A City On Fire

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

First of, the notes on fragrantica is mostly off. Burnt match, Cardamom, and Labdanum are correct, the rest is wrong (according to Imaginary Authors themselves). It's Super smoky (as one should have expected from the name). It also has that slightly sour note in the opening. The kind you get when you smell a bonfire that has gone out after it has rained a little. There is no oud in any note breakdown, but i get an oud note, slighty skanky and barnyardy. There are some nice fruity/berry notes in the background. I can't tell exactly what by smelling it, but it says "Dark Berries" on Imaginary Authors own note breakdown on the bottle. It gives a slightly sweet and seductive side to it. As it drys down, i like it more and more as a fragrance. It get's cozy, and slightly sweet. The sour note is completely gone and it at that point resembles more of a oud fragrance with slight campfire note, with berries and woods. Although i like the whole fragrance journey. I can't help but love the drydown the most. And it starts at about one hour. I love the whole concept of the fragrance as well. When you look at the bottle, you are given the name, a picture, and notes that defines the fragrance. And that alone makes me create a whole story to what it is, even before smelling it. The fragrance itself is a journey as well. Although, A City On Fire isn't the Most wearable fragrance in the world. If you're going out on a late saturday night and you're dressed like a confident badass. This fragrance will complete the look by adding to that persona. Also. Wearing this on a date in the cooler half of the year is perfect. Spray it on about an hour before your meeting your date, and this will grab attention and intrigue her for the rest of the day and into the next day. It's sweet dark berries and a dark smoke woods, giving of a sexy vibe. Try it. You won't be disappointed. If you know what you're getting into, you'll probably like/love it. If you're going in completely blind and think it's going to be a sweet vanilla and amber fragrance, this will disappoint. I'd say everyone who buys this and hates it, should have looked at the bottle before buying it. It doesn't say "roasting marshmallows by the fireplace". It literally tells you it's the smell of a burning city and matches. Personal score: It gets a 9.75/10, and Legendary Status. Absolutely full bottle worthy, if you like this kind of scent. It's challenging in all the right ways, and if you can handle it. It will give you an experience and a scent trail that will truly entice people around you.

Very light application of this for an office day, not wanting to assault my co-workers. Probably a good call! Opening on this is to me more akin to fresh ashes or liquid smoke, not necessarily burnt matches to me but certainly a 'fire' type scent. It is a really strong note, one I personally like but would not want to subject others to the first spray. I will say the note is closer to 'liquid smoke' used for artificial smoked goods. After about 15-20 minutes it becomes less harsh, allowing the fresh woody tone to come through, amplified in the back with very light leather and I do actually get the undercurrent of blackberry that adds a touch of sweetness. The smokiness does linger, but is much more subdued. There is something else in there, I think it's the jatamansi and cardamon mix adding both resin and herbal notes. My first run in with jatamansi so it's hard to tell. I'm inclined to agree there needs to be something lighter in the mix just to even out the profile as it comes off quite heavy. It is a very linear scent, only really changing due to the smoke dying down. Performance wise it is acceptable for a more polarising scent in my opinion. Very strong in the beginning, able to fill a small room and leaves a noticeable trail. Thankfully this quickly dies down, and becomes more intimate about arms length, with a slight trail. The lasting power seems to be about 4 hours with any projection before becoming a skin scent - but more liberal application and layering it may last a little longer. Personally, I'd like better performance but... those around me may appreciate that it isn't a bomber scent. Definitely for me, though I would not use this a daily wear but I can see myself using it for outdoor adventures or more intriguing nights out. Absolutely not one to blind buy. 8.5/10 - Would be a 9 if the performance was just a bit better.

