Feu Secret

After spending an hour with feu secret I immediately ordered the 9ml travel bottle from Bruno Fazzolari’s website. I love iris (apres l’ondee, Iris silver mist are my very favorite), and I’m excited to have this one in my collection as it is very different from those two. However I feel feu secret has a similar enigmatic quality that makes me want to spend my days getting to know it intimately. I am sampling the newer formulation which apparently has more vanilla in it according to BF on Instagram. It starts out with a cool blast that awakens the senses but then settles into warmth and comfort. Turmeric adds a bit of heat and dust though it’s not super detectable to my nose as a spice per se. The vanilla lends some sweetness but this is not a sweet fragrance by any stretch. To me it’s very unisex though leans slightly masc. I would love to try the original pre-2021 formulation, so if anyone is willing to trade or sell a decant or bottle, please pm me!

I am mesmerized by this fragrance. I went into this thinking it was going to be mediocre at best. That was at my own prejudice and my blind assumptions. I wish I wasn't like that. Perhaps it intensified my surprise wearing it. This is the most attractive and beautiful Iris fragrance I've tried so far. My biggest gripe about Iris root is that it leans very opaque. Very foggy. Very dim. The opposite of citrus I would say. However, in this composition, eucalyptus, pink pepper, balsam, and cedar give it much needed relief by contrasting with earthiness that is very alive. Iris becomes much more balanced. Not only is wearable but it is desirable. Almost addictive. It does not go in the make up direction whatsoever. My favorite part is the twinkling eucalyptus every now and then. It almost sparkles in the light. Melancholy. I absolutely love this. I'm going to buy a bottle tonight. 10

Wow this is just a beautiful beautiful composition, you can smell the quality through and through!. It smells and feel so natural!! I love the dry , dusty but ultra buttery feel of this perfume . The way this comes across is not like perfumey ! If you know what I mean , and it’s a great thing . I mean this is one of the best orris note you will ever smell in a fragrance ever!!. This is one for sure you can’t go of the initial spray this is one that is meant to be fully worn and experienced !. Only then will you come to realize how amazing this composition is . I hope this never gets discontinued! This will always be a staple in my collection. And you know what else this goes with so many fragrances it layers!! So so well . This stuff is magic people. 10 out 10 .. this fragrance deserves wayyyyyyh more hype .

Dangerous. Shiny and gleaming like molten silver, the notes are seemingly cold and austere with the chilling factor of spruce, eucalyptus and cedar -- a touch of wooded camphor and menthol. Orris and turmeric blend to offer a bitter powder, fiery and dry, like an illusion of sweet ash and papery petals floating in the air. Feu Secret delivers artful contrasts of fire and dry ice. Oddly it indeed reminds me of the Australian bush with its camphorous scrub, dry heat, and fine powdered desert sand -- a perfect recommendation given to me by one of the fine members of Fragrantica in the forums. This is another outstanding piece of abstract, contemporary olfactory art from Bruno Fazzolari. Do experience his work if you get a chance!

I like to wear this one at sunset when I am outside, particularly in summer or fall. I will put it on about an hour before sunset. With Bruno's intention for this to start off with cool tones and transition to warm, the transition of sunset (or even sunrise) seems appropriate. The wear of the perfume seems to coincide timewise with this daily event. The cool tones go with the cooling down of the day as the sun goes down, then the warm smok-ish drydown matches up with distant campfire on the other side of the birch and orris laden forest. For sunrise it still works, cool night warms up to the morning sun :)

Looove this scent. Every time I spray it I feel like I am being enveloped in a steel grey cloud that slowly over the course of an our turns to a light purple lilac. Its such a grey purple perfume in the best way. Smells like woody, cool, rooty, orris. Absolutely what I have been craving more of. Originally I had a sample. Then bought a travel size, used it 60% and dropped it in a parking lot where it shattered, I was devastated. Immediately purchased a full bottle

Something about this draws me in deeper and deeper, it's addicting. I'm chasing smoky-earthy orris through birch and cedar and apparently spruce when I come across a eucalyptus grove, it pushes me back a little but does not offend; it's not overbearing like eucalyptus ~can~ be. I'm getting warmer, I'm straying colder, I don't know if I'll ever find the secret fire but I know I'll enjoy the journey. Just ordered more so I can keep exploring.

