French Tobacco

[VioletChaos]

This tobacco accord is soulful, earthy, and multifaceted: the scent reverberates like a deep bass note, possessing a very faint citrus-like twang and an almost animalic caramel richness.

In The Bottle: Warm and yes, slightly caramel, but not foody. There's also an astringent quality that's coming through strongly at this point.

Wet On Skin: The astringency has mellowed a bit. I feel pretty certain this is the tobacco note from Pinched With Four Aces.

Dry Down: Staying true. Someone at Will Call compared this to high-quality pipe tobacco, and I can see where the comparison is apt. There's a warm sweetness that is usually present in pipe tobacco that you don't find in other varieties, and this has a bit of that.

In All: Medium throw. As with nearly all the other single notes, this stays more or less the same from in the bottle through to it's finish. I don't know that I'll have much cause for wearing this on it's own. That being said, this is a *great* asset in adding to other scents when you're looking to add some warmth or sweetness without anything that'll read as sugary or food-like. This is a great addition to any BPAL collection and I predict it becomes one of the most popular Single Notes released during this 12 month period.




ETA It's about 40 minutes later and the warmth and throw have both continued to grow with this Single Note. I think this has great potential to be mixed in with all kinds of other scents effectively, but be careful, because the throw on this scent is really really high at this point, and I barely put any on my hand at all. This is the epitome of A Little Goes A Long Way. Edited January 27, 2013 by cupide430

[Indigo78]

Oh my stars.

 

Beth's gone and bottled the richest, sweetest parlor room cigar on earth. It's glossy, smooth, complex and gorgeous. The sweet/dry balance makes it wild and refined all at once. I agree that this is a *perfect* layering note, but it's complex enough to wear beautifully on its own.

 

Just, thud. So very glad I didnt pass this up unsniffed, and I'm seeing a backup bottle or 10 in my future.

 

^edited cuz "unsnoffed" ≠ "unsnoffed".

Edited February 9, 2013 by Indig0

[ladymeag]

I'm going to have to third the Holy Whatness of this scent. This is amazing and beautiful and I want more.

 

In the bottle: Sweet and earthy - like a nice, rich, moist vanilla pipe tobacco

On Me: Up front, creamy vanilla - non-foody. I think this is my holy-grail vanilla. As it dries down, it picks up an almost black mission fig sweetness and depth; earthy, warm, a little fruity without being overly sweet.

[Balame]

I... want to marry this scent. It's my new addiction. So nice you can enjoy it without fear of lung cancer!

 

Just freaking holy crap wow. I don't think I can say much more beyond what's already been said. It's super rich, deep, sweet, warm, earthy. Stunning vanilla. Like the best ever. I totally get the "caramel" quality.

 

I want to bathe in this forever so I think I need about 20 bottles!

[naeelah]

Quick and dirty reviews tonight -- I'll flesh this out after the scent has aged a little.

 

 

This starts out with a strong brown sugar quality. It's a warm, brown, rich, round scent. While it must be described as an earthy scent, it does not smell dirt-like. There is nothing particularly dry or cool about this, the way hemp or similar notes might have a dryness. The sweetness recedes as it wears, leaving something more like the scent of super fresh tobacco. It's roasted without being smoky. Figgy and a bit planty.

 

It's lovely and complex on its own, but will be wonderful for layering. (I already love it with another item in my order, Sic Erit.)

Edited February 15, 2013 by naeelah

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Wow that is strong rich patchouli kissed tobacco. Animalistic richness sounds about right. The touch of citrus adds a lovely little sting. It is smoky and earthy. Wet: It breaks down a little on my skin, alas. The touch of citrus breaks out taking some of the accord elements with it. It still reads as tobacco, but it is less rich and smoky and more dissecting my father’s merit as a child to see what unburned cigarette tobacco smells like. (Look I was a weird kid who liked smells, okay?) Given a couple of minutes it reforms as a delightful woody tobacco scent that makes me think of quality cigar boxes, which works fine for me. The citrus settles down to a quiet tangy edge. I was a little worried at first, but I think this will be fine. Dry: mmmm… long lasting tobacco single note.

[patina]

I ordered two bottles unsniffed and I don't regret it at all.

 

It's caramel-like deep, dark pipe tobacco with a hint of vanilla. It almost reminds me of coffee, but really GOOD coffee.

 

This is AMAZING.