Hear me out. I finally found Guidance 46 on a trusted discounter's site, so I've been experimenting with layering. When I layer Imaginary Authors’ A City On Fire with Amouage Guidance 46, it feels like I’m pulling two completely different worlds together and forcing them to have a conversation. When I spray City On Fire first, the opening is all abrasive smoke and cinders, but once I layer Guidance 46 on top, the sharp edges soften. The florals and vanilla smooth out the crackling fire, turning it into something richer, like embers glowing under silk. If I reverse the order, starting with Guidance 46, it’s a completely different experience. That nutty, rosy, incense base lays a cushion, and then City On Fire crashes down on top of it, injecting chaos and drama into what would have been a graceful, elegant scent. Both ways, I can’t help but notice how they share labdanum which I imagine would be like their secret handshake that makes them blend instead of clash. The smoke clings to the florals, the incense deepens the woods, and the vanilla pulls the whole thing together into a strange, smoldering gourmand-oriental haze. I have to be careful, though because both perfumes are heavy hitters. If I overdo it, I feel like I’m dragging around a bonfire in a velvet cloak. The trick is one spray of smoke, one spray of silk, and then letting them settle into each other. When I get it right, I feel the combined scent tells a story. The match strikes, the fire roars, and then out of the haze comes this unexpected softness of ripened pear rose petals, hazelnut, and incense like goddess venus rising from the ashe filled clam. OMG. I created a modern day Botticelli.

EDIT: Every time I sprayed this on myself, I kept having fabled visions in my mind... The story of this scent feels like someone has burned their bridges. Bear with me. The very first spray, and you flinch backwards. Volatile and rough, as though someone you loved hit a low blow in a bad argument when you least expected it. Bitter words, rough smoke; something has exploded. It's dry, the scent of peat whiskey creeps in, perhaps to numb, perhaps to soothe. It feels tenebrous in the forest of thoughts tonight, with only fire and anger keeping you alight in the dark. Smoke lingers - rage perfuses still throughout - never leaving the scent story. But in this sombre forest, did you ever notice it started to rain? With the overhanging foliage above and the acrid miasma that assaults your respiratory tract, it goes amiss. Yet lingering are the wet juniper berries that beg to be seen under black fog. No fire lasts forever. No temper is left isolated without the company of other haunting spirits. And as the last bridge is burnt, the blaze is calmed by the cool of night. Like the eyes of the Earth, round fruits cast their gaze, bearing witness to the arson, the crime, the loss, and the sorrow that follows suit in displacing wrath. Nothing remains but the fumes on our clothes and the tears of berries. ----------------------- I adore this scent beyond words.

This is insane, i've never smelt anything like this in a perfume. At first spray it literally engulfed me into a burning building. I could smell everything burning, the wooden pillars, books, electronics, everything in my house was burning in front of me and I was breathing in the plumes. The dry down smells like smokey incense, almost pretty but still nauseatingly smoke heavy which i would expect from a scent called a city on fire anyway! I had my baby with me when I first sprayed it and we had to evacuate the room and scrub it off my hand, she was not a happy camper. My baby is an expert perfumerist and I trust her opinion more than my own. Take that as you will. EDIT After wearing it for a full day, it is still detectable on my wrist. It's actually really nice now that the smoke dissipated. Almost as if the fire burn out and now it's just a city of ash and rubble. I smell subtle florals and the wild berry note, it's sweet but definitely not overly. Actually very pleasant and wearable now.

Burning match is so accurate - it’s an intense smell of fire and smoke, not like a cigarette or a bonfire, but something more edgy. An urban fire, man made structures smoking and smoke curling in the air. The smell of this on your clothes is *amazing* Perfect for those of us whose teenage passions were urban exploration and amateur pyromania. The smell of my clothes after a night of lighting random shit on fire. Waking up in a tent with a fire still smoldering. In the drydown I pick up the juniper berries which makes me love it even more! Makes me think of film noir, people who drink scotch, wandering the city at night, this memory I have of watching a giant wooden mansion burn down and the billowing smoke and heat hitting me from across the street, cyberpunk/post apocalyptic vibes, The Road By Cormac McCarthy, the Torso graphic novel, leather jackets and piercings, mysteries, controlled burns, Sin City, speakeasies and 24 hour coffee shops.

This stuff is fantastic! As a personal fragrance City on Fire is totally unique from anything else that I've ever smelled. At first sniff I was blown away by how much this actually smells like smokey fire. I initially was comparing it to a bon fire but then I remembered the smell of the remnants of burnt down buildings I've seen, which somehow isn't quite the same as a bon fire, and that is exactly what this fragrance smells like in the beginning. After about an hour or so this smokey smell is still quite prominent but it starts to take on a more traditional men's cologne smell. As others have said, the projection and longevity is quite good. I wouldn't say its a strong scent but it certainly isn't light either, people will notice it. When I put it on in the morning I can still smell it in the evening. My wife and I both enjoy the outdoors which I think is why we like this one so much. It smells like man...and camping...but without the B.O.!

