Ready, set, smoulder as it's time for a smoke show

As a nonsmoker, I face a dilemma: I want to smell like tobacco’s deep, smoky richness without actually lighting up. I trace this back to childhood summers spent in India with my bibliophile grandfather, who had a compulsive cigar habit. This was a time when nobody batted an eye at a child inhaling secondhand fumes, so the two of us read quietly side by side for hours, hotboxed indoors while he smoked. That time spent together imprinted tobacco on my scent consciousness forever 

“Sensory scientists have found that while we do have innate preferences for basic tastes, smell preferences are often subjective and learned, based on experiences and personal associations,” says Harold McGee, author of Nose Dive: A Field Guide to the World’s Smells. Renaud Salmon, chief experience officer of Amouage fragrances, points to memories of his own grandfather lighting Cubans at family celebrations as inspiration for the brand’s new offering, Opus XIV Royal Tobacco. “A nice cigar instantly brings back memories of my childhood, and I appreciate the complexity and nuances of that smell,” he says 

To create the Amouage scent, Cécile Zarokian mimicked the aroma of a Cuban cigar, from its sparkling start to the point “when burning rolled tobacco leaves become mineral and cold ashes,” she explains. The juice unfolds on the skin with a vibrant top of bergamot, cardamom, anise seed, and basil, then gives way to a woody licorice heart with fruity dried plum and tobacco absolute, and finally ends with a flash of frankincense 

“Smoked notes always give a sense of mystery and can feel a little dangerous,” says Matthew Herman, Boy Smells cofounder and another tobacco lover. Herman is so entranced with the note, about a third of the company’s 43 home and personal fragrances feature charred interpretations of elements like leather, papyrus, clove, or guaiac wood. The key to creating an elevated tobacco scent (and not Eau de Dive Bar) is to pair it with unexpected olfactive partners, says Herman. The brand’s Cowboy Kush does this by blending sensual tobacco leaf, oud, and patchouli with sweet tonka bean and saffron flower. “This allows for a more modern, well-balanced take,” he explains 

The collective appreciation for tobacco does raise a question: Why does this particular scent resonate more than other nostalgic smells? Experts say tobacco’s  multifaceted structure provides something for everyone to love. “Tobacco odors are incredibly complex. More than 400 aroma compounds have been identified in tobacco smoke, many quite lovely by themselves,” says Pamela Dalton, an olfactory scientist at the Monell Center in Philadelphia. In a single hit of tobacco, Dalton explains, one might detect green notes, nuttiness, chocolate, vanilla, and flowers.

As a stand-alone ingredient, tobacco smoke is indeed addictive. “There’s no other like it. It’s complex and multidimensional: earthy, leathery, vaguely animal, yet also sweet, fruity, and flowery,” says McGee. For me, spraying on the rich, herbaceous aroma is similar to sliding on a piece of heirloom jewelry. Like a sensory timeline, the nostalgic yet sophisticated smell of fresh tobacco instantly reconnects me to my grandfather and those smoky, book-filled summers. 

This piece originally appeared in Harper's Bazaar US