Supremacy Tapis Rouge

Black cherry leads, and it is the dark, jammy kind rather than the medicinal maraschino note that ruins so many cherry fragrances. Litchi and white peach sit beside it and add a watery brightness that stops the opening from turning into dessert. Give it half an hour and the fruit recedes into a proper floral heart, where jasmine and rose take over with plum keeping a purple, slightly winey sweetness underneath. Mahonia adds a green, almost lily-like lift. The base is the surprise: instead of the vanilla most cherry fragrances default to, Tapis Rouge dries down on vetiver and cloves, which give it an earthy, faintly spicy finish, with peony softening the edges.

It reads as feminine and dressy without being heavy, which makes it a versatile choice for daytime events, spring weddings and anywhere you want to smell polished rather than loud. Coastal humidity treats it kindly, since the fruit stays juicy rather than turning sticky.

Community performance ratings hover around seven and a half out of ten for both longevity and sillage, which matches most wearers' experience: six to eight hours with a moderate scent bubble that stays within a metre or so after the first hour. It is not a beast, and anyone expecting Afnan's usual projection may find it restrained.

Worth being clear about this one: Tapis Rouge is not a documented clone of any single designer release, despite what some sellers imply. The comparison that surfaces most often among reviewers is Parfums de Marly Valaya, with the caveat that Tapis Rouge adds a distinct cherry and a marzipan-and-clove twist that Valaya does not have. Others place it near Gritti Duchessa. Both are family resemblances rather than reproductions, so buy it because the cherry-rose-vetiver combination appeals, not because you expect it to replace a specific bottle.

With only around 150 Fragrantica votes and a 3.99 average, it remains one of Afnan's lesser-known releases, which cuts both ways: you are unlikely to smell it on anyone else, but you also have fewer opinions to lean on before buying. For a fruity floral with a genuinely unusual dry-down, it deserves more attention than it gets.