I Went Cherry-Perfume Picking

Of all the cherry scents I sampled, Clean Reserve’s Whipped Cherry is my favorite. The brand describes it as a “cocktail of cherry, pineapple, and coconut water,” and I definitely detected a tropical bent to it — imagine sipping a piña colada shot through with swirls of maraschino cherry syrup. It’s light, creamy, indulgent, and pleasant without being overpowering. Come summer, I’ll be wearing it while brunching al fresco with friends. Read on for the rest of my testing notes on a slew of perfumes for the cherry-curious.

Fine’ry, a fragrance brand sold exclusively at Target, specializes in democratizing (a.k.a. duping) luxury perfumes. The square, blocky packaging is clearly inspired by Tom Ford (the granddaddy of cherry scents), as is Not Another Cherry fragrance. I grew up buying Jergen’s body lotion from the drugstore, so the smell of Not Another Cherry inspired a tidal wave of nostalgia: It’s similarly cherry-almondy with notes of amaretto and marzipan. The alcohol on the initial spray is strong, and as it developed it remained fairly one-note. The smell mostly dissipated after a few hours, but at less than $40, it’s a decent dupe for Tom Ford Lost Cherry at a fraction of the price.

While most fruity gourmands tend to appeal to a younger demographic, Tart Deco surprised me by evoking a grandma’s handbag with its assortment of powder compacts, cigarette packs, crumpled tissues, and cherry Lifesavers. The scent lives up to its namesake — its opening is tart and juicy, edging on sour, with very little sweetness. The cherry note doesn’t stick around for long, however; I found that as it dried down, a powdery floral note reminiscent of iris or violet rose to the surface. I also detected some smoky woodiness that aged Tart Deco. Overall, it felt a bit too mature for me in my mid-20s — I’d imagine it working for someone in their 30s or 40s.

Juliette is the least cherry of the bunch. A sweetly synthetic opening note only lasts for a minute or two before it gets swallowed by jasmine. But that end point is not very distinctive, with the result resembling the Frankensteinian miasma of the Macy’s cosmetics floor. Personally, I’m not the biggest fan of white florals, so I found myself wishing that the cherry-ness stuck around for longer. But if you’re more accustomed to mainstream floralfragrances and just want to dip your toes into the cherry trend, Juliette would be a good bet.

Ariana Grande’s fragrance ventures are surprisingly very good (seeRio raving about Cloud), but I can’t say that Cherry Eclipse is my favorite of hers. I could envision dousing myself with this post-middle-school gym class, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone past the eighth grade. A prominently listed heart note is marshmallow meringue, and it’s just as tooth-rottingly sweet as that sounds. Imagine an ice-cream sundae piled with caramel sauce, whipped cream, sprinkles — and a cherry on top.

Since this is a scent with an under-18 target demographic, I was taken aback when I sprayed Cherry Baby and immediately ID’d it as smelling like sangria. It’s got a heavy, boozy, medicinal quality to it, like codeine-infused cherry cough syrup. It’s definitely more grown up than Ariana’s fragrance, and I could see it being suitable for the late-teens and early-20s set. I wouldn’t wear it to the office. It’s sexy: heady and decadent, like a dessert wine. I’d definitely reach for it if I’m headed to date night at a dimly lit jazz lounge.