This is the first perfume I tried out of a group of 8 from Luckyscent, and as a resident weird girl this is probably the best start I could have gotten. The perfume opens with this sharp, smokey burning chemical smell from the card oil that dries down to that spicy (still sharp) cardamon and nard. It blew my socks off the first time I smelled it, and for a while, I agreed with the comments when they say that this gets overwhelming over a long while of smelling it. Honestly though, after having it on my body, I think this more applies if you overdo it. It really only needs a few sprays around your body in order to completely encapsulate you in it. It has crazy longevity -- I put this on at 6 PM and still smelled it a little in the room 12 hours later when I woke up. Might be adding card oil to one of my essential notes.

The title says it all. Do you want to smell like you were at a campfire for a few hours and decided not to move out of the smoke column, and in fact, chase it as the wind moved it around? If so, this is the scent for you. Surprisingly, it can be wearable, but you have to pick a time and place. I made the mistake of wearing this to a dinner with my in laws and I just felt self conscious. Stick a leather jacket, a cowboy hat and boots, sunglasses, and a Swanson mustache, and you are the man. I think it would take a very particular type of woman to pull this off, so I am saying this leans heavily, heavily masculine. There is a *hint* of sweetness right underneath the smoke. Performance is powerful. Definitely one of the most unique and bold Imaginary Authors' scents that I have tried. Good times.

So many people dislike this fragrance for being exactly as advertised. It’s a nearly photorealistic burnt match smell for the first twenty minutes or so. The dry down is more similar to a bonfire scent with a slight sweet spice note. It smells like a graham cracker that fell into the fire. My wife got a sample of it in her Christmas present and hasn’t been able to forget about it. She had completely used up her sample by February so I got her a full size. I really like it on her and I’ve had fun putting it over some of my other perfumes to give them a smoky note. It worked really well with D&G Pour Femme’s marshmallow note. Overall it gets an 8/10 for me. It’s very strong so it takes a light hand to apply it properly and I prefer a perfume I can really go to town on.

This was the first time I cried when smelling a perfume. When I was a child I'd go to a sandy spot near my house on new years with my grandmother, my neighbors would light fireworks and firecrackers and I would get sparklers. This smells exactly like that. Burnt, vintage. It smells like holding my sparkler while holding her hand, while she wears her black fur coat. Its her faint chanel n5 and a slight animalic undertone. It's the firecracker that didn't go off and just has scorched. I run into a childhood friend, we laugh and feel our heartbeat in our eardrums, the scary sound and the thick smoke. It does feel like the city is on fire. Maybe the most evocative and beautiful scent i've had the pleasure of sampling.

I was looking for a quirky scent and I really enjoy the smokiness of this fragrance. To me, it is not as intense as many others have said, but this may be a case of high expectations. I have had it on for a few hours now and it has faded quite a bit but still has a nice woody scent. To me, this fragrance brings to mind burning logs in the fireplace on Christmas. It is nostalgic, and makes me miss my grandma. It is very comforting to me. I see myself investing in a larger bottle of this and will likely wear as an everyday type of scent, but I think that for most it leans heavily fall more than anything. My duraflame log memory may read to others as more of a fall burning leaves scent.

this hits you like a brick! very adamant of everything it wants to and can be. it wants to be sweet, heady, earthy. but when it finally settles on your skin it becomes the scent it needs to be. embodies all smoke and everything burnt. it is a winter night after everyone has gone to sleep and the fire has been put out in its hearth, but also simultaneously nostalgic for sweet suburban nights where the distant smell of a neighbors bonfire comes through your window on the breeze. absolutely not a scent for everyone but it encapsulates something within my heart that feels so reachable. my fiance hates this and says i smell like gasoline and tar when i wear it

I recently sampled all the IA scents with my boyfriend and here is a dual review. My review: I would wear this just for myself. I am a sucker for spicy woody scents and this just adds a serious smoke note that I actually enjoy in the drydown. At first it felt a bit tar like but it really ends up smelling like my favorite parts of some of my other favorite fragrances. I won't buy this until I get some of the easier scents to wear from the line but after sitting with it on paper for a couple hours I definitely am excited to see what this does on skin His review: it smells like a cologne... Like a dude-bro cologne. Like every gym bro would wear this.

