Remember, remember
the 5th of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
This nursery rhyme stuck in my head and kept turning on and on, so I decided to turn it into the SQ.
Saturday Question #138:
Do You Like Gunpowder Note In Perfumes?
Do you know any perfumes with this note? Do you like it? Do you like the smell of gunpowder?
My Answer
If it weren’t for my database, I wouldn’t have remembered that I smelled any perfumes with a gunpowder note, and I didn’t care for two of them – BeauFort London 1805 and L’Artisan Parfumeur Amour Nocturne. Not because of that note. The third one I like – Jul et Mad Stairway to Heaven. Not because of that note. I don’t think I can smell it in that perfume.
I’m lucky: my only association with gunpowder is from visits to a shooting range. So, I like the scent of freshly burnt gunpowder. Not sure though, that I would want to wear it in any discernible quantity.
How about you?
Undina's Looking Glass 
Don’t think I’ve come across any perfume with a gunpowder note, but I’ve drunk gunpowder tea which is so called because it looks like it, not because of the taste! Don’t think I would care to wear it as, going by the smell lingering in the air on Bonfire Night, it is quite acrid.
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I had that type of tea as well. I prefer larger tea leaves.
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I had to check on Fragrantica and I don’t own any scents with gunpowder as a note. I haven’t tested or sampled any either.
I do have & use “gunpowder” seasoning. Chilli, black rice, cumin, fenugreek, black pepper, nigella seeds, curry leaves & ground coriander seeds. It can be used as a savoury rub or in any savoury dish needing heat & Asian flavours. It lends a deep dark colour from the black pepper & ground black rice.
From a smell perspective, most of the UK smells of gunpowder on 6th November. Cold, metallic & damp after the firework parties & bonfires
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That seasoning sounds interesting – need to investigate!
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Hey Undina and crew,
The UK brand Union had a fragrance called Gunpowder Rose that I liked when it was released but there were so many complaints about it leaking in transit that I decided to not buy it. They also did another interesting beauty v=called Celtic Fire.
I’ve never fired a gun but I do love the smell of fireworks. It’s a bittersweet love because I’m always so conscious of the pollution and how much nearby animals hate them.
Portia xx
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Hi Portia
My eldest hated fireworks as a child so it’s been many years since we’ve been to an organised show. Many years ago, our next door neighbour, who just happened to be a Premier League footballer, used to but garden fireworks for my boys, as an excuse to watch them himself. My eldest & I used to stay in the kitchen making the hotdogs & burgers to keep out of the way.
Now poor Mr Jarvis Cockapoo snuggles into DH & I on the sofa with a thunder vest on, cotton wool in his ears & a scarf wrapped round his head. Poor little sausage shakes like a leaf & wont go out for the loo. This time of year means 3am toilet time for him.
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Poor doggie Alityke,
Our beautiful Jinx was terrified of them too. Used to scream like a child. A couple of times I got caught walking him and he was in such agony and terror. I’d have to wrestle him to the ground and hold my hands over his ears.
All the while, my Paris would look on in unconcerned amusement.
Both Greyhounds but polar opposites.
Portia xx
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Your poor baby doggie. That is sad. My dogs didn’t like the fireworks but they weren’t frightened by them.
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I remember the brand, but since I thought that their bottles were too simple, I didn’t make any effort to test them.
For the first 10+ years of his life, Rusty was afraid of fireworks. But in the last several years we noticed that he tolerates them much better.
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So interesting re the Union bottles Undina. I thought the quarter Union Jack as a metal corset quite clever.
Lucky that Rusty grew out of his terror. I’m so happy for you that he did.
Give him a hug from me please.
Portia xx
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I’ve never smelled gunpowder. It’s in a Serge Lutens scent, Baptime de Feu, but I haven’t smelled that scent.
The neighbours set off fireworks here sometimes, and like Portia I love them but the animals are terrified.
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I love fireworks but prefer organized ones.
I’m not sure if I smelled that SL perfume either.
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Not a note I have encountered in perfume but familiar with the smell – my dad was a retired army officer so I know what the range smells like. Not sure I’d want it on my skin all day, although I like vinyl, rubber and other “weird” notes!
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Probably not as a dominant note, but it might be interesting as a background one.
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I guess I like it, I have SL Bapteme du Feu and Cire Trudon Revolution. Not something I specifically serk out though.
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Revolution… Interesting name. I didn’t know they also made perfumes.
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I tried an ELdO one that featured it, but don’t remember having any strong impressions about it. So probably not.
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I don’t follow that brand, so I didn’t try that one as well.
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I had ELDO’s La Fin du Monde
a couple years ago and used up my smaller bottle with lots of sprays and making samples for people. It has a gunpowder note, which melded well with Iris, which was fascinating. It also had a hint of popcorn scent. It sounds crazy, but it was a fun scent for awhile. However, I will not buy it again.
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Ooh, I’ve got a sample of that knocking around somewhere. Must search for it.
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Sounds interesting, but I don’t want to test perfumes from that brand.
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It’s a smell I really like in its natural state, but I’m not so sure that I’d want to smell like that.
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I agree. One of the scents that is not necessarily translatable into personal scents.
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I don’t think I have tried any of the perfumes listed on Fragantica as perfumes containing a gun powder note. I love fireworks, not so much that being sent up from private gardens and in parks on Dec 31, but rather public fireworks like I’ve seen in Versailles with professionals setting up the show.
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I’m with you on preferring public fireworks. In our area, it is prohibited to do private fireworks (fire danger), but people still do around 4th of July, and it’s very annoying.
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I really like Lutens’ Bapteme du Feu, which has a gunpowder note though it’s not listed on Fragrantica. Beaufort’s Iron Duke also has gunpowder and it’s a bit easier on the nose than 1805 Tonnerre, though still outside the mainstream. The Beaufort fragrance I like best so far is Fathom V.
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I haven’t tried any of these. I’ll try SL whenever I see it somewhere at a B&M store (I’m at that phase where I’m not buying SL’s samples any more, as a rule).
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There was a fad for ashy notes in natural perfumes awhile back, and didn’t care for it at all. Tho the smell of gunpowder/cordite from fireworks is very appealing to me in small doses. It draws in the nose for sure.
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This definitely not a note that I would expect to be a leading one in any perfume I would like to wear. But as with many “poisons,” in a small dose it might be beneficial :)
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I have Impending Doom and I Put a Spell on You from Sucreabeille, and I love the gunpowder notes! I was in the Army and it reminds me of going to the range, good times!
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I’m not familiar with either that perfume or the brand, but it’s a good name!
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