Die Flamme Reinigt Sich Vom Rauch

[zankoku_zen]

The Old Ways preserved, defended, and renewed: bonfire smoke, chestnuts, sweet roasted acorns, amber resin, cedarwood, oakmoss, labdanum, vanilla bean, and frankincense.

Edited May 29, 2020 by zankoku_zen

[starbrow]

RAWR! Heed the order of the notes! Die Flamme is, not surprisingly based on the name, showing up to my nose as all bonfire smoke and scorched chestnuts. The smoke note is the charred embery kind that is in certain BPALs: The Storyteller, Midnight Bonfire, The Hearth, Hearthflame and Incense. It's a smoke that tends to get into my sinuses, and I wish it weren't so strong here, but I think it may be my particular sensitivity.

 

Nothing sweet or Christmasy about these chestnuts: they are meaty, sweaty, ballsy. (Come on, admit it. Chestnuts out of their shells totally look like balls.) I've come to realize I like my chestnuts in gourmand or spicy blends, where their nut-swinging is balanced by sweet foodie notes or rich spices. Here, they seem a little naked in all that smoky char.

 

When the smoke finally calms down, the roasted acorn note emerges, a little gourdiness for spring. I just don't get the resins, the cedar, the frank, or *sob* the vanilla bean. I have heard from others that they DO, though! "Spiced muffins" YUM. I want that! I could use a whole lot more sweetness in this blend, or richness, or just something rounded and woodsy and resiny. Will aging bring those out? Probably! 

Edited June 10, 2020 by starbrow

[zankoku_zen]

SMOKE and spice. You want to turn smoke into a cape and wear it around you like armor? Choose this.

 

And we're talking about smoke, and burnt woods, and definitely some green witchery herbiness in this. This smells like you took bonfire smoke and literally wove it into a garment that said "do not fuck with me". It's strong, and the underlying nutty sweetness prevents this from being 100% smoke all the time. You want to smell like you smite shit on a regular basis? This was made for those times.

 

Wear this when you need to be the bonfire and set shit ablaze. Use this when you're gonna invoke something to fuck some shit up. Use this when you're afraid so you aren't afraid anymore and instead are going to use that to fuel your actions. 100% protest ready. Medium throw, good wear length.

[doomsday_disco]

For those that are curious as to how to pronounce this, I tried to do the best approximation I could via text: Dee flah-muh rine-ihgt sihsh fahm rowwk.

 

BONFIRE SMOKE LIKE WHOA. It actually smells like ash is floating through the air. I also smell some smoky, meaty chestnuts (this is not the sweet, dessert-y type). The bonfire smoke reigns supreme on me throughout wear. The bonfire and cedar combo make this smell somewhat charred and meaty to me at first, but it smooths out over time, and after several hours of wear, it's a much softer bonfire covered with ash, backed by a bit of nuttiness, cola-like labdanum, and just a touch of vanilla.

 

I'm not really a fan of smoky scents, and this is too smoky for me, but if you want to smell like a bonfire, check this out.

Edited June 24, 2020 by doomsday_disco

[kakiphony]

Wet, the dominant scent of this on me is the nuts (which have a slight butter note to them) with smoke. However, as it dries it becomes a really interesting blend of frankincense, vanilla, and nuts. It actually really reminds of the Lab's sasparilla blends (Stimularting Sassafrass and Tombstone, but even more so the Organ Grinder). It's drop dead gorgeous and a total winner. 

[Lucchesa]

I'm surprised no one has compared Die Flamme Reinigt Sich to Chestnuts and Hearth Smoke from the most recent Yules.  They are very similar, or more precisely, Die Flamme is similar to what C&HS smelled like last December.  Now, months later, C&HS is richer and rounder, though still not chestnutty enough for my tastes.  This is lots and lots of bonfire smoke with the nuttiness of roasting chestnuts and slightly bitter acorns.  After two or three hours, the smoke has receded somewhat, as have the nuts, and I'm left with a smoky frankincense note.  Amber, cedar, labdanum and vanilla are missing in action on me, unfortunately, but I have a feeling this will age beautifully.  

[Casablanca]

I got a chance to try my friend's decants of this line today, and they were so good.