Initially, this perfume seemed to forward in smoke for my taste and it reminded me of vegan leather jacket by Lush, which is a fragrance I do not like entirely. This one however grew on me and I find myself reaching for it quite often. It is smoky, cade overdosed, and slightly vintage. Not the strongest fragrance on me. In fact, I tend to lose the scent after a few hours but I will gladly use it again because I think its power matches good with the scent. If this fragrance were to be stronger, I assume it wont be as nice for other people and may seem nauseating to whoever wears it.

Yup! That’s smoke! I love how this one develops, it truly smells like a bonfire after the first 20 or so minutes which do give a kind of strike of a match smell which isn’t entirely pleasant. It blossoms into a full, woody smoke with a slightly spicy undertone. The berries and juniper to me give a sense of being outside. As a someone who tries to keep the bonfire smell on my clothes for as long as possible this perfume is a godsend to me. My sole scent desire in life is to smell like a pile of burning leaves and this gets me halfway there.

I’ve been a major fan of this perfume for many many years now. Here’s how it feels to me: it’s very smoky, but not in a campfire smoke way OR a barbecue way because I really don’t get that association. It’s smoky in a whiskey/bourbon way. That’s the only way I can describe the smokiness. Anyways, people always talk about a fruit aspect to this perfume, and I really don’t get it. It just seems like a dark and smooth perfume done not too overpowering despite its scent profile. I really love this, but it’s not for most people.

Love it when a frag divides people and creates such diverse opinions - in fact I am naturally drawn to any such frag that has lots of love/hate reviews. For me, ACOF is a unique masterpiece....... to immerse yourself in during the depths of a cold, crisp winters day. But at the end of the day, nobody is right or wrong - Fragrance, as with music, food, wine...etc, etc, etc.....is a totally subjective thing. If everyone feels the same way, in general = Boring. Diverse opinions, with wide polarity = Interesting.

This juice is dark, mysterious, powerful and needles to say as imaginary authors do so well to make every note listed detectable. Peppery sweet woody burnt smell which I clearly smell the burnt match in this along with cardamom woods and berries. Cade oil I presume giving it its dark color. Not very easy to wear for me though I really admire this smokey sweet scent but I definitely will be wearing on more suitable cool winter nights. Longevity 9/10 Silage 8.5/10 Scent 7/10 Versatility 6/10 Overall 7.6/10

This smells exactly like how I imagined it would. I used to go camping with my family in the summer. The sun baked us. My little brother always kept the fire going until we had to pack up and leave. All the food was cooked over the fire (as one does if you're truly camping). This smells exactly like that: a campfire that's been made using slightly damp wood (pine needles included) scavenged by a ten year old and then used to cook hot dogs. I don't know where I would wear this, but I love it nonetheless.

aromatic, resinous, phenolic, piney nuances with a Smokey vibe that isn’t like incense but like a burnt treated wood actually like a house fire also reminiscent of liquid smoke or hickory wood and there is a subtle berry vibe in there somewhere. Hours into the dry down it loses a bit of that smoky acrid vibe and become much more aromatic/piney which is pretty enjoyable and very wearable. There are earthy and herbal facets here and there. Performance is above average making this altogether a great scent.

I LOVE this fragrance. It's super dark and smoky and woody, and not a "perfumey" smell at all. It's the neo-noir smell of a dark-suited detective whose investigations into a string of arsons that unravel a much deeper mystery. It doesn't project a lot, but that might be a good thing given that it's a kind of divisive fragrance. My only real complaint is that I wish it lasted longer on me, it's basically a skin scent after just a couple hours.

