Broken Theories

From the moment I cracked open the sample vial, I knew I'd be buying a bottle of this. Broken Theories is a fragrance I wear with intent -- by this, I mean it is not something I am likely to thoughtlessly spray while on my way out the door when I'm indecisive and only have seconds to choose a scent before rushing off to begin my day. Applying Broken Theories is always a deliberate choice for me, influenced by the weather, my mood, and my desire to indulge in a specific fragrance experience. And what an experience it is! There is something slightly citric and barely sweet about the opening (must be the blood orange, though I don't register it specifically as such), but what little sweetness there is only serves to temper the wood smoke. It tames things... just a tiny bit, but not too much. What follows is a forceful bloom of campfire smoke, just a hint of extremely dry tobacco, and wintry spices which linger throughout the day while somehow managing to smell like spice that has come into contact with the smoldering wood of an actual fire. I adore the smell of a bonfire/campfire/fireplace, so I was stunned to find a fragrance that presented aspects of burning wood and smoke and spice while managing to blend other notes to create a true work of art. That being said, this is definitely a cold-weather fragrance (which makes sense, given the fact that the creator lives in Michigan), and not something I would recommend blind-buying. Temperature affects the way this one develops. If you live in a warm or humid climate, you might not have the same experience I did. Even if you live in a place with four seasons and your fair share of snow, there will be times when you'll have to set this one aside for a few months. (What happens when I wear this in 60-degree weather? It skips the campfire and spices and veers straight into pine sap territory. I have no idea how, as pine is not a listed note, but that was the result of my little experiment. Lesson learned. No matter; I'll simply treasure it when the temperatures take a dive.) On occasion, I get a bit of ash, but that seems to depend on the weather -- the closer it is to 50 degrees Farenheit, the more likely the ash is to make an appearance. I don't notice it in colder weather. However, I don't mind it, as it's consistent with the overall smoldering-embers vibe. Also... the fragrance seems to have improved with age. (Either that, or I've grown to love it even more than I did when I bought it.) I've owned my bottle for several years. Roughly 40% of the juice has been used, and I swear the remaining liquid in the bottle smells better and more nuanced than it did when I first sprayed it!

Kerosene Broken Theories is one of the houses newer releases from 2015, but I'm only finally testing it out today. It's mainly a mix of oud, incense, tobacco, vanilla, and vaguely, spices. I don't at all get the orange, but perhaps it's simply a fainter top note that would've faded for most, anyway. On me, it's a non-issue, and I'm pleased that it's not a distraction, at least. It's not a surprise that it would seem to be more fitting to wear Broken Theories in cold weather than warm weather based on note breakdown alone, but admittedly the vanilla takes the edge off ever so slightly and keeps it from being overwhelmingly heavy and masculine, but it's still cold-weather-leaning and masculine, nonetheless. I hold it in similar regard as I do Copper Skies--a "like" but not quite a "love," though right on the edge. Performance is very good in terms of both projection and especially longevity, so there's good value in the standard $140 for 100ml pricing for this cold weather, masculine EDP. Partly, Broken Theories suffers from reminding me of Blackmail, my favorite fragrance from the house, in their common notes of vanilla and oud. However, whereas Broken Theories then adds on tobacco and incense, Blackmail instead adds berries, amber, and perhaps plum, fostering a sweet delight mixed with oud, and I confess I prefer it. So when I'm wearing Broken Theories, I end up of thinking of Blackmail and want that instead. Plus there's some inherent redundancy with Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille, perhaps without the oud, so I feel I've Broken Theories covered via other fragrances that I prefer. Still, a very solid entry in the house that I might've otherwise jumped on in other circumstances. ***EDIT. I've definitely warmed up to this significant and enjoy it as a vanilla/oud alternative to Mancera Aoud Vanille. It's more or less on the list now, as a bottle to buy. 8 out of 10

Unbelievable. Funny story. A while ago I ordered a Kerosene sample pack and tried two scents per day (because I could never decide on just one..). So, one day I realized it would be the last two to try and that'd be it. I was somewhat underwhelmed by the house, although I really liked their frags. I just didn't really have any that made me go crazy. So, a few weeks later I realized there are 18 samples but I only reviewed 16! I found this one and another one and haven't even tried them. I got VERY excited. This is a wonderful fall scent. It's the craziest and best wood I ever got to smell. It reminds me of leaves on the ground, campfires, burning leaves in backyards and just in general forests, dry wood and fire. I love all of this. Now, it starts off a little stingy, spicy and strong but after a while it settes a little and turns a little bit sweet with all the wood notes still present. I get some tobacco and vanilla out of this too - two notes I absolutely hate with a passion. However, with this one I actually seriously love them for the first time ever! It's incredible. Every time I get a whiff of this, it reminds me of a good ol' campfire with friends. Just sitting around, talking about random stuff and having a beer. Wonderful! I don't like fall as a season but I love the associations I have with it - and this scent is one of them. It might be one of my favorites, if not THE favorite from this house. I want to order a bottle immediately because it's just sooo good. A true masterpiece! Oh and longevity.. it lasts forever. I know, sometimes your skin "Eats" frags but with this one I doubt it's even possible. Amazing, absolutely wonderful! I imagine you'd have to be the kind of person who likes strong woody scents to actually enjoy this. But if you love those scents, this will be heaven for you!

Kerosene is becoming one of my favorite houses, good bottles, reasonable prices, and great smells! This opens with a really spicy, smokey, woody campfire with a dark dry orange in the back. The incense is blended and mixed with the spices to my nose, it’s not an “incense-y” fragrance to me. After an hour or so the orange and spices shine through a lot, a liiittle barbecue-y but as long as you don’t think about it or give people the idea nobody will notice hahaha. Finally ending up on a beautiful smokey vanilla with the woody spicy orange hanging out till the end. Very intense for the first 3-4 hours and calms down after, still plenty noticeable. I could still smell this well on my arm at least 10 hours later. This is my second full bottle from the house, my first being Blackmail (I have a type clearly) and I bought it on the spot when I tested it at the Scent Bar. This is a brand I trust for their quality, their uniqueness, and everything they make is able to put immediate pictures into my head. There are a lot of houses I like, but every scent from this house never fails my imagination. Their fragrances smell “expensive” to me as well if that’s a factor for you personally hahaha. To me personally this could be used year round, maybe not in an office in June but you get my point. 9/10

Broken Theories.... When I first put my nose on this, I had broken theories running through my head..."What does this smell like?" It was smokey, woody, sweet and spicy initially. I let this soak into my skin and sniffed again... This brought me back to a time when I was 15, I would ride my bicycle past this house that had a very pleasantly heavy cigar smell coming out of it. I would ride back and forth and it was delightful. This! This reminds me of sugar sweet cigar smoke with a touch of amber and vanilla to give it an extra sweet bite. But this is also VERY dark! After the dry down, major notes of incense and wood pop out that reminds me of fresh cut logs and branches from my fathers land. It even has a slightly wet smell of dew on the trunk of the trees. Overall, Broken Theories is a splendid dark and sweet parfum that keeps you thinking about nostalgic times. Sillage is quite intense for the first 2 hours, with a 4 or 5 foot radias. So put this on lightly. Performance is EXTREME!!! This fragrance is absolute BEAST Mode!! I sprayed a sweater and hung it up in my closet. It still smells like Broken Theories. On skin, this lasts about 10 hours for me. Hope you enjoyed my review.