Cocoa Wood vs Forbidden
Notes, accords, longevity, sillage, seasons and community ratings, side by side.
34%scent match
Clearly different
Quick verdict
Which one should you pick?
Forbidden takes 4 of 5 categories.
Cocoa WoodChoose it for a warm spicy and oud character. Wins on sillage & projection. Best in fall, evening wear.
ForbiddenChoose it for a sweet and vanilla character. Wins on ratings & consensus, longevity and value for money. Best in winter.
Cocoa Wood1/5
Forbidden4/5
- Ratings & consensus
- Forbidden
- Community sentiment
- Not scored
- Longevity
- Forbidden
- Sillage & projection
- Cocoa Wood
- Value for money
- Forbidden
- Versatility
- Not scored
- Note pyramid (duration)
- Not scored
- Fragranxe ranking
- Forbidden
Head-to-head breakdown
Every category side by side, with the winner called out.
Fragrance
Cocoa WoodAjmalForbiddenAaron Terence HughesWinner
Ratings & consensus
Average rating and ownership split3.64/ 5 · 11 votes
Have 4%Had 0%Want 96%
4.29/ 5 · 310 votes
Have 45%Had 9%Want 47%
Category winnerForbiddenRating weighted by vote count
Community sentiment
How voters split from love to hate64%Love
0%Like
0%Ok
9%Dislike
27%Hate
11 votes · too few to score
67%Love
18%Like
8%Ok
2%Dislike
6%Hate
120 votes
Category winnerNot enough dataMost positive mix (25+ votes)
Longevity & sillage
0–100 community performance scores
Category winners
LongevityForbidden
SillageCocoa Wood
Value for money
How fairly priced voters find itCategory winnerForbiddenBest value score
Main accords
Strength of each scent family · outlined = shared by bothwarm spicy100%
oud92%
sweet84%
cacao77%
fruity69%
amber61%
sweet100%
vanilla92%
citrus84%
warm spicy77%
cherry69%
chocolate61%
Scent match34%Clearly different · both sweet and warm spicy
Note pyramid (duration)
Top, heart and base, with how long each lasts when known · gold = sharedTop
SaffronStrawberryRaspberryPlumBlackcurrantGingerBergamot
Heart
JasmineRoseGeranium
Base
OudIncenseCacaoChocolateSandalwoodMuskVanilla
Top
ChocolateOrangeBergamot
Heart
VanillaCherryTonka Bean
Base
RumRoseOudPatchouliSandalwoodWhite MuskAmbergris
InformationalShared notesBergamot, Rose, Oud and Chocolate. Note durations are not published for these fragrances, so this is not scored.
Seasons & time of day
Relative to each fragrance's best seasonSpring50
Summer50
Fall100
Winter100
Day75
Night100
Spring56
Summer17
Fall93
Winter100
Day–
Night–
Category winnerNot enough dataMost year-round
Who wears it
Gender appeal votesInformationalProfile onlyAudience is not scored
Ranking & credits
Fragranxe overall rank, nose and launchOverall rank#62,777
PerfumerNot listed
Launched—
Reviews0
Overall rank#495
PerfumerNot listed
Launched—
Reviews84
Category winnerForbiddenHigher overall rank
In a nutshell
Description & review snapshotAjmal Cocoa Wood is a bold fruity gourmand with a warm, spicy lift up top and a darker, smoky woods base. It opens with saffron, ginger and a mixed berry-plum sweetness, then moves into a floral heart before settling into chocolate-cacao, oud, incense and vanilla. If you like sweet, resinous scents with a noticeable o…
Reviews →Forbidden is a rich cherry gourmand with a proper chocolate-orange opening, then a bakewell-style cherry and vanilla centre that reads like warm pastry on skin. As it dries down, rum, woods, musky ambergris and a smooth, low-funk oud give it a darker, more grown-up finish. It wears bold and dessert-like, but many peo…
Reviews →InformationalRead bothTaste is personal
How we score: ratings blend public fragrance ratings with Fragranxe member votes; longevity, sillage, value and sentiment are community vote scores, and season bars are relative to each fragrance's strongest season. Categories with too little data are shown but not scored. The scent match weighs accord overlap (60%) and shared notes (40%). More in the FAQ.
Guided comparison
Ask about this matchup
Get a practical answer grounded in the fragrances currently selected.
Recent comparisons
Head-to-head activity from live history
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Common questions
Straight answers from the data above.
Which is better, Cocoa Wood or Forbidden?
Forbidden takes 4 of 5 categories. Cocoa Wood is rated 3.64/5 from 11 votes; Forbidden is rated 4.29/5 from 310 votes. Choose Cocoa Wood for a warm spicy and oud character. Wins on sillage & projection. Best in fall, evening wear. Choose Forbidden for a sweet and vanilla character. Wins on ratings & consensus, longevity and value for money. Best in winter.
Which lasts longer, Cocoa Wood or Forbidden?
Forbidden lasts longest (Forbidden 89/100, Cocoa Wood 75/100), based on community performance votes.
Which projects more, Cocoa Wood or Forbidden?
Cocoa Wood projects furthest (Cocoa Wood 84/100, Forbidden 80/100), based on community performance votes.
Do Cocoa Wood and Forbidden smell similar?
Clearly different: a 34% scent match on Fragranxe. Both share sweet and warm spicy accords. Common notes include Bergamot, Rose, Oud and Chocolate.
Is Cocoa Wood or Forbidden better for summer or winter?
Cocoa Wood suits evening wear. Based on community season votes.
What are the notes in Cocoa Wood and Forbidden?
Cocoa Wood has top notes of Saffron, Strawberry, Raspberry and Plum, heart notes of Jasmine, Rose and Geranium, a base of Oud, Incense, Cacao and Chocolate. Forbidden has top notes of Chocolate, Orange and Bergamot, heart notes of Vanilla, Cherry and Tonka Bean, a base of Rum, Rose, Oud and Patchouli.
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