Lattafa New York The City of Dreams — Boozy Cherry Over a Proper Old-School Chypre
Cherry · Black Pepper · Nutmeg · Mimosa · Rose · Muguet · Cognac · Patchouli · Labdanum · Cedarwood · Oakmoss — 100ml Eau de Parfum, 100% authentic Lattafa, dispatched from the UK.
Cherry is having a moment in fragrance, and most of it is sweet — cherry over vanilla, cherry over tonka, cherry as dessert. Lattafa New York The City of Dreams does something considerably more interesting: it puts the cherry over a chypre, which is the oldest and driest structure in perfumery. Oakmoss, patchouli and labdanum underneath, cognac and rose in the middle, and juicy cherry with black pepper on top.
The result is a fragrance that opens like a cocktail and dries down like a tailored coat. It is the boldest thing in the Lattafa Pride cities line, and at £37.99 it is also one of the most expensive Lattafas we stock — which tells you where the house thinks it sits.
If you have been looking for New York The City of Dreams by Lattafa in the UK, this is the full-size 100ml Eau de Parfum, in stock and dispatched within 24 hours.
The Scent Pyramid at a Glance
Wear-tested at 2–3 sprays · autumn and winter evenings
Dark, syrupy cherry — closer to cherry liqueur or a black-cherry compote than a boiled sweet. Black pepper and nutmeg cut across it almost immediately, which stops the fruit turning candied. This is the phase that sells the bottle.
The grown-up bit. Cognac brings a warm, boozy edge that hands the cherry over to the flowers, and powdery mimosa with rose and muguet keeps it from ever reading as a gourmand. Retro in the best sense — this is where the fragrance stops smelling cheap and starts smelling composed.
A textbook chypre base, and the reason this lasts. Oakmoss brings the dry, faintly bitter green that defines the genre; patchouli brings earth; labdanum brings a sweet, ambery resin that ties the cherry back in; cedar keeps it upright. Dry, mossy and distinctly formal.
Lattafa New York The City of Dreams — Quick Specs
| Full name | Lattafa New York The City of Dreams Eau de Parfum |
| Concentration & size | 100ml EDP · 3.4 fl oz |
| Price | £37.99 — free tracked UK delivery |
| Line | Lattafa Pride — the premium cities collection |
| Fragrance family | Fruity Chypre · Woody |
| Best season | Autumn & Winter · evenings |
| Recommended sprays | 2–3 · it does not need help |
| Gender | Unisex — leans feminine on the cherry, masculine on the moss |
| Dupe of | Nothing specific — an original Lattafa Pride composition |
| Also listed as | New York The City of Dreams Lattafa · New York The City of Dreams Lattafa Perfumes · Lattafa New York The City of Dreams Perfume · Lattafa New York |
What It Actually Smells Like
One line: black cherry in a cocktail glass, set down on a mossy antique desk.
The first twenty minutes are the loudest and the fruitiest — dark cherry, pepper, a lick of nutmeg. Somewhere in the first hour the cognac arrives and the whole thing turns boozy and floral rather than fruity. By hour three the cherry has retreated to a stain rather than a note, and what is left is dry moss, earth and resin with a sweet edge. It smells expensive there, and it smells like a fragrance from another era.
Two honest warnings. Chypre is an acquired taste — oakmoss reads as “old-fashioned perfume” to some people, and if that is you, no amount of cherry on top will fix it. And this is not a crowd-pleaser the way a sweet cherry-vanilla would be. It is more interesting than that, which is not the same thing as more likeable.
Performance, Measured
Oakmoss, patchouli and labdanum are heavy base materials, and they behave exactly as you would expect: this is one of the longest-lasting fragrances in the range. Two sprays is genuinely enough — three if it is cold and you are out all evening.
Is It a Dupe of Anything?
No. New York The City of Dreams is an original Lattafa Pride composition, not a clone, and we would rather say so than attach a designer name to it for search traffic.
What it does have is a recognisable genre. Cherry-plus-chypre is a small, distinctive category — the fruit-over-moss structure is unusual enough that if you already love it, you will know immediately, and if you have never tried a chypre, this is an unusually approachable way in because the cherry does the introducing. If you want our honest position on which Lattafas genuinely are alternatives to designer bottles, the Lattafa dupes guide covers the whole range.
The Lattafa Pride Cities Line — Which One Suits You?
