Charcoal

Everything that is woody - sap, resin, green leaves, bark, needles, roots, sawdust, smoke and charcoal, taken to the Nth degree - a just extraordinary evocation of campfires and bonfires and damp autumn walks through forest. Deep and dark and wondrous. It is utterly natural - in some ways it's reminiscent of Imaginary Authors' A City on Fire, but made of entirely organic smells rather than being livened up with tangs of burning rubber, plastic, etc. Charcoal is arguably more the smell of a place than a perfume, but it's so viscerally intense and beautiful it made me burst into tears in a public place - the "Perfume" exhibition in Somerset House, London, where it's one of 10 featured smells. Apparently Lyn Harris based it on her beloved granddad's garden fires, which makes sense, for its emotional heft as well as its strength. I hung on to the beanbag in the exhibition like a greedy maniac, huffing away at it hungrily while wiping away the tears. It just does something to me. And it has ended my quest for the perfect woodsmoke perfume - the many, many other things I've tried - while literally asking sales assistants: "have you got anything which will make me smell like a bonfire?" - sometimes get close, but nearly always lose their nerve and sneak in extraneous notes of vanilla or fruit or incense or 'urban' smells. This doesn't do that: it is about SMOKE, real wood smoke, not incense. (I believe it has a good whack of cade, though, so beware if that's a no-no for you.) But that is why I love Charcoal - it's uncompromising and honest and - just in my view of course - it is beyond perfection. Whenever or wherever I sniff it, I'm instantly outside, listening to the crackle of burning stuff. It's not aiming to please - I think many people will find it too austere, maybe too rough - but for me it is a genuine revelation of what scent can do. (I don't burst into tears after smelling things very often... and I can only apologise if this review seems pretentious - but this one gets me right in the feelings. ) ETA: a respected friend tells me it "smells of kippers". Which is an impression I can understand ... in some ways it really does (the smokiness at least - there's no fishiness!). I still maintain this is a total masterpiece and close to a scent miracle, for me.

On your walk through the woods, you smell the damp fallen logs and green young saplings around you. Sunlight occasionally breaks through the canopy but down here things are still humid and earthy from last night's rain. After 30 minutes of walking you approach a camp. You can smell the first wisps of smoke through the trees, beginning to mingle with the natural smells of the forest. At the camp itself the air is filled with a beautiful ashy smokiness, the smell of campfire embers. You stay and rest for a while, taking it all in before you turn back home. On your walk back the smell of the camp lingers on your clothes, the smoke of course but also the smell of freshly chopped wood. Naturalistic and full of atmosphere. I would marry someone who wore this.

Noooooo. No no no no. I shouldn't have tried this on. It's my IDEAL signature scent but do you think I can afford $300 for 50ml? Do you?! How does it transform from 'steelworks' to 'cyborg cat'?? Like the hideous and beautiful lifecycle of a cursed creature, packed into 5 hours? Do I decant this stuff forever? Do I anoint myself with dirt and ancient pot pourri and literal charcoal every morning? Do I invent a new niche of foot pics?? It was nice to know you for a day, signature scent that I'll never wear because you're too damn expensive. 😭 probably just go be basic and buy bois imperial or something

I agree that it smells like you just entered a florist shop, but only in the opening. As it dries down, it smells similar Amouage Royal Tobacco (at least to me), but its just bette in the sense that it smells more natural. A very interesting fragrance that can be worn anywhere and anytime. Great creation.

Truly lovely birch-tar/leather (iso-quin) - aromatic which relates the story without much narrative support required. Strong projection & longevity; a rarity for this minimalist house.