[elka_knits]

 

that's all

[livingdead71]

What they said...this is awesome! First of all, it has that beautifully realistic "art in a bottle" effect that I got with King Mandarin and Spanish Moss. Secondly, it's a great stand alone SN like Madagascan Vanilla Rum. I wish I could describe it better, but all I can say is I find it gorgeous, warm, and comforting. It also lasts for hours! Don't let this one pass you by or you'll regret it!

[porcelina]

french tobacco… yum.

 

it's not as dark and sweet as some other tobacco notes i have encountered. it IS sweet but in a slightly drier and not-at-all foodie way. it does remind me of pipe tobacco- it's actually quite accurate. i'm glad i bought two bottles of this because i love the scent of tobacco and i feel like i could get a lot of use from this either alone or layered with other scents! so so good.

[yakiguri]

*swoon*

 

This is the tobacco note I recognize from so many of my favorite blends, which of course, tend to contain tobacco. It's warm, it's sweet, and I agree with the brown sugar quality to it. Throw is incredible, so a dab will do 'ya. I can just imagine this aged, and it's taking monumental strength not to buy a backup. I have to remind myself I have so many blends with this already included in it...

[Dark Alice]

Caramel and tobacco on my skin. So glad I only have a decant of this coming. That is all I need.

[holborne]

Ok, well. This one quickly went onto my top ten favorites list. I love both caramel scents and tobacco scents, and this one is the perfect blend of both; neither note dominates too much so it's delicately and perfectly balanced. It also has great throw (or sillage, if you prefer), and lasts a good long time, even on my skin, which tends to eat scent.

 

Really, I almost licked my own arm to death after putting this one on. Holy cow.

 

Will echo the people who said

[GoldenRubee]

I just tried this today and it is really amazing. The caramel and tobacco blend together so flawlessly and smoothly and it reminds me of my childhood sitting around watching TV while my dad smoked his pipe. It is not overpowering or heavy, but light and deliciously fragrant with only a slight touch of vanilla making this a perfect scent for me. This is going to age beautifully and I am so glad that I purchased two bottles!

[MuskWitch]

This. Is. Just. Frickin'. AMAZING. Ordered 3 more bottles. Should have ordered 6.

 

Maybe I will.

[nineveh]

This is so good! Dark, damp, sticky green/brown, sweetened with rich brown sugar. It almost has a spicy edge, but not quite. It's also incredibly strong, so my bottle will assuredly last forever. Great for layering, but full enough to wear alone.

 

I just tried layering it with Madagascan Vanilla Rum, and they go really well together!

[OctoberGwen]

God, I love this note. Just a smooth, rich, mellow, sweetish tobacco. Gorgeous. I get the caramel vibe but this is not foody in the slightest (thank heavens.)

 

This is what adds the little something to Red Lace and other favorite blends to make them really special on my skin. It's funny that I love to wear tobacco but not the smokey notes so much.

 

In a word: WIN.

Edited March 3, 2013 by OctoberGwen

[ajansuz]

I only ordered one bottle. Wow, was that stupid of me. This is heaven in a bottle. Smoky, rich, and sweet as soon as I open the cap.

 

Wet, it's as though I just walked into the humidor of a good tobacco shop. It reminds me of my Dad, my uncle, and a good family friend all at once, all pipe smokers back in the day. Whenever Dad would come home with new tobacco he wanted to try, I'd dive nose deep into his tobacco pouch to get a good whiff. It's sweet without cloying, has a throw that filled the whole house (with just ONE small dab on my forearm), and had me trying my best to snort my forearm through my nose.

 

Dry down, it's not a morpher at all. It's still exactly as it went on and gorgeous. I fell asleep with it on. When I woke up, I could still smell it where I had dabbed it, still very much sweet tobacco, just lighter and fainter. I'm glad the one bottle I ordered will last me a long time, because I really don't want to be without this. It smells the same as the tobacco in The Tata, only somehow by itself it's greater than the sum of those parts.

 

*Edit to say that this plus Captain Cully is dead sexy if you're a leather fan at all. I've had to resist the urge to devour my arm whole. All it takes is a tiny touch of the tobacco, too.

Edited February 27, 2013 by DarkSinestra

[Ella LaRose]

Got to try this at the will call and then promptly covered every part of me in it!

WOW! This is my dream tobacco!! It is the tobacco from interfector. True tobacco, sweet pipe unlit. It lasts forever has great throw. I am SO SAD I didn't order mass quantities cause now I have to hunt it down:((

[liquidtrance]

It is SO useful to be able to test Single Note Accords!

