Tar
Tar by Miguel Matos is a dense sweet smoke fragrance built around licorice, star anise, rum, caramel, woods, oud, tobacco and animalic musk. It opens dark and spicy, then settles into a sticky, smoky sweetness that can feel like black honey, melted licorice and warm pavement after summer heat. This is not a quiet everyday fresh scent. It suits people who enjoy.
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Performance Metrics
360 VOTESOpen Performance Breakdown 1 TAKE
The performance votes suggest a powerful fragrance. Longevity is most often placed in long lasting to eternal territory, while sillage is frequently rated strong or enormous. In practical terms, Tar can stay noticeable for a long time and may project heavily, so one or two sprays are likely enough for many wearers.
Notes Pyramid
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Tar opens with a dark licorice and star anise bite, lightly lifted by aldehydes, pineapple and bergamot. The heart turns smoky and boozy with rum, warm spice and herbal edges, then dries down into caramel, opoponax, coffee, oud, tobacco, musk, patchouli and animalic warmth. The overall feel is sweet, smoky, dense, spicy and blackened rather than fresh or airy.
Main Accords
13 MAPPEDThe main accords behave as a dark sweet smoke structure. Sweetness comes first through licorice, caramel, rum, tonka and resin, while soft spice and anise give the opening a cool, aromatic bite. Smoke, oud, tobacco, coffee and patchouli add darkness and texture. The fresh and aldehydic facets seem to lift the composition, but they do not make it light.
Community Data
281 TOTAL VOTESCOMMUNITY SENTIMENT
OWNERSHIP STATS
GENDER APPEAL
REVIEW SENTIMENT
When to Wear
TAP TO VOTETIME OF DAY · TAP TO VOTE
OCCASIONS · TAP TO VOTE
It looks easiest to wear in winter and fall. The vote picture leans most toward night.
Pros & Cons
Quick take before you sampleWHY PEOPLE MAY LIKE IT
Distinctive sweet smoky identity
Strong licorice and anise character
Dense caramelized dry-down
Good fit for cooler weather
Strong projection potential
Long lasting wear potential
Interesting boozy smoke effect
Unisex with a darker edge
Memorable niche concept
Useful for evening wear
WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR
Not a safe blind buy
Anise can be polarising
May feel too sweet for some
Smoke can be heavy indoors
Projection may overwhelm
Likely too dense for hot weather
Animalic base may not suit everyone
Not ideal for conservative offices
Fresh notes do not make it fresh
Can feel challenging if you prefer clean scents
Fragranxe Review
EDITORIAL“Tar Miguel Matos Review”
Tar by Miguel Matos is a fragrance with a very direct idea behind it. Miguel Matos describes a childhood memory of watching hot tar being spread on summer pavement, then imagining that smell as something darker, sweeter and more fantastical. The perfume follows that brief closely. It is smoky, sweet, woody, dense and caramelized, but it does not behave like a simple asphalt novelty.
The opening is led by licorice and star anise, with aldehydes, pineapple, bergamot and rosewood listed around them. On skin, the useful thing to know is that the fresh notes do not turn Tar into a bright fragrance. They give lift to a black, sweet, spicy start, more like sharp air cutting through melted licorice than a citrus opening. The anise character is important, so anyone who dislikes that cool, herbal candy tone should be cautious.
As it develops, smoke and rum move forward. Cinnamon, oregano, lavender, lily-of-the-valley and ylang-ylang add complexity, but the heart is better understood as boozy, smoky spice rather than a floral aromatic center. The fragrance can feel thick and unusual, with a warm resinous quality that keeps pulling it back toward the image of black honey and hot pavement.
The dry-down is where Tar becomes most substantial. Caramel, opoponax, coffee, oud, animalic notes, tonka bean, tobacco, musk and patchouli create a heavy base with sweetness, resin, wood, smoke and a faintly dirty undertone. It is not a clean caramel gourmand. The sweetness is dark, sticky and smoked, with tobacco and oud giving it more weight.
Performance appears to be one of Tar's strengths. The available votes lean toward long lasting to eternal longevity and strong to enormous sillage. That matches the note structure. This is a perfume to spray with restraint, especially indoors, in warm weather, or around people who are sensitive to heavy sweet smoke.
Tar is best treated as a statement fragrance for cooler weather, evening wear and personal enjoyment rather than a default daily scent. It is compelling if you want something sweet, smoky, resinous, anisic and a little animalic. It is also polarising by design. Sample first if your taste usually runs clean, fresh, transparent or traditionally elegant.
FAQs
What does Tar by Miguel Matos smell like?+
Tar smells sweet, smoky, spicy and dark. The most important impression is licorice and star anise over smoke, rum, caramel, woods, oud, tobacco and musky animalic notes. It can suggest melted black candy, burnt sugar, warm resin and hot pavement.
Is Tar by Miguel Matos unisex?+
Yes. Tar is presented as a fragrance for women and men, and the voting pattern also supports a mainly unisex profile with some masculine lean. Its sweetness keeps it from feeling strictly masculine, while the smoke, oud, tobacco and animalic base give it a darker edge.
When was Tar by Miguel Matos launched?+
Tar was launched in 2019.
Who created Tar by Miguel Matos?+
Tar was created by Miguel Matos.
Is Tar a safe blind buy?+
No, sampling is the better route. Tar has a clear niche personality: sweet licorice, smoky rum, oud, tobacco, caramel and animalic musk. If you dislike anise, heavy sweetness, smoke or unusual dark accords, it may be too much.
How strong is Tar by Miguel Matos?+
The available performance votes point to strong wear. Longevity is often rated long lasting to eternal, and sillage is commonly rated strong to enormous, so it is best applied carefully.
Does Tar smell like actual road tar?+
It is inspired by the smell and look of hot tar, but the perfume is more stylized than literal. The brand note describes a fantasy of tar as smoky, sweet, woody, dense and caramelized, with a black honey or melted licorice feeling.
Is Tar more sweet or smoky?+
Both are central, but the accord data puts sweetness first, followed closely by soft spice, smoke and anise. In wear, that means the smoke is wrapped in licorice, caramel, rum and resin rather than feeling dry or ashy alone.
What seasons suit Tar best?+
Tar looks best suited to fall and winter, with some spring wear if applied lightly. The sweet, smoky, spicy and resinous profile can feel heavy in hot weather.
Is Tar better for day or night?+
The voting pattern leans night. Its dense sweetness, smoke, rum, oud and tobacco make it easier to place in evening settings than in bright, close daytime situations.
Rankings
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Dupes & Alternatives
COMMUNITY DUPESCOREThe supplied evidence does not support a confident one-to-one dupe claim. Instead of buying Tar as a substitute for another perfume, compare it within the broader family of smoky gourmands, licorice fragrances, boozy woods and dark resinous niche scents. If you mainly want a clean tobacco, a dry oud or a simple caramel fragrance, Tar may be too anisic and smoky.
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