Tobak

I adore this fragrance. It smells like old books, libraries, wool and of course tobacco. The dry down is worth the wait, after an hour it smells more of tobacco, musk cinnamon and the first notes are more leather and vetiver. Tonka is present throughout and softens everything and there is something slightly artificial and animalic in there for sure. It’s ever so gently sweet, not a gourmand type , however it does slightly smell like whisky. There’s not too many notes in there and that minimalism is something I appreciate as it melds well with my sweat. Longevity is good , 3 sprays will last till almost the next day. I’ll be getting a refill for sure, the vetiver makes it light and wearable in the spring too. It’s also interesting how literal leather and tobacco have their own notes depending on brand, influencing our expectations ....I always associate tobacco with a prune / plum like smell and leather with sharpness and astringency more typical of masculine scents . I found this fragrance pleasantly surprising as it subverted that expectation. The inspiration for the perfume is Maja’s Swedish Ghanaian childhood and being an immigrant myself, I can appreciate how going suddenly to a different place will heighten what you notice about it.

This is one of my favourite perfumes of all time. It’s leather bound books , antique shop, warm wood , spice and evokes the sense of nostalgia so well. I really do think there’s something so unique and special about this. The Tonka note saves the day because the description does make it heavy but on me it’s woody , hay like and delicate. The last gasp of the perfume smells EXACTLY like an old book. I’ve also worn it year round, in winter cinnamon and spices stand out and spring vetiver and Tonka, giving a more green and fresh quality. Projection excellent , and it lasts until the next day. Great value it took me 3 years to get through one bottle that I’ve since refilled.

Tobak is a beautiful invention. It’s seductive softness combining dried tobacco leaf, leather and vetiver on a base of tonka and a gently animalic musk, generates a warm enveloping aura which casts a spell in any room it enters and goes on for ages in the best possible way. Expertly crafted, Maya Njie has conjured a real masterpiece into being with Tobak. I love it!

I rarely review fragrances....but this smacks! It vibes a private club with tobacco and smoke. It's longevity and projection leave a lot to be desired but I wear my scents for ME and no one else. As long as I can catch a small whiff it comforts me.

A warm, spicy, leathery unisex fragrance. I really like this. You think it's masculine at first but then it's softened with warm, powdery spices. A splash of whisky really adds something.

Best tobacco fragrance ive ever smelled

Love how the tobacco, tonka bean and cinnamon blend in the this one. It feels like you're wearing your grandpa's sweater (in the best way). It kind of smells like a tobacco fougere. Like it's got that barbershop smell of your father's bathroom after he shaved vibe, mixed with all the warm, toasty notes.

Got a small bottle as part of the discovery set. I love the smell of tobacco leaf, so I was really excited about it. It is a lovely fragrance, but on me it just disappears immediately. Tried spraying on my sweater to see if it would last longer, but no luck. I almost wonder if I got a weird batch.

while i dislike this scent i cant give this a negative vote because of how interesting, unique and true to its mission this is. like all the reviews mention, this smells like an old man's sweater after smoking tobacco that has been left in a dusty cabinet.

Tobak should not be lightly dismissed, but it does take time and patience to gain appreciation. If one understands what Maya is seeking to achieve with her fragrances, then Tobak makes perfect sense and is successful.

Someone’s standing too close to you and you keep getting wafts of their ashtray breath. When they move, you get a little of their B.O. but you kinda don’t mind?

I must concur with the previous reviewer; this has got to be one of the worst perfumes I have ever had the displeasure of smelling. It smells like old, tobacco stained books, if old tobacco stained books smelt disgusting rather than delightful. But that's just the opening. After a fairly brief period of time it begins to smell like mirin, if mirin...you get the idea. To be fair it does last a long time over all. But the element which lasts a long time is the dodgy synthetic musk. As my username might suggest, I have nothing against synthetic musks in general. I do, however, have a lot against this one. Avoid like the plague.

This smells like a sweaty old man who works in a pharmacy, probably one of the worst perfumes I have ever tried, truly awful. You can smell tobacco and synthetic leather, but the combination is so acidic, there is something so rancid about this fragrance I cannot point to. I cannot detect musk or tonka beans. It just smells like medicine, sweat and tobacco.

