Hard Candy 2022

Version from 2022
7.9 / 10 49 Ratings
A popular perfume by Aaron Terence Hughes for women and men, released in 2022. The scent is sweet-gourmand. Projection and longevity are above-average. The production was apparently discontinued.
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Main accords

Sweet
Gourmand
Fruity
Woody
Creamy

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
LavenderLavender LemonLemon Mandarin orangeMandarin orange MintMint OrangeOrange
Heart Notes Heart Notes
VanillaVanilla HoneyHoney NutmegNutmeg StrawberryStrawberry Tonka beanTonka bean
Base Notes Base Notes
OudOud PatchouliPatchouli SandalwoodSandalwood

Perfumer & Creative Guidance

Ratings
Scent
7.949 Ratings
Longevity
8.546 Ratings
Sillage
8.346 Ratings
Bottle
7.649 Ratings
Value for money
7.239 Ratings
Submitted by Svartir, last update on 10/09/2025.

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Reviews

5 in-depth fragrance descriptions
TheeWizard

1 Review
TheeWizard
TheeWizard
4  
Hard candy is really special
In my opinion it is one of the best smelling fragrances on the market.
It is unlike anything I have smelt before.

Starts off this beautiful sweet citrus and mint then changes into this sensual and addictive slight wood sweet smell. It's pretty hard to describe..
Serious compliment getter!!!!!!
I hope this house gets bigger and bigger and I am so excited to try all the ATH fragrances.
0 Comments
Pablitos22

5 Reviews
Pablitos22
Pablitos22
1  
Nothing to doubt...
Are you able to get a bottle? Dont hesitate, there is no doubt you will like it...spiced, creamy but fresh and sweet but not gourmand is what I get from this. Maybe a designer scent but with much more quality and excellent performance. The main problem is that it is difficult to get and bottles in the second hand market are now extremely expensive... but if you are able to get one, go for it, you wont regreat it.
0 Comments
xtermn8

168 Reviews
xtermn8
xtermn8
0  
A very iconic, well loved gourmand.
Personal: 7.5/10 - I like the concept, but this just feels like a sugar rush in a bottle. It's too sweet to be a love, but it's interesting enough for me to like it.
Mass appeal: 7.5/10 – Sweet, fruity, and loud. People will enjoy catching a whiff of it, but it’s so candy-coated that it might come across juvenile.
Performance: 8/10 – Surprisingly strong. The sweetness hangs around longer than I’d expect, which is both impressive and a bit exhausting.
Value: 4.5/10 – ATH pricing always stretches justification. For a fragrance that leans so synthetic and playful, the niche markup feels unjustified.
Uniqueness: 7/10 – Sweet gourmands aren’t rare, but this has a sharper, more artificial candy vibe that does make it stand out in the crowd, for better or worse.

SCORE: 69/100

Full bottle buy? NO, fun for samples, but not a bottle I’d reach for often, and given the price...
Blind buy? NO, too polarizingly sweet and artificial, better to test first.
Recommend? YES, if you like over-the-top candy gourmands, you’ll have fun.
Date night? NO, unless your date is Willy Wonka, but I'd be concerned for your safety if you wore this.
Office safe? NO, nobody wants to smell cotton candy clouds in a meeting.

Pros: Playful and unique candy vibe, great performance, fun to sample.
Cons: Too sweet to be versatile, niche price doesn’t match the DNA, leans synthetic, cloying.

Hard Candy is a bag of brightly colored artificially fruity sweets with strange woody undertones and an imposed sense of complexity. Look, I think if you slapped a Juicy Couture label on this, it would be a remarkably complex and wonderful fragrance from a designer brand, but not entirely surprising. This just doesn't feel like a niche fragrance to me, but that's how I feel about anything remotely cloying or synthetically sweet. The fun factor is undeniable, though. It’s a reminder that perfumery doesn’t always have to be serious or brooding. Still, for the price, I’d rather reach for something that balances sweetness with depth.

It's an almost niche toothache in a bottle. Very hard to justify the price, but the fun factor with this fragrance is higher than I would've expected.

