Fire

There was so much uproar in fragcom over the discontinuation of Fire that I couldn’t resist a blind buy. Which I hardly do at all. Selling points are: the notes are right up my street (rum, olibanum, tobacco, juniper berries, saffron, vanilla); and bottles are marked down really nicely right now on The Maker’s website. This is SMOKE CITY. You’d be hard pressed to find me something smokier. Good thing I love a smoke note so much. And talk about personal nostalgia: I’d liken the smoke here to the smell I can still recall from when I had just turned 5 and shrapnel from a crashing FB-111A jet bomber pummeled the trunk of my parents’ car and set it ablaze - along with many apartments in the neighborhood. It’s a much denser smoke than the campfire kind in Maison Margiela By The Fireplace, or the incense variety in Tom Ford Ebene Fume. Closer to the imposingly thick yet desirable smoke in Carner Barcelona Botafumeiro... but smokier still. It’s not all smoke here, though. There’s an equally potent contrast that was instantly familiar to me. I kept thinking it had to be some ‘80s perfume - until it dawned on me that what I was getting is the perfume my Junior High school secretary wore. I can’t recall if she told me Samsara or Ciara. Regardless of which one, neither smell as incredible on me, so I’ll never have that closure. But I’m happy to have this successful blind buy, in a gorgeous bottle! The two sides of this composition blend so beautifully at around the one hour mark. I truly adore this one. So now I join the ranks of the sullen Fire lovers.

Reading Feuermaiden’s review below, it seems she was expecting one thing but received another, which isn’t a great way to begin reviewing a fragrance. She’s comparing it to “by the fireplace” probably because both contain the word “fire” and expected certain parallels between the two. They aren’t the same at all, and might only concede that “Fire” might be a misnomer; a F/W fragrance for sure, quite masculine in its appeal. It’s more evocative of an accompaniment for reading leather bound books in a study where walls are clad in rich mahogany, proper mini bar in the corner, ashtray with pipe - not a cozying up by a fireplace with a flannel blanket and hot chocolate type of fragrance. Fire is unapologetically masculine and glorious. I have many different fragrances in this family of accords, but Fire stands on its own. An instant classic and signature worthy.

This is a surprisingly good tobacco scent, bolstered by spicy notes. It opens with an in-between green and pipe tobacco, moves into a warm spicy heart where the rum notes appear more prominently, then finishes on tobacco again, but sweeter from the vanilla. For a relatively unknown and narrowly distributed fragrance, it’s a bit overpriced, but they sell a 10ml roll-on too in case you’re nervous to drop $195 on 50ml. Lasts about 4 hours on my skin. Ultimately, I can’t stop smelling my wrist. It’s a lovely fragrance. EDIT: 9 months later and this has become one of my favourite fragrances. It's so cozy, nostalgic, and masculine. It's like what I imagine Norman Rockwell's studio in Vermont would have smelled like in the autumn and winter months.

A near perfect composition for this boozy vanilla and tobacco fragrance. This fragrance leans more toward fall/winter and nighttime as It wears heavy on the skin. Sillage is quite strong and it lasts all day. There are certain days when I pick up notes of green apple which is delightful. The base notes and tobacco are just a touch too smoky for my liking.

Dusty & sweet tobacco scent with some complexity. Slightly boozy & spicy. I really like this, definitely has a similar vibe to V&R Invisible Oud and MM Across The Sands(both of which are discontinued).

The initial blast of this is potent, high counter “Tom Ford-esque” in nature, wildly resinous and a hint smokey, but I am extremely pleased with the drydown of this, here’s why. In a ton of new age popular releases that try to aim for a unisex leaning, warm resinous scent- you get the base note *holy trinity* of intense, crunchy iso-e, amber & musk- (think: MFK gentle fluidity gold, Mancera Intense Cafe, Widian New York, Commodity gold, etc.) The drydown “skeleton” of these fragrances is enjoyable, that staticky, sticky “tickles your nose” effervescence, hence their rise in popularity, but if new releases keep riding that train it will lead to burnout. The Maker took all the attention grabbing notes of a handful of chart toppers & instead laid a base of wood, tonka & resin. A more gentle and transparent “natural” feeling fragrance - albeit quieter. This is not gourmand or vanillic in any way, the impression is a soft leathery rum, tempered with woods, resin and honey... in a BEAUTIFULLY balanced blend. A drydown in unison, a “bury your face in it” type of comfort and familiarity. AND NO RUBBERY NOTES! If you have a scent in this family, you won’t need this one. It does mimic a handful of its predecessors, making it a bit nondescript in a large collection. But if you are new in your fragrance journey, this is ABSOLUTELY a fantastic option OVER those hyped up fragrances that are also available at Sephora, (such as By the Fireplace). A graceful & refined unisex scent! High quality without feeling over the top, easy to wear but with longevity. I never knew a ~sheer~ leather adjacent scent could exist, but it’s really nice to see one!

I got sent this perfume for my review . The quality of it is absolutely outstanding!!! Great silage, and projection, it’s a strong perfume . This is definitely unisex, could be for woman or men , it’s perfect for fall and winter . It’s very warm and spicy, I am still trying to figure out how or where to wear mine but for now it’s an “ at home / bedtime/ Sunday afternoon but I could easily see someone wearing this out to a bar or a night out or for the holidays . It reminds me a tiny bit of kenzo jungle elephant only because I smell that old school cover girl foundation a tad bit in there. It’s a little sweet but not really . I can’t wait to try other scents from this brand ! It’s very incense like , I get sandalwood, and heavy incense , and tobacco, it actually smells like real tobacco but not stinky . It layers nicely with kayali vanilla 28 . But I’m still trying to figure out a perfect pair to go with it . Something to sweeten it up a bit maybe .

