You say tomato and I say …

The focus today is tomatoes. The plants are everywhere here right now … in pots, in the local allotments down near the estuary foreshore (can tomatoes take in the smell of the sea?), in grow bags in front of houses. In my last farm shop delivery, I got mixed ones: green, yellow, red, big, small, round, oblong. They are beautiful. They smell and taste glorious and looking at them gives me great pleasure.

And then the British Beauty Blogger blog even got in the act with the following review: (https://britishbeautyblogger.com/fragrance/malin-goetz-tomato-candle/). In fact, that’s where today’s post started – from this tomato candle.

I am very partial to the smell of tomato and the associated smells – the fruit, the leaves, the dirt plants are planted in – and I really enjoy seeing the plants in their different permutations around the village.

So, tomato.

Starting with the blogpost that set this in motion. I don’t own a tomato-fragranced candle. In fact, this is the first one I’ve noticed. In any case, I would love to. The description of the Malin & Goetz candle makes it seem very inviting. The smell of tomatoes in the sun. It would be great to be able to re-create that fragrance in deep winter, when things are dormant and the weather is generally cold, grey and wet here.  The candle price is £42 which isn’t too bad within the context of fancy candle costs. It’s too bad though it’s only available in a large size. Or maybe it isn’t too bad: if it came in a smaller version I’d already own it unsmelled and could tell you what it’s like.

On to tomato fragrances, of which there are a number – probably way more than I found listed online.

When I ran the online perfumery, I stocked some Hilde Soliani perfumes – before her names went insane. My favourites were the theatre-dressing-room-themed Vecchi Rossetti (makeup, floor wax, etc) and the tomato-based Stecca. Stecca was meant to evoke the green of the plant, the voluptuousness of the fruit, and the earthiness of the dirt the plant was grown in, and to me it did this quite beautifully. Only problem with HS fragrances is they tended to be beautiful on top and in the middle and then dry down to an alcohol/chemical smell that sort of broke the spell.

I found a few other tomato-themed fragrances, none of which I’ve had an opportunity to sample.

Demeter’s Tomato (a Christopher Brosius creation, the site says the smell of picking tomatoes really – ie, the smell of leaves on your hands, which sounds quite good to me) might well be available at our local department store. One day, I’ll actually venture back into such places and have a go.

The other fragrance that Google immediately popped up was another Christopher Brosius, but this time in his CB I Hate Perfume incarnation.

Memory of Kindness from the Secret History series sounds incredible. Per the CB website, “The shining green scent of tomato vines growing in the fresh earth of a country garden”. Oy, I wish you could get CB stuff here – I would have a sample to discuss along with my small M&G Tomato candle. Sigh.

So, over to you. Tried/have any of these? Other tomato candles/perfumes you love and recommend?

PS My little sunflower (ie, vs other huge ones I’ve seen in the village) is blooming. It’s not a tomato, but it’s beautiful, makes me happy and informs me that I should grow sunflowers next year in the house-house garden (when I’ve resurrected it).

PPS Tomato pics are from Pexels

  • Dina C. says:

    I just got my sample of ERIS Green Spell, and it has tomato leaf in it. Very recognizable in the opening, then fades as the dry down goes along.

  • Cara says:

    Jo Malone Tomato Green Tomato Leaf candle is awesome! It has great throw and you don’t have to burn it long to have the scent in the air. That’s great since it is also a “fancy priced” candle at $67. We have purchased it multiple times. We also like Boy Smells Gardiner. It is less expensive but still has good throw, although it has less “tomato leaf” to the scent.

  • Musette says:

    March introduced me to Memory of Kindness when we visited CB at his (now moved) Brooklyn shop. It is a glorious thing! I have some Tomato Leaf wax melts from……… Camille Lee at Prairie Aromatics? (lord, I hope I’m right) and I have the Demeter one (I think. Y’know…. I CoULD go look but I have a bunch of plants to water). I just pruned my tomato plants and omg the leaf smell is incredible. The Girl sneaks in and snatches tomatoes right off the vines, so I have to watch her, if I want to get any for myself! xoxoxo

    • Cinnamon says:

      She eats tomatoes? Joe thinks they are meh. He does love cucumber and most fruit. The blackberry bushes here are loaded and he enjoys a handful at the end of a walk.

      • Musette says:

        most of my dogs have loved tomatoes – she’s no different. Then again, she’s a Giant Predator – she’ll eat pretty much anything! xoxox

  • Alityke says:

    One of my favourite notes both IRL & in perfume. Sisley Eau de Campagne was my go to. I actually killed two bottles & bath set before I ran willingly down the rabbit hole.
    Note to self, get selling unused/unloved/disliked bottles then buy some more of this & the Sisley Eau de Soir

  • OTA Mom says:

    Nir Guy’s L’Ima has a great tomato note as part of its garden theme

  • Portia says:

    Hey Cinnamon,
    LOVE tomatoes. I’ll eat them like an apple with a bit of pepper and salt and in almost any other way.
    Sadly, I don’t enjoy tomato soup, juice or Bloody Mary’s. Yet a good gazpacho will make me so happy.
    Stecca was too much for me but I like the smell in perfumes if it’s not too strident. I think there’s an Aedes de Venustas and a Diptyque that do it nicely for me but my memories are vague.
    SUNFLOWER is gorgeous.
    Portia xx

    • Cinnamon says:

      I actually do not love gazpacho. I do like some cold soups. I also don’t love ratatouilles. I do love basil, mozzarella and tomato though. And really miss smoked mozzarella which we got in NY but can’t get here. Tx on sunflower. It’s not huge and showy like some I’m seeing, but sweet and happy.

  • Amber says:

    OMG, I’m loco for the smell of tomato leaves, that sharp green smell! Honestly, I could just roll around in a tomato patch and call it perfume. I have the Demeter Tomato which is fun. DSH Perfumes, Summer Cologne and In the Greenhouse both have a tomato note. I also have Tomato Absolute from Robertet as a perfume material which is about as close to the real thing as you can get when tomatoes are out of season.

  • March says:

    Adore tomatoes; one of the best things about late summer. Love Memory of Kindness, which to me is a perfect virtual-reality tomato leaf. Folavril which I think was Annick Goutal’s first fragrance had a tomato leaf note (but in something like a chypre construct? it was weird). And I feel like there’s some mass-market Liz Claiborne or something similar w tomato.

    • March says:

      DKNY Woman!

      • rosarita313 says:

        That’s the one I think of. It’s in a tall, skinny rather oddly shaped bottle and for some reason, I thought I gave mine away years ago. Imagine my surprise when I cleaned out my perfume cabinet this spring and found the bottle wedged into a corner. I just put some on after reading this and it’s an oddball of a perfume but I like it, and it definitely has tomato leaf. Our tomatoes are yellow this year, they smell and taste wonderful.

    • Cinnamon says:

      Folavril was full of strange notes. It would be so great if one of the perfumeries here started stocking CBIHP (Liberty had some stuff years ago), but I don’t see it happening. I have not sniffed anything DKNY in years. Something else to add to list when I manage to return to department store at some point in the future …