There seems to be a designated day for just about everything, but National Coffee Day on September 29th is one I can get behind! In recent years there have been numerous fragrances introduced involving coffee scents, and here are four to consider.
Mancera Aoud Cafe
In the opening moments I get a woody oud note mixed with the scent of coffee. It is very dry and not at all sweet. After about thirty minutes amber mixed with light florals and musk take over. I wish the promise of the coffee at the beginning held up, because an hour into the wear the coffee note is very faint. It is still a nice scent, though. This fragrance is from 2013 and perfumer is Pierre Montale.
Photo from foolproofliving.com
Montale Intense Cafe
This perfume was created by the same perfumer, Pierre Montale, in the same year, 2013, as the one above, but it is a very different creature. Although this is one of those perfumes everyone mentions when they speak of coffee perfumes, for me it is an instant memory of the four years I lived in India.
The opening notes I smell are rose, vanilla, and amber, a trifecta of smells that smells so much like my life in India when I would walk through the market streets. The flowers for offerings, the fragrant oils on the women's hair, the sweetness of the amber which seemed to permeate the air; it's all achingly familiar.
But coffee? Not so much. I love this scent, but if you're wanting a strong coffee influence, here it is just a small thread in the formula. Move onwards to the next on my list.
littlecoffeeplace.com
Montale Ristretto Intense Cafe
It is as if in 2019 someone at Montale said, "Hey, that Montale Intense Cafe is a great perfume, but it doesn't really have that much coffee scent." The note pyramid for the two perfumes are strikingly similar with rose playing a lead role, but in Ristretto Intense Cafe it is definitely a union of the two notes, rose and coffee; not a solo by Lady Rose.
Top notes are Italian black coffee and Turkish rosewater. Heart notes are rose buds, roasted coffee beans, and wood notes. The base notes are caramel, white musk, vanilla, and amber. Everything is slightly more restrained in this perfume and the rose mingles beautifully with the coffee but never overpowers it. Again, however, if you're expecting a strong solo coffee note you will not find it here, as it is more of a blend.
These two Montale perfumes are both gorgeous, but if it's coffee you're seeking, go for the Ristretto, in my opinion.
freepik.com
Xeroff Golden Dallah
This coffee perfume steps up the drama, and is one of my favorites. This is a trip to a souk, wandering through the narrow alleyways past bags of spices, and stopping at a small cafe for a small beaker of coffee. The first spray envelops you in a cloud of exotic spices, followed by faint incense, oud wood, amber, and a rich coffee note. There is also a trace of rose. These blend together to make a lush, rich pageantry of a scent.
Base notes of cocoa, hazelnuts, and tonka beans give a nuttiness to the coffee note. There is a tobacco like sweetness, but it all melds together so well. I love how the spice, the smoke, the coffee, the nuttiness, and the sweetness blend together to make me feel like I've dropped into Morocco for the day. This goes on big, but mellows out after a couple of hours wear. This is part of a series called Coffee Break by Xeroff, and I'm eager to try the other two in the set.
These are just a few of my favorite coffee-scented perfumes. What are yours?
Perfume samples are my own. Top photo by fanpop.com.