First impression: Wow 😲 this is excellent! Smells niche and very high quality. The iris is superb, the pine and leather fantastic. I get the eucalyptus and turmeric which somehow works. Very strong and natural. After subsequent testing, I feel this is one the best iris notes I've ever smelled. Possibly the best 👌 Scent 9/10 Performance 6.5/10

the orris is apparent from the first second and remains throughout. towards the middle, an aromachmical comes through and I get flashbacks to L'Artisan's 'Batucada', which is not necessarily a good or a bad thing. May warrant a second try...

This is a date night fragrance for a mature man. Imagine an edgier version of Dior Homme Intense.

If anyone has an unloved bottle of this they’re willing to sell, DM me please!!🙏

My experience is generally consistent with the other reviews here. A cool, grey orris is the star of this show, warmed somewhat by spices (turmeric and pink pepper) and woods. I can detect each of the listed notes except for cedar and birch. To my nose, the orris here is thankfully not powdery at all, but rather perhaps a bit waxy and yet dusty at the same time. Carroty aspects and "makeup" facets are also present but not dominant. The performance of this one parallels the performance of Au Dela Narcisse -- big opening for 60-90 minutes, then rapidly calming down to a fairly quiet scent. Here, the orris becomes somewhat less prominent in the dry-down, but it is still the key player throughout -- unlike ADN, in which the central player (narcissus) largely fades from view (at least on my skin). I agree with Lanier that this one exudes the vibe of a classic fragrance from bygone days; yet it is somehow a modernized update on those classics. The same could be said of both Five and Au Dela Narcisse, as well. I find it leans a bit more feminine than Fazzolari's Monserrat but less so than ADN. Still unisex enough that a lot of men will have no problem with this. Also, unlike ADN and Room 237 and perhaps Lampblack, there is nothing particularly challenging about this fragrance, unless you happen to dislike orris/iris: it is pleasant from start to finish.

A warning to those looking for a masculine-leaning fragrance: this one contains vanilla! Strangely, it was almost undetectable at first, but somewhere between the third and fifth hours of wear it really crescendoed until it almost reminded me of Hypnotic Poison. FZOTIC lists vanilla while Fragrantica doesn't, so maybe it's been reformulated. Below is a more general review... My first impression was of a comforting rooty scent with an intriguing hint of smoke. I really appreciate how the wood notes are incorporated: they aren't overly camphoraceous and instead impart a vetiver-like freshness to the orris, which is the star ingredient at all stages. The aforementioned vanilla also stays mostly in the background and contributes a slight gourmand sweetness. The fragrance has good longevity, but I wish that the birch tar note lasted longer, as that is what caught my attention from the test strip. This is a wonderful summer and early fall scent, and possibly a daily wear for an orris lover.

My fourth sampling of Bruno Fazzolari's line is his latest creation, Feu Secret, a powdery/woody blend that entails a harmonious balance between teh woody notes of spruce and eucalyptus and the powdery iris, though not so powdery as to be prohibitive, as I'm generally not a huge fan of iris. Performance is on par with Lampblack, decent projection but nothing overwhelming, with very good longevity. Overall I'm pleased with it but the iris is still a little too prominent in it for me to be fully won over, and Five remains my favorite fragrance of the house. 7 out of 10

Tasteful dry woodsy iris - I can smell the turmeric, as well as something that smells like vetiver. Dusty in a pleasant way, almost like ash. Doesn't strike me as particularly masculine at all; to me it's quite unisex. I can see how it might be a little more appealing to men than the typical iris though, as the woodsy notes make it feel less lipsticky. Eucalyptus is listed as a note, but the scent isn't camphorous. Some of the reviews had me worried it would smell like a synthetic cologne, but I don't get that at all. Nothing mind-blowing, but I enjoy it!

This to me actually stood out the most out of Bruno’s work. It’s an extremely rooty-earthy-spicy-smoky composition. If you are into that type of thing you might like this one. I’m quite familiar with turmeric and it stands out big time here! Orris birch and pink pepper are quite pronounced as well and are really well blended together. Eventually fades into its super cedary-orrisy backbone that can feel a little off putting. Despite that a very intriguing and unique scent and performs decently well. Tends to lean feminine on my skin.

Way too masculine on me and doesn’t work with my body chemistry but it’s my favorite scent on my husband. It smells like a completely different fragrance on him! I gave him my bottle a while back and he wore it for the first time, recently, and I demanded to know what he was wearing that smelled so incredible! I didn’t recognize the scent! Definitely a fantastic masculine fragrance!

it is a lot better than “five”. At first I thought meh, but the more times I smell it the more I can appreciate it. Not FB for me at all, but I love smelling iris root so even if the rest of the notes don’t wow me it is still nice to smell for fun by myself. quite a bit like imaginary authors “O unknown” but it does smell more natural than that... quite a bit better actually

This is deeply *interesting*. I don't recognize the notes well, but I get a sense of a Mediterranean vacation, a hotel by the sea near coastal scrub, brilliant sun and cool shadow, a secret tryst in the afternoon. It has no softness at all, it's rather austere and almost colorless and unfriendly, which is why I didn't wind up going for it. Genuinely unisex, IMO.

