Smokestack theme
You can order all perfumes featured in this theme as a pack of samples.
In this theme
Smoke is the most ancient of perfume ingredients. The very word “perfume” comes from the Latin for “through smoke”, referring to the historic practice of burning incense to fragrance clothes, cleanse the home, and communicate with the gods. The pleasing smell of smoke, whether suggestive of charred wood, tobacco or marshmallows, is a delightfully uncanny olfactory illusion when conjured by a fresh mist of perfume.
Within the mathematics of fragrance, there are many different formulae that can produce a smoky note. Key raw materials include pine tar and cade, which summon realistic bonfire, tarry effects. Both patchouli and oud offer smoke’s earthy, organic nuance, suggesting singed vegetation or leather. Vanilla can be cured to convey roasted confections, or scorched old books. Vetiver root is beautifully dissonant: green and smoggy. Even the bergamot suggests heat via its natural terpene compounds. And synthetics can nudge any material towards the arena of the fantastical, variously bringing to life atmospheres of mythical planets or imaginary electrical fires. All ingredients can be tweaked to conjure anything from the faint suggestion of toasting marshmallows over a campfire, to the furiously billowing smoke of a forest fire. Whether mild or fierce, salubrious or ominous, smoke’s effect on a perfume is always memorable.
Primitive woods and florals snatch you away to a primeval planet. Smoky, charred wood warns of the danger of smouldering fire, setting your senses on edge, while droplets of metallic rose oxide offer a chilling premonition of bloodlust. The mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex is sometimes menacing, sometimes fascinating, but never, ever ordinary.
An olfactory portrait of a burnt church in the valleys of New South Wales, Australia. With its roof now open to the sky, the ruins emanate an ancient, sacred smell: smouldering cade wood, Somalian frankincense, cedarwood. Hints of whisky barrel suggest an altogether different kind of ritual. A perfectly poised celebration of smoke.
A luxury tour around the charms of natural oud: driftwood, mushrooms and treacly amber, charred around the edges by smoke.
The curious case of a smoky citrus: since when does bergamot smoulder in the fireplace? Since this absolute orange blossom bomb decided to butch up the situation with smoke. A bright, voluptuous chypre.
Bitter minerals and sharp smoke defines this iconoclastic perfume, inspired by the forces that created both the basalt rock formations of the ‘Giant’s Causeway’ on the coast of Northern Ireland, and the shipyards on the banks of the Clyde. Elemental and industrial.
A lively dance between sunshine (ylang-ylang, jasmine, violet) and shade (vetiver, musk, smoke). The smoke here adds a melancholic edge.
The smell of smoke often accompanies joyous celebrations – in this case, France’s Bastille Day. The beautiful dissonance of blackcurrant and benzoin blooms with the barest whiff of burnt matchhead, suggesting fireworks and holiday sweets. Warm smoke and resins enhance the pleasure.
A mouth-watering swirl of smoked black tea infused with apricot-adjacent osmanthus. Seawood absolute supplies mossy and mineral notes, while the overall smokiness is enhanced by vetiver’s burnt wood facets.