What does Lost Cherry smell like? Note by note, plus nine more cherry perfumes

Lost Cherry, note by note

Lost Cherry launched in 2018 and is listed for women. Its note list is long, so it helps to take it in the three stages a perfume moves through on skin.

The opening. The top holds three versions of the fruit and one surprise: black cherry, cherry liqueur and bitter almond. The black cherry gives dark, ripe fruit. The liqueur adds a warm, glossy, slightly boozy layer. The bitter almond brings a nutty, marzipan-like edge that pulls the fruit away from anything fresh or juicy. Together they read less like a cherry picked from the tree and more like cherries that have been soaking in something strong.

The heart. As that first rush calms down, sour cherry comes forward with plum, jasmine sambac and Turkish rose. The sour cherry keeps the fruit tart enough that it never turns into jam. The plum makes it deeper and rounder. The two flowers add a soft floral cushion, which is why this stage feels the most like a perfume and the least like a dessert.

The dry-down. The base is where Lost Cherry spends most of its time, and it is crowded: vanilla, tonka bean, cinnamon, Peru balsam, sandalwood, benzoin, cloves, cedar, patchouli and vetiver. Vanilla, tonka bean and benzoin make it creamy and warm. Cinnamon and cloves give it a gentle, festive spice. Peru balsam adds a resinous glow. Sandalwood, cedar, patchouli and vetiver lay a drier floor underneath, so the sweetness has something to rest on.

By the last stage the cherry is still there, but it feels spiced and wrapped in warmth rather than bright. The accords listed for it follow the same arc: cherry, sweet, almond, nutty and fruity at the front, then vanilla, warm spicy, woody and balsamic behind them.

Who Lost Cherry tends to suit

Start with the votes, and read them as votes rather than promises. Community votes on its longevity lean moderate, with long lasting as the runner-up. Most community voters rate its sillage moderate, so it is noticeable without filling a room. Community voters most often pick it for winter and autumn. They also lean towards night wear.

Its occasion tag is work, which fits the moderate sillage: it is warm enough for a winter evening and polite enough for a desk. That combination is part of its appeal. It feels rich without being loud.

If you already enjoy sweet, warm perfumes and like the idea of a nutty, boozy twist, Lost Cherry is worth a week on your skin. If you are unsure about the almond, or you want your cherry drier, lighter or sweeter, the groups further down give you somewhere else to start.

Why cherry is hard to judge from a note list

The word "cherry" on a note list covers a lot of ground. It can mean tart, fresh fruit, a dark and syrupy fruit, a candied cherry or something closer to a cocktail cherry. The note alone rarely tells you which one you will get.

What decides it is the company the cherry keeps. Cherry and almond have always been close: think of the stone of the fruit, or of a cherry tart with frangipane. Put cherry next to vanilla, tonka bean, caramel or coffee and it turns rich and dessert-like. Put it beside smoke, leather, saffron or pepper and it turns darker and drier. Put it among white flowers and musk and it becomes lighter and softer, more of a blush than a syrup.

That is why the rest of this guide groups cherry perfumes by sweetness rather than by house or year. Find the level of sweetness you enjoy, then try the perfumes in that group. If you are not sure where you sit, start with one from each end.

Drier and darker: smoky, spicy cherry

These two put the fruit next to spice, leather or resin. On paper they are the least sweet cherries in this guide, and the best place to start if Lost Cherry sounds like too much dessert.

Cherry Smoke by Tom Ford

Cherry Smoke opens with sour cherry and saffron, then moves to a heart of leather, Chinese osmanthus, apricot and olive, over smoke, woody notes and cypriol. The saffron and leather pull the fruit somewhere dark and dry, and the smoke gives the base a fireside edge. It launched in 2022 and is unisex. Most community voters call its longevity moderate. On sillage, most community voters settle on moderate too. In the season votes it belongs to winter and autumn, and it is chosen mainly after dark.

Carmina by Creed

Carmina starts with black cherry, saffron and pink pepper. The heart turns floral, with May rose, peony, violet and cashmere wood, and the base is ambroxan, musk and frankincense. Here the cherry sits at the front of a spiced rose, and the frankincense keeps the finish cool and resinous rather than sugary. Creed lists it for women, and it launched in 2023. For longevity, the community votes lean long lasting, with moderate close behind. For sillage, the community votes lean moderate, with strong next. It is a winter and autumn choice in the votes, worn at night.

Lighter: floral and musky cherry

In these two the cherry is one bright thread in a floral perfume. They suit a reader who likes the idea of cherry but not the weight of a gourmand.

Electric Cherry by Tom Ford

Electric Cherry is the most minimal perfume here. Cherry and ginger open it, jasmine sambac sits in the heart, and the base is pink pepper, ambrettolide and musk. The ginger makes the fruit sparkle, and the musks leave a soft, skin-close, slightly powdery finish. Released in 2023, it is listed for women. On longevity, most community voters land on moderate. For sillage, most community voters also say moderate, with intimate as the runner-up. It is the only cherry here that community voters most often pick for spring and summer, and they lean towards night and evening wear.

