Tom Ford’s perfumes are a phenomenon.
First, he creates one hit after the other.
Second, he uses scent notes that seem to be a no-brainer, but nobody else thought of them (like cherry and peach in abundance).
Third, the perfumes are terribly expensive (for 50 ml EdP one pays at least between 250€ and 400€).
Fourth, the silage of the fragrance and the longevity, at least on my skin, are only mediocre.
So where does us leave that? In the realm of perfume (fraternal) twins, that create a sometimes very similar smell to the inspiring scent. They are often, but not always, less expensive and sometimes of better durability.
It is never the same perfume. Those scents are not stolen goods sold cheap on the black market by criminals, nor are the perfumes sold wrongly under the brand name of the inspiring scent nor is it claimed that they are the original.
Tom Fords “Lost Cherry” seems to be one of the biggest fraternal twin successes.
I sneaked around it in perfume stores for months after smelling it for the first time. I was a bit reluctant to buy the perfume, due to “Neroli Portofino”, another Tom Ford scent that I own. I smell it for something like 1-2 hours and then it’s gone. That is ok for an Eau de Toilette, but not for a high-class Eau de Parfum from my point of view.
Finally, I bought it. It’s only a few hours on the skin, much longer on paper tissues. Smelling it is bliss.
The perfume itself is a fruity-gourmand-cherry-liquor-dream.
There was no mistake at all in buying it, it is not a waste of money, because it’s a work of art. The cherry note, the almonds, the liquor, the tonka bean are in perfect harmony. I can’t smell rose and jasmine. I smell cherries, more cherries, liquor/brandy and almond cherry marzipan. Love it.
A few other designers before Tom Ford used cherry in perfume, but no one I know let cherries take centre stage like he did.
The colours of the scent are various shades of pink, from light rose to deep red violet covered by a blazing summer sun.
Owning Tom Fords “Lost Cherry”, I wanted more cherries! I had found those “fraternal twin companies” only shortly before, when searching for a fragrance that is no longer produced by the brand that created it. I had bought from two companies on that occasion, found one horrible (throwing it almost immediately in the rubbish bin) and loving the other. From the time onwards these companies had a place in my world. Experimenting with scent notes, most of the companies started to create new exiting perfumes as well.
I have now 5 cherry fragrances next to Tom Ford’s, and I made it a hobby to always buy the cherry one if I find a new fraternal twin company. There might a few new ones to be added in time.
By Heidenreich “Cherry Smash”, Eclat “No 949”, Divain “637”, The Dua Company “Popped Cherry” and Vebelle “Cerise Orinique” had now to stand a direct comparison test for the first time!
After buying each of them I had only sprayed it, thought “oh, cherries, how nice” and used them, but I had never put them in a row next to each other.
They all are different. I won’t explain about every scent note that one uses and the next not. Some companies seem to have used the exact same ingredients in different concentration as in Tom Fords “Lost Cherry”, some added or reduced notes.
All claim to be Eau de Parfum, if not even Extrait.
No one matches the wonderful opening notes of Tom Fords “Lost Cherry”.
By Heidenreich “Cherry Smash” and Eclat “No 949” created perfumes that are a bit harder in the top notes, but develop fast very nicely toward beautiful cherry scents and have a very good longevity.
Divains “637” contains a pepper note that makes the scent a bit more spicey and clearly distinguishable.
The Dua Brands “Popped Cherry” is darker from the beginning, not so sweet. Different in the sense you might use a different cherry variety for a cake and you know very clearly that it is a cherry cake, but different from all the other cherry cakes you have eaten so far. Very good durability. It is rated in user reviews on the Parfumo website better than “Lost Cherry”. It is more wearable also for men. It is a truer unisex than Tom Ford’s perfume.
Vebelle’s “Cerise Orinique” is the big disappointment here, quite unexpected. The scent is gone after 30minutes on my skin. Unfortunately, exactly this perfume has an opening note so soft and subtle, I would like to smell it much longer! Vebelle’s scents have in general a really good longevity, in this case not. I am glad I have it here anyway.
All cost between 25€ to 60€. I do not care how the perfume bottle looks like in 98% of cases, only the scent is interesting. Everybody who is honest in the industry and outside knows that the margin in fragrances is huge. The ingredients, even if of excellent quality, do not cause the price tag. The bottles and marketing expenses do their part, but in the first place one pays for a brand name.
It is great Tom Ford gives so much inspiration to us less gifted humans. As he is usually the first to bring something to the market, he created a hugely successful fashion and beauty imperium of his own in 2005. Hopefully he does not mind everybody continuing with his ideas in their own direction. His story to become one of the most influential designers worldwide is an interesting one and I intend to write about him in the art book category sooner or later.
In a documentary that can be watched on youtube, produced by OWN, he states that one is born a perfectionist, one doesn’t become one. He certainly was. It is just fascinating to wait for what springs next from his creative mind. His portfolio covers movies, fashion, design and a lot of other realms. Just with the perfumes one could fill a blog or could write a book about them.
I am just happy to have the choice between 6 different scents, all starring cherry, instead of owning only one, all thanks to him.