 

French Tobacco provided me with a huge "AH HAH!!" moment when I got my bottle in the mail yesterday-- THIS is what amps on me from Autumn Lace!

 

This tobacco note is almost syrupy sweet to my nose, and reminds me a little bit of maple syrup. On a second skin test later in the day, it translates more as a dry, fresh pipe tobacco when first applied, but it becomes even sweeter as it dries. (And certainly a lot sweeter than the smell of my boyfriends' American Spirits) I had always assumed that what I was smelling in Autumn Lace was a combination of leaves and maybe incense, but it turns out it's almost entirely tobacco! Neat!

 

As other folks have testified, this stuff lasts a good long time! One bottle will last me forever.

 

Lovely, absolutely lovely.

[skunkwater]

i'm a tobacco lover all around - i love to smoke and my favorite thing to do since i was a little girl has been steal the plastic outer part off my dad's marlboro reds and just stick my nose in there and inhale. i realized i love tobacco as a perfume note when i tried the tobacco honey from rapaccini's garden (which, once dried down on me, is almost an exact replica of the marlboro red's plastic wrap scent haha)

 

when i first applied french tobacco it had spent some time in the mailbox but i have no patience whatsoever so rather than let it settle i slathered a ton on. out of the bottle i get a definite earthiness that hints at sweetness and gives me the impression of a rough golden-blonde color. i can definitely feel it hinting at the "caramel richness", too. and of course there's that tangy metallicness, though i'm not getting it in abundance either in the bottle nor on my skin.

 

when first applied to my skin and still wet the earthiness amps up in a weird way that reminds me of dried leaves (?) but after a short while it begins to mellow out and get smoother/sweeter. my sister, who is a smoker and shares my love for tobacco scents said "why is it all sweet like that?" so the almost foody sweetness that people have mentioned is definitely a component in this

 

all in all it's a very wearable single note since it's so complex, but i'm also looking forward to layering with it. glad i got a bottle~

[tziporra]

This is ridiculously delicious and amazing, and very much TOBACCO on me. I get that it is an accord, but I feel like I've been tucked into bed in a cigar box or am swimming in a pouch of American Spirit. I think it will be amazing layered with, oh, any scent, but it is very difficult for me to imagine wearing this on its own because it so straightforwardly proclaims its origins. IM TOBACCO WANNA PARTY?

 

It is hilarious that every time I start thinking I want to smell like a single thing (amber, tobacco, or leather) and then I _get_ my wish I start fussing about how I need something more complex.

 

On me this doesn't change at all from bottle to wet on skin to drydown. I'm so glad I bought it and can't wait to start layering!

 

Tzi

[Gateau]

When I first tried this on, after ripping the box open to get at it, I kind of freaked out because it was so sharp and cologne-like. It was that citrusy top note just screaming all over the place. But as it dried down, the swoon-worthy rich leafy, almost caramelized, tobacco mellowness took over and made it clear why this one is an instant classic.

 

A week later, that screaming note is much quieter, and I expect that with age it will continue to mellow out. What gets left on skin is an absolutely realistic warm fresh tobacco that smells exactly like the pouch when I used to roll my own cigarettes. It's a delicious scent all on its own, and is utterly unisex, but it's brilliant for layering too. Try it with Black Temple Burlesque Troupe!

 

Glad I got backup, kind of wish I got more than the two.

[AliBabble]

Ahhh, I love this! This was the scent that broke my non-buying spell...I've been into Bpal since 2005, but accumulated so much perfume, I really hadn't been buying anything lately...

somehow French Tobacco called to me...it's got some of the same feel as the tobacco notes in Ninon and Black Lace, two of my favorites - but with that additional caramel quality....really heavenly.

On my skin, I get a bit more "tang" at first, and a sort of peppery feeling...I suppose it is a bit cologne-like, but it does mellow out to a realistic and comforting tobacco leaf smell. I'm not a big layering person, so will probably just wear this on its own.

[Little Bird]

This is by far my favorite of bpal's single notes. I love it and it smells like a complete and utter dream on my husband.

It's like sticky, sweet chewing tobacco and dead leaves with a slight black peppery spiciness to it. It's rich, earthy, sweet and so dark and amazing. The drydown smells like fall leaves, tobacco sweetness, a hint of campfire, and peppery cologne. Dark and outdoorsy.

 

It's really hard to describe this one and do it justice. It's just the best tobacco ever.

Edited May 26, 2016 by Little Bird