This perfume is potent (and I'm coming to find, most of the Maker perfumes are.) It enveloped me in a warm, thick, spicy scent that would be perfect for an autumn evening spent by a fire. An apt name for this one! I definitely got the crisp, brown, dry, tannic tobacco and rum notes, which I think did a beautiful job of offsetting the base vanilla and sandalwood. This is what made Fire truly unisex for me. At times, I was a bit off-put by the fragrance, especially in the middle of the dry down. It was too cloying and heavy for me, and it did give me a sort of heady, dazed feeling. I was amazed at the staying power — I smelled it the morning after a mid-afternoon application.

I really wanted to love this, but it’s just not as pleasant as I was hoping it would be. This is a cough inducing, strongggg as hell tobacco & rum fragrance with very little to balance it out in the way I would’ve liked. It smells like an older gentleman who’s just smoked a strong cigar and has rum on his breath. I mean... maybe not necessarily a bad thing but not what I’m aiming to smell like. So far, nothing has beaten By The Fireplace and Memoirs of a Trespasser for me in terms of wood fiery, smoldering scents that evoke such warmth and coziness with a little sweetness thrown in for good measure. Sweetly Known and Lune Feline are also in my top running for best autumnal scents of all time. I would recommend any of those over Fire by The Maker. 3/10

This is much darker and deeper than I'd hoped. Smells like something only a really sexy vampire could pull off. I'll never reach for this sample, sadly.

I think the scent is so so. My favorite from The Maker is Lover.

Lovely, decadent, and seductive, but didn’t last on me at all.

I ordered the discover set of these fragrances for the heck of it, and it's a hard pass on all of them for me. There are better vanilla tobacco fragrances.

First impressions: (on paper) Way too much tobacco for my taste. Eek Edit 1: Tried it on skin it’s a No for me. Sorry.

Over this heavy musky note. It takes over the scent

Pungent, cinnamon gum, rum, tobacco, sweet, powdery, old lady musk, bomb-of-a-fragrance. I hate this and it kindof makes me feel nauseous. 1/10

Just tried Fire, along with a couple other fragrances from The Maker. Fire is quite enjoyable on the dry down, but I feel like I’m the only one who gets extremely sharp herbal notes in the opening of ALL the Maker perfumes?! Almost star anise and mint or something... Luckily that part only lasts for a short time in this one. I felt like the sharp herbal notes lasted much longer in Lover. Anyway, after that goes away, it’s boozy and spicy and sweet. Reminds me of the vibes of Killian Smoking Hot without the shisha note. I liked it overall, but I think that sharp opening will prevent me from purchasing any of The Maker perfumes.

A magnificent tobacco intermixed with exotic spices and quality rum. The moment you think this fragrance has reached full potential, it continues to blossom beautifully. Everyone's perception on scent is different, but I personally didn't find this to be anything like Angels Share. However, as previously mentioned it is Tom Ford-esque and Kilian adjacent. In fact, if I could synch two comparable fragrances, it would be Mancera Red Tobacco and Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille. Sandalwood is not a key player here, but the lovely vanilla-tonka duo assists with a fiery warmth that emanates immediately upon application. Fire indeed.

[Sampled] *Im a woman who enjoys the occasional men's fragrance I love The Maker as a brand and agree that they have something for every taste. That being said, this was not for me at all. It's a pungent synthetic smell, reminiscent of those strong cinnamon candles you find at discount stores. It scratches my nose in an uncomfortable way. I can see others wearing this, but wrapping myself in this bubble would have me scratching my skin off after a couple hours. Do sample before buying!

Introducing the scent of smouldering pine twigs dribbling with boiling sap on glowing embers... In a bottle. It's lovely. MM Replica Jazz Club + MM Replica Across Sands = The Maker Fire. 🖤🔥 Update: Selling my bottle with box, $100 in Canada. DM. 🙂

Tried the small size of this because I really enjoy Fireplace by Replica but ran out. Instant love, and decided to get the full size of this instead. It’s much more refined and complex. Damn near magical how one could come up with this.

It's alright, not bad but it didn't captivate me. I can definately understand the comparisons to jazz club, yet they are very different, this is more powdery spice, the spices in jazz club are more sharp which i personally prefer.

I adore spicy vanilla scents; SDV is what I think heaven must smell like. But this is too much for me, too strong, and too much tobacco. I'd say it leans more masculine, though certainly a woman could pull it off.

Love this! It's a dupe for an old body shop fragrance called 'white tobacco flower' that was discontinued. Such a good, cozy fragrance. Potentially leans a little masculine but I would still wear it!

Opening is kinda gross. It not listed in the notes but smells kinda oudy to me. Becomes super cozy and rich. Sprayed it on my hand and keep getting wafts of it walking around. Pretty masculine imo

lots of honey and juniper berry on my skin, neither of which i love. there are warm woody sweet scents i much prefer to this.

Not my kind of fragrance, but it's not bad!