Tobacco Perfume – sweet-smoky, honeyed and sensual

Tobacco in perfumery: the dried leaf, not the smoke

A fermented leaf, extracted with solvent

Nicotiana tabacum is grown in Brazil, Cuba, Bulgaria, Greece and Virginia. Perfumery uses neither the flower nor the fresh plant: it starts from harvested leaves that have been dried and then fermented, exactly as for smoking use. It is that fermentation which builds the smell — the green leaf on its own has nothing interesting to give. Extraction is done with a volatile solvent and yields a concrete, then a thick brown absolute. The process rules out distillation, which would destroy the heavy molecules responsible for the honeyed facet. Tobacco absolute is also regulated in perfumery: its level in a finished fragrance is capped, and several older compositions have had to be adjusted for that reason.

What does tobacco smell like?

Of blond, unsmoked tobacco: honey, dry hay, dried fruit — fig and currant — and a vanillic sweetness that rises as the material warms up. There is also a leafy bitterness, almost a black-tea note, that keeps it from turning syrupy. This is the main misunderstanding around the note, and it is worth stating plainly: a tobacco perfume that smells of cigarettes or cold ash does not owe that to tobacco absolute. That smell comes from elsewhere — cade wood, tarry birch, incense or smoky synthetic molecules. The absolute on its own is soft and round, very close to the tonka bean and to the coumarin of cut hay, with more body and a leather facet underneath.

Tobacco perfumes at Le Soleil d'Or

Tobacco Memories by Chambre52, signed by Domitille Michalon Bertier, puts the absolute at the centre and sets it against sour cherry and iris: it is the fruitiest reading. Or du Serail by Naomi Goodsir, composed by Bertrand Duchaufour, gives the sunlit version, mango and rum over a base of honey and beeswax. Tabac Rose by BDK Parfums articulates it with Turkish rose and cocoa, and Naxos by Xerjoff sets it in a Sicilian aromatic of honey and cinnamon. To smell the difference between tobacco and smoke, compare them with Bois d'Ascese, again from Naomi Goodsir: tobacco is there, but the smoke comes from cade wood and whisky.

Tobacco accords and fragrance families

Tobacco belongs first of all to oriental perfumes and amber perfumes, where it gives body to balsams without weighing them down. Its clearest kinship is with the tonka bean: both materials share coumarin, that cut-hay smell which founded the fougere perfumes in 1882, and a perfumer will often use them together to thicken the same impression. With leather and labdanum it composes the darkest leather perfumes; with vanilla and cocoa it tips towards gourmand perfumes. The most interesting meeting remains the one with rose: the dry leaf takes away the flower's candied side and makes it grown-up.

Who is it for, and when?

Tobacco is unisex, despite a masculine reputation that comes from the imagery rather than the material: over a rose or a tuberose it wears very well on women. It is a base note, dense, long-lasting, and it leaves a trace on clothing the next day. So it asks for a little restraint when spraying, especially in an office or an enclosed space. Its natural season is autumn and winter, where the honeyed warmth finds its context; the sunlit, fruity readings work in summer, better towards the end of the day. On warm skin the honey facet quickly takes over; on cool skin it is the hay and dry-leaf side that dominates.

How to choose your tobacco perfume

Start by settling one simple question: are you after the smell of tobacco or the smell of smoke? Those are two distinct directions, and a lot of disappointment comes from there. Tobacco on its own is soft and honeyed; if you want ash, wood fire or tar, you need a perfume that also contains smoky materials, and you should say so to whoever is advising you. Then try it on skin and wait at least an hour: the absolute takes time to open, and the first impression says almost nothing. The bespoke discovery box brings together five 2 mL samples composed by hand, each to be worn for a full day. To get your bearings, compare a fruity, floral tobacco such as Tobacco Memories with a honeyed, sunlit one such as Or du Serail.

Tobacco at Le Soleil d'Or, a Lille perfumery since 1953

Founded in 1953 by Jeanne Muyllaert on the Grand'Place in Lille, Le Soleil d'Or is an independent perfumery passed down from one generation to the next. Hubert Maes (third generation) turned it into a reference for niche perfumery; today his daughters Victorine and Apolline Maes (fourth generation) uphold the same standards at 22 rue de la Clef, Lille (59800). Our team will let you smell the tobacco perfumes in the catalogue, with expert advice and guided trials, and can point you in the right direction using our guide to fragrance families.

Delivery & free in-store collection in Lille

Within mainland France, Colissimo delivery is free from 49 € to a pickup point and from 79 € to your door. Within Europe, it is free from 90 € to a pickup point and from 120 € to your door; we also ship worldwide. Live in Lille or nearby? Free in-store collection at 22 rue de la Clef is the fastest and most economical option. Full terms on our shipping page.