Fumidus
Profumum

Fumidus is surprisingly strong, with the bitter vetiver roots hitting you right away. It’s primarily a smoky vetiver fragrance. The birch is charred, capturing the smoky essence remarkably well. It’s somewhat similar to Encre Noire à L'Extrême but smokier and less sweet. Encre Noire à L'Extrême has more sweetness from the amber and includes an incense accord, while here, vetiver and smoked birch take center stage. There’s also a leather accord, but I mostly get earthy vetiver, a bit of tar, and ash.

Even though it's intense, it's well-blended and doesn’t smell too harsh or off-putting. The blend is smooth and I don't detect any rough edges. Some people might not like vetiver, and in that case, they could opt for a lighter version like Tom Ford Grey Vetiver. But if you’re looking for a heavy dose of vetiver that smells almost medicinal, or if you enjoy campfire scents, this is worth a try. I’d reserve it for winter and fall. The longevity is excellent, but be careful—it can stain clothing.

I have a small vial of thick, rich attar oil of khus khus, and this smells almost the same, just a bit smokier and less green. The more you smell it, the more it feels like a barbecue; the vetiver gives it a bit of umami savoriness, and it even reminds me of Nar from Jazmin Sarai. If you like vetiver, this is worth sampling. There are plenty of other good vetiver fragrances, so the market is competitive, and you might find similar fragrances or oils out there. Personally, I enjoy vetiver, so this scent is amazing—but if you don’t like the note at all, you should probably steer clear.

The whiskey disappears after a while, as it should be, so the main note of birch tar emanates with its typically smoky and vaguely barbeque scent. It goes well with vetiver, also of a smoky and earthy type, but round and without edges. It is a beautiful perfume, which in terms of "vibes" can almost be associated with Terroni (very different, however, from the olfactory point of view, mind you) and which recalls, due to the birch, Bois d'Ascese (which I prefer, for mere personal taste). Nice scent, definitely suited to a cold, very cold climate on my nose. Masculine, very masculine, at least according to my concept of masculine perfume, but I would not exclude the use for a woman, indeed ....

A glass of Islay Scotch, sipped neat by the fire.

From your leather armchair you watch the snow fall gently outside. You can hear the wind gust and shake the windows as you take a sip of peated whisky. The flame is dying; you lay another birch log onto the fire and watch the smoke dance lazily up the chimney toward the winter sky.

Frankly I found Fumidus off putting. It smelled harsh and aggressive to me. I found the onslaught hard to modulate, and it had all the warmth and serenity of burning ash cinders still hissing and alight. I couldn't imagine any situation in which I would wear this. I really like vetiver fragrances, and earthy-roots vetivers are great. But this is not a combination of ingredients including vetiver that would pay money to own. It is even more amazing to me that it is offered as a unisex fragrance. This is something a woman would wear? With what? To what occasion? I don't think this is very nice at all.

It smells like plain Haitian vetiver to me, not convinced about either the birch bark or the scotch whisky. The price is excessive for a solution of vetiver oil, even if of good quality, but I have given it a thumbs up as I like vetiver.

Update: As an experiment I compared it side by side with a sample of Vetiver Haiti supplied to me 35 years ago by Firmenich, so nicely aged. The two were difficult to tell apart but I had a slight preference for the Fumidus, which was just a shade fuller and richer. A minor difference, but worth it to some people no doubt.

To quote from the marketing hype:

"Fumidus means smoky, and smoky it is. The smokiness of aged Laphroaig scotch served neat, It is also earthy – the earthiness of rich, freshly tilled land surrounded by uncut forest. Deep and magnetic and commanding, this blend of rich peat, grassy vetiver and brisk birch conjures up a vast estate and its moody young lord making his way through the fog on an unruly stallion. It's outdoorsy, but in a way that makes it clear that you don't just work in the forest, you own that forest yourself, along with a good bit of grassland and quite possibly a castle."

Imaginative stuff, but it still smells like bog standard vetiver oil to me.

There's a sense in which Profumum Fumidus is loyal to its name, as it's pretty smoky, but I do wonder what was being burned to create the smoke, since it's an unusually synthetic / animalic way of creating a burnt smell.

Vetiver, birch, and whiskey seem like they should be able to be harmonious, so I have to wonder if there are other unseen notes or if I just have a bad bitch, as the mix doesn't seem to be a logical realization of the other notes. I get mainly a very dirty vetiver, borderline animalic rather than earthy. It's as if Imaginary Authors' A City on Fire was attempted but took an odd turn away from spicy fire and toward burning garbage, as another reviewer puts it.

Not totally abhorrent, just an odd smell that I have a tough time imagine I'd want to wear again, Fumidus, if you like it, at least has Profumum's signature powerful performance, but it's simply not a scent for me.

6 out of 10