A very particular rooty and muted spice. Turmeric and pepper is pleasantly biting, and quickly mellows into a slightly sweet and dusty iris over charred birch. Has me picturing a high-end draftsmens studio where a wood stove had been burning the night prior.

For me it smells like a pure vetiver oil with all that vetiver tiny nuances. Very lovely but doesn’t smell like a final result, more like a sketch. Very lovely sketch.

this smells like if bubblegum was campfire flavored. but in a good way!

Feu Secret opens with *very* sharp, stony, blinding-white iris, followed by an almost equally pale, perfumey, fragrant, refined woody note. Half an hour in, it’s gone softer and a touch smoky; a pleasant, mellow, woody iris. a pale-woods scent like a Scandi modern-design interior. finally, it sweetens slightly and becomes a sheer pale woody vanilla. Not super sweet, just a barely-there radiant aura. Feu Secret is subtle throughout, a light translucent “office scent” that’s almost gone in three hours. I prefer more substantial perfumes myself, but if you like a light touch, it’s finely done and even haunting. it really does capture an effect of “secret fire”, a contemplative inner radiance in shades of white and beige. (If you like subtle, minimalist, unisex “beige” or “ivory” scents, Lost Alice and Fleur du Peau are also good bets: a milky iris-sandalwood and a cotton-soft iris-ambrette respectively.)

Bruno Fazzolari is one of the most interesting new perfumers out there. He creates surprisingly wearable modern fragrances with ancient elements woven in to give them a unique edge. His new offering inspired by the work of alchemists is no exception. A modern airy spice-woods aromatic fragrance, this one opens with notes of orris, pink pepper, and turmeric and then settles into a mostly woods affair (cedar, birch, spruce and eucalyptus) with the spice hovering lightly in the background. Eminently wearable and surprisingly unisex, this one is a study in measured contrasts between the ancient and modern. A daring and challenging creation, and quite a mystical experience indeed.

This is interesting and I think a lot of people would enjoy it. For me, it was just ok. It’s very clean, dusty, and powdery. I enjoy the dry down much more than the initial spray. I get the turmeric, orris, and eucalyptus. It’s just a bit soapy and sweet for me, but this is a great clean, but still dusty, scent for those who like that kind of thing. There is something in the background that I don’t really enjoy, I think it might be the woods.

I had this sample for my partner but decided to try it myself too. On me, it opens super dry and dusty - the feeling reminded me of moving old dusty cardboard boxes packed with crumpled up old newspaper out of an attic and having the dust catch in your throat. Maybe this was the turmeric, or perhaps an element of the eucalyptus although my skin seems to eat up any bright green aromas. I didn’t get pink pepper at all. Shortly after spraying it became overwhelmingly powdery and feminine for me - I’m assuming the orris - and I almost scrubbed it off but decided to give it a chance. After a few minutes, a little more of the cedar and birch tar smokiness came through but still with that distinct background of powder. I really didn’t get the hemlock spruce at all. A few more minutes in and the vanilla sweetness started coming through a little. At this point I decided to scrub it off as powdery sweet isn’t my thing. This didn’t match up to its description of “fire of the alchemists” for me, and felt more like “helping grandma clear out her attic while grandpa smokes downstairs?” At least I learned that I can probably avoid orris notes in the future!

