Description
“A brilliantly dark graphic novel, A City On Fire, is the story of two match-makers. Rupert literally fabricates matches in a factory on the waterfront while Frances writes a dating column for the city’s newspaper. Both are recluses who haunt the night’s shadows observing clandestine activities from afar but never partaking. That changes one fortuitous evening when they are both witness to the same high-profile murder and are forced to come together as an unlikely vigilante pair in order to save their own names.
Imaginary Authors developed this fragrance exclusively for Machus, a modern menswear retailer focused on forward concepts and clean classics in Portland’s Lower East Burnside neighborhood.”
NOTES: Cade oil, Spikenard, Cardamom, Clearwood, Dark Berries, Labdanum & Burnt Match. A City On Fire was launched in 2014. The nose behind this fragrance is Josh Meyer.
lunatik-x – :
This is trully a unique and magical fragrance. My first try from this house, thanks to a fellow fragrantica member who I traded to get samples from. So that this is my first impressions while my bottle is shipping.
It’s not a simple smoky fragrance. I don’t smell any birchtar. I don’t understand that association. But I traffic in smoky fragrances. And am an avid meat smoker. So saying smoky is too vague.
This is the strike of a match smell. Flinty, metallic, sparky, acrid, nose tingling, kind of smoky. It has an industrial, subway system, urban sootiness to it. Which, is not something, I would think of, by my own language, as smelling good. Except that I love that kind of flinty, gasoline, greasy smell, and so, I guess I’m just saying I could understand why YOU might not like it.
But underneath the flinty nose tingle. Is a richer texture of resin. And a surprising freshness of pine and juniper.
It’s a f’n brilliant composition. With a host of notes I’ve never smelled before together. It’s a smash fave for me. Can’t wait to wear it more when my bottle arrives.
4manuz – :
This started of smelling weird. Almost like if you were to smoke bacon with a mixture of spices and sugar on top for a nice glaze. 2 hours in this is 85% plum japonais. It has that smokey and sugary plum like accord that I find in the Tom Ford. I’m enjoying it!
vilka2179 – :
To me, it doesn’t smell that much like a burning fire, but more of a fire that has just ended. It’s probably the most smoky perfume I’ve tried yet. It’s bitter and oily and as it progresses, aromatic and spicy notes start to appear while the smoke dials down a bit. Here is where it also gets sweet and it reminds me of the way clothes smell after I’ve stood a long period near a fire; like smelling up close a sweater which blends the smoke with the perfume caught from the body.
After about 3 hours, it stays close to the skin and the sweetness reaches high levels, it gets resinous and has an amber quality. I could say that it has become more wearable, but I actually liked more the extreme smoke paired with the spicy aromatic notes from the start.
7.5/10
Spespequactes – :
There is one specific type of scent I’ve been longing to find in perfume:
the smell of a thick brown paper bag you can get from Guggenheim museum store.
Such a creamy, slightly sulfuric delight. The smell of thick books (probably parchment) in old library.
So far A City on Fire is the closest thing I get. But really, if you love this scent, go wear a paper bag : P
SconaWatoSart – :
So strange. I honestly expected MORE smoke. This is so tame on my skin which makes it perfectly wearable while out and about. I really like it. Bonfire smoke from a distance that doesn’t make your eyes water.
max_koll – :
A City on Fire is almost exactly like the scent of my boyfriend’s hair after a barbecue. Which is, by the way, my favorite scent on earth.
Once, I got a burnt plastic note. If the plastic note doesn’t show up on my boyfriend, and if he’s ever interested in owning a fragrance, this is my first suggestion. Mmm…
Fedoroff – :
I don’t care for this one. I appreciate the originality of it thought.
Xeroxzqcoy – :
This really does smell like a campfire. Like if you wore the same sweatshirt to twenty bonfires in a row where somehow the breeze managed to always be blowing the smoke in your face, no matter where you were sitting. If you never washed the sweatshirt for some reason, it would smell like A City on Fire. It’s cool that ACoF exists, but I was so preoccupied with whether or not I could smell like concentrated campfire smoke that I didn’t stop to think if I should smell like concentrated campfire smoke. The answer is no, I should not.
