Close Up

This niche perfume brand was completely inspired by the art of photography. The photographer of this work was Suren Manvelyan and the conceptual image brings a human eye in maximum zoom, in which the eyeball represents the Earth and the iris, a sort of map of the soul. Close Up refers to terms such as framing or approximation. The perfumer was Annick Menardo, who has already created for YSL, Dior, Boucheron and Lolita Lempicka, among other renowned brands. The fragrance features notes of green coffee (Brazil Santos), spices and cherry, in the head; white tobacco, patchouli, Atlas cedar and centifolia rose, in the body; amber, musk and tonka bean, in the base. I do not know where to start, but I think it might be like this: wow, what a bomb! When it touches the skin, it is sweet and medicinal at the same time. Cinnamon is the strong point of the spice accord, the coffee gives a roasted appearance and the ginja cherry gives the liqueur part with some medicinal nuances. For those who do not know, the ginja is a type of bitter cherry used to make a liqueur, also known as Griotte. Luckily, in this fragrance, it does not have that nauseating smell of cough syrup that often bothers me, very common in cherry-scented perfumes. Over time, it seems that the fragrance will not change anymore, as the little that evolves takes place under the great umbrella of the exit that, incredible as it may seem, never disappears. It's cool to wear a fragrance that changes the whole famous concept about output notes and olfactory pyramids when you are faced with a perfume whose output remains present all the time. Regarding evolution, Close Up changes so smoothly that you barely notice the sweetness of the tobacco popping up and making room for the creaminess of the tonka beans, at the base. A nuance of chocolate may also appear, occasionally, because of patchouli. And the addictive sensuality of the fragrance is due to the amber, here of high quality. Close Up is the clear signature of Annick Menardo! She has the ability to create fragrances in this oriental style as few within this area. Examples abound: Au Masculin (Lolita Lempicka), Body Kouros (YSL), Bvlgari Black (Bvlgari), Kokorico (JPG), Roma Uomo (Laura Biagiotti), etc. Now I need to report a situation about the similarity aspect and nothing better than giving real examples to illustrate this analysis. The first time I wore this fragrance, I met some friends (who are also collectors and fragrance lovers) and both said the same thing: "It is very similar to Ambre Narguilé (Hermès)". And they are not the only ones to make such a comparison, as we can see here and in the other international forums about perfumes. Well, I had to make new tests and talk about it with more property. Close Up and Ambre Narguilé are really very similar, especially if you just feel the trail left by the user. However, if worn at the same time (one on each wrist), the differences can be perceived very easily. While Close Up is more medicinal and has toasted facets at the start, Hermès's perfume is sweeter and more gourmand, because of the honey and vanilla notes. Close Up brings tobacco, while Ambre Narguilé brings caramel and tonka beans. In terms of flowers, Close Up brings the rose, more metalized; the other brings orchid, more delicate and powdery. Side by side, the differences are very noticeable. From a distance, it is difficult to know where one begins and the other ends. Comparisons made, Close Up (released in 2016) may not be groundbreaking when we realize that Ambre Narguilé was released in 2004, twelve years earlier. However, even though the quality that Hermès's fragrances own, when I think of the price charged by them, I have no doubt that Close Up is the best investment. Apart from that, I also think that the fragrance is better and stronger in all respects. If anyone complains about the projection or durability of this perfume, doubt it. Close Up talks about close range, but the fragrance is quite expansive. By the way, thinking on this side, it could be called Wide Angle. I confess I can not wait for a perfume called MACRO.

