— fragrance —

House of Cherry Bomb Tobacco Cognac EDP Perfume Review

April 23, 2015

House of Cherry Bomb Tobacco Cognac

House of Cherry Bomb is a collaborative indie perfume line by Maria McElroy (aroma M) and Alexis Karl (Scent by Alexis). I often get asked for perfume suggestions and one of the most frequent ones is, “Are there any under $100 indies/niche that you recommend?” And the answer is “yes”. House of Cherry Bomb is a line that I would recommend anyway, but especially if you are looking for something under $75.

Tobacco Cognac is a warm, musky tobacco, like dried tobacco leaves. Something in this scent is indolic and heady, like jasmine but really it’s just the indoles.¹ The amber is warm and toasted. The honey in this is both powdery and animalic. The scent wears as a musky, honeyed tobacco with booze. The dry-down of Tobacco Cognac is this warm, salty, balsamic amber that happens to remind me of beach-side skin dried – warm, golden and sandy.

Tobacco Cognac seems like something out of French New Wave. It’s late nights smoking cigarettes having indifferent conversations, drinking cognac while wearing frayed wool sweaters, shorts and dock shoes. It’s lazy weekday mornings sunbathing on the little beaches of a forgotten French resort town in a faded polka dot bikini.

Bernadette Lafont

Notes listed include natural ambergris, fossilized amber, Arabian musk, honey, tobacco and cognac. Launched in 2013. PERFUMERS – Maria McElroy and Alexis Karl

Give Tobacco Cognac a try if you like tobacco scents or animalic honey fragrances. Or if you like perfumes like Serge Lutens Chergui,  By Kilian Back to Black, Maison Francis Kurkdjian Cologne Pour Le Soir and/or Keiko Mecheri Les Zazous.

Projection and longevity are average to above average (depending on application).

The 1 oz. bottle retails for $55 at House of Cherry Bomb. Samples are also available for purchase.

Victoria’s Final EauPINION – Skanky, musky tobacco. I highly recommend sampling this entire line.

¹If you like the idea of white florals with tobacco and cognac, you’re in luck. There’s a Tuberose Tobacco Cognac!

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And here’s my review of another from the brand, Cardamom Rose.

 

*Disclaimer – Sample provided by the brand. I am not financially compensated for this review. My opinions are my own. Product pic from the brand. Bernadette Lafont from mubi.com.

23 thoughts on “House of Cherry Bomb Tobacco Cognac EDP Perfume Review”

  1. Wow, I haven’t tried this line, but you’ve got me *really* excited to seek out and sample this one. It sounds wonderful. Do you think it’s geared toward any particular season(s)? The idea of “sunbathing on the little beaches of a forgotten French resort town in a faded polka dot bikini” has me hopeful that it’s suitable for summer. 🙂

    1. Well, I’m one that much prefers Serge Lutens Chergui in the summer than in the winter, so maybe I’m not the person to ask 😉

      The line has others that are probably better geared towards warmer weather (the Honeysuckle one, Cardamom Rose) but I think this one works. I have worn it in warmer weather and like it. That amber base reminds me of salty sand.

      1. Oh no a cardamom rose scent I’m just gonna set some money on fire. (Cardamom + rose is a favorite combo)

        1. From flavors to scents, I love a cardamom + rose combo. However, that perfume is more neroli + cardamom, which is really great but not as rose-y as I was expecting.

    1. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts.

      I haven’t wrote a review yet, but I’ve been wearing a lot of my my sample of Violet Honeysuckle. I think it’s all the cherry blossoms on the trees making me crave such a delicate floral.

  9. I got my sample pack Monday and I’ve been rotating them all week. I actually liked them all although Coffee Amber Vanilla is going in my “try again later” pile. I wish I could appreciate it like I do the others because of its ancient amber which sounds so cool.

    Pink Haze is my fave – there is just something about it….the pollution of the city streets mixed with flowering trees. I love the concept and the smell.

    The only downside about these perfumes is that they don’t last very long on me. Too bad because I want to support a small house like House Of Cherry Bomb.

    PS: great customer service: they sent me a very nice email and hand-written note 🙂

    1. Great!

      I tried Pink Haze on Saturday and really, really like it. It really does remind me of spring in the city.

      I need to re-try Coffee Amber Vanilla too.

    2. I ordered a sample pack, too, and completely fell in love with Tobacco Cognac. It didn’t last long on me either (2 hours, max), but I decided I liked it enough to buy a full bottle anyway (plus, other people were able to smell it, so I figured it was just my nose). The good news is that the scent lasted all day on me in the spray. I’m not sure if that’s the case for the other scents, but I was very pleasantly surprised by its longevity.

      1. It’s weird how that is. It’s happened to me too. I think something has long evaporated but others confirm that it’s still there…

        Yes, this is rather common. Sprays cover more surface so we tend to apply more (or “just enough”). I try to sample perfumes in the way that the full-size bottles are sold. For example, spray if the perfume is sold with an atomizer, etc. BUT that’s difficult because what customer wants to decant little samples to little spray samples?

        Glad this one worked out for you 🙂

  12. Thank you so very much for your review of this fragrance. It was the very vivid detail and insight of this post that actually encouraged me to pick it up on a whim, and am now just smitten with it and so very glad that I trusted my intuition after reading here. It’s just beautiful, and I’m sure will be a favorite and regularly maintained addition to my scent library for many years to come. Thanks again!

    1. I’m so happy this worked out for you! Seriously, this makes me so happy. It’s a great perfume and I think it deserves more love than it gets. And it sounds like it is getting that love 🙂

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