Update: After an hour, ACoF was still so strong on my skin that it was making me a little nauseous, so I tried wiping it off with isopropyl alcohol. I can still smell it but now it’s only as strong as five campfires, which is actually very pleasant. So that’s an option, I guess.
Earnewsdenbew – :
یک عطر دودی بسیار جذاب و با کیفیت
رایحه دودی و سنگین است اما بوی کبریت و گوگرد نمیدهد و زیباست
———–
Scent & Qualiy: 9/10
Longevity: 9/10
Sillage: 8/10
Creativity & Uniqueness: 9/10
Affordability: 4/10
———–
Overall: 7.8/10
erigo – :
The perfect campfire scent. It’s loaded with cade and birch tar which is EXACTLY what I wanted. Lasting power is pretty considerable, too!
maslomobilukraingood – :
I have been thinking about this perfume for ages but never bought a sample online. Finally today I wandered into my local apothecary and they’re finally carrying it! I sampled a paper, and put some on my hand to experience.
The reason I was seeking this frag was for its smoky reputation – I have been searching far and wide for a campfire-in-you-hair scent. However I was discouraged after finding loads of smoky scents that would be too meaty, leathery, or patchouli, or counter with sweetness, vanilla, resins, or green notes. I really wanted that sharp burn (that I’d appropriately refer to the sulfur when you light a match). I termed it by “a fragrance dupe for Diptyque’s Feu du Bois”. I want something accurate to a campfire to serve as a warm weather scent for Texas summers…
First impression: On paper you smell the birch tar strong – a strong meat/bbq impression. However, when I put it on my hand, the dry down took the meat with it, and I was left with the dry incense that really portrays wood smoke to me.
I’m pretty sure this is exactly what I’ve been looking for.
So if you are looking for sharp dry fire – not too dry (spice/pepper) or too wet (barbeque), I’d say give this a try.
Sillage: fairly strong for the first hour, but a skin scent aftewards.
Longevity: its been about 8 hours now and it is medium-faint on my hand (washed a couple times)
Reminds me of: Diptyque’s Feu du Bois candle
Update: I’ve worn this fragrance for a few weeks now and the berries have really come forward in my sense of it. The juniper as well adds a sort of waxy lightness that makes it sit in the back of the mouth before the drydown.
alixxx – :
Here’s a big compliment: this smells like an Amouage. All you need to know
vitaly5 – :
This smells like you’ve been to a bonfire or campfire. While very interesting as a fragrance composition, it is not wearable, unfortunately. Even the dry-down after a few hours is nothing to write home about. If you like to smell like fire, this is a good choice. If you like the smell of smoke, this is a good choice. However, you would have to be a pretty bold person to wear this out in public. It’s not as bad as Bull’s Blood by the same creator, but it is also weird and not really wearable.
kukun100 – :
Imaginary Authors “A City On Fire” is a resinous, herbaceous, lightly smoked and wonderfully spiced scent. Cardamom is the dominant spice. A touch of Juniper provides a freshness while Spikenard adds an earthy warmth. A dash of dark berries provides a light touch of sweetness while Labdanum keep things from getting too dry. While the smoke is a main player here it is never dominate. Smoke works to support all the other notes.
This long lasting, wonderfully blended and very original unisex scent is warm and cozy and for anyone brave enough to wear originality.
crersnoff – :
Smells like BBQ sauce on a burger that’s been smoked with applewood chips.
mitrij48 – :
A City on Fire on my skin is spicy, very smoky, heavy on the incense. It reminds me strongly of traditional Buddhist temples, where burning incense sticks smoulder inside these great halls lined with great wooden pillars. When you spend an afternoon in these halls, you will leave with your hair and clothes filled with this smell.
Immediately after applying, there’s a brightness that disappears in a few minutes, which must be the ‘burnt match’ simulation, but it smells nothing like sulfur. I also don’t get the comparison with a bonfire — there’s no dampness, no green-ness, or sweetness.
Great longevity, and the sillage is impressive.
A few hours later, the incense still burns true, but some woody creaminess is more apparent. Maybe a Buddhist temple on fire.
