Description
Inspired by an upward look at the sky one early evening, Fire and Cream is a sinuous, elegant composition with many prismatic transitions from rooted notes of vetiver, sandalwood, and Indonesian patchouli to the twinkling essences of hydro-distilled oranges and their blossoms.
This latest Strange Invisible Perfume once again sets a new precedent in perfumery by the unmatchable purity of its ingredients and the use of hydro-distilled, not mechanically pressed, citrus essential oil in its formulation. With a lustrous, uncompromising palette of essences sourced from the world’s most talented distillers, Balahoutis has masterfully captured the sky’s spectacle in her newest aromatic portrait.
Balahoutis originally created Fire and Cream as a custom formulation for herself.
She says: “One early evening in late summer, I looked at the sky and proclaimed silently, ‘The sky is full of fire and cream.’ Being a perfumer with bright red hair and a pale complexion, ‘Fire and Cream’ seemed a perfect title for a custom perfume I would soon design for myself.”
Inevitably, admirers of this sublime fragrance coaxed her into making it available and so Balahoutis releases Fire and Cream this fall.
Fire and Cream has a classic, old world architecture of base, heart and top notes. A path begins in a warm, earthly setting of vetiver, sandalwood, and patchouli. Rising skyward through the delicate light of white lavender and tuberose, this composition quickens toward a blazing glow of top notes. Upon its finish, the perfume’s every nuance smolders in a fiery sky of hydro-distilled oranges and their blossoms. The nose behind this fragrance is Alexandra Balahoutis.
octava – :
Certainly an aptly named scent, due to the stark textural duality between the two stages of the scent. It opens with a slightly harsh, smoky vetiver and patchouli, with a bit of incense and oily orange in the background.
I remember trying this scent and HATING it when I received it in my absolute first sample order after setting out on my perfume “journey”. Perhaps my chemistry has changed since then or maybe my tolerance for vetiver and patchouli (still not favorites, but I can tolerate them now when well blended and natural).It seems much warmer on my skin than I remember, and I find myself liking the drydown, especially when lavender joins a bit later. There is a touch of animalic floral cream from the tuberose.
As much as I enjoy L”Artisan’s Seville a L’Aube, I wish that it could incorporate the lovely smoky/orange/lavender that’s going on in Fire and Cream – the L’Artisan has a tendency to go too sweet and fruit-loopy. Though the L”Artisan has much better sillage and longevity.
My final verdict on Fire and Cream? It might be a bit too natural for me but it’s certainly interesting.It needs something. I might not wear it, but I’ll keep it to sniff as a reference.
Dionis66613 – :
A raucous scent unlike anything I’ve ever smelled!
Opens with the “fire” – a dense, charred herbaceous blast that I would almost call a “vegetal leather.” With time this is juxtaposed with a rich and heavy tuberose that doesn’t register as a floral but serves as the “cream”. I can’t tell if the two are fighting or co-existing in tenuous harmony, but it certainly holds my attention. I think the orange, which is dark and backgrounded, works as a bridging agent to both connect the opposing forces and cut a bit of their severity. A light lavender helps retain an herbaceous feel once the cream sets in.
It’s deep, it’s strange, it’s a touch sexy.
The notes list really doesn’t explain what is going on here.
belov-serjozha – :
This smells like a resinous, smoky orange/vanilla. The notes contrast but seem to work.
It’s a fiery, spicy earthy blend that has a smoothness rounding everything out. I’m not sure where the sweetness is coming from but I’m glad it’s there.
It has a similarity with their “Magazine Street” perfume. That burnt, smoky patchouli giving darkness along with a dry vetiver makes them similar. The difference is this one is sweeter.
I’m not sure if I like this one either (not having much luck with this brand).
🙁
hqz471JeomiWogkig – :
I am really loving this natural perfume. It starts out very smoky and reminds me of the beach bonfires I’ve been to. At first it was hard to imagine it would turn into anything resembling cream…oh but how magical when it does! It doesn’t smell like coconut, but I kept smelling an intense creaminess similar to coconut as I sat on the bus this morning. Not necessarily vanilla, but more like woods mixed with a sweetened nut butter, like Brazil nut or kukui nut. I also smell a good dose of tuberose, very real and buttery. In time it became less smoky.
No lavender, which is cool because it can smell masculine on me. I find projection to be moderate and lasting time to be a good 8+ hours. I can pull this off year-round, but I can’t wait to enjoy it in the colder months.
Update: One day when I was wearing this, I was taking a nap and kept thinking I was smelling steamed milk. I really smelled pure hot milk, but there was none in my house. It took a while to realize it was my perfume. I’ve seen lots of perfumes with milk notes, but this is the first one that actually smelled like the real thing.
Arwentur – :
woody and vanilla-ey. Strange as apparantly there is no vanilla among the notes. I do not get any lavender or flowers though. Reminds me of Tokyo Milk’s Dead Sexy. Quite nice but might not be worth the price tag.
bfyxoeveic – :
It’s fairly assertive for an all-natural perfume, starting out like wood drenched in spices and orange oil. I like the opening very much, but wish it lasted longer. As it dries down, I find it to be a skin scent in which lavender dominates, along with a bit of vanilla. At no point is it floral, probably a good thing, but I’m not crazy about the lavender drydown. The scent lasts for a few hours, gradually fading away in a lavender haze. This is one of those fragrances that I love in the beginning, but the honeymoon is over quickly.
tura7350 – :
Ok, smokey and spicy at first application. My first thought was it had cumin in it. Weirdly alluring. Takes a few minutes for the orange to come forward. I really don’t smell any floral notes at all until the scent has been on my skin quite a while and even then, orange & patchouli pretty much dominates. Not overly long lasting. It’s not horrible as in I’d rather have a tooth pulled then wear this fragrance but it’s just not for me.