Aaron Terence Hughes
Aaron Terence Hughes
112 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The bergamot's zesty brightness immediately wrestles with chocolate's dark richness, a citrus-cocoa tussle that feels almost confrontational in its clarity. Within minutes, the orange joins to amplify this citrus-sweetness dynamic, preventing any slide into pure gourmand territory right from the start.
Tonka and vanilla establish their creamy scaffold whilst cherry cake emerges with surprising tartness, the fruit element cutting through rather than drowning in sweetness. The composition settles into something genuinely balanced—buttery, baked, warm—yet maintaining enough fruity snap to keep it from becoming soporific.
Lokum and rum provide a boozy-sweet warmth as oud whispers underneath, grounding the sweetness with mineral earthiness. White musk and ambergris create an airy, almost skin-like finish, with patchouli adding subtle herbaceous weight, leaving behind something intimate and decidedly less sweet than it began—a sophisticated fade rather than a clumsy disappearance.
Forbidden arrives as a masterclass in controlled decadence—a fragrance that treats sweetness not as naïveté but as sophistication. The opening marriage of chocolate and bergamot is immediately arresting; rather than cloying, the citrus cuts through with surgical precision, preventing the cocoa from becoming one-dimensional. What emerges is a gourmand with genuine complexity, one that refuses the easy path of simple dessert mimicry.
The heart reveals the true ambition here. Tonka bean and vanilla don't simply sweeten; they create a creamy, almost buttery foundation upon which cherry cake sits like an elaborate patisserie construction—tart enough to resist saccharine descent. This is where Forbidden distinguishes itself from its competition; the cherry provides genuine fruit acidity rather than syrupy confection, lending a fragrance that could have been caricature actual dimensionality.
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3.6/5 (116)