DIMIKSS – :
This one is very interesting and challenging. For me, it start it’s life on my skin as a very smoked salmon.
After a few hours, the dried salmon gives way to dry fruity smell. No hint of sweetness anywhere, and smoked salmon is always in the background and never lets go.
What smells like dried fruits seems to have dirty rose like scent, but I cant describe it.
It projects and quickly fills the room for the first 30mins.
I have only worn this a few times, and I keep getting whiffs, though fleeting, of stuff my scent memory recognizes, but cant identify.
I like it because it keeps me coming back to it to figure it out, or maybe it’s best for the mystery…
I get good longevity, about 6 hours, but it’s a skin scent after about the first 3, but if someone gets very close, they can smell it.
I really need to live with this longer before buying a bottle, but you guys need to check this out.
Very unique.
olesmax7 – :
You’re making a fire with your loved ones. Logs in the fireplace for a night in, or wild branches from the woods for a campfire, or thick trunks for a huge bonfire on the farm. You’re transfixed by the flames, with crickets and cicadas thrushing in the distance and the woodsmoke passing over you as the winds change. You hear the pops and crackles and chase the flying embers with your gaze. Your wife cuddles you on the couch and you can faintly smell the last moments of that berry cologne she put on that morning. Your grandparents open up some homemade berry pies over on the park bench at the campsite. Your friends and family pass around fresh berries that they picked that morning on the farm. Before you know it, it’s the next day and you’re waking early. You can’t help but bury your nose into those warm clothes that you had fallen asleep in, and you’re left smiling at the lingering woodsmoke as you remember the intimate moments from the night before. A City On Fire by Imaginary Authors.
SK12051980 – :
1st hour this is a strong smokey fragrance with strong sillage, but after that it becomes more of a skin scent, which was disappointing. The drydown brings out more of the berries and flowers but the smokiness is still there but quickly faded after the 1st hour. Not a bad fragrance but for me has performance issues. Received as a free sample, I won’t be buying but would have considered if the longevity were better.
yondame – :
Triage at a burn unit.
Scorched rubber, plastic bandages, charred flesh. An hour later, it rests painfully with a smear of aloe, and then fades completely with an ominous gasp of sweet lilies.
It’s tragic–and yet still kind of gorgeous.
lycifer – :
Bactine/band-aids, wood smoke and fire (cade), dirty patchouli, rubber, petroleum, diesel, leather, oudh and rasberries. That’s how this opens on my skin. The first few minutes are a wild ride of oudhish-medicinal with all the other notes competing. It softens within ten minutes and then the berries appear, a bit of patch in the background, now less dirty and a clean suede. The overall effect is certainly smokey, but it really does conjure up a “city on fire” in the first ten minutes which frankly, hits a bit close to home.
All the bits of civilization and transportation and housing are going up in smoke–lovely trees, shrubs, flowers along with cars and burning tires, wires sizzling and flaming out, windows breaking–all of that. My chief complaint is that this sits close to the skin after 20-30 minutes. On me, the silage is next to nothing–no one can really smell it on me despite a heavy hand on the trigger.
I like it, don’t love it, and other scents do more for me, but this is a definite try for a smokey fall, sexy-cozy scent. Have to say I like the brand and am a sucker for their marketing: A City on Fire. Compared to other houses, I appreciate the creativity in the writing and ad copy if little else.
shamanic – :
A smoky delight!
I love smoke. But it can go wrong, depending on the person, the scent, the skin. The thing is – our chemistry here is not the only potential hurdle. With every smoke scent there is the danger of smoked meat, BarBQ, or liquid smoke seasoning associations. If you make it past this potential problem, it’s all good…
For me, A City On Fire nicely works. Such a unisex treat of smoky, winter and autumn pleasure. Hints of juniper and cardamom can only improve a good thing! The dry down is my only complaint. It wants something, smelling a little stale and flat. But overall, very enjoyable indeed.
For other smoky treats, Amygdala Leather is great, as is the much stronger Olympic Orchids Dev#2 and powerful WhisperSisters Goth Club ’89. Each unique, each beautiful. Long live SMOKY!
shizifikation – :
This smells like a bonfire, with a touch of pine and juniper. It’s an evocative and a beautiful smell, and wearable in the right context. I feel like layering it with something else could be quite fun!
