Things We Never Shared
Extrait · 2022
Toskovat
Acquired
Poison
Note Profile
About
Poison is a fantasy accord. It is a bitter note, read as the bitter almond that folk and forensic tradition links to cyanide, laid over a dark fruit. Perfumers drop it into a sweet gourmand or a fruity floral so the composition reads as the poisoned version of something edible.
Scent Profile
Poison smells bitter, in the way of bitter almond, laid over a dark, unnamed fruit. A faint sweetness comes with it but stays well under the bitter side. It sits beneath the sweeter notes around it, as a quiet warning rather than a loud one.
ScentWheel
Breadthbroad
EnvelopeHeart · ~5h lasting
Read off the wheel, not a label applied to the note.
ScentArt
Seen in
Tap a perfume to see where Poison sits in it. The rest of the picture goes grey
Origin
No manufacturer sells a material called Poison. The accord is built by the perfumer. Hydrogen cyanide has a faint bitter-almond odour, and 20% to 40% of people cannot smell it. Benzaldehyde gives bitter almonds and cherry kernels a similar almond smell, and it is a normal perfumery material. Hydrogen cyanide is not. So a poison accord can borrow the almond idea, but not the poison itself.
Usage in Perfumery
The note appears in 10 listed perfumes (2026-10-10), most of them niche and fairy-tale or dessert themed. Toskovat' Things We Never Shared puts it in the heart beside sacher torte, plum jam, blackcurrant macaron and an almond and candied orange panettone. Mischief Academy's The Cursed Apple calls it a bitter accord, under red apple, rose and violet. Both use it as the bitter thing inside the sweet thing.
Similar Notes
Perfumes featuring Poison
A selection of reviewed perfumes where Poison appears prominently.