Smoke

I adore this. It is indeed true to its title, and the references to Tobacco Vanille in the dry down track for me, though I would say that the differences in that later phase are important. Here, the sweetened facets are not as oily or as moistened as in Tobacco Vanille, not as syrupy maybe. There's a much drier, more austere quality, putting it more in the territory of a lighted cigar than one which hasn't yet been smoked. The cade note in this is gorgeous and to me the stunner, imparting a quality somewhere between charred wood and sharp cinnamon. For me, there's only a vague parallel to Amouage Interlude, a similarity that hangs by a fragile thread. I do understand that reference, but it's like comparing polka dots with gingham. You can't call them similar because they sit on the same cut of blouse. While the scent of smoke persists throughout most of the fragrance's life on skin, it eventually becomes more of a background. I think of this conceptually as smoke which lingers, changing the scent of the room, then disperses, having altered or shifted the overall scent profile of the space it took up. The room in question is a walk-in humidor full of sweetened cigars. I do smell different smoke nuances: strong suggestions of cigar smoke, for instance, but also somewhat cooked or cured facets. I don't get cigarette smoke exactly, but I don't get the other smoked facets alone either. More a cloud of different smokes shifting and combining. For me, everything is just right about this fragrance, including its behavior on and around skin and its longevity. This scent does not make it's wearer a smoke bomb. It lingers the way its titular subject does. It adds something new, something ineffable, to the category of smoke scents. Calling such a scent too literal is generally something you don't hear from ardent smoky fragrances lovers.

I used to really like Herod from PdM, but it lacks performance on me and it's not enough edgy as tobacco scent in my book. Tar? Burn wood? Nope. No similarities to Hyde (got bottle too) - however comparision to Djarum Black (cigarettes) is spot on imo. Smoke alone is apparently least prominent note and olfactive illusion that reminds you of it is delivered because of used cade. Actually, there is no "smoke" in notes listed on Akro's website; official notes include only following: Balkans Tobacco Leaves, Cade, Benjoin, Tonka Bean. Initial sprays hit you with strong punch of not mentioned cloves and cade. Votes on notes are completely wrong because benzoin and tonka bean almost take a lead in drydown of this fragrance - it's definitely more balanced than notes presented on Fragrantica. Nevertheless this is the real rocknrolla of tobacco fragrances; it's not cloyingly sweet, does not contain honey and it's so wearable you can wear it almost whole year (except high heat maybe where it can get cloying). It's so underrated and unique in it's simplicity amongst other tobacco scents I've tried (and believe me I tried some, cuz I love tobacco note) that it very often gives me positive attention from ppl, when they come closer and smell it. Longevity is 8-10h+, projection is quite big at first then it's above average for 8-10h+ in my case. Definitely full bottle worthy for me. PS: Both mine and my friend's was irritated/allergic after initial sprays for a while. Doesn't happen again when using full bottle (I had decant before). //Edit: 3.11.22: got my bottle! I love it, definitely in my TOP5 for long time. 10/10 //Edit2: 18.02.23: It's my comfy scent and it fits as my signature better than anything atm.

I am impressed so far with Akro as a house. While I admire Olivier Cresp's work as a master perfumer, I felt that the theme of his own brand Akro was too restrictive (olfactory "addictions"). However, each scent is an intelligently-composed olfactory artwork, nuanced and creative if not always wearable. Smoke is a pretty impressive tobacco scent. Instead of an overdose of smoky tobacco, it is a boozy, ambery, smoky scent with some hay-like herbal nuances. It smells familiar, but I can't put my finger on it. A little Lutens Chergui, a hint of Margiela Jazz Club, some Dusita booziness, perhaps a Tom Ford-style edge - I'm unsure. Regardless, Smoke is utterly satisfying throughout. Smoke has a boozy opening, followed closely by a nice smoky tobacco note that forms the crux of this scent. The herbal quality of the tobacco is evident here, toasted and hay-like. There is a hint of tar too - perfectly on-theme. The smokiness doesn't overwhelm this scent, despite its name. There is a lovely balsamic amber base to this scent, tying everything together nicely. I get some woodiness as it dries down, and it becomes somewhat ashy here. Tonka bean complements the smoky amber beautifully, adding smooth spiciness. It fades to a balsamic skin scent with a whisper of smoke remaining until final fade. Sillage is moderate and longevity is long-lasting. Instead of the simple smoky scent I expected, Smoke is a rich, beautifully-composed, smoky-boozy-amber scent, unisex and high-quality. One of the most wearable Akros. 4/5.

Recently the Akro collection became available in my country and I had the opportunity to test them all with the exception of Bake. I had great expectations coming from the master Olivier Cresp, who has created my most beloved colognes. I hope I change my mind but so far the compositions have been all a disappointment. They smell high quality, but I do not get neither uniqueness nor novelty. I thought I liked Smoke because from the whole collection it seemed the most original. Today I decided to give it another try and I test it in the shopping center to saw again how it develop. As the time went by, I started to feel a familiar smell, something I knew. Then it came clearly to my mind: Velvet Teddy from Mac. Smoke is more refined, but they are very similar. Very disappointingly, not because Velvet Teddy is a bad fragrance, but because I was expecting something new and interesting. The same happened with some other items of the collection: Dark is very similar to Angel Man, Ink has the spirit of Guccy Guilty Absolute and Awake has the vanilla dry-down of Club Black from Mercedez Benz. Why would I be interested in the Akro compositions if I do not even like that much the aforementioned fragrances? With respect to the remaining scents I do not have positive comments either: Malt has a seaweed note that I find difficult to stand in the long run, Haze is a poor performer and Night is a bald and uninspiring rose scent with no detectable allusions to sex of intimacy. What am I not understanding here?

Opens with a mild white smoke but then...holy smokes!!! (pun intended)...this is IMO, a more addicting version (but a tad sweeter) of This Is Not A Pipe by Demeter--the cade here is definitely present, but not overbearing, it sits more in the far back compared to the other notes. The tobacco leaf here is just so addicting (for context, I dont smoke, for those that think they may be noseblind/dont smell the tobacco), when combined with the rest of the notes, just balsamic and sweet enough to tell a picture as a whole. Wow. Layering this with Leatherize by DS&Durga is such a treat, even though this frag is much lighter. But it's rather disrespectful, because this is just so addicting on its own. I will say the smoke is more of a faintly-sweet pipe-esque smoke, sliding between fresh-stale, but present, as opposed to a burning smoke, and really is more of a supportive note than one that stands out. I didn't like Akro Ink when I tried it, but this find was a big win from this house. I will say the Demeter frag is more of an eau de cologne, while this is an EDP (even though this is not really a good metric, they do actually differ in performance--this is better), and 100mL of Akro can be had for under 100$, I'd say this is highway robbery (slightly less so) as with the Demeter frag.