It’s a very soft sillage on me, and the longevity is about 3 hours, with some lingering wisps of smoke. This is my first experience with Imaginary Authors, and I really enjoy their packaging and the fiction around the fragrances. So far, so good on this house. 🙂
LuLinda – :
When you hear that rustle of autumn leaves, sometimes you want to go all out – firewood, spice, smoke – and A City On Fire delivers it all, with an urban edge to boot. Rugged, dark, and sexy.
timhighly2299 – :
I was a firefighter in a past life and the opening and middle notes remind me of a house fire after it was put out. Burning plastics, cloth, wires, all wet from the fire hoses. My turnout gear smelled like this continuously so I know the smell very well.
What I do not get from this scent is anything that resembles a burning match or a campfire. I love both of those smells and if it smelled like either then I might be writing a different review.
The base notes do start to transform into more of a Juniper and Labdanum with the house fire smell still lingering in the background.
It is clear that most people either love or hate this fragrance and unfortunately I lean towards the hate side. I do not have an “expert” nose but I do know what I like and what I don’t like and neither my wife nor I cared for this fragrance.
This stuff definitely has longevity because I was smelling it on me (without even trying)12 hours after putting it on and I applied lightly because I wasn’t sure what I was getting into.
I would recommend trying a sample and forming your own opinion because there are definitely people on both sides of the fence. It was worthy of a test but I won’t be picking up a bottle (or even more samples) anytime soon.
halid – :
Well, A City on Fire is certainly unique and memorable, but for me, is not at all wearable. I acquired the sample because I love smokiness in perfumes, so I figured it was worth a whirl, but this smells like barbecue sauce, only more acrid. Specifically, this Guy Fieri Kansas City Smoky bbq sauce that I love on ribs but have absolutely no desire to smell like. With the exception of some very faint juniper in the far drydown, I do not get any of the notes that might make ACOF a more pleasant perfume experience. Hard pass.
Topin – :
After reading the story above (under the fragrance description) I wonder which comes first, the fragrance itself or the story. I mean, can anyone just throw in fragrance ingredients into a bowl and hand it off to someone to write a story about the smell? In any case, ACoF is interesting. Imaginary Authors are certainly creative. My only complaint is that I wasn’t sure where to wear this, so I just wore it to work.
The dominant note I perceived was the burnt match and the further dryness of the cardamom. The labdanum and berries give it just the slightest tinge of sweetness, just enough to make a difference. I’m not quite sure about nard (other than as slang), and I don’t remember remember the juniper standing out, but I did enjoy this. This will definitely go on my short list to purchase.
xxxrufikxxx – :
This one, oh my goodness. The burnt match note really does stand out in this one, it has a very heavy tar-like smell to it. Not the best from Imaginary Authors, but the sheer artistic value is what makes this fragrace so interesting. I personally do not think I could pull this off in any setting as it is way too daring for my tastes. However, I will enjoy the rest of my sample at the comfort of my home, with some coffee and a good book.
romie71543 – :
Not surprisingly a big hit of guaiac wood on the opening. It is tamed nicely by the aromatics and wood notes so it dosent just smell like a bonfire.
Guaiac definitely holds court but I am enjoying the jatamansi, cardamom and the labdanum which come much more to the fore after an hour. There is a touch of sweetness but COF stays truly unisex. If there was coffee thrown into the mix then I would think of Olympic Orchids Cafe V.
I think this is one of my favourites from the house.
Moderate silage and good longevity.
yhl412InsuffBooni – :
I actually really like this. The opening makes me think of Liquid Smoke. Like Hickory Wood burning. It makes me smell like I just got back from a bonfire or a cookout. Very unique!
georgcun – :
Wow another odd one from Imaginary Authors. The burnt match completely dominates the fragrance. It isn’t even match it’s more like burnt bacon. Not really something I’d like to smell like at all.