I saw the comment of the first reviewer about projection. I can't think of two perfume compliments I've gotten in the past year, but the first day I wore Feu Secret I had three friends at different times nuzzle up to my neck and coo over the scent. * Feu Secret is an exploration of orris, a tricky material to describe in notes. Combined with other components in a composition it has an olfactory range of that lands it squarely in the woody-floral category. Of course orris butter can also make a perfume powdery, metallic, papery, chocolatey or yeasty depending on the angle of approach so to speak. It fixes fragrant materials so that even highly volatile topnotes coast a little bit further into the heart of a perfume. The woody floral genre has a long history of dowdiness. To most people it is the brown tweed suit of fragrance. Practical, sturdy, steady. Pedigreed but dull. Fazzolari updates the genre and reinvigorates it. He modulates a central iris/violet accord with an astringent cedarwood and an unexpected mix of herbs and aromatics. I struggle to identify the specific aromatic materials, but I recognize their properties. Warm, chilly, piquant, bitter. The hot and cold aromatics temper the orris. They divert the iris note from its anticipated trajectory and allow Feu Secret to break from the tradition of staid woody florals. The topnotes lead with a papery, chilled iris. This cool characterization of iris is recognizable, but Feu Secret doesn’t follow a predictable course. Chanel 19’s acetone, Iris Silver Mist’s frozen carrot and Masque Milano l’Attesa’s cardboard all lean in this direction. Fazzolari’s twist is to play up the common ground of iris and violet notes, painting a spectrum from platinum violet leaf through cyanotic grey iris root to a pale mauve violet flower. In the heartnotes the frost thaws and releases a sweaty note reminiscent of both skin and dough. It’s a transitional olfactory image, but one that gives Feu Secret an intimate feel. By drydown the pairing of orris and cedar create a warm unctuousness similar to creamy sandalwood. Secret Fire is a term borrowed from alchemy, an ancient practice that summons images of wizards feverishly trying to turn base materials into gold. But alchemy was in fact an organized system that attempted to reconcile the physical world and the unseen forces that acted on it. Think of it as chemistry with a dash of physics and a huge helping of magical thinking. Secret Fire was the much coveted ability of alchemists to harness a material’s hidden animating properties and transform it to their will. Alchemists famously chased a ‘universal solvent’ called Azoth that divided materials into their fundamental elements and allowed them to be manipulated by alchemists who possessed the Secret Fire. Fazzolari’s universal solvent is orris butter. He uses it to reveal fundamental properties and break down the other materials into the classical elements of alchemy. Turmeric ignites and becomes fire. Eucalyptus is a cool plunge into water. Pink Pepper takes flight and dissolves into air while cedar’s roots clutch the soil and become earth. Fazzolari tames the elements and creates a perfume of measured contrasts. His perfumes have a thoughtful, deliberate quality, but Feu Secret gives a glimpse further. In the 21st century artists are the closest thing we have to alchemists and their secret fire is their ability to transform us with their work. from scenthurdle.com

Someone asked me recently how I would compare classic fragrance to what is being made today and I immediately thought of Bruno Fazzolari. He is one of the new perfumers of the last five years who is on to something wonderful. A creative process in perfumery that is both modern and classical at the same time. I first met Bruno at the SF ARTISAN PERFUME SALON 2013 where he was launching his line. I was immediately taken by the beauty and sophistication of his work, especially in Au Dela. His work for a new perfumer was eons ahead of everyone else at that event. What I smelled in that particular fragrance was a time machine to 1947. I was smelling a timeless new perfume by Christian Dior. I was smelling a master’s work. Lighting in a bottle, and I knew I was there and very lucky to witness the birth of a star. What Dior did in fashion by bringing glamour and yards of fabric back to the forefront of fashion after the horrors and austerity of World War II was to create the “New Look” a term coined by Carmel Snow of American Vogue to describe the romantic new movement of the mid-20th Century. Bruno Fazzolari in a very real way in the early 21st Century, is doing what Dior did. He is creating the “Nouveau Sens” in perfumery. He is bringing romanticism and glamour to the niche market in a way that is both classic and modern. And I for one could not be more thrilled. In his new fragrance, Feu Secret I find the magic has reached a new level of beauty and artistry. It is a dry and warm beauty. Opening with dangerous and bitter touch of hemlock which is punctuated with a sharp jab of green Spruce. This is a fleeting tease to the arrival of a warm burning leaves note of the most amazing eucalyptus. A smell I grew up with in Southern California where in the summer the Eucalyptus trees seem to give off a smoky smoldering scent. The middle gets even better. A light spice not leaning toward ginger is provided by a turmeric note, spiced up with pink pepper. But here is the kicker, Iris. This note that usually takes on a lip stick, Max Factor quality is this time not in the back-stage dressing room on the dressing table waiting to go on at all. No, this Iris is wrapped up in that burning eucalyptus and the combination becomes the sacred heart of this fire. The supporting base notes of Himalayan cedar, burch tar and a rich thick as butter vanilla round out this fragrance and bring it all home in style. It is completely wearable for any occasion from day to evening, Full enough for the colder months but certainly something I would wear in the height of summer, that fire, that smoke is so perfect for the season. (FOR THE REST OF THE STORY BEHIND FEU SECRET CHECK OUT MY BLOG SCENTS MEMORY)

