A short history of niche fragrance's most divisive accord, and the £320 bottle behind the conversation.
The bottle that made Harrods queue
Walk into the perfume hall at Harrods in 2025 and someone, somewhere, is asking to smell Rude Cherry. Fragrance Du Bois released it that year as part of its Royal Series, a collection meant to sit alongside the house's celebrated oud-led extraits. The press kit calls it a study in red. The shop assistants call it cherry-oud. The till rings up £320 for a 100ml bottle.
That price is not an accident. Fragrance Du Bois has spent the last decade building one of the most quietly luxurious houses in modern perfumery. The brand was founded in 2008 by entrepreneur David Fobar in Singapore, then headquartered in Geneva, with a stake in some of the world's last sustainable agarwood plantations in Borneo. Every Fragrance Du Bois extrait is built around oud the house has grown itself. It is closer to a fragrance estate than a perfume brand.
Why cherry, and why now
Cherry was a flavour, not a perfume. For most of the twentieth century, cherry was confined to lip balms and cough sweets. Then, in 2018, Tom Ford released Lost Cherry. The marketing was bold. The juice was bolder. Sour black cherry, bitter almond, Turkish rose, and a base of tonka and sandalwood. It sold out, and then it sold out again. Five years on, Lost Cherry has become its own scent family.
Maison Crivelli pushed the wave forward in 2022 with Rose Saltifolia and Bois Datchai. Kayali doubled it with Yum Pistachio Gelato. Then Fragrance Du Bois closed the loop. Where Tom Ford built cherry with bitter almond and rose, Fragrance Du Bois built it with saffron and oud. The cherry note in Rude Cherry is darker, syrupier, almost liqueur-like. The saffron gives it leather. The oud gives it weight. By the time the base of ambergris and vanilla settles in, the cherry is no longer fruit. It is animal.
What people actually pay for
£320 for 100ml is roughly £3.20 per millilitre. The oils inside cost a fraction of that. Saffron is expensive, real oud is more expensive still, and the cherry accord uses synthetics that are cheaper than the cap on the bottle. The maths on luxury fragrance has been an open secret for years. Around 90% of the price tag is brand, packaging, and the perfume hall itself.
That maths is what built Aromara. We do not begrudge anyone the £320 bottle. We do not write copy that bashes the originals. We love the smell. We hate the markup.
How we built Brazen Cherry
Brazen Cherry is our take on the Rude Cherry accord. We kept the structure: black-cherry liqueur and bitter almond up top, saffron and rose in the heart, oud and ambergris on the base. We rebuilt it at 35% Extrait concentration, the highest disclosed in the UK. That is two to three times the oil load of most high-street perfumes, and it is why it lasts 7+ hours on skin instead of fading by lunch.
The 50ml retails for £40. A 5ml sampler is £6.99. If you can tell it apart from the £320 bottle inside 60 days, take the refund. No questions.
Try Brazen Cherry from £6.99 →
Wearing it
Cherry-oud is a winter scent and a night scent. It is too rich for July at noon. It is perfect for October at seven. Two sprays on the neck and one on the inside of each wrist will carry you through a dinner. Three sprays will carry you through a wedding.
If you already wear a Guerlain Rouge or a Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille, you will recognise the family. If you want a lighter cherry-oud to test the water with, our Cherry & Oud (our take on Guerlain Cherry Oud) is the softer cousin. Brazen Cherry is the loud one.
The point
You do not need to spend £320 to wear a £320 fragrance. You need to know which £320 fragrance you want to wear, and you need a brand honest enough to disclose what is inside the bottle. We put our 35% in writing. Almost no rival does.
Smell it for yourself. £6.99 for 5ml. 60 days to change your mind.