This is NOT a blind buy, but I adore it! I get the smoke, Mesquite chips burning, burnt match, juniper, but the Cardamom makes this Smoky beast sooo good. I couldn't wear a full spray of this, or wear it everyday. But a teensy spray on my wrist, is just pure comfort to me! Maybe if you have this & it's overwhelming you try a tiny bit & nowhere near your nose. The whiffs are dreamy. I also have on vanilla lotion, but that's normal for me.

Initially this hits you in the face with an almost savory, smoky campfire smell mingling with incense. In about an hour the smoke dies down and incense takes over, lifted by a bit of fruity sweetness. Later it dries down to a dry (ashy?), woody musk that has a hint of sweetness and sticks closer to the skin. The dry down reminds me of sandalwood and oakmoss. This can lean masculine at first but is overall a unisex fragrance.

my signature scent. great performance. amazing smell. if u have smelled scents that were meant to be smoky and u felt disappointed dont worry i did too till i smelled this and i acc took a step back and smelled again and realised wow. thats acc smoke. theres not much to say, the smoke is balanced out with the juniper and berries. and it creates my dream signature scent, thats it man.

The first sample I had of this had the most intense smoky Islay scotch note. I recently bought a full size bottle and the note has kind of diminished, or maybe I'm already used to it. It's definitely still very smoky, probably won't agree with a lot of people's palate but I love it as a cigar smoker. Good drydown and pretty intense sillage but haven't had any complaints yet!

this perfume reminds me of growing up in the woods of NH. it reminds me HEAVILY of the bonfires in the backyard every other night, with the woods surrounding me. the soft floral undertones really bring this perfume to light, you gotta search for them but my god. when you smell them you fall in love with the memories of wood stoves, bonfires, and living in the country

This is my favorite perfume right now. Wear it when I'm taking care of BUSINESS. Great for lecturing, dance class, date night--anytime I need to feel a bit daring. Dries down to something like dark red berries on me. Delicious and boyfriend loves it, ladies should not be intimidated by people saying it's masculine. Unwearable if it's above 52 degrees in the daytime.

It smells like a new year's kiss or a quiet loving night with a candle. A bit nostalgic and gloomy, but so very beautiful... incredible. This scent would make anyone pause and enter a warm short coma of remembering love. Not necessarily romantic or sexual love, just people that matter to you and how you miss and need them.

Anyone who enjoys the smell of peat will love this. The opening is very dark, plastic, burnt and honestly not a great first impression. However, the scent that follows is almost entirely peat and absolutely beautiful. It's a very particular smell but one with incredibly comforting connotations to those who grew up with it.

As a child I loved the smell of burning leaves in the fall. And burning matches. The wooden kind. I was careful and hid outside lighting match after match, carefully putting each one out. A City On Fire smells like burning matches, burning leaves, the fall of my childhood. A masterpiece for me.

this is my favourite scent i have ever encountered- i wear it every time i'm going out. its deliciously smoky with a noticeable juniper and fruity tones. its strong enough to be noticeable without being overwhelming and lasts without fading too much

More "spent last night around a campfire" than "oh god something's burning," more sexy than cute. Smoky of course, but woodsy too. Dries a little acrid. Might be a strange choice for a warm day, but very fun for an evening. Instant favorite for me!

Smells exactly how I was hoping it would. Oh my god. ETA: I was kind of lost for words in my original review but like seriously this is amazing. It's pure smoke and wood. It has so much longevity. It makes you feel so powerful it's scary.

This smells like a shop rag a mechanic used to clean their hands after working on a car's engine. It's smoky, oily, and dark. It's a bit more complex underneath, but saying it smells like a used shop rag covers about 95% of it.

look this perfume gives me the biggest headache if i do more than one microscopic drop but goddamn is this so photorealistic and unique. If i could wear this perfume without repelling everyone around me i would.

This is straight..... yes, it's fire, but in a resinous blackened char-grilled fat kind of way. It's savory..I find it to be a very sexy smell for men. It's not your typical fragrance and very niche

Definitely not for everyone but it's amazing to me! Smells just like its name and I love everything about it. The intense smell of smoke, fire and hints of berries is an amazing mix.

my first purchase by this brand and it is such a unique fragrance, i love to sniff it in the raining season, it is a very interesting smoky scent.

