Nishane Fan Your Flames Review: Long Lasting Tobacco Goodness

Tobacco has long been a popular note in perfumery, especially in compositions suitable for the colder, darker months of the year, as it contains an alluring, inherent warmth, and a succulent sweetness. Many houses feature fragrances in their lineup highlighting tobacco, including Nishane, a Turkish niche house based in Istanbul. If you have been acquainted with the niche perfume scene, you are undoubtedly familiar with Ani and Hacivat from the brand, arguably the most popular choices as well. Still, I think a third perfume can be added to their top sellers, Fan Your Flames.

This fragrance was debuted by Nishane in 2016 and prominently displays an abundant use of tobacco. But most intriguing is the way the tobacco is combined with coconut and rum. Usually, whenever I encounter coconut employed in a fragrance composition, it quite frequently comes off rather sweet, reminding one of summer vacations on a beach with tanned skin oversaturated in sunscreen lotion. Yet in Fan Your Flames, the coconut, although somewhat sweet, is expressed in a woodier, almost nutty fashion. Furthering the woody facets is this deliciously boozy rum sparkling with hues of oak.

Resting under the boozy coconut accord is the sultry, rich tobacco, the caramelized tones of which are supported by the rum. This is the kind of tobacco smelled and experienced through freshly rolled cigars, where the leaves have retained some of their original moisture.

Gradually the coconut starts to acquire a creamy quality thanks to some tonka bean. Although there are no spices listed (like cinnamon, which typically is found in tobacco-centric fragrances), I do perceive something a bit piquant in the initial to mid stages of the fragrance development, perhaps attributable to the interaction of oakmoss in the base with the previously mentioned notes and accords. Oakmoss tends to have a bit of sharpness or bitterness at the top before balancing out.

The dry down of Fan Your Flames is slow and majestic, imbued with fervent heat as it grows profoundly woodier thanks to a combination of the oakmoss and soft Chinese cedar.

These woody facets fantastically complement the darker, richer tones of the tobacco, which even here is very much present. Still, the booziness of the rum persists into the dry down, inflected with the subtle, lingering creaminess of the coconut, making the dry down all the more magical. In its entirety, Fan Your Flames wears quite smoothly. It is suave, mature, sophisticated, sensual, yet still exhibits some frivolity and playfulness. I always feel like a member of royalty whenever I wear it.

Fan Your Flames is an Extrait in concentration, so even just 2-3 sprays will last you all day, even more on clothes. As mentioned in the beginning, this fragrance is a great choice for the coming colder months. I can also see it being a commanding presence for a formal event, or if accounting for the boozy sensuality it embodies, an alluring accessory for a cozy date night.

So, if you are an admirer of tobacco-based fragrances and still haven’t checked it out, I strongly encourage you to sample Fan Your Flames. You might be pleasantly surprised!