Miller Harris La Fumee review

In La Fumee,  Lyn Harris has created an incense scent that isn't overly heavy, arid-dry or oily. Instead it's balanced in the just-right spectrum of warm, comforting incense with deftly blended touches of spice and wood that never overpower either the fragrance or the wearer. This is a less shouty Serge Noire with the skank dialled right down.

I bought this for Mr London for our anniversary. He loves Feuilles de Tabac, and La Fumee is its smokier sibling. It would be disingenuous of me to pretend that the thought I might occasionally borrow it myself never crossed my mind when I was making the purchase (I also bought him some cufflinks that I won't nick.)

The spices in the opening notes are quite fresh and green-smelling to my nose, which makes sense when reading the top notes listed; coriander, cardamom and cistus (no cumin-sweat note here.)  The incense heart blends into a warm woody base. I smell sandalwood and birch tar, but it's the smell of the smoke from those burning without the bitter, sticky remains.

La Fumee is a daytime-appropriate, office-friendly incense. It lingers nicely but doesn't have a massive sillage - I have to get quite close to Mr London to smell it, but at the end of the day the ghost of the fragrance still lingers on his chest as we snuggle up to go to sleep.

I bought this from the Miller Harris shop in Covent Garden, which is my favourite place to buy fragrance. The sales assistants are generous with time and samples, and are happy to discuss the various scents and make suggestions. 100ml costs £85, and 50ml is £60.