I have 100+ niche samples for swap within Europe – updated spreadsheet of samples on my profile, get in touch!
taxicq – :
Powerful, mysterious dark..the opening is a fire. This perfume puts chills….I never felt something like that,and left overnight,stinging like the cold of winter days. The drydown amazed me, I feel a slight sweetness in the background due to dark berries and I also believe cardamom..come if the initial on fire opening slowly dissolves, turning into a beautiful smoky/Dark perfume. Like being in a city where there is fog,the very cold air, the night arrived. This is not for everyone, but in my opinion is to try for those looking for something different and Yes Unusual!… The sillage is strong,good longevity!.
Sillage: 8.5/10
Longevity: 8./10
Scent: 8.5/10
Overall: 8.5/10
victor21 – :
Fragrance Review For A City On Fire
By Imaginary Authors
Notes: Burnt Match Juniper Berry Labdanum Cardamom Nard Himalayan Jatamansi Wild Berries
Such an exotic and very unusual “incense”.
This is not the first time Imaginary Authors have recreated campfire scents. This smells like burnt wood at a campfire but it has sweet berries juniper and wild berries which gives it an outdoorsy smell. It has Jatamansi and labdanum which gives it a nocturnal aroma, very mysterious, a tad Oriental. It smells like a group of mountain climbers are trying to make it to the summit of Mt. Everest and have to stop for the night in the bitter cold and build a fire. It’s a matter of life or death. The attraction is the note listed as “burnt match” which I could pick up on after smelling it on me for 3 hours. This is like putting a magnifying glass on a delicate piece of rusty wood in the hot sun and watching as it begins to catch fire. It’s putting your nose on a match after you just blew out the flame. It also smells like the aftermath of a massive forest fire.
Masculine because of the woods and the incense but it can be enjoyed by women who love to gender-bend and would appreciate the berry scent. It’s a little bit like a stronger bolder and smokier version of Katy Perry’s Killer Queen which has too much berry and not enough of the woods and other scents that make up this fragrance. It’s not for everyone but that’s why it’ from an indie niche perfume label. I enjoy the Imaginary Authors line and allow my imagination to take flight whenever I smell it. This is not easy to wear and you have to think about the type of person who would or should wear it.
I think this would suit a sales person working at a botanica, or an incense shop, a Goth store sales girl or guy, a musician or artist. It smells very artistic and unique so the person must be very unique, he or she does not follow trends and crowds. I love it. Very bohemian. I bought one for myself and for a male friend that would love it. Smoke, berries, woods, this is no city on fire, this is a forest on fire.
rizd115k58 – :
I don’t get bacon as other reviewers do, but I do get campfire. A lot of it. This is not the smokiest scent I’ve ever sniffed — try Beaufort London’s offerings — but if you want to smell as if you’ve spent the night in the pinelands next to a bonfire drinking blackberry brandy, then this is the fragrance for you.
It really smells authentic and is very pleasant and evocative, but I can’t imagine why anyone would want to wear this in any social situation aside from the aforementioned campfire scenario — in which case it would be redundant. In fact, I find the gushing praise a bit of hyperbole. To each his own. 6/10.
smiferi – :
It smells almost like a diluted and less complex version of Comme des Garcons, Black, which I own. Moreover this one on me doesn’t last, and I get only one note: simple smoke, I like smoke but I prefer it in multifaceted compositions..Not the best creation of this interesting House
xfg014InsuffBooni – :
Yikes, unfortunately I have to say I’m not a fan of City on Fire and for that statement alone I’m sure people aren’t going to be a fan of this review. I read a lot of reviews of this fragrance and watched a number of YouTube reviews before I bought a sample. A lot of people describe the opening of this fragrance as the smell of a newly-struck match. I don’t get that at all. For good measure, I just struck a match to double check. Yeah, doesn’t smell like this at all.
What does COF smell like to me? Well, it smells a lot like a combination of bandaids and bacon. But not the bacon sizzling on the stove kind. More like… the fake bacon smell like bacon-flavored things (I hate to say this, but like bacon-flavored dog treats). And yes bandaids. I smell fake bacon. And bandaids. The weirdest combination possible.
I’ve tried to trick my brain into thinking this smells like matches, bonfires, embers, anything but fake bacon, but I just can’t do it. Unfortunately, I don’t think this one is for me.
