What does cherry smell like? The dark, juicy note behind a perfume craze

Cherry is one of the most talked-about notes in perfume right now. A few years ago it was mostly found in cheap body sprays and lip balms. Then a handful of rich, boozy cherry perfumes changed its image completely. Today cherry can smell like candy, like a cocktail, or like a dark, sticky dessert, and many people are wearing it for the first time.

What does it smell like?

Sweet, juicy and slightly bitter, with a warm, almond-like edge. A good cherry note in perfume often has several layers:

• Juicy fruit: the bright, red sweetness of a ripe cherry
• Almond: a soft, nutty, marzipan-like smell, like a cherry stone or Bakewell tart
• Liqueur: a boozy, syrupy depth, like cherry brandy or kirsch
• Candy: a sugary, cough-drop or cola-bottle sweetness in lighter versions
• Dark jam: a thick, almost wine-like richness in deeper perfumes

Cherry changes a lot depending on its partners. With musk and pink pepper it feels fresh and playful. With tonka, tobacco or smoke it becomes dark, grown-up and seductive.

Where it comes from

Cherries grow on trees of the Prunus family, the same family as almonds, plums and peaches. The two main kinds are:

Sweet cherry (Prunus avium), the dark red fruit most people eat fresh. Large growers include Turkey, the United States, Chile and countries around Europe and Central Asia.

Sour cherry (Prunus cerasus), smaller and sharper. It is used for pies, jams and liqueurs. The Morello and the Marasca cherry, used to make maraschino liqueur, are sour cherries.

Perfume does not use cherry fruit from these farms, though. As you will see below, the cherry in your bottle is almost always made by a perfumer.

How it's made

You cannot press or distil cherries into a useful perfume oil. The fruit is mostly water and sugar. Its smell is light, fragile and quickly lost when heated. Steam distillation would give you something weak and cooked, not fresh fruit. So, like almost all fruit notes, cherry in perfume is an accord: a blend of several materials that together suggest the smell of cherry.

The most important ingredient is benzaldehyde. This molecule smells strongly of bitter almond and marzipan. It is also found naturally in cherry stones and almonds, and it is the main flavour behind cherry sweets and maraschino cherries. That is why so many people describe cherry perfumes as "almondy".

Perfumers then add other materials to make the accord feel juicy or dark:

• fruity esters for sweetness and juiciness
• coumarin or tonka bean for a warm, hay-like softness
• heliotropin, which smells powdery and almond-like
• vanilla, balsams and resins for a syrupy, liqueur-like finish

A few perfumes also use natural extracts such as a cherry tincture or a CO2 extract, but these play a small supporting role. The heavy lifting is done by the accord.

A short history of cherry

• Ancient world: Wild cherries were eaten across Europe and western Asia long before farming. The Latin word cerasus and the Greek kerasos are linked to Kerasous, an old Greek town on the Black Sea coast, now Giresun in Turkey.
• Rome: The Roman writer Pliny says the general Lucullus brought cherry trees to Italy after a war in the region of Pontus in the 70s BC. From there, cherries spread across the Roman world.
• Japan: In Japan the cherry is most loved for its blossom, called sakura. Blossom viewing, or hanami, is a spring tradition there. Cherry blossom perfumes smell soft and floral, quite different from the fruit.
• Kitchens and bars: Cherries became a key flavour in jams, pies, Black Forest cake, kirsch and maraschino liqueur.
• Perfume: For a long time, cherry was a minor note. The plant heliotrope, whose flowers smell powdery and almondy, was even nicknamed "cherry pie" in English gardens. Cherry became more visible in the 1990s gourmand wave. Lolita Lempicka (1997), created by Annick Menardo, mixed cherry with licorice, anise and violet.

Cherry in modern perfume

The big turning point came with Lost Cherry by Tom Ford (2018), created by Louise Turner. It paired black cherry and cherry liqueur with bitter almond, rose, jasmine and roasted tonka. It made cherry feel luxurious and adult, and it became one of the most famous niche-style perfumes of its time.

Since then, cherry has appeared everywhere. Tom Ford followed up in 2023 with Electric Cherry, a lighter, musky version, and Cherry Smoke, a dark, smoky one. Many mainstream brands have released cherry versions of their best-sellers, and cherry is now a regular part of the gourmand style.

Real vs synthetic cherry

There is no "real" cherry oil in the way there is real rose oil. Almost every cherry note is synthetic, or a mix of synthetic molecules with a few natural extracts.

• The good side: synthetic accords let perfumers decide exactly what kind of cherry they want: fresh, candied, boozy or dark. They are also stable and affordable.
• The catch: a cheap cherry accord can smell flat and medicinal, like cough syrup. A well-made one has juiciness, bitterness and depth all at once.

So the question is not "real or fake?" but "how well is the accord built?"

What cherry pairs well with

• Almond: the natural partner. Almond brings out the marzipan side of cherry.
• Tonka bean and vanilla: make cherry rich, creamy and dessert-like.
• Rose and jasmine: turn cherry into a lush, fruity floral.
• Tobacco and incense: add smoke and darkness, like a cherry-wood fire.
• Heliotrope: adds a soft, powdery almond tone.
• Pink pepper and musk: keep cherry light, bright and modern.

Perfumes to try

Start sweet and easy, then go darker:

• Electric Cherry by Tom Ford (2023): a bright, musky, sparkling cherry. A gentle first step.
• Lolita Lempicka by Lolita Lempicka (1997): cherry, licorice and violet. Playful and sweet.
• Black Opium Over Red by Yves Saint Laurent: a cherry twist on the famous coffee-vanilla perfume.
• Lost Cherry by Tom Ford (2018): boozy black cherry and almond. The modern cherry classic.
• Cherry Smoke by Tom Ford (2023): dark cherry with smoky wood and saffron.

How to wear cherry

• Light, musky cherries suit daytime and warm weather. Boozy, smoky cherries shine in the evening and in cold months.
• Go easy. Many cherry perfumes are sweet and strong, so one or two sprays may be enough.
• Test on skin. The almond note can feel sharp on paper but softens beautifully once it warms.
• Cherry is not only for women. Darker cherry perfumes with tobacco or wood are worn by everyone.

Who will love it

People who like sweet, playful and slightly daring scents. If you enjoy gourmand perfumes, almond desserts or fruity cocktails, cherry is an easy match. If you think cherry smells like cough syrup, try a well-made boozy or smoky cherry first. It may change your mind.