I tried the cherry perfumes going viral for autumn and these are the ones worth your money
Cherry perfumes? For autumn? Now that actually is groundbreaking. Typically, once summer is in the rearview mirror, we trade in the sticky sweetness of fruity fragrances and hunker down with cosy amber, tobacco and vanilla.
But it seems the trending scent of the season is this glossy red fruit after all, with a 110% increase in Google search around “cherry perfumes” in the past 30 days alone.
Tom Ford arguably put cherry on the olfactive map by playing up its tart and smoky nuances. Now a new breed of cherry fragrances is picking up where the brand's Lost Cherry and Cherry Smoke left off.
“Cherry has this unique ability to be both familiar and surprising,” says Audrey Semeraro, founder of the fine fragrance brand Edeniste, which has just launched the black cherry-laced Oud Ghazal. “It's a note that can be layered with deep woods, rich spices, or fresh florals, making it incredibly versatile.”
So it's no longer all about morello cherries that smell sweet like candy or syrupy like teenage lipgloss (though there is that, and rightly so). Now you can find cherry sidling up to toasted almonds for a nutty twist, rose for an elevated fruity floral and even mouth-wateringly edible chocolate.
Cherry perfumes can register as carnal, too. Landing on a bed of exotic spices or leather, more subversive cherry scents conjure up crimson cherry juice dribbling down your chin in a dimly-lit Parisian hotel room (preferably reclining on a velvet chaise longe with someone else dangling the cherry stalk above your mouth).
One scent is even spiked with a secret “love accord” that neuroscientists claim can fire up the pleasure centres in your brain.
“Cherry perfumes have taken off this year because they offer a unique combination of boldness and sweetness, which people are really craving," notes Michelle Feeney, founder of Floral Street. “There is something irresistible about that juicy, ripe cherry note – it feels playful, but with a depth that makes it stand out. It’s perfect for those who want a fragrance that is fun yet sophisticated.”
Either way, cherry perfumes are taking their mission – that you don't waste another minute on autumn's predictable scents – very seriously.
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Here's my pick of the perfumes that are so addictive you'll want another bite at the cherry…
Sabrina Carpenter is back with her third fragrance in the Sweet Tooth Collection: Cherry Baby. Billed as a romantic scent, it's giving us a glimpse of what a date night with Barry Keoghan potentially smells like: an apple orchard, flowers and chocolate-dipped cherries. As it wears over time, it becomes cosier with musk and patchouli pushing through. Spritz this if you want to snuff out a bad mood or a hit of wholesome nostalgia.
Put simply, Lost Cherry is an overdose of sexy. A sweet, boozy trio of black cherry, cherry liqueur and sweet cherry take centre stage. Almond brings a nibbly nuttiness to the scent while rose and jasmine only add to the powerful, hedonistic blast.
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Sweet without being sickly, Elixir Love is a fruity floral where cherry is wrapped up in rose, jasmine and earthy patchouli. Its standout note? The ‘Love Accord’, a pleasure-boosting ingredient grounded in neuroscience, that enhances this perfume's bright, luminous energy.
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Oud Gazal is like a wormhole to an Arabian souk with its tendrils of incense and syrupy, sweet black cherry that stops the leather note from hitting you square on the nose. It's dark, smoky and brimming with moreish sensuality while the Destress Accord – a musk that is scientifically proven to reduce your physiological reaction to stress – only adds to its appeal.
Cherry Smoke is like the more sultry, older sister of Lost Cherry. She's Tom Ford's after dark party girl with an addictive sweet-sour cherry scent, and a woody, leathery, smoky base that positively smoulders on your pulse points.
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With its notes of black cherry, tobacco and rose, Suite 302 is inspired by the Parisian hotel room where Victoria and David celebrate their wedding anniversaries. It’s smoky, rich and strong, but also sensual – like the perfume equivalent of a candlelit room with sumptuous velvet drapes and black lace lingerie.
Perfumer Michelle Feeney told GLAMOUR that this is "a cherry fragrance with a bit more edge. It’s dark and sensual, with just the right hint of that cherry sweetness to make it mysterious and captivating.” The edge she is referring to is a hefty dose of warm spices (red peppercorn and saffron) that make this the type of scent I would wear with a cashmere jumper on Bonfire Night.
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Juliette pits jasmine and cherry against a warm, spicy backdrop of pink pepper and tonka bean, making it a great choice for anyone looking for a year-round, crowd-pleasing scent.
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If you're a fan of skin scents, Rouge Smoking is an ideal entry point into the cherry perfume trend. Nuzzly, humid notes of ambroxan, white musk and tonka bean still mimic the smell of naked skin but cherries and pink berries add a zingy juiciness that steer it away from powdery predictability.
With a name like Burning Cherry, you'd be right to imagine smoky sticks of Palo Santo drizzled in black cherry juice. Or sucking on a Hall's cherry cough sweet with its slightly medicinal twang. An intriguing balance of tart raspberry, bergamot, soft puffs of rose and sweet caramelised praline, also casts a seductive spell.
