ScentToolbox

I am on the hunt for my personal holy grail tobacco fragrance and while researching the note of tobacco I came across the tantalizingly unique note profile of Fan your Flames from the highly regarded house of Nishane.

This is my first Nishane and was a total blind buy and as many have already stated, FYF is definitely not a safe blind buy. But before I was even able to get my nose on the scent I was very impressed by the packaging and unboxing experience that Nishane puts together and after my tobacco hunt cools down I am looking forward to further exploring this gorgeous house.

FYF immediately stood out to me due to the unique note combination of coconut and tobacco, both of which sit atop my favourite notes in perfumery. This alone was enough for me to smash the Add to Cart button and before long I had the first sprays of this firey fragrance on my wrist.

The opening is by far my favourite part of this fragrance. You are blasted with a warm and boozy toasted coconut. This is not a typical sunscreeny coconut but rather one that has been kissed by open flames and left to smolder. It's not smokey but warm, resinous and although slightly sweet, that sweetness is overpowered by a peppery herbaceousness. This opening is intense and projects well but despite its warmth, I strongly believe that the opening suits every season well. There is enough beachy campfire and coconut to capture the allure of the summer while also being paired with a comforting and boozy warmth that easily cuts through the cold winter air. Though the notes of tobacco and coconut initially seem like they would clash fairly strongly, there is no cacophony of competing notes trying to out loud the other. The blend is at its best in the opening and every note is incredibly well balanced and this allows FYF to appear effortlessly classy in spite of a more casual scent profile.

Like many great things, this does not last. Before I speak about my personal issues with the drydown I want to say that FYF's drydown is fairly linear, the overall scent profile really doesn't change much between initial spray and 10 hours in. The coconut fades into the background and the tobacco in the base becomes more prominent but besides that, all the notes remain more or less the same. However... the way that these notes combine with each other and the way the blend develops does not do this fragrance any favors. The well balanced nature I spoke of earlier does not remain for the entire life of this fragrance and on my skin, every note degrades and falls out of harmony the farther I get from the initial spray. What starts out as a warm, toasted coconut becomes a dirty, fleshy, sticky mess on my skin. It's as though some really cheap sugary coconut liquer was spilled onto an expensive cigar and the resulting liquid was left to dry on my skin. I really can't bring myself to appreciate this drydown no matter how many times I've tested this fragrance. It genuinely makes my skin feel like it hasn't been washed in days. The tobacco is there but it's mutated by this stale and sweaty syrupiness from the degradation of the top notes.

At its best, FYF projects a carefree confidence and makes me feel like I'm simultaneously vacationing in the tropics while also being inside a fancy humidor as winter winds pelt the outside of the room. The opening is truly a work of art and every single time I experience this I tell myself that this fragrance is a masterpiece and THIS is the time that the drydown will be different. Unfortunately that time hasn't come.

Despite my distaste for the drydown, I can't bring myself to rate FYF any lower than a 7.5. The opening is absolutely incredible and impeccably unique and I hope one day that the rest of this fragrances life will grow on me because it's clear that Nishane put a lot of work into crafting this scent. It may very well be a skin chemistry issue but it's an issue that makes FYF very difficult to wear for more than a few hours without feeling dirty. I wish I could get more from this fragrance, I can't overstate how captivating its opening is and it leaves me wanting more every time I wear this.

Since becoming interested in perfumery there was one note that captured my attention the most... tobacco. While I can't pinpoint the exact reason that this is the the note that calls out to me the loudest, I am certain that it's in part to the versatility of its scent profile (earthy, sweet, or smokey) and also in part due to how cool, dark, mysterious and old school it can be! So I set out on a mission to discover my tobacco scented holy grail and of course this journey lead to me getting my nose on one of the most talked about and beloved tobacco fragrances in existence... Herod.

I first sampled herod when I purchased the PDM discovery set and initially I was very underwhelmed. I expected to smell a spicier, sophisticated and darker take on Tobacco Vanille but what I got was something far more muted than expected. I could tell that this was well blended but nothing about it immediately jumped out at me that made me see why Herod is as beloved as it is. I told myself to give it some time on my skin and let it develop before I write the fragrance off completely but after 90 minutes I could not even detect it on my hand! I was annoyed and let down but there was an allure to it... something about it that just made me want to try it again. There was an unmistakable smoothness to it that
I needed to experience again resprayed the following day and applied 2 sprays to my wrist instead of 1 and to my surprise this significantly improved it's volume and aroma. This time, instead of looking for a smokier version of TV, I let Herod speak to me in it's own way, and what I discovered absolutely blew me away. I soon used up the full sample and had a full bottle on the way the following week (2023 batch).

Herod opens with a blast of spicy, powdery cinnamon infused tobacco. Initially this opening can be peppery and off-putting but the more I spend with it, the more addictive it becomes and now I'm at the point where Herod's opening is my favourite part of the fragrance. Within 5 minutes sweetness from the vanilla and florals start to open up and these stay warm and constant throughout the entire length of the drydown. But this is where my issue now lies, the longevity...

Herod is not a loud fragrance. I wouldn't even say it has any volume at all beyond the first hour or so. While the drydown remains on my skin for ~8-10 hours, it fails to project even slightly above the skin. Most of Herod's smoothness and beauty will not be experienced by those around you after the first hour. However the more times I wear this, the more I accept that this is okay. This is not a potent, macho and intense tobacco, this is a smooth, subtle, blended to near perfection, intimate tobacco meant to be enjoyed mainly by the one wearing it.

The more time I spend with Herod the more I learn to appreciate what it is. I'm not good at describing fragrances and their notes. I am sure this will come with more experience but I am good at describing how they make me feel. People often say that "Carlisle | Parfums de Marly" is the fragrance batman would wear and if that's true, then Herod is what he would wear on his day off. Herod excels in being a high quality scent that whispers laid back sophistication. There's an unmistakable classiness here but it's not a formal, black tie event type of classy. This makes me feel like a million dollar man donning a comfortable and warm smoking jacket with a day full of relaxation and cool weather ahead of me. While I often see this described as a date night fragrance and as much as I see how that fits, I see Herod as a day off fragrance. The type of scent you wear when the hard work is done and you are ready to sit back and reap the rewards you have sewn throughout the week. This is more royalty levels of classy as opposed to CEO levels of classy. Warm, relaxing and sweet while still being dark, hazy and alluring.

This would be the holy grail of tobacco fragrances for me if it performed better but damn is it ever good.

While Ombre Leather is not the easiest fragrance to pull off, what it brings to the table definitely offsets these difficulties. An explosion of new-car leather aggressively leads the way before slowly unfolding into a harmonious balance of sweet florals, smokey woods and warm spices.

This stuff projects like crazy during the opening but mellows out over time. I get between 1-3 hours of heavy projection and 12-16 hours total on my skin. I find that it also lasts for eons on clothes.

I can't recommend this for everyone due to how aggressive and divisive the leather note in this fragrance can be and in my opinion this is one of those scents that you need to build an outfit around. It's formal, confident and classy and this profile can clash with many casual looks and personalities. Despite its warmth, Ombre Leather feels darker and while not necessarily mysterious, it almost creates an aura of untouchability that sets its wearer apart from those around them, not in an alienating way per se but rather in an elevating way. You will be noticed wearing this, you will feel distinguished wearing this but you will also carry the weight of that attention as this scent paints its wearer in that distinguished, confident light.

This is the type of fragrance that will leave a lasting impression, for better or for worse.