I will preface this by saying that I am a cherry lover. After testing Lost Cherry for several times a few years ago and noticing how mediocre it performs, I still decided to splurge a ridiculous amount of money because it has prominent cherry as the star note and I adore this fruit! Where was this when I was going through my crazy cherry obsession?? Cause it’s freaking amazing!!! And looks like it was launched two years before Tom Ford’s cherry scent. But then Olfactive Studio is not a hyped up brand on social media so of course I had no idea of its existence! What a delectable surprise! Spiced cherry (I would say pink pepper and star anise), still sweet but not overly, tobacco flower, tonka beans, coffee beans and patchouli for a deep contrast on a musky, amber, warm base. Might be just me and so many others knew about it, but I personally feel that Close Up is the most underrated cherry fragrance on market in 2024! And smells very intense and rich, different than the uber famous Lost Cherry, Lovefest Burning Cherry or Cherry Ambition, which are all over social media...And a full size bottle costs around 150 euros, such good value for money!! Would call Close Up more of a fall, spring cherry scent because seems to have a strong presence on skin. I am testing it today from a 2 ml sample and will update later in the day more details regarding the performance. But what an underrated gem! Update: after eight hours of wear, it became a skin scent. Projection was moderate for the first three hours. Close Up is going to my to buy list. Edit: got myself a bottle for Black Friday sales. Such an amazing fragrance for cherry lovers! Best purchase in a long time.

This reminds me so much of Tonka Cola! I'm getting major cherry coke vibes from this. I actually find this a lot smoother/less abrasive to my nose despite the coffee note (I usually find it too overwhelming but it's subtle here, which I didn't think possible!), TC was overtly spicy and just a bit too much for me. This is gorgeously fruity, dark, cozy, dare I say a little sexy? The wildest part is this wasn't even on my radar initially; a very big thank you to the employee at Bloom Perfumes (a wonderful little boutique in Covent Garden, London) who suggested I also give this a go when I asked about Indecent Cherry. I now have a very tough decision to make as they both take the cherry note in wildly different directions and I love both!!! Edit: alright I've sat with this sample for a good week or so, and I adore it. Unfortunately spicy scents just aren't my forte (with a few exceptions, obviously) and even if I opted for the 50ml over the 100ml I honestly think it'd go rancid before I finish it... So here's hoping they eventually release this scent in a 15ml too! I'd be ALLLLLL over a travel size.

Admittedly, it's been a while since I've smelled oajan or amber narguille. I feel like those were more tailored around cinnamon + apple. I could be wrong. With that said, I find close up to be a play between a light blonde piped tobacco and a subtly sweet cherry. Close up is a smell that draws you in - it doesn't scream off your body, but rather invites those around you. The tobacco is creamy as it mixes with the sweetness of the cherry and the tartness of the coffee. Tobacco is what this fragrance is all about. I can't imagine this would knock your socks off and make you rethink the purpose of life - but it may make you reconsider your feelings on tobacco fragrances as a whole. This is far from the harshness and "hey I'm here!!" Formula that we see with tobacco vanille - and because of that, I appreciate this fragrance. 7/10

An intensive, cherry tobacco scent. Often I can’t wear tobacco, but that’s not the case here. Most unusual, Close Up is coupled with a kind of dry gourmand note (which one is responsible?). The opening is very odd, I wasn’t sure I liked it and along the way I kept going back for a deep inhale, trying to figure this one out. The coffee note here is akin to a pot of coffee on a fire pit. It’s past it’s prime but still drinkable. I’m picking up spices, tonka, patchouli and musk as one harmonious blend; the dry down is my favorite part. It’s comforting. Intimacy and reflection are present, for cool weather only. Close Up is appropriately named.

Overall cherry pipe tobacco with coffee beans and vanilla powder. The initial blast is strong, but it quickly settles down. Dark and soft, sexy, velvety, fall fragrance. Perfect for brunettes and dark complexion women or any man who is into sweet dirty scents. Definitely not a happy teenage cherry perfume. This could be also compared to a dark chocolate praline with cherry liquor. I wish there was more projection, after 2 hours it is quite mild. The longevity is fair. I have tested it several times by now over a few months and still can't decide if it is a full bottle worthy.

I got a full bottle as a gift and im excited to be able to wear it! it’s really warm outside so i cant at the moment. From what i smelled so far it’s a beautiful realistic cherry fragrance. Not it the synthetic way. Could come off a bit too feminine for some but i don’t mind that. Very heavy tho so i’d wear this for cold weather. :)

Dried cherries and pipe tobacco. Delicious, sensual, bold, not too sweet. Lasted about 8hours on my skin and I kept getting really nice wafts tobacco as I went about my day. Lucky me, I’m not getting any of the unpleasant notes others have mentioned.

Spicy coffee with black cherry nuances. Just the right amount of sweetness. I get a little bit of a coffee-breath stank on the drydown but not in a bad way. It's kind of addicting. Not for everyone but it is quite sexy.

