What does tobacco smell like in perfume? Honey, hay and warm leaves

Tobacco in perfume does not smell like an ashtray. It smells like the inside of a pipe-tobacco tin, a bundle of drying leaves in a barn, or a cigar box in an old library. It is warm, sweet, honeyed and a little boozy. That is why many people who would never smoke love wearing it.

What does it smell like?

Warm, sweet and rich, with a dry, leafy depth. Depending on the perfume, you might notice:

• Dried leaves and hay: sweet, sun-dried grass and leaves
• Honey and dried fruit: a sticky sweetness, like raisins, dates or prunes
• Spice: a light warmth of clove, cinnamon or cocoa
• Wood and leather: a dark, cigar-box dryness
• Smoke: only a soft hint in most perfumes, never harsh

Tobacco is a heart and base note. Tobacco perfumes tend to be rich and long-lasting.

Where it comes from

Tobacco comes from the leaves of Nicotiana tabacum, a plant native to the Americas. It was grown and used by Indigenous peoples there long before Europeans arrived. Today it is grown in many countries around the world.

Fresh tobacco leaves smell green and plant-like, not like "tobacco". The warm, sweet smell develops during curing: the slow drying and ageing of the leaves. Different curing methods give different smells:

• Flue-cured (often Virginia tobacco): dried with heat, giving a lighter, sweeter, honey-like smell
• Air-cured (such as Burley): dried slowly in barns, darker and richer
• Sun-cured (often Turkish or "Oriental" tobacco): dried in the sun, drier and more hay-like

How tobacco notes are made

Perfumers create tobacco notes in two main ways.

Tobacco absolute

The natural material is tobacco absolute. Cured tobacco leaves are washed with a solvent that pulls out the fragrant material. This gives a waxy substance called a concrete, which is then washed with alcohol to remove the waxes. The result is a thick, dark brown liquid with a rich, sweet, hay-like, slightly fruity smell.

Nicotine is largely left behind or removed in perfume-grade material, so tobacco absolute is not a way of absorbing nicotine. Tobacco absolute is used in small amounts, because it is very strong.

The tobacco accord

Many perfumes build a tobacco effect from other materials, sometimes with a little tobacco absolute added. Common building blocks include:

• Coumarin and tonka bean: a sweet, hay-like, almond-vanilla smell that forms the backbone of many tobacco accords
• Hay and honey notes: add the sweet, dried-leaf feel
• Dried fruit notes: plum, date or fig for the rich, jammy side
• Spices: clove, cinnamon and cocoa for warmth
• Woods and leather: add the cigar-box dryness
• Smoky molecules: used carefully, to give a hint of pipe smoke

Some tobacco notes in perfume come from molecules that are also naturally present in cured tobacco and other plants, with names like megastigmatrienone, which has a warm, dry, tobacco-and-dried-fruit smell.

A short history of tobacco in perfume

• Tabac Blond by Caron (1919): One of the first famous tobacco perfumes. It was created by Ernest Daltroff for the "modern" women of the 1920s, who had begun smoking in public after the First World War. It blended tobacco with leather and soft flowers.
• Classic men's scents: Through the 20th century, tobacco and pipe-tobacco notes became a common feature of masculine perfumes, often paired with leather, lavender and woods.
• The modern revival: From the 2000s, tobacco became a favourite in both niche and designer perfume, especially in sweet, gourmand styles with vanilla, rum and spice.

Tobacco in modern perfume

A major turning point was Tobacco Vanille by Tom Ford (2007). It paired tobacco leaf with vanilla, tonka, cocoa and dried fruit, and it became one of the most famous and copied tobacco perfumes. Since then, "tobacco and vanilla" has become a style of its own.

Today tobacco notes appear in:

• Sweet, gourmand scents: with vanilla, honey, rum and cocoa
• Cosy, bar-and-library scents: with whisky, leather and woods
• Fresh tobacco scents: lighter tobacco leaf with citrus or spice

Real vs synthetic tobacco

Tobacco absolute is natural and gives a rich, complex effect. But it is strong, variable and dark in colour, so most perfumes use a tobacco accord, often with a small amount of the natural absolute. Neither is better. Accords are more consistent and let perfumers make the tobacco lighter, sweeter or drier as needed.

What tobacco pairs well with

• Vanilla and tonka: the most popular pairing, sweet and cosy.
• Rum, whisky and cognac: create a warm, boozy, bar-like feel.
• Honey and dried fruit: bring out its rich, jammy side.
• Leather: a classic, gentlemanly combination.
• Cinnamon, clove and cocoa: add spice and depth.
• Woods and patchouli: make it drier and darker.

Perfumes to try

From light to rich:

• Jazz Club by Maison Margiela Replica: tobacco leaf, rum and vanilla. Warm and easy to like.
• Spicebomb Extreme by Viktor&Rolf: tobacco, vanilla and spice. Sweet and long-lasting.
• Tobacco Vanille by Tom Ford: rich, sweet and famous. The modern benchmark.
• Herod by Parfums de Marly: tobacco with cinnamon, pepper and vanilla. Warm and smooth.
• Tabac Blond by Caron: the historic classic, leathery and soft, for those curious about perfume history.

How to wear tobacco

• Tobacco perfumes are warm and often sweet. They are best in autumn and winter.
• They are strong. One or two sprays is usually plenty, especially indoors.
• They suit evenings, dinners and relaxed weekends more than hot summer days.
• Most tobacco perfumes are unisex.

Who will love it

People who love warm, cosy, comforting scents. Anyone who enjoys the smell of pipe tobacco, cigar boxes, dried fruit or old libraries. If you like vanilla perfumes and want something a little deeper, tobacco is a natural next step.