SOSPIRO
MARASCHINO

2024

PERFUMER
Christian Provenzano

apple
cherry
peach
strawberry
almond

iris
heliotrope
mimosa
rose
jasmine sambac

amber
tonka bean
patchouli
vetiver
vanilla
sandalwood
musk

Maraschino is one of those fragrances that a lot of people kept telling me to try or to review. It seems to be up there among the most hyped fragrances, in an already hyped (and let’s be honest, completely overdone) cherry landschape since 2018’s Tom Ford Lost Cherry.

Is Maraschino the best cherry out there? Definitely not to my nose and I was a bit disappointed.

I personally enjoy the opening minutes and first impression that you would get in stores a lot. It’s a big brighter, has a strong candied vibe, but with acidity from the fruit. It’s fun, playful, but with the right amount of a more serious, warmer, darker cherry tone hidden in it as well. Even though I’m not the biggest cherry fan, I’d smelled it 3x in stores and was positive each time.

Sadly, the fragrance doesn’t hold up as soon as it starts to dry down; even from maybe 15 minutes in already. Way too much sweetness and it just doesn’t feel luxurious enough for what it moves into… but then also doesn’t retain it’s fun playful side either. It still has a decent cherry scent in it when you look for it, but none of the acidity. Despite listing all sorts of fruits; I find the whole thing to get very sweet and warm almost instantly. Apple, peach, jasmine, mimosa, rose; none of those notes stand out at all on my skin. Instead you get the sweeter tones of candied cherry and strawberry, with the heliotrope, tonka, sandalwood for a full-on warm and sweet scent. The tonka or almond scents are pretty well done, but it’s not what I came to Maraschino for.

And overall, I find it a bit screechy and cloying to be honest. Maraschino is just not as good as I was expecting. I much much prefer the smooth lactonic sandalwood cherry from New Notes Latte di Cherry that has less of the ‘candy’ vibe over this. I would prefer the more acidic opening from the Sospiro, but that only lasts literal minutes; for what it becomes after, I find the New Notes nicer by a large margin. I have yet to properly try it, but on first impression YSL Black Opium Over Red seems like a better alternative as well.

Promising start, but it doesn’t deliver for me as it dries. Looking at other reviews, for example on Fragrantica, a ton of people seem to agree, so sample before buying into the hype.