Tom Ford Lost Cherry Eau de Parfum 50 ml

Bite into a black cherry that has been soaked in liqueur and dusted with almond. Lost Cherry opens almost edible - syrupy, dark red, unapologetic - and then something better happens. A bitter almond note cuts underneath, rose and jasmine open it up, and the whole thing settles into a warm balsamic drydown considerably more grown-up than the opening led you to expect.

Top: Black cherry, cherry liqueur, bitter almond · Heart: Griotte syrup, rose absolute, jasmine sambac · Base: Peru balsam, roasted tonka, sandalwood, cedar, vetiver

Sweet gourmands are the category most likely to turn syrupy in Florida humidity, and Lost Cherry runs close to that line. On a humid August afternoon the cherry-liqueur opening amplifies hard for the first hour and can feel cloying at close range - one spray outdoors, two indoors is the honest recommendation, which is the opposite of how most people apply. Once the balsam and tonka take over, roughly ninety minutes in, the heat starts working in its favor and it turns rich rather than sugary. Seven to nine hours on skin, and it survives a sweaty night better than most gourmands because that resinous base is doing real anchoring work. Come December, when the humidity drops, the almond and rose are far easier to pick out.

Fully unisex, whatever the shelf says. Best after dark, best in cooler months, though a Miami patio evening works fine. Not an office fragrance - the sillage is too distinctive and too sweet for shared air.

Unsure whether cherry gourmands are your thing? The 5ml and 10ml decants exist for precisely that question. There is also a tester at the Miami Gardens counter, which is the fastest way to learn whether the almond reads pleasant or medicinal on your skin. People split hard on that one.