Smelling this on paper makes me want to gag! I mean this in total sincerity - there is smell of one of those porta-potties. Just does! Good thing this was a free sample...I'd be mad if I spent any amount of money on this..wheeew boy it's rough.

Hey so this smells like moth balls. Like a smoker's breath with tonsil stones. I think this goes down as the most offensive scent I've ever smelled in my life.

This was ordained to be in my collection after trying a sample! Then, weeks later, Knowing it wasn't easily and readily available, out of thousands of fragrances, this one just swam to the surface just knowing there was a suitable new home for it, and here it is! Now, I wouldn't classify this as a tobacco fragrance. You will only notice maybe just a hint of it way in the drydown (probably after the 7 hour mark) but again, the tobacco in it is only on a microdose level, and that's probably key for such a beautiful composition! I will be explaining the scent in varying ways that may seem odd but bear with me. This is a slightly unusual offering, but to my nose, I get a very warm, altruistic, and cozy animalistic/wool sort of fabric that's been soaked in cinnamon whiskey inside of a tin canister, all while you're experiencing the unfolding of the aroma at a barbershop. There is a vintage aspect to this which feels like something pinaud aftershave like, but this is because the cinnamon really reveals itself to be perfectly emulsified with the animalic touches that it brings solidarity and stability to the oriental spice classification group as opposed to being felt in isolation state. This is probably the best use of cinnamon in a fragrance that it dethrones the cinnamon used in fragrances like one million prive. Maya Njie nailed this formulation! It is a masterpiece indeed! The animal musks and Cinnamon are really the star players here and I also get a natural impression of thick and authentic ambergris too which is amazing! This is absolute niche quality juice with above average performance! With all this said, if you have this and are willing to trade it, pm me because I'd love a back up bottle.

I didn’t like the top notes when I first sprayed this on. About 1 hour in, I’m liking it more and more. Looking at the notes above, I can’t work out where the medicinal note comes from. Cinnamon can come across as medicinal but it’s not that. It doesn’t smell like either mint or mothballs, but it’s that kind of a cool, fresh medicinal note. The leather and tobacco are still there but have become much softer. To my nose, it isn’t a million miles away from Joop Femme but Michael Edwards classifies Tobak as “dry woods, classical” and Joop Femme as “woody amber”. For the people who find they are reacting against this perfume, I wonder if it is because it is such a long way from the contemporary style of perfume design? So many of the new releases at the moment contain sweet gourmand notes: honey, chocolate, all sorts of non-citrus fruits and vanilla are common but I’ve also come across candy floss (cotton candy). If you appreciate that genre of perfume, Tobak will seem like a slap in the face. Edit: by the end of the day, this had become a musky, leather skin scent, cosy and comforting. I echo RobWales below: give this time.

I hear lots of people compare the Marigiela one to the smell of a gentleman's club, which is utter bullocks. THIS smells like a one of those private clubs in Mayfair. It's a love it or hate it kind of scent. It smells like old leather chairs, wooden furniture which was cleaned with furniture polish, and dirty cigar ashtrays. Smells masculine and mature. Good quality scent. Will I get it? No. It too mature for me. Blind buy safe? Absolutely not. Unless all your favourite perfumes are from the 70's 80's era, and you like the smell of furniture polish mixed with leather and cigar ashtray.

This opens with a very dry vetiver and a green tobacco leaf that creates an aromatically earthy smokiness. The heart has a darkly smoky leather with animalic musks that pack a warm sweatiness that feels like a loved one’s hands in leather gloves. The dry down has a dry cinnamon bark with a woody smell reminiscent of old furniture covered in year old layers of smoke. The scent isn’t for me but I can see this working for someone else

As mentioned in other reviews, this conjures imagery of smokey private clubs with lots of leather furniture. Imagine Polo (1978) stripped of its green elements. The effect is both old-school in its aesthetic and modern in its minimalism. Beautifully refined, a meditative fragrance suitable for whoever might choose to wear it. Perfect for Autumn.