Sexy cherry dominant fragrance with good lasting but close to skin. It’s good for dates or some events

What a pleasant surprise. Unique and addictive. Not the usual cherry...

@Ocean arab tempest Close Up an olive oil?

Olfactive studios Close up. Now! Let's just take into account that I had preconceived ideas and judgements on this fragrance before I'd even tried it and I'm not too proud to say when I'm wrong as equally as I like to gloat and highlight the fact when my predictions are accurate...this one falls more into the latter category. The main thing I notice about Olfactive Studios fragrances is that they try to be innovative and in this industry I have to give them credit for that. The briefs and concepts the perfumers/house come up with never fail to intrigue but unfortunately they never quite deliver a long lasting and enjoyable fragrance throughout. Superb and unique openings...disappointing performance/drydown/overall experience. One day I'm sure they will crack this and we will have a real winner on our hands. God loves a trier and they are always worth a sniff. The opening is intoxicating like a silky, coffee infused breeze of milky, musky woods. Then there's that hint of the honied Tobacco and a pinch of cherry, cough drop warmness and excitement. The mid section of this fragrance is basically warm and cozy, resinous benzoin and that slight coffee/vanilla vibe of tonka bean, tempered with the powdery chocolate cacao and earth of patchouli. Its strangely masculine leaning but also reminds me quite a deal of something a more mature lady might wear. The finish and dry down are nice, lots more honey and that spiced feel, which smells almost identical to Parfum de Marly Oajan a fragrance I'm extremely fond of. The main difference is there's less of that hot, cinnimal edge in this but the transformation from smelling a bit similar in the opening and first hour to almost exactly the same is pretty miraculous. Despite this, I think these fragrances are different enough to both have merit and it's still worth owning both, if you wanted to. So in the deep dry down and Close up changes again, becoming less like Oajan and much more resinous and oozing a kind of ancient dustiness. I wouldn't say this is strong but it projected quite well for the first couple of hours, then becoming a low lying skin scent but very persistent and I noticed it stained my skin very slightly. My conclusion is that Close up is one of the best releases from OS to date. A very enjoyable fragrance indeed and the order of how the notes come through is interesting. It's a thumbs up from me. Update: Okay so I penned this review nearly 12 months ago and it’s been sitting on my phone unposted so I feel the need to make some amendments. My general thoughts are the same but upon wearing again I get a very animal, pissy note in the opening which is extremely off putting. It’s unusual and I’m not just saying this for melodrama or comic effect but I thought for a moment....”has my cat had a piss in here? “ It’s very prominent and why the hell I didn’t notice it the first time I don’t know? Even if you just put the spray nozzle to your nose it’s obvious, however as the fragrance settles it becomes that cherry, Tobacco, honey thing I mentioned in the main body of the review. I still like it, when the urine subsides. That’s not really a sentence I ever imagined writing but there you go.

On paper this is SUPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPER sweet to the point of being almost to sweet I found even as a dude who likes sweet fragrances. On skin its better. As the fragrance is warming up(..or drying down)there is a bit of a sorta off smelling mix. Im not a note monster, but I can say one of the reasons I was looking forward to trying this scent out is im always looking for a great cherry/cherry tobacco scent, and a coffee scent with that sounds like a potential interesting thing.. So I don't smell coffee in this per say.. But if I had to compare the coffee note in this I would compare it to Bell'Antonio. You know how that fragrance has this sorta... Old, vacuum cleaner, musty sorta smell, and its like you found some honey tobacco in this sorta.. old, vacuum cleaner musty bag or something? Theres a strange tobacco coffee mix in this one for a bit. Its been covered up by the intense cherry tobacco, but its there in the background for awhile. I guess over all to describe this besides that, its a bit of cherry tobacco in CK shock, you pop the can of that, it dissipates really quickly, you then are left with Amber tabacs cherry tobacco that is covering this slightly honey tobacco lost in a musty vacumm cleaner, then as that transitions you get a Cherry tobacco like herod with out the harshness and rough edges. Smells good besides that slightly off strange coffee note mix. I like it besides that though so im kinda torn, I guess if I had a higher disposable income maybe id pick up a decant sometime.