Pride is Lattafa’s premium tier, and the cities releases share the same navy-and-chrome presentation but smell nothing alike:
| Fragrance | Character | Best For | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York this one | Boozy cherry over dry oakmoss chypre | Autumn and winter evenings, the boldest of the set | £37.99 |
| London The City of Contrast | Citrus and ginger over tuberose and soft woods | Daytime, warmer weather, the quiet one | £37.99 |
| Love In Paris | Caramelised apple, maple and tonka — a full gourmand | Cold weather, sweet-tooth wearers | £37.99 |
| Pride Pisa | Citrus, cedar and amber — clean and woody | Office, year-round, the most versatile | £34.99 |
Short version: New York is the interesting one and Pisa is the safe one. If you are buying your first Pride and want to be noticed, start here. Browse every Lattafa unisex fragrance →
The Bottle & Box
This is the best presentation in the range, and a big part of what you are paying for. The bottle is a heavy matte navy rectangle with softly rounded shoulders and a domed polished chrome cap carrying the embossed Lattafa Pride torch emblem.
The front label is the detail worth seeing: a cream panel with a finely engraved Statue of Liberty, scattered navy and red stars and a few small clouds — “New York” in navy script above “THE CITY OF DREAMS” in red capitals, with 100ml e · EAU DE PARFUM · 3.4 FL.OZ along the bottom next to the Lattafa Pride mark.
It arrives in a rigid lift-off-lid box in the same textured navy, banded in silver, with the identical label on the front. It is genuinely gift-grade — closer to a £90 designer presentation than a £38 one, and the reason this sells as a present.
Who It’s For
- Buy it if you like your fruit dry rather than sweet, or if you have enjoyed a proper chypre before and want a modern one at a sane price.
- Buy it if you want strong longevity — the mossy base means this outlasts almost everything else in the range.
- Buy it if you are gifting. The navy-and-chrome box does a great deal of work.
- Skip it if you wanted a sweet cherry gourmand. Try Love In Paris instead — same line, same price, opposite fragrance.
- Skip it if oakmoss and patchouli read as “old-fashioned” to you.
Why Buy From Royal Scents
Every bottle is genuine Lattafa, sourced properly and stored in the UK. And you will notice we told you chypre is an acquired taste, that it isn’t a dupe of anything, and which fragrance in the same line to buy instead if sweet cherry is what you actually wanted — because we would rather sell you the right bottle than process your return.
| 🚚 Free tracked UK delivery | ↩️ 30-day returns | ⚡ Dispatched in 24 hours | ✅ 100% authentic |
Good to Know Before You Buy
- Two sprays, not four. The base materials are heavy and it projects properly for the first few hours. Over-applying a chypre is the classic mistake.
- Give it a rest if it arrives sharp. A few weeks settles the pepper and lets the labdanum come forward. More on maceration →
- It is a cold-weather fragrance. In a warm room the cherry and cognac can get heavy; in November it is exactly right.
- Test before committing if you can. Chypres divide people more than any other family — worth knowing which side you are on before you spend £37.99.
Lattafa New York The City of Dreams FAQs
What are the notes in Lattafa New York The City of Dreams?
Top notes are cherry, black pepper and nutmeg. The heart is mimosa, rose, muguet and cognac. The base is patchouli, labdanum, cedarwood and oakmoss — eleven notes in a fruity chypre structure.
Is New York The City of Dreams a dupe of another perfume?
No. It is an original composition from the premium Lattafa Pride line rather than a clone of a designer fragrance. Its cherry-over-chypre structure is distinctive enough that it stands on its own.
What does it smell like?
Dark, boozy cherry with pepper for the first half hour, then cognac and powdery florals, drying down into dry oakmoss, patchouli and sweet labdanum. Fruity at the start, formal and mossy by the end.
How long does it last?
Eight to ten hours on skin at two to three sprays, with the strongest projection in the first two to three hours. Longer than that on clothing.
Is it for men or women?
Unisex. The cherry and mimosa lean feminine, the oakmoss and patchouli lean masculine, and the balance works either way.
What does the bottle look like?
A heavy matte navy flacon with a domed polished chrome cap carrying the Lattafa Pride torch emblem, and a cream front label with an engraved Statue of Liberty, red and navy stars, and “New York — The City of Dreams”. It comes in a matching rigid navy box with a silver band.
Which Lattafa Pride city should I buy first?
New York if you want the boldest and most distinctive, Pisa if you want the most wearable, Love In Paris if you want a sweet gourmand, London if you want something light for daytime.
Is it worth £37.99?
It is one of the priciest Lattafas we stock, and the money goes on the base materials and the presentation. If you like chypres, yes — the longevity alone justifies it. If you are unsure about oakmoss, start with something cheaper in the range.
Written and assessed by Shaheen Shah Abrar, Founder of Royal Scents.
Shop Lattafa New York The City of Dreams 100ml EDP at Royal Scents — 100% authentic, with free UK delivery.
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