So yes, highly recommended for smell, for price, and for presentation.īanana Republic Tobacco & Tonka Bean is part of the Icon Collection, released around the same time as Dark Cherry & Amber in 2019, but definitely a notch better, a sweet and spicy mix of the signature two notes, along with vanilla and coconut, the result being something majority-sweet with a slight amount of tobacco. Makes it seem like a much more premium fragrance than its price point. The bottle is also a nice solid glass with a heavy cap. It has this really nice thick cardboard box that opens up like a drawer and has foam cushioning on the inside. An added bonus, and what really made me collect the whole line, is the packaging. The whole Icon collection can be found pretty regularly at rack stores for that price (particularly Burlington), and it's hard to beat for value at that price. I'd say it's a good value at retail price or online discounters, but where it really shines is at rack stores. Just something for people to catch whiffs of when standing close, walking by, or cuddling up. It's not the loudest when it comes to projection, I don't think you should expect to fill a room with it.

I'd say it's pretty versatile in that regard, anything from wearing it to work or going out. It's nothing revolutionary, just super pleasant, with decent performance.įor usage, the whole Icon collection is marketed as unisex, and I can definitely see this being worn by either gender.

The plum does fade relatively quickly, and you're left with a very light smokiness wrapped with gourmand sweetness. The opening is addictive with its juicy plum note. It's the kind of scent I love to just sniff from the atomizer like a maniac. This was one of the first fragrances from Banana Republic's 'Icon Collection' that I bought, and I liked it so much that I set out to collect the rest of the line. I loved this perfume and was surprised that it lasted so long, and it kept my mood up on such a cold damp miserable day and at £20 I think was a steal.Īn all-time cheapie favorite of mine. If you are not a fan of sweet fragrances then I would say stay clear of this one, especially if it is the tobacco leaf note you are chasing as it very much plays second fiddle to that sweet tonka/vanilla combo. There is definitely no evolving of the scent, after the first 20-30 minutes what you smell will be it until the end. Between hours 4-8 I can still smell the scent occasionally especially when I am walking around, pretty much just the tonka and vanilla combo though but again if I dig my nose right in then I can still detect the tobacco. I'm not sure if I was leaving trails or not but since I wear perfume for myself only this really isn't a concern for me. It seems to pick up a slightly creamy smell to my nose as well, I have no idea if it is the coconut that is giving it that creaminess? If not, then I do not detect the coconut at all.įor 3-4 hours I had a good scent bubble around myself and could smell the scent pretty much constantly during this time. The tonka and vanilla is what seems to shine the most, the tobacco is definitely there but I only pick it up a bit closer to the skin. Speaking of the fruitiness I could only really pick out the plum and didn't detect any pear but I'm early into fragrance journey so that is probably my nose.Īfter the first 20-30 minutes I don't really detect the plum anymore and the scent has settled into what seems to be tonka/vanilla/tobacco combo. I'm guessing it was the plum/pear combination that I didn't quite love? There was nothing particularly wrong with it and the fruitiness was nice but for 2 minutes it just seemed a bit too loud. I wasn't especially won over by the first sprays. 2 on the neck/upper chest area, 1 behind both ears, 1 back of the neck. Well, my first proper review and I've not got a trained nose or anything so I'm really not sure what use this is to anyone but I'm really getting into fragrances and here are my impressions as a complete novice!! :)

Tobacco tonka bean