 

Die Flamme was one of the standouts for me; I loved its smoky-warm nuttiness on my skin, especially the nutty acorns. The nuts were the most potent aspect on my skin, but wreathed in a cozy smoke. This was not the aggressive black, slightly acrid smoke of Midnight Bonfire for me, but rather somewhere between intimate hearth smoke and little backyard bonfire smoke.

 

Under the nuts and smoke, I got frankincense and woodsiness.

 

This was all quite in my wheelhouse. I agree, though, with Lucchesa that it was a little too close to my beloved Chestnuts and Hearth Smoke bottle to warrant a separate bottle. But I want to recommend a try.

[Threemoons]

Die Flamme Reinigt Sich Vom Rauch--"the flame cleans itself of smoke." Very appropriate scent name here. In the bottle: Damp oakwood and crushed dried acorns, with an undertone of spice. On, wet: Opens up immediately into damp oak and cedar smoke, with lots of incense, spice, and roasted chestnut hulls as well as scorched acorns and nut hulls. Drydown: Long, slow, morphy drydown into a damp Northeastern woodsy scent; think of waking up the next day after a big campfire at night in a damp pine and oak wood area--lingering smell of burnt hardwoods and cedar, and that roasted acorn smell. Really a gorgeous woodsy smell for those into woodsy scents. I think this may become my alltime favorite woods/foresty blends ever; it has both damp and dry woods notes to it and is just gorgeously balanced.

 

 

Edited August 15, 2020 by Threemoons

[Dancing Raven]

I'm getting a totally different experience than everyone else. Skin chemistry is crazy.

Wet: Air & cake. Really. Foody vanilla, something that smells like butterscotch, and a non dryer sheets ozone. There must be vetiver in here because there's something slightly burnt rubber, but not overwhelming. Suddenly, within a few minutes of being on my skin I get something herbal - almost like rosemary, cedar, and pepper. This one morphs A LOT in the wet phase.

Drydown: Peppery woods with just a touch of sweetness lingering. I also smell my arch nemesis cumin. I think the smokiness is coming from the cumin, rather than the usual bonfire smoke I'm used to from the lab. It stays smoky woods for about six hours.

Base: I get the sweetness of the vanilla again, and I think the labdanum, amber, and frankincense are blending to create a general resiny sweetness. I still smell something herbal, which I suppose could be the oakmoss mixing with the acorns. The chestnuts are just a little bitter, but are fairly unnoticeable in this blend. I have Chestnuts and Hearth Smoke, and on my skin these two are totally different. C&HS was almost entirely vetiver on me. This one is complex, and has a rich, savoury smokiness alongside a sweetness at the opening and close. I adore the beginning and the base. I hope with aging the rougher notes smooth out because this is a really nice one.

4 out of 5 stars.

[Angelshair]

When this dries down on me, all I can smell is rich roasted chestnuts mixed with the smoke. The throw is pretty decent too. Going to be quiet honest, some times the chestnut is so strong it smells like literal roasted meat?! It does eventually start to die down and be smoothed over by the vanilla and frankincense. The amber comes and goes in waves for me, the other notes are hard to make out. 
 

I enjoy the both the sweetness and the more savoury tones of this perfume but how quickly it changes on my skin can sometimes catch me off guard. 

Edited September 25, 2020 by Angelshair

[Rayleigh]

I seem to be getting a nice middle ground in the impressions here, and this is gorgeous. It smells like a spicy, friendly little fire. A good balance of sweet and savory. Extremely natural and evocative. If you piled a heap of dried brush, threw some acorns and nuts on top, and burned it, this would be the idealized memory of that smell that you would think of later. It strikes me as nostalgic. I compared this in another thread to a controlled burn, because there's something clean about this. Out with the bad so that better things can take root.

 

The nutty notes make this stand apart from other woodsmoke blends. I initially got this because I wanted a smoke note that would knock me clear across the room. I'm not getting that, but I am happy to have this gentle warm glow in its place.

[LavenderCoffee]

In my head this scent is called Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire  but seasonally this feels very wonderfully Fall: smoky, nutty, warm, and yes - also kinda badass.