What does Fir smell like?
Crush a handful of fir needles and a resinous, almost minty freshness rises. Damp wood, sticky sap and a soft balsamic base. Fir can also recall pine soap and cleaning products, which some people mind. Well dosed, it smells of open air. On skin it calms down within an hour and leaves a dry woodiness.
Origin and production
Several species of the Abies genus give oils. Siberian fir and European silver fir are steam-distilled from needles and young twigs. Much of their smell comes from bornyl acetate, a fresh woody molecule. Canadian balsam fir also gives a resin used in perfumery. Perfumers round things out with synthetic conifer bases.
How perfumers use it
Fir pairs with lavender, moss and citrus, and brings air to a fougère. Givenchy Xeryus (1986) sets it in a spicy, very 1980s fougère. Kenzo pour Homme (1991) pairs it with a marine freshness. Abercrombie & Fitch Fierce builds its aromatic woody around it. More recently, Diesel Spirit of the Brave uses it in a sweet fougère.
How to wear it
Fir is for winter and the mountains, with a wool jacket. Fierce projects hard, so one spray indoors. Kenzo pour Homme can take three.