I should add that if you can make it through the rather rough opening (first couple of hours) the berry note starts to peak through, but this way more wearable phase isn’t worth the difficult beginning for me.
Wnet – :
A City on Fire is described by Imaginary Authors as “a brilliant dark graphic novel” and “the story of two match-makers. Rupert literally fabricates matches in a factory on the waterfront while Frances writes a dating column for the city’s newspaper. Both are recluses who haunt the night’s shadows observing clandestine activities from afar but never partaking. That changes one fortuitous evening when they are both witness to the same high-profile murder and are forced to come together as an unlikely vigilante pair in order to save their own names.”
The notes are cade oil, spikenard, cardamom, clearwood, dark berries, labdanum, and burnt match. It was created by Josh Meyer in 2014.
To my knowledge this is the only “graphic novel” in the Imaginary Authors collection. That might have something to do with the fact of why I dislike it so much. Graphic novels usually aren’t that intellectually demanding, and I find that this scent is pretty simple, too. Like most graphic novels, this scent completely fails at creating the narrative arc of the story in my mind, whereas pretty much every other fragrance Imaginary Authors makes does this successfully – even ones that I might not happen to care for (“Memoirs of a Trespasser,” for example.)
This is because all I get the smell of campfire smoke, and not much more. As it wears on my skin, there’s not much development, even well into the dry down. There’s not even the tell-tale sign of sulphurousness in a burning match, which should have been one of the most prominent notes, according to the novel précis. One of the things that I’ve always loved most about Imaginary Authors was that their novel excerpts are only the beginnings to such interesting journeys. In the case of A City on Fire, I felt that the novel idea was where things both started and stopped, and even what I read there didn’t completely accord with what the fragrance smells like.
MaxJumper – :
For me, A City on Fire has two acts, one of which is intriguing while the other repulses. Both are very smoky. Unfortunately they appear in reverse order, and I regret brazenly ordering a full bottle just for the promising drydown.
The first hours boast terrific volume, but it’s dispatched in service of a piercingly synthetic, uniquely acrid odor that smells indeed partly like a struck matchstick and partly like something that definitely should NOT be burning – upholstery, tupperware, vinyl, etc.
My experiences with Meyer’s other releases suggest this artificial palette is a signature, and while it fits certain accords (e.g., the leather in The Cobra and The Canary), it’s viscerally disconcerting alongside smoke and soot. I haven’t worn this outside the home for fear of raising alarm.
Then, in a slow bloom of irony the base notes marvelously sidestep the more common pitfall of ashes-‘n-embers scents: smelling like a spent cigarette or chainsmoker’s apartment. I can’t help but compare it to Andrea Maack’s Coal which, while dodging the same snare, veered well wide of its mark. As deadidol’s excellent review of Coal pointed out, that fragrance hit the market oddly “primped” and “dressed up.” It also packed far too much cade for my liking, but there was something alluring about its cozy denoument nonetheless.
Unlike Coal, A City on Fire measures its juniper perfectly: just enough to conjure both its woody and green associations without summoning a gin cocktail. And something, probably the labdanum, imparts a more organic and full-bodied heat in the late hours than Coal’s oversimplified conclusion which endears but ultimately seems only half a fragrance (or an embarrassingly hackneyed whole). Here is the brushfire, the char, the aftermath of Prometheus’s gift in its mesmerising, “jagged” form. Occasional brushstrokes of still-living foliage and a crisp note I can’t identify keep this bright and smoldering enough to avoid any ashtray. Rather I imagine a mountain campfire or backyard fire pit, with facets of both nature and civilization.
Alas, by this point the sillage and projection have long since exited stage right with the local fire marshal, and I remain the lone witness to perfume arson. A City on Fire might illuminate my nights routinely if I could excise the top’s notes and apply its force to the remainder. Instead, I strain at layering it with milder company – and well in advance.
945198 – :
The perfect gift for a firebug. I have to mix this with other scents.
imedeya – :
I think that most people write reviews right after the initial 30 minutes or so. This does no justice IMO. Yes it does start off as a smoky/campfire scent but after 3 or 4 hours it’s all about the labdanum. Amber and leather but in a subdued lingering manner. The initial blast is non existent and this becomes a cozy Fall/Winter scent with soft sillage and a bit romantic. Try wearing it a few times and see how you feel about it. It’s an instant love for me with a great transformation!