It quite literally smells like a snuffed match or bonfire smoke. This puts to mind rituals, cold hands, and howling wind.

i love this, it smells like a part of my childhood, like wet charcoal the morning after a campfire

Why would you complain about this when you know what it’s going to smell like? Why try it?

i love the smell of fire!! the burning scent fades a bit quickly though...

You guys are pussies. Here's why. Yes, this is smoky. Yes, it does smell like your t-shirt the next day after a bonfire party. But that's not the end of the story. It opens smoky. Like, it does smell of actual wood smoke or burnt match. The longer it stays on your skin the more of the nuances appear. 30 minutes after applying it's already smoky with sweet wood underneath and some cherry-like fruityness. Then there's something green, alive in the back. The juniper, accompanied by jatamansi, bring some aromatics, but at the same time spicy dryness to the composition. The smoke becomes a bit more based with the leathery touch of labdanum. It's not even that smoky, pungent, or strong when it settles after some time. Jovoy's Private Lavel is way smokier than that. I can give you a direct comparison, like almost 1:1 to this smell, but only if you're Slavic. It smells of smoked cherries the closer to the drydown or smoking something with cherry tree wood the closer to the opening. Don't worry, you won't smell like kiełbasa in the opening. It's not even that strong - it's very moderate in power and projection. It lasts, you might get 10-12 hours of it, but the whole time it's moderate/close to the skin. Leaves some nice sillage, but nobody's gonna say UGH WHO SMELLS LIKE A BURNT HOUSE IN HERE. It's delicate in a way. Now I understand not many of you want to smell smoky, but calling this harsh, strong, or pungent is just absurd. If you literally can't handle this and have to scrub it off just stick to Bleu de Chanel and don't hate on a well built fragrance, it's not it's fault you don't like smoke, not to mention is screams smoke from the packaging. There's quality, lots of story and thought behind this. This is not made to suit everyone. There's a point to this perfume. The opening is strong and very, very 1:1 with a real smoke, but Red Tobacco has a divisive opening, too, yet a lot of you love it. It's more masculine. Moderate projection, some nice sillage. Lasts 10-12 hours. Not office safe. Any time of the year, but nighttime, or winter/autumn in daytime. After all that, I'm not buying a full bottle :D but it was a nice experience to order a decant to test it.

From the very first spray, A City On Fire lives up to its name. It opens like a dark smoke bomb, instantly recalling the dense, tarry smoke found in early releases from BeauFort such as Tonnere and Vi Et Armis. The opening smells less like a city currently on fire and more like the aftermath of one that has already burned to the ground — charred wood, black tar, and smoldering rubble. Interestingly, the “city” that burned here doesn’t smell modern. The smoke feels too clean for that. There’s no hint of melted plastic, chemicals, metal, or minerals. Instead, it smells like an old wooden city that burned — buildings, beams, and timber reduced to char and ash. Unfortunately, the intense smoke phase doesn’t last very long. After about 15 minutes it starts calming down, and around the 30-minute mark a faint sweetness begins to appear. From there, the scent settles into something much more mellow: a woody fragrance with smoky nuances and a touch of sweetness. For such an intense opening, the fragrance actually becomes quite wearable. The smokiness lingers but feels smoother and more restrained as time passes. The woody tones eventually emerge once the raging fire subsides, though they feel somewhat hollow to me compared to the dramatic opening. Overall, the scent is quite linear; the main change is simply the gradual fading of the heavy smoke. Performance is very strong during the first hour but drops quickly afterward, becoming a skin scent sooner than expected. Hardcore smoke lovers and seasoned niche enthusiasts may find it slightly underwhelming. But for people curious about smoky fragrances or looking to explore niche perfumery for the first time, A City On Fire offers a dramatic yet ultimately approachable introduction

