Kilian Light My Fire Eau de Parfum has a more nuanced opening that is part smoke, earth, and chocolate with cumin facets, but it shifted into a honeyed-almond affair with more of the underpinnings of a patchouli note than an dominant patchouli note after about a half hour and through the drydown.

Light My Fire Notes

It is described as a “cumin-spiced seduction” with “earthiness of patchouli and vetiver” that is supposed to evoke the scene of “never ending summer’s night” with “rich, honeyed cigar smoke” in the air. The notes aren’t listed in a hierarchy, but these were the ones mentioned: cumin, patchouli, vetiver, honey, tobacco, almond, heliotropine, tonka bean.

What does Light My Fire Smell Like?

It opened with smoke, earth, and chocolate, in that order, flecked with cumin; it was an intense opening that flickered between spicy and smoky and honeyed and sweet. After five minutes, it cumin-laced honey, sweet with a hint of floral blurriness, over a dark, earthy patchouli that had soft wafts of cocoa powder at times.

The almond turned everything smoother and creamier after 20 minutes, which had the effect of diffusing and spreading out the notes and made them less distinctive, though not totally blurred together. It was warm, honeyed, and sweet with little cumin left but an earthy patchouli continued to be noted.

The fragrance turned sweeter, more vanillic, and the honeyed deepened over the next two hours, and as a result, it was less earthy, more lightly spiced and woody with almond creaminess and nuttiness. The drydown was soft, creamy almond, vanilla, and subtle woods.

Longevity

It lasted for eight hours until it was a skin-scent and about 12 hours before it was quite difficult to detect on my skin. The sillage and projection were moderate and moved closer after three hours of wear.

Testing Methodology

For testing, I used 1/3 of a 0.7ml sample vial dabbed to the underside and topside of my wrist area. I used an unscented moisturizer prior to applying the scent as I found scent did not hold well here otherwise.

I purchased my sample in January 2022; fragrances are known to be reformulated over their lifetime, so be mindful of when a review was made, e.g. a review from 2010 may not reflect what the same-named perfume smells like in 2022.

Availability

Light My Fire is available for $295/50ml or just a refill for $200/50ml.

If possible, I highly recommend trying a fragrance before purchasing a full bottle because fragrance can wear differently just because of skin chemistry. Skin chemistry can effect not just the longevity of a fragrance but also what notes are prominent or hidden.

Light My Fire Samples

We recommend the following retailers for purchasing decanted samples (typically 0.7ml to 2ml in size). This is a fuller list, so individual availability may depend on inventory.

Where to Buy