“One of the smoothest fragrances I’ve found. I have 135 bottles in my collection and this is easily Top 10. If you see it, buy it,”

Fragrance fans are raving over an unassuming perfume that ‘smells way beyond its price point’. You may not think a Banana Republic scent is something to write home about, but the £27.45 scent is being compared to Dior Addict (£145 for 100ml), Side Effect by Initio Parfums Prives (£185 for 50ml), and Tom Ford’s Tobacco Vanille (£145 for 30ml).

As autumn starts settling in our personal scents tend to turn more towards spicy scents and away from the light florals of summertime. Tobacco & Tonka Bean by Banana Republic is an oriental spicy fragrance aimed at both men and women. Gino Percontino, who has also worked on Phlur and Rio de Janeiro, worked on this perfume.

It opens up with autumnal pear and Mirabelle plum, it’s got a heart of tobacco leaf and coconut that gives it the spicy touch we would expect in a fragrance like this. It’s got a soothing base of Tonka bean and vanilla which keeps the scent comfortably in the middle of masculine and feminine.

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It’s brought in an average rating of 4.5 out of five over on Fragrance Direct. One shopper said: “Love this perfume. Reminds me of Dior Addict, but much cheaper.” A second penned: “Very nice, cosy and sweet. Unisex. Perfect for cold weather.”

A third added: “Smells very sweet, cloying if sprayed too much. In the opening I mostly get a deep cherry, even though it’s not listed in the notes. Probably the plum. Very slightly coconuty. The tobacco’s there but not overwhelmingly so. Then gorgeous tonka… Quite strong, so a few spritzes is enough for me. Rather similar to Zara’s Rich Warm Addictive, totally the same vibe. This is absolutely unisex.”

On Fragrantica, where perfume buffs get together and share their thoughts it’s brought in many more comments. One fan said: “This smells way beyond its price point. One of the smoothest fragrances I’ve found. I have 135 bottles in my collection and this is easily Top 10. If you see it, buy it.”

A second penned: “Love this one! It is a true unisex scent. The opening is more masculine and you can smell the tobacco really well, however the drydown is more feminine leaning. The drydown is a sweet and deep vanilla. This def smells like a niche fragrance for a good price. Good fall/winter date night fragrance.”

A third said: “This I would say has the same DNA as Initio Side Effect but for a really cheap price you can easily find a bottle for 20-30, I wouldn’t say it’s as complex though but definitely worth a try, if you like it. Easily one of the best from the line, it’s very much a vanilla and tobacco heavy fragrance but I’ve been wearing it for a while and I can’t seem to smell coconut at all (maybe because of my skin I don’t know) but defo a 9/10.”

Some have complained it doesn’t have as much longevity as they’d like, but for the price, topping it up as the day goes on might not feel so wasteful. One said: “I got this for my husband and loved it on him but loved it on me as well. So I’ll be rocking it too, it reminded me a bit Jazz Club and Sphinx Citron Tabac it is not a dupe, but it has the vibe, I think is the tobacco note which I love. The only thing is that I wish it performs louder and lasts longer, but for [the price] is a great deal if you’re not planning on wearing it for longer periods of time or mind reapply.”

You can snap up Tobacco & Tonka Bean by Banana Republic for £27.45 on Fragrance Direct.

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