I had been wanting to try more of Imaginary Authors’ perfumes after I got their “edible” collab set with Salt & Straw at our local shop. After The Complete Works was revamped into one set, I finally purchased it with a discount code from So Avant Garde. I took about 3 days to try the samples on test strips, noting which ones I loved, liked, or was indifferent to. A City on Fire was the main one that I sniffed and went, Whoa! It smelled straight up like a burnt match, but I was intrigued. I tried all the fragrances then made a priority list of which ones I wanted to buy. Luckily Imaginary Authors did a phenomenal sale on their travel sized perfumes, so I ended up purchasing all of them! I know, I know, that’s a lot! But after I received the ones I loved, I just decided to get them all for a complete collection. I found the discontinued ones too. Then I started wearing each one over the duration of a month or so to see how they smelled on my skin. One night I used A City on Fire and I was enthralled! Like, man this is sexy and dangerous and if I wasn’t a 55 year old, chronically ill gal, I might have gone on the prowl, lol!!! I ended up layering it with Dark by Akro, and it was amazing!!!! I typically don’t layer my perfumes, since I like to experience them “as is” first, but this combo was magic! I couldn’t tell you what other perfume it smells like, or that it’s a safe blind buy at all. But, for someone who is into odd, interesting, different, and open to experiencing a perfume for it’s uniqueness and nuance vs just “smelling good”, this one is worth a try!

When you sample this, & I do recommend sampling, spray it on your skin. Don't just spray the air & make a decision based on that. Put it on & wait for the drydown. Wait at least half an hour. This scent is like a breech birth. It comes out pretty ugly, but it improves tremendously with just a little bit of time. My initial reaction to the scent was: burning rubber. Asphalt. Hints of gasoline. A city on fire indeed. But I noticed these smells weren't setting off an instant migraine like they do in the actual city, so I waited. A pleasant smokiness, very much like, yes, a barbecue, began to emerge. I felt badass, like I could pull of red lipstick (I can't) & vanquish my enemies with either obscure points of law or mixed martial arts. A very low sweetness mingled with the smoke, & suddenly I was getting notes of bacon, but it was very subtle, just a whisper. As the drydown continued, the smokiness became almost powdery & I started feeling very safe, & I realized this perfume smells just like my boyfriend's bedroom. He's a former Marine who actually washes his walls with soap & water once a week, so just imagine how good it smells in there. VERY good. What a journey! Ultimately I think it leans too masculine for me, I don't feel like myself wearing it, but I can't wait to try it on my daughter. She has a lot more boyish energy & this might be just the ticket for her. Ultimately, I found the scent deceptively fresh & imaginative.

I've been wanting to try an Imaginary Authors scent for a while, and this is the first one I have sampled. It impresses me a bit, but it's an overall easy wear. The story of this scent is sheer poetry. The scent itself has an overpowering, but not unpleasant smoky start, similar to the smoke scent in Russian Leather (I refuse to call it "Dark Leather") by Molton Brown. But, A City On Fire has a secret weapon; a very subtle twist of dark berries, that disarm the smoke, and make it much more interesting and complex. The fire in the city rages for a good couple of hours, but then it dies down to more of a controlled bonfire, at a budget fireworks display, in the beer garden of a warm countryside pub. The danger that is almost palpable at the start, dies down to something that is about as dangerous and rebellious as kicking over a wheelie bin in a deserted alleyway. The woody tones come in for a bit after the raging fire subsides, but they smell empty and powerless, due to the sheer intensity of smoke at the opening of this scent. I have also got a sample of Abandoned Mansion from Imaginary Authors, which I am hoping will be a bit more interesting than A City On Fire. 6/10. It's an unusual type of smoke, but it's not fascinating enough to go higher than 6.

upon initial spray, i get a STRONG smoked olive note. i do not believe it is quite as barbecue-y as other might suggest, but definitely smoky olive. yes OLIVES, but I do not find it unpleasant! i think people are being a bit dramatic about the barbeque and smoked (I just get smoked olives) note as it fades rather quick on me, but the fragrance truly develops like the imaginary author that it is based off of. after the initial dry down, the smoke scent reigns itself back a bit and you get a lovely woody juniper spicy fragrance that some will love a lot. it has complex notes, and feels more masculine to me. i wore this tester for a few nights out and got a compliment or two from some of my friends, but it will probably not get that many more uses in the future. one thing i love about imaginary author's fragrances is that they truly develop like a story, and unfortunately this is not my favorite story of theirs. I do not really love it on myself, but I tend to prefer gourmands or sweeter fragrances. however if you are all-smoke-no-sweet, you need a sample! absolutely go for it if smoke fragrances are your thing, don't let others dissuade you!