Olfactory Digressions - Fum Bravanariz 2019

The highest amount of birch tar per milliliter. Definitely, you can smell, an IFRA-free piece of art, as the brand itself guarantees. Sticky smoke, dark, thick, with additions of notes that do not change the character of birch tar, but adds rounding, e.g. unlike sour Rake&Ruin. Masculine, comfortable, of European molecules blackness.

"… Life was feeling good
At that old cabin in the woods.."

It had so much beauty, this place, she thought as she entered the old wooden cabin.
The cabin was nestled in the wild, green part of the forest.
She pushed the old windows open to let in the spicy scent of juniper, which mingled softly with the fresh green, slightly bitter notes of the surrounding ferns and shrubs.
Through the breeze that now flowed into the cabin through the open windows, the smell of smoke from the old, charred chimney grew stronger.
How often had she sat in front of it as a child, painting pictures of the forest in the crackling of the fire.
Now she knelt before the cold black remnants of past fires.
The coal-black walls of the chimney still smelled strongly of smoke.
This awakened memories in her and made her smile.
She walked further into the room, the wood was warm from the sun. In some places, it oozed resinous sap from the old fibers, almost as if it were tears.
Tears of joy that she had found her way home again.
She took a deep breath of the scent of these wooden walls; it smelled balsamic, like dry resinous conifer.
In the small kitchen corner, she discovered a sticky spot; it was the dried juice of oranges.
She brushed over it, slightly bitter yet sweetly sticky on her finger.
How often had they pressed fresh orange juice while the morning fire already warmed the room.
She was always allowed to nibble on the leftover pulp from the peel.
Her fingers had the same slightly bittersweet scent as now.
Oh how she loved this old, creaky wooden cabin, with all its memories.
She decided to clean the chimney and then she would make a fire, enjoy the spicy smoke and the crackling of the dry wood, and bask in the flickering light of the fire, indulging in memories.
Oh yes, she would do that…
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Fum is a spicy smoky scent.
The smoke is very present from the very first moment and remains so until the end.
In between, bittersweet oranges peek through, but also dry, slightly resinous conifer wood.
There is also an association with light green forest notes that I cannot escape, right up to spicy juniper, especially at the beginning.
Over time, the smoke becomes more creaky (Chizza referred to it in his review as a "match note") and I perceive it similarly, as if the sulfur from the match head flares up.
It remains spicy and warm, accompanied by the woody notes, and the fine bitter orange note flashes through every now and then.
Yes, a truly wonderful smoke!

Song "Cabin in the Woods"
Canaan Smith

Bravanariz has dedicated itself to the immediate surroundings, meaning the plants, trees, and everything that is around Pontos, Catalonia. Pontos is located inland, and thus the landscape scents of the label are kept quite dry, told in a very authentic manner. Fum, on the other hand, belongs to the creations that have been crafted with more artistic freedom, which are not meant to adhere to guidelines but are conceived abstractly. I find this approach exciting, and so Fum found its way to me, incorporating the smoky elements I appreciate. The fragrance tells of a winter landscape by a warming campfire, of a meal of oranges at the same, opened with hands, symbolically not very civilized, and thus an equivalent to the rugged landscape.

In any case, it immediately smells of smoke, reminiscent for me of a gentle campfire, it could also be the smoke of a match. Here I must think of Incendo by La Curie. Soon, a dark premonition overtakes one that this cannot be it, although one knows that smoky scents of this kind are often monothematic. Fortunately, within thirty minutes, it becomes more multifaceted. Curiously, sometimes I perceive the orange here already, which, however, fades after a few minutes, while at other times I do not notice it at all at first.
Fum certainly becomes warmer, the small flickering flame on the verge of extinguishing ignites its power. It gets warm, the wood now smells more intense, and it is almost as if individual resin drops are hissing away in the fire, releasing a hint of complexity and depth.

One wonders how the orange is to be integrated, how a zesty-citrusy element fits into this scene? From a conservative perspective, not at all, and indeed the orange gradually emerges, peeling away. But not fresh, rather peeled, pale, in the drying process, more of a dull citrus scent, acting more like a kind of room fragrance. This now underscores the smoky woods. One associates more darkness by the campfire, only the sky provides a bit of light on the horizon.
All in all, a sympathetically appearing small label that does not stand out with new fragrances every month but even creates products around themes. This is remarkable, and Fum, the Catalan smoke, is a moderate olfactory hint from the Spaniards in terms of intensity. When it comes to the development of Fum, one can only choose terms like authenticity, richness of facets, and clarity.
Can comparisons be drawn with smoky forests or smoky woods or tar adorned with, for example, vanilla? Well, I believe that those who enjoy the end of the first batch of Birch Tar & Russian Leather or Cotswold in the second half will not be completely off here. I had already mentioned it above: it leans more towards Incendo, while Fum is more ambivalent for me.