La Haine

La Haine is a fragrance that perfectly captures the raw tension and gritty realism of the film it’s inspired by. It opens with an explosive burst of smoky, metallic notes, evoking the smell of hot asphalt, burning tire rubber or the faint tang of gunpowder in the air. There's an industrial sharpness that feels urban and unpolished, paired with a dark, resinous undertone. As it settles, the fragrance reveals a softer, almost melancholic side, with hints of leather and a dry, woody base. Like the air after a birch forest caught fire. La Haine is unapologetically bold and conceptual, but surprisingly wearable for those who appreciate fragrances with depth and edge.

I have recently revisited this and wow. This is far from challenging, a rather easy to wear and a safe blind buy fragrance. It is smoky, but not aggressive in any way. It’s almost like the cooling essence of smoke that transitions into a sweet calming sensation.

The opening: worn socks. So far, so good. Burnt tire. So far, so good. When you come to, after blacking out, and after wiping off the blood from hitting your face on the ground, it turns into a great perfume. It’s not the fall that matters, it’s the landing.

Very well mannered, woody, smoky incense. Safe blind buy if you like smoky fragrances, the comparison with Trudon’s releases is spot on.

Not getting the leather or smoky notes that others noted (on the review page for when it was made by La Folie a Plusieurs - though the formula hasn't changed, AFAIK) - when it opens, it's more shiny metallic to me, those soapy aldehydes up front, and rubber - but, like, a fresh pack of rubber bands as opposed to tire-on-a-hot-day rubber. As is the case with many of these scents, it's reacting to body chemistry as it progresses - as the day goes on, the aroma on my shirt is different than that on my skin. Some of the wood and industrial notes are there on the fabric. But on my wrist, there's a rather forward, insistent citrusy note - can't quite place my finger on it, and there's no citrus listed among the ingredients. More green notes arriving - maybe that bay leaf is in there, after all, and a little unsmoked weed? Strangely, about three hours in it seems stronger than when I first put it on. Thinking I might have over-applied. I quite like it, I find when it opens it has a very "clean" aura in the vein of, say, CdG Odeur 53, with that implacable citrusy hint (probably the aldehydes) emerging as it goes along - fans of O53 would do well to check this out as an slightly less industrial alternative. Obviously this is one of those weird ones where different people seem to pick up wildly different notes. But it's very nice to my nasal palate, if a bit lighter than I was expecting given the previous reviews.