Cherry

For me this perfume has the 'WOW' factor and it has been attracting a lot of positive comments,the fact the projection is so good seems to be luring people in ;-) It is also lasting on me a good 4-6 hours,which may not SEEM long but my skin often just soaks up perfume within 1-2 hours.For me,in terms of longevity and silage,the only perfumes that compete are YSL 'Black Opium' and Vivienne Westwood's 'Naughty Alice'. Now for the smell: Firstly,a hit of cherry but not that kind of artificial, sickly candy cherry,it is more akin to a slightly sour cherry. Remember those fizzy licorice laces from your childhood,well that's what this makes me think of in the opening,with perhaps a little bit of sherbert thrown into the mix.Ahh,childhood reminiscence! The opening notes last a long time on me,until eventually some vanilla (and not a great deal) comes through.I think the tonka bean sneaks through as well,as the middle notes seem very mellow and I really don't detect any jasmine (a smell that I'm normally very drawn to) It's not very long before the notes in this perfume seem to meet at there ultimate rendevous. A lush mix of a slight lingering vanilla,accompanied by a sultry,musky patchouli,not to dry and woody but perfect to give this wonderful fragrance something that in my mind, makes me think of a cheeky Imp tip toeing around some mysterious woodland. I'm sure I will be buying this perfume for a very long time to come because it feels like the very essence of myself in a bottle :-)

Cherry is the most delicate, yet lasting, multi laced and sophisticated berry fragrance, based on cherry blossom, that I ever smelled. It is amazing and different full stop. It is not the notes that I am fascinated with though, it is the way HOW all this structured. I am not a perfumer, neither a chemist, but the whole Mary Greenwell range smell completely different "Architecture-wise", how notes build up against and inside of each other, it is so... fancy and dainty. So high class, good taste English aristocracy. Pleasure to wear indeed. It is not airy-fresh cherry, not sickly berry, not sticky lollipop one , it is those exotic dreams of nights in Sakura garden in Japan, intoxicating, romantic, innocent, dreamy. Loving every single bit.

Considering the notes listed I was expecting a more heavy fragrance. It opens with the sweet juicy smell of a real cherry and a touch of blackberry. I could have sworn I detected the orchid note. Sweet, fresh, juicy and a touch sour. Quite girly. This stage becomes less intense and then I get some musk, vanilla and patch. You would be forgiven to think it becomes much heavier but no. I get a little bergamot and lily of the valley that prevent it becoming heavy. I'm rather fond of the licorice note but it's more low key than I was expecting and the musk is more strong. Average longevity and silage. I think it's perfect for a spring evening.

Mary Greenwell perfumes were exceptional . Then they were gone. I think the problem was that she was emulating proper perfumery from days gone by , presumably as she remembered them ( and I do too ) and it's just not understood anymore . People saw simple product names like Cherry and Plum and thought they were getting gourmands or basic fruity fragrances. They didn't and just couldn't get their heads around it. She also sold through select department stores and didn't go for the pile them high sell, them cheap, push them on tiktok ,model. These are perfumes that are INSPIRED by both the notes and the colours. It's remembering that Mary was a MUA before we call them that and before the likes of Charlotte Tilbury started branching out into cosmetics and fragrances ( ironically she went to the same perfumier to design here iconic fragrance Scent of a Dream which is also really worth seeking out, she didn't go for a modern feel either she just perhaps is a better self publicist than Mary) .Certainly in the case of Plum it was her signature look : a dark plum lip with a pale complexion, nude eye and no mascara ( definitely fake eyelashes !). Almost certainly that's the reason she chose that for her initial offering. Plum obviously does have some plum in the way that Femme de Rochas does it Mitsouki has peach but it's actually a big white tuberose floral. It's interesting that François Robert son of THE Guy Robert quotes Femme as one of his most beloved perfumes and biggest influences So don't go looking for cherry pop or for anything that's simple. These are carefully composed, well blended fragrances where one note doesn't stand out and the end result is much more than some of its parts. Cherry is probably my least favourite because it is still quite fruity and probably the youngest and most fun of the range and I'm not that young ( maybe just occasionally a bit fun !) . The fact that I can wear a scent that's based around a note I'm not particularly fond of says a lot though ( I love eating cherries, I love anything cherry flavoured, I don't want to smell like a cherry ). It's a fresh, fruity floral with light musk base. There's woodiness to it though that stops at getting too sweet . It would probably make a very sophisticated shampoo and it's easily something you could wear on a spring day for a first date or at work. You can still find these on eBay in the UK and I urge anybody who likes vintage style fragrances and struggles to find anything remotely attractive in today's offerings, to give them a go. I went and bought them all and also back ups of my favourites which are actually Lemon and Fire. If you pine for the great citrus scents of the 70s the likes of Ô de Lancôme, things that had some depth and citrus notes that actually lasted , buy Lemon . If you loved Diva by Ungaro and want a sexy, spicy rose chypre, buy Fire. On the other hand if you want perfume that smells like sweets and fruit salad , just go elsewhere There's enough out there after all. Leave these last few precious bottles to the rest of us, vintage fans that can appreciate them, we don't get much these days, after all.

Cherry opens like a fruit that has absolutely no intention of behaving itself. One spray and suddenly you’re in a glossy magazine advert from 2007 where everything is red, shiny, and slightly overexposed. The cherry note doesn’t just appear - it leaps out, flips its hair, and says, “Did you miss me?” even though you’ve never met. It’s glossy. It’s loud. It's wearing sunglasses indoors and thinks it's absolutely irresistible. Then the florals show up, trying to add sophistication. They fail. They’re basically interns holding clipboards while Cherry dances on the table. As it settles, the sweetness thickens in a way that feels like a cherry lollipop melted in the heat onto a velvet cushion. It’s plush, it’s sticky, it’s slightly chaotic — like a dessert that’s been left unsupervised. The woods and musk try to ground it, but it’s like watching a sensible friend trying to stop someone from texting their ex at 2am. It’s doing its best but it’s not enough. Cherry just tosses its hair and says, “No thanks, I’m busy being iconic.” Do I feel elegant wearing it? Absolutely not. I feel like a glam cherry bonbon who has strong opinions about karaoke.

This stuff is grim. No surprise it was discontinued. Saw it for a bargain (or so I thought) price in The Fragrance Shop yesterday. It's foul. If it came free with a teen magazine you'd pour it down the loo. Sickly, bitter, cloying, and powerfully unpleasant all at once. A lot of positive reviews for this perfume online. Madness.