My first thought on spraying Feu Secret was that here is a macho version of Iris. The beginning is a completely silver Iris, almost stark, devoid of any powder or softness. It is held in the muscular arms of cedar and eucalyptus, and to my nose a hint of leather is on those arms as well. As the fragrance dries down it becomes sweeter, softer, and more feminine, and the Iris begins to turn from silver to lavender and then true purple. This Iris takes on the buttery creaminess of orris, and is pretty and beguiling. And finally, within a few hours, the classic powdery Iris appears, becoming more and more powdery as it dries down til it feels almost white. Here in one fragrance you have so many ways Iris can present in perfume and they’re all beautiful, probably due to the quality of the ingredients used. Some times we love someone for one facet of their personality but we don’t like other sides to them; I love every aspect of Iris and this perfume gives them such a good showcase. Feu Secret lasts about 7 hours on skin with arms length sillage.

OOHHHHhhhhh! Damn it! that dusty iris again! MARVELOUS! I don't know how to define it as natural raw iris, iris roots (orris), or just pure raw iris! it just differs from all other iris BUT quite similar to "Dama Koupa" by Baruti with that dusti iris that STRIKES with it's powerful charming effect but less dark and this one remains on my skin creamy and balmy for a while, while in Baruti's, it remains sharp iris and turns powdery. The only drawback of this one is the birch! i just don't like birch to be involved that much as i keep on sniffing it over and over specially when the iris vanishes and weakens little by little as it calms down, but what makes it good is the spicy take on it and i believe it's the turmeric as it adds some orange color to the blend and grabbing the iris from vanishing for good. It's quite a very interesting take on iris by "Fazzolari" as i rarely can find anything that interests me that is made by him. I'm just hunting now his "Au Dela Narcissus" to see if it will be a good one too like this one here.

I’ve smelled orris root before in L’Air Barbes by 19-69 and it’s a really interesting note. If I’ve cornered it correctly it’s a rooty, kind of dusty, bitter aroma, often paired with florals. 19-69 pairs it with lemon, ylang-ylang, and other bitter, inky notes, but here it’s paired with eucalyptus, spice, and woods. This is better than the 19-69 fragrance, and I think it’s because there’s more contrast. The woody and camphorous elements on one side, and the spice and warmth on the other. I can actually see how the “secret fire” from the brand notes makes sense for once, as the different notes play with each facet of the root. There’s an impression of gentle florals and powder mixed with spice in the heart and it feels a bit familiar but modern in its interpretation. Hard to place when or where I’d wear it, but it’s well done. If you’re a fan of orris I’d say give it a try. Otherwise it’s a very distinctive note just like papyrus and can be either love/hate.

Truly magical scent. Sweet dusty orris, but then I get a sense of morning breeze through a birch forest that softly blows smoke from embers of a smouldering campfire. I love orris and this scent is done so very well. It comes off more masculine at first on me but the dry down stays sweet yet smokey. It is actually more unisex than that though as I also had my boyfriend try it and on him it seems to keep its woodsy tones far more. Every sniff is different and intriguing. It doesn't seem to settle into one scent.

Starts as smoky metallic, incense iris but fades sharply to a note I've come to associate with gaiac, but I suspect is shared by many wood elements, because the result is a fragrance note of screamingly loud, painful wood alcohol, like the kind you find in an industrial setting. I loved the smooth cold onset, but the sharp attack of alcohol ruined it totally for me.

The orris root or iris butter can be found in other colognes like Dior l'Homme. In Feu Secret the base notes are not as deep and dark and rely on turmeric and vanilla more than wood for extra dryness. The spruce and eucalyptus make it so lively. Longevity is very good and it's overall a complex modern scent experience. FB worthy.

This fragrance has been reformulated. Such a shame. It was a 10/10 before, an orris lovers dream. Now it has been watered down with a hefty dose of aromachemicals. Please stop doing this. Orris is hardly detectable. Aromachemicals are overwhelming and suffocating 3.5/10

Strange and unexpected. I smell orris throughout but it is part of a woody/fruity accord that I can’t figure out based on the notes listed. After five or six tries I can’t decide if I like this. It’s like the rough draft of a great, unusual iris perfume.

oooh this is fascinating and lovely. well rounded, with a rooty powdery vegetal core thanks to the turmeric and orris. it is balanced perfectly by the touches of pepper and vanilla. it is a sweeter, more complex cousin of glossier you.

Scent - iris butter, woods & spices. Season/Time of Day - I prefer to use this one in the warmer months, day or night. Projection - I didn't get noticed, I didn't get a compliment. Longevity - I get 6hrs consistently.

I'm getting some citrusy in the heart phase, I guess from limonene in eucalyptus?