ElycK – :
It was late.
I was a young teen.
My dad woke me up and told me to look out of the window.
Across the small empty car lot that separated us, i saw it.
The middle of our neighbour’s block was engulfed by flames.
I rushed downstairs.
The whole street was up and stood at the other side of the street watching the blaze.
My neighbours came over with their dog and, visibly and rightfully stressed, asked me to watch their dog so they could attend to matters.
I gladly obliged, my father went with them and the whole house was empty except for me and the shaking dog.
I put the dog on the sofa and made it comfortable, the poor thing was pretty terrified.
I was scared too so i decided to close all the curtains to try and keep the whole thing out of my mind.
It was the latest i’d ever been up at that point. (including new year’s eve).
I turned on the TV.
I was greeted by the sight of a topless blonde woman riding a pink motorcycle through a grass field.
This is when i discovered that here in Holland, after about 1PM, most commercial/lifestyle channels air softcore porn infomercials aimed to get (drunk and horny) people to call to sex hotlines that charge a couple of bucks a minute.
It was the first porn i’d ever seen and i don’t think i’ll ever forget it.
The next day the fire was put out and we were invited to the neighbours who’s dog i’d cared for.
The fire hadn’t spread from the middle of the block, but there was extensive smoke damage.
As we climbed the outside stairs i smelled the worst smell you could ever imagine.
The most intense, peaty, harsh, flesh-like smoky smell hit my nostrils and kind of made me wanna vomit. It only got worse once we set foot in the house.
Everything inside was covered in soot, white walls colored dark brown and wooden doors colored black. It looked like something you’d find in the Fallout game series, a forgotten, post-apocalyptic once-home.
There were alot of mixed emotions in those few days.
The very opening of A City on Fire is eerily similar to that horrible smell of someone’s burned hopes and dreams, but less intense and with sweetness.
It’s like it commemorates the event and events like it, in a respectful and gripping way, rather than a gore-y and cruel reminder.
As the drydown gets sweeter, the smokyness mellows and some spicy black liqourice notes surface (your mileage may vary) the more adult notes of spice and liqourice i can’t help but think back at that first time i discovered porn, my burgeoning sexuality and coming of age.
The scent is well made, will last a long time and is very unique.
It’s also very challenging to wear at work/formal situations, so buyer beware.
Sample first, but do sample
9/10
wares – :
The only way to enjoy this is to spray it on yourself and follow it with a long shower, making sure you scrub the affected areas thoroughly.
Its actually quite enjoyable if applied in this way, otherwise its absolutely revolting and will stink up your entire office building (and probably set off the smoke alarm too)
Spraying it in the air and walking through the mist might work, but even that seems risky. This is perhaps the strongest scent i’ve ever smelt! APPLY WITH CAUTION
igrikcom – :
This does not smell as bad as a campfire smoke, but it does start out very smoky and firey. Burn village I imagine. The dry down is very doable. It is actually much better than you would imagine reading the reviews about burning cities. Its a good one to try, but not sure I would buy a bottle.
андрон – :
Smells just like my hair after being near a bonfire. Delightful as a piece of art, but proooobably not what I want to smell like due to my perfume! Great for nostalgia’s sake, or when you’re craving a camping trip but can’t find the time 😉
Adi21rus – :
I absolutely love this. It’s VERY smokey and spicy in the beginning, but after about 5 hours it gets a little sweeter. All notes are detectable but the burnt match is pretty dominant. Not a scent you should wear when cramped in close quarters, like an office.
Alex1245925 – :
Opens up smelling like rotten cold cuts. Dried down it smells like your clothes after a bonfire.
Greefevog – :
Unsurprisingly I’ve never smelled anything like this in my life!
The opening is a pungent and overwhelming, sweet yet savory, gourmand smell of barbeque sauce, mollasus, chipotle chili and pork. It specifically has a pork BBQ vibe to it like this bacon infused hot sauce I have at home.
It does on the one hand