By the Fireplace by Maison Margiela

By the Fireplace has become a crowd favorite and best seller from the Replica line of perfumes from Maison Margiela. It was released back in 2015 and has grown in reputation since then.

I bought a full bottle last winter and am only now remembering that I needed to write a review. Here it is. How does this Replica fragrance smell? How long does it last? Is it worth a try?

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What does By the Fireplace Smell Like?

Notes include: pink pepper, orange blossom, cloves, guaiac wood, chestnut, juniper, Peru balsam, vanilla, cashmeran

Click here to try: By the Fireplace

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My Full Review

By the Fireplace begins with a mix of spiciness and sweetness right from the start. The spice is more prominent early on, with the pink pepper and clove really coming through strong.

Though, that will definitely moderate as it moves forward. The other obvious accord here is from the smokiness of this perfume.

The sweet roasted chestnut, guaiac wood and juniper round things out in the opening act. The Margiela fragrance lives up to its name and theme.

It’s a warm, sweet, and dry fragrance on the whole. With it’s smokiness and spiciness playing a bigger role early on. I also get some orange blossom, on my skin. However, it tends to get overshadowed by the more dominant and attention grabbing notes.

The spice will begin to fade and the warmth and sweetness will move more into focus. The chestnut is still the main attraction, but we get further woodiness, balsamic aspects, and the vanilla also steps forward.

That’s what it’s going to be basically the rest of the way a sweetish and still slightly smoky mix of chestnut and vanilla with dry woods and an amber sort of undertone to it all.

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Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Sillage wise, this isn’t a massive projector but it is a heavier feeling fragrance. The smokiness really envelops you and it has a pretty far reach for the first hour or so.

But, it will quickly settle into something moderate. The Margiela perfume is above average in this aspect, but only slightly so. Nothing disappointing, it’s just not a monster with it’s power.

The longevity here is pretty good, nothing spectacular. I get 7-8 or up to 9 hours of wear from By the Fireplace. Honestly, its enough for most purposes, it’s just not one that is going to approach that 10+ hour range of wear.

Seasonally, this Maison Margiela scent is built for autumn and winter. Cold days and nights, as the name would suggest. Outside of that, you can safely skip this one.

It’s also very unisex, so, while it may not appeal to everyone, anyone could wear By the Fireplace without issue in that regard.

This is more of a casual scent or one that you can wear out on a cold evening. Fireplace isn’t a formal type of fragrance, maybe skip wearing it too work. Though, I could see it working for some people.

For the most part, By the Fireplace isn’t going to be the majority of people’s main scent, more like something for the rotation that you break out for stretches of time.

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Overall Impressions of By the Fireplace

Overall, do I like this scent? Yep, it’s another fragrance that I love for the wintertime. In fact, I was wearing my sprays from my bottle for many evenings this past winter. By the Fireplace is such an enjoyable fragrance for me.

It may be somewhat limited in its use case, so, it isn’t going to be a fragrance that everybody needs a bottle of. Not only due to seasonality, but the smokiness isn’t a feature which will have total appeal.

Though, the chestnut and vanilla really do a fine job at giving this one a great sweetness to wear around on colder days and nights.

That smoke and spice can be somewhat intense, but the fragrance that remains is very pleasant and easy to wear.

It’s not something that I always reach for, but By the Fireplace is a nice perfume with an interesting theme, that’s worth checking out.