Review #157 in my fragrance journey – this fragrance I own as a decant
0 Comments
Ischgelroi

289 Reviews
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Ischgelroi
Ischgelroi
Helpful Review 13  
Misfortune all around...
I have already written a statement about Hard Candy, but the mostly positive to very positive reviews have led me to test Hard Candy again. I just wanted to take some more time for this fragrance to see if I was being too critical.

Unfortunately, I have to say that my aversion to Hard Candy has increased rather than decreased. The reasons for this are manifold.

1: The scent really smells very chemical, and anyone who knows other high-quality brands that use more natural ingredients can confirm this.

2: The scent really strongly resembles Ambroxan. This completely overwhelms most of the other notes because Ambrox is like a dense cloud hovering over everything.

3: The strawberry smells more like a cheap E-shisha liquid, just terrible.

4: The fragrance seems completely randomly put together. The synthetics are battling against themselves, and in the end, Ambroxan wins.

5: I really don't smell a gourmand fragrance here.

6: The scent feels so arbitrary and simply fails to stick in my mind. It really reminds me of cheap sweet fragrances under 10€.

7: What has been done to the Oud? I simply smell nothing of the 5% Oud. The noble Oud has been completely destroyed and blocked by the chemical disaster surrounding it.
I just can't discern a progression here; Hard Candy simply smells of: Ambroxan, E-shisha, vanilla (chemical), and honey. The whole thing lasts about 10 hours before Hard Candy is no longer perceivable. The sillage is also good to very good.

Unfortunately, I can't find anything good in this fragrance at all. I feel like Aaron has just released unfinished fragrances in an inflationary manner.
3 Comments
Lauser93

1199 Reviews
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Lauser93
Lauser93
2  
A Beautiful Fruity Fragrance
I really enjoyed "Hard Candy (2022) | Aaron Terence Hughes." The performance is also impressive. The longevity on my skin is over 12 hours with a successful sillage.

The top note starts off exceptionally sweet, fruity, berry-like, floral, and slightly citrusy thanks to mandarins, strawberries, oranges, lemon peels, and lavender. In the background, a refreshing and aquatic mint resonates. The heart note remains sweet with gourmand and creamy hints of forest honey, bourbon vanilla, tonka beans, and benzoin. The base is oriental-spicy, balsamic, and woody with notes of oud, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and sandalwood.

Yes, I really liked "Hard Candy (2022) | Aaron Terence Hughes." I would like to thank Nick once again for the many samples.
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Statements

16 short views on the fragrance
5
Aarons hard candy really is a special fragrance. It is so addictive, I can't stop smelling it. Can't wait to try all his range.Andorian is a purehater
0 Comments
4
1
One of the worst perfumes I have ever smelled! A huge amount of musk and a bit of fruitiness... Feminine-leaning perfume.
1 Comment
3
Smells like something you’d find in the “le male” lineup of fragrances. It’s very sweet, immature and synthetic smelling.
0 Comments
3 years ago
3
Opens up sweet & fruity followed up by spicy vanilla tonka combo in the mid and sweet light earthy patchouli dry down. I dont get much oud
0 Comments
3 years ago
1
Sweet, fruity, chocolatey, playful bad boy. Monstrous projection! Reminds me a little of Forbidden. Great scent :)
0 Comments
1
Been addicted to this one. Like a citrusy and sweeter ATH Daddy. Wouldn't have been shocked if it was a flanker of Daddy. My favorite ATH.
0 Comments
6
1
Too much synthetic. Smells like a chemistry lab. Typical Ambroxan base from ATH. Could have really been a nice gourmand.
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1 Comment
6
3
No one dares? Okay, here’s my statement. Hard Candy smells to me like Axe - "Dark Temptation." Of course, I mean that positively.
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3 Comments
3
1
Unfortunately, there's less Oud than hoped for; it’s dominated by sugary notes of strawberry, vanilla, and honey. The Thai Oud adds just...
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1 Comment
3
A bit of chocolate, a bit of sweetness, all in harmony with oud. It starts with a hint of shower gel vibes, yet it's a lovely scent.
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