductive. Combined with the rose and cherry, it’s right up my alley.

This fragrance gets way too much hate. Not identical to French Defense on skin but practically 1/1 in the air. & in the air is what matters most. Even as a fragrance on its own on skin it’s still very nice. Great quality

This smells like Cherry lipgloss, there is something charming and bright about it, i really like it!!

I really want to try it but I don’t know where I can buy it in Europe 😭

This is an almost identical dupe of French defense, well done Lattafa!

FWIW, Paulxd and many other reviewers below hit the nail on the head with their reviews. NYTCOD opens with a cherry accord that is quite strong but short lived. I wish the delightful cherry opening lasted longer! Fortunately, I do not get a medicinal cherry-cough syrup vibe when I apply this fragrance to skin. My initial impression is of a semi-sweet, fruity cherry vibe with lots of woods, very soft florals, definitely spicy pepper, definitely nutmeg, labdanum and oak moss. May sound silly but NYTCOD wears earthy, vegetal, and balsamic on my skin. The perfume is much more resinous versus sweet. I'm quite sensitive to labdanum in fragrances but to my nose, the labdanum in this fragrance is nicely done. In the dry-down, I clearly detect a soft, warm, leathery, honey accord. With this said, a note/accord goes sideways for me in the fragrance's dry-down. I'm not a huge believer in maceration but I'll let this one sit for a bit. I like this but something in the dry down doesn't quite resonate with me.

I don't have the orignal... But if u were to go to the originals mind games fragrance review section... It reads like how this smells... Its a good cherry fragrance and Iam a big fan of cherry smoke by Tom Ford.... Dark cherry at the top..then all the other notes give it a smooth boozy cheery feel very sexy...... I sorta get the scent of lipstick but it all ties in together well...

Cherry for all seasons is a very good description! Nothing dark, smokey or tart-ish about this one. Might lean a bit too feminine for some. Smells high quality and good longevity straight out of the box.

This smells like a dang spicy and sweet fruitcake with cherries on it. I feel like you could wear this on Christmas, but that's about it. I hate gourmands! This one is on me, I didn't think I would like the cherry and I really don't. Why do I trust people online and blind buy? Almost all Lattafas have this sickeningly sweet funk too them that really isn't wearable for me. I have like 10 now and I'll never wear them. This might be the one that makes me finally learn my lesson and stop trusting.

I really wanted to like this, but this disappointed me. Low quality smell, didn’t find anything good or impressive about it. Wouldn’t recommend.

My heartfelt and warmest congratulations go out to Lattafa for designing what must surely be the Number 1 All-Time Hall of Fame ugliest, most kitsch perfume bottle artwork presentation ever created. And yes, that even includes the seventies and eighties. Laughably bad. Who designs these things and how do they stay in employment?? Must be the owners brother or something. I've seen better art at junior under 12 level. I agree with what the reviewer below said....i really hope Lattafa stop this nonsense and go back to doing what they used to do so well, making strong and creative middle eastern scents.

I do not understand the immediate hate for this fragrance in some of these reviews. This is like a cross between Cherry Punk and French Defense. Leather and cherry go very well together and this perfume has some leather smelling nuances even though it is not listed in the ingredients. It smells expensive, well blended, and niche. Projection and longevity are average. It smells different than other Lataffa scents and that is a good thing one would think. Some people apparently want redundancy.

I urge Lattafa to come back to their senses immediately. Bring back the Ameers, the Durrahs, the Areeqs. Bring back middle eastern bottle+titles and nice strong juices.

Smokey cherry fragrance for women only. Average at best

ai art on the bottle. disgraceful.

Lattafa and New York don't mix