Whoa, the opening is full blast cherry, very sweet but also a bit stinky and sharp, like it's slightly fermented! In the air it's fine, but when I smell it up close (or close up :), hmmm, it's not completely pleasant, some kind of organic funk, also a bit medicinal. It takes about half an hour for it to calm down a bit, and then it becomes pleasant and more rounded. At this stage, I can't distinguish the notes as much; the sharp cherry from the beginning is less dominant, but nothing else takes the lead either, everything is nicely blended and nothing stands out like it did at the start. I find it very interesting because I don't have anything like it in my collection, and it keeps drawing me to sniff my wrist, even in the first phase that isn't completely pleasant. After it settles, about 30-40 minutes in, it slightly reminds me of Prolixe, but just slightly and not so much in the notes but more in the feeling of some kind of sweet-spicy density, really interesting. I'm glad I have a sample, but I'm not sure I need a full bottle; I need to get to know it a bit better first. Rating 4/5 for its uniqueness.

Close up is a very interesting and complex gourmand for adults,it's bitter-sweet,totally unisex and has a dark vibe When I first apply it,it opens with a playful juicy cherry blast,a very natural sour cherry which becomes sweeter in a minute and begins to remind me cherry jam but a dark note shows up and balances it's sweetness and leads out to another path.a darker,more serious and less sweet path.cherry feels tobacco-ish in this phase but softer than what we usually see in tobacco perfumes.on my skin,a combination of cherry,tobacco flower and tonka dominates and there's just a hint of patchouli and coffee to give it darker twist so it's not a real coffee scent to my nose.this stage lasts for about an hour but gradually that tobacco-ish undertone goes away as well as it's darkness.what is left is a powdery blend of amber, Tonka,a faint cherry and a small amount of soapy musky rose I find All the stages close up goes through very interesting.it never becomes a foody gourmand or too sweet and doesn't become too cherryish except it's first minute of application.has very good longevity and sillage

#897 in my "Tour de Fragrance" This is my first encounter with an Olfactive Studio fragrance and I need to explore them further. This is a nice mild and not nauseatingly gourmand cherry-amber scent along the lines of Banana Republic's "Dark Cherry & Amber" which is a roughly similar scent. Though this projects better, it's a $75 scent and the BR is only $30, so you could afford 2 bottles of Dark Cherry and Amber for the same money and overspray as needed. I'm not a huge fan of cherry scents generally but this one's nice enough. If you like Mancera's "Tonka Cola", Attar Collection's "Khaltaat Night", Guerlain "L'Homme Ideal EDP", or Xerjoff's "Yacht Club de Monaco" you might find this too mild for your taste. I would wear this over all of those. Moderate but acceptable performance. Completely inoffensive and I think anyone who smells this will like it well enough.

To be honest , you would either love it or hate it. To shed a little light on this,I have to say imagine yourself swimming in a cherry pool while smoking pipe and drinking coffee. Notes are good and correctly blended but needs some time to be realized as it is harsh on opening. Notes are messed intentionally but after a while you’ll see a complete harmony is created from a chaos . Its coffee , cherry , tobacco mixture dries down to cedar, patchouli and tonka bean however tonka is faint imho. First try its sample at least 5-6 times before running to buy a full bottle. My honest opinion is that I see it as a gorgeous fragrance.. 3.5/5 Age;+25 Projection is good and its long lasting. I prefer it just for cold winter nights.

The comment of @MyPerfumeVault is right on point, I read it, and now I get it and I can't shale off the association - it really does give off a bit of warmth coffee and cherry liquor breath... Like the slight funk of it, but somehow it is not offputting... I just can't put it in better words :) I am not going to dare a full bottle, but it is addictive, and I think it would be better on a male such a unique scent and actually the cherry on top is not sweet but tart, which I love

I go back and forth on this one. The opening is really difficult to get past, I will say. Animalic in a way I can't put my finger on. But the sweet cherry and tobacco in this one really are unique. Close Up is also super strong and lasts forever. I have been wearing my travel spray since probably September, you really only need a little bit and you will smell it on yourself all day. Sometimes, that can be a bit overwhelming. But sometimes, it's just right.