Lovely Chèrie

I'm transported back in time with lovely Cherie. Back when I had two cherry trees in my yard. Their dark, succulent, juicy red colour were a highlight to my day. That's exactly what this scent evokes for me. The cherries were sweet yet tinged with a hint of tartness, reminiscent of sour candies. Often, I'd pluck them and enjoy them while sipping on port or amaretto. Oddly enough I also had an almond tree, and eating those raw with the cherries made the bitter almond note in this fragrance feel just right. As I inhale this scent, I can almost feel the Australian breeze on my skin once more. It's all harmoniously blended with lovely tonka bean and toffee notes, yet the cherry lingers throughout the wear. This fragrance is deeply personal to me, reminding me of a time in Australia that I dearly miss, with its cherry trees, the parrots I shared them with, and the friends I made. It's a memory trigger, and I'm grateful to experience those moments again through this beautiful blend. Seductively sexy in an intimate, sweet way, this scent isn't your typical childish cherry fragrance. It's for someone more grown and with experience. While I'd consider it unisex, its sweetness leans slightly feminine, though I admire when a man confidently wears sweet scents too. The hint of spice adds a masculine touch. I've found its longevity to be around 4 or 5 hours on my skin, which I appreciate, and even longer when sprayed on my hair and clothes. Once again, as with most of this line that’s mass produced, it's best to let it oxidise for at least 2 weeks. Spray the fragrance in the air 5-10 times and then let it sit. I let mine sit for a month, and now I can't stay away from it. It's truly breathtaking. One of my favourites for sure. If anyone isn’t into cherry fragrances and doesn’t like this one in particular please message me if you’re going to give it away or throw it out. I absolutely love this perfume so I will take it off your hands. 🍒 🥃 🌹

I just sprayed the back of my hand twice, and the bottle has not had much time to macerate (which, from what I understand, improves the longevity immensely), but so far I love it. It smells just like what I hoped it would smell like, which is marzipan-cherries, or possibly Black Forest cake filling. These cherries are a little boozy but not too much; they smell more like the cake filling than a liqueur. Fortunately, I'm not getting much in the way of tobacco notes, which sometimes happens with coumarin and cherry/almond scents; it's why I think I found the drydown of Joop! Le Bain so hard to tolerate, even though I love most of the notes in theory. But for whatever reason, this just smells like sweet cherry and almond, not unlike the Aveda Cherry Blossom leave-in hair conditioner that I normally use. The base offers enough complexity with vanilla and musks that I get a dark-chocolate note, which is welcome. It's a teensy bit smoky but not so smoky that I get the stale-cigarette musty, morning-after-a-club-night odor, which I dislike. This smells more like a woodburning fireplace in the next room from where you are eating your slice of Black Forest cake. I still haven't smelled the Tom Ford OG (I will the next time I visit a mall), but I can't imagine this being so much more exponentially worse that the $300-plus price tag would be justified. But maybe I'm just a cheapskate who can't wrap her head around the idea of any perfume costing more than one of my geriatric pets' vet visits.) Update: I put a single spray on my left wrist about four hours ago, and it still smells lovely. It doesn't project much, but I can easily catch whiffs of it when I move my arm closer to my face, and I really love the smoky cherry-vanilla drydown.

PSA: This is great for layering. This is a boozy cherry. Like a cherry liqueur. Smells maybe 95% similar to the OG, but I only smelt the OG once so take my opinion lightly please. This has been re-released in a different non-Tom-Ford bottle and called 'Forbidden Love'. They smell the same but Forbidden Love smells just slightly less concentrated. Could be a maturation thing. I own both. The Maison Alhambra clone for this is distinctly superior to the Fragrance World clone of this. Again, I own both. I've smelt multiple Middle-Eastern cherry frags (some juicy, some dry, all great) and this still remains the best because of its booziness. You're not missing anything if you just go with this and layer it with other fragrances. Only issue with this is it lacks body and feels a bit thin and lacking a satiating base, albeit being richly boozy and delicious. Layer this with vanillas, ambers, etc. to give this cherry fragrance some body. Particularly Kayali Vanilla 28 and By Kilian Angels' Share - both are great to layer with. Two other suggestions which I haven't tried yet would be Tom Ford Tuscan Leather (a raspberry-leather scent) and Initio Paragon (a candied plum scent). For the Tom Ford cherry trio, my preference for both men and women is: Lost Cherry (boozy; sensual; the best and sexiest) > Cherry Smoke (incensey; slightly darker than Lost Cherry; not boozy; also probably ideal to layer with vanillas/ambers for body) > Electric Cherry (youthful/juvenile/playful but sexy; brighter than Lost Cherry; not boozy)

Oh yummy! I'm not a cherry fragrance/note fan...but this...dear lord. This is delicious. It's definately maraschino cherry dominant, but the boozy, creamy chocolate toffee undertones are smoooooooth and sensual. What a buy! I have no desire to smell the Tom Ford equivalent if this is so close. This will do me just fine 🙂 Lasts for hours and hours on me as well. Dries down to a creamy vanilla, caramel milk chocolate skin scent. Foodie heaven. Heres hoping they continue to make this, just in differing bottles if it means so much to whomever is suing this company over the resemblances to T.F. Just goes to show how disgustingly outrageous the massive mark ups are for a designer name alone. Sickening really. Keep 'em coming Lattafa/Maison Alhambra! ❤️ Addit a few days later: I have found a DELICIOUS layering combo with this one. I have Nina Ricci's L'extase Rose Absolue, which I haven't been 'feeling' for a while now; just had it out today to see if I wanted to declutter it...sprayed it on a wrist then sprayed Lovely Cherie on the top the same hand, cos it's a bit of an obsession right now and i couldnt resist...2 mins later I can smell the 2 together...oh man it's sooo good. Decanted 1ml each in a travel spray...not quite there, so added another 1ml of Lovely Cherie...nailed it! 😍😍😍 If you read this and have both, give it a go. It'll be worth it. Needless to say a won't be decluttering the Nina Ricci. 😁

This is soft, cherry almond deliciousness! 🍒🍒 There’s an added “punch” that Arabic fragrances are definitely known for. I don’t know how they made it so strong in projection but so soft in scent. It’s absolutely lovely! I get no alcoholic burst, whatsoever, exactly as @Darthfragrance said. This smells VERY premium and not cheap at all, at least not my bottle and to my nose. Keep in mind, I can’t stand anything thats scratchy or sharp. This is soft and smooth, like a cherry almond liqueur going down your throat. Mmmm YUM. 🍨🍦 To paint a picture, a bunch of super muscular guys are at the bar. You know the type. Handsome but loud and extremely extroverted. They are all in the middle of talking about their lives and some wives, until SHE walks in. You can now hear a pen drop and the click and clack of her heels. Shes in a black trench with a red lip and heels. Her hair is effortlessly bouncy and long but her eyeliner could cut anyone who gets too close. Shes stunning. Shes wearing a cherry almond perfume and just ordered a drink made with Baileys. The Baileys and her perfume make up this exact scent. Mmmm 💅🏻💅🏻 I can’t wait to layer with this, it seems like it’d pair with just about anything under the sun. I’m just in love, period 🍒🍒❤️❤️