Good Girl Gone Bad Extreme by By Kilian

Good Girl Gone Bad Extreme opens with osmanthus, jasmine, rose de mai, peach and cherry, then moves into tuberose, narcissus, orange blossom and milk, over amber, caramel and musk. The cherry is a flash of fruit among a big bouquet of white flowers. The milk gives it a creamy softness, and the caramel is a hint rather than the headline. It launched in 2017 and is listed for women. Its longevity is voted long lasting by most community voters. On sillage the votes lean strong, then moderate, so go easy on the sprays. Autumn and spring lead its season votes, with night and evening as its time of day.

Close to Lost Cherry: boozy, nutty and warm

These two share the most with Lost Cherry's structure: fruit up front, something almond-like or boozy beside it, and a warm, sweet base.

La Petite Robe Noire by Guerlain

La Petite Robe Noire opens with sour cherry, almond, red berries and bergamot. Its heart is tea, licorice, rose and Taif rose, and the base is vanilla, anise, tonka bean, patchouli and iris. The almond and cherry pairing sits right at the top, while the licorice and anise give it a playful, slightly herbal twist. The iris in the base adds a touch of powder. Guerlain released it in 2012 for women. The community votes on its longevity lean moderate, with long lasting in second place. The sillage votes lean moderate as well, with strong behind. Autumn and winter nights are when community voters most often reach for it.

Narcotic Delight by Initio Parfums Prives

Narcotic Delight begins with pink pepper, cherry and black pepper. The heart is rose, cognac and hedione, and the base is tobacco, vanilla, tonka, cedar and patchouli. The cognac plays the role of the liqueur here, and the tobacco makes it darker and richer as it dries. It launched in 2024 and is unisex. On longevity, most community voters say long lasting. For sillage, most community voters say strong, so one or two sprays go a long way. It is a winter perfume in the votes, for night, and its occasion tag is going out.

Sweeter and more playful cherry

These three lean further into sweetness, whether through coffee and vanilla, spice and cola, or a basket of berries. Start here if Lost Cherry sounds too serious.

Black Opium Over Red by Yves Saint Laurent

Black Opium Over Red opens with cherry and green mandarin, moves into jasmine, orange blossom and black tea, and dries down to Madagascar vanilla, coffee and patchouli leaf. The coffee and vanilla make it a dessert, and the black tea keeps it from going flat. It launched in 2024 and is listed for women. Most community voters put its longevity at moderate. Most community voters also put its sillage at moderate. Winter and autumn evenings and nights are where the votes place it.

Tonka Cola by Mancera

Tonka Cola starts with cinnamon, cherry, Sicilian lemon and nutmeg, then turns to a cola accord with patchouli leaf and orange blossom, over tonka bean, vanilla, benzoin and labdanum. It smells like a spiced soft drink poured over something warm, with the lemon adding a little fizz. Mancera released it in 2022 as a unisex scent. Its longevity is voted long lasting by most community voters. The sillage votes lean moderate, then strong. Autumn and winter lead its season votes, and night and evening its time of day.

Burberry Her by Burberry

Burberry Her opens with a bowl of fruit: strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, sour cherry, black currant, mandarin orange and lemon. Violet and jasmine sit in the heart, and the base is musk, vanilla, cashmeran, woody notes, amber, oakmoss and patchouli. The cherry is one fruit among many, so this is the pick for someone who wants a juicy, sunny sweetness rather than a dark one. Like Lost Cherry, it launched in 2018 and is listed for women. Most community voters give its longevity a moderate. Its sillage, too, is voted moderate by most. It is the daytime choice of the group in the votes, most often picked for spring and autumn.

How to choose a cherry perfume without smelling it

You can narrow the list a long way before you spray anything. First, decide how sweet you like your perfume. If you already wear vanilla or gourmand scents, the boozy and playful groups will feel familiar. If you tend to reach for woods, leather or spice, begin with the smoky group. If you prefer flowers, start with the floral one.

Second, look at the partner notes rather than the cherry. Almond, cognac and liqueur mean boozy. Coffee, cola and vanilla mean dessert. Saffron, leather and smoke mean dry and dark. Jasmine, tuberose and musk mean soft and floral.

Third, check the season in the votes. Most of these cherries lean towards colder months and evenings, so if you want one for warm days, Electric Cherry and Burberry Her are the two the votes point to. Our guide on how to choose a perfume without smelling it walks through the rest of the method, and if you are weighing a designer cherry against a niche one, our piece on niche vs designer perfume sets out how the two worlds differ.

Wear it before you buy the bottle

Cherry is a note people feel strongly about, and a sweet, boozy perfume can feel very different on day three than it did in the first ten minutes. That is the case for wearing it properly first. Every perfume in this guide comes in small sizes filled from the original bottle.

• A 3ml decant is for discovering: around 60 sprays, enough to wear a cherry for a week or so and see how the dry-down sits with you.
• A 10ml decant is for wearing: around 200 sprays, weeks of daily use in a size that fits a pocket.
• A 30ml decant is for keeping: around 600 sprays, and the best value per ml once you know it is yours.

Lost Cherry, Cherry Smoke and Electric Cherry come in 3ml and 10ml. The other seven also come in 30ml. A sensible way in is one 3ml from each sweetness group, worn on different days, with Lost Cherry as your reference point. Within a couple of weeks you will know whether you want the almond, the smoke, the flowers or the sugar.

To plan how many weeks a decant covers, read how long a 10ml bottle of perfume lasts. Our perfume layering guide shows how a cherry can sit on top of a scent you already own, and our tips on how to make perfume last longer help any of these stay with you through the evening.