Prepare for October glory.
Strange Fire & Fumery’s 2026 Fall Collection is ready to step out of the shadows: Blacklight, Grimoire, Bonefire, and Hekate. Electric color. Old books. Ritual fire. Dark devotion.
In the first preview, I showed you where the collection was heading. Now I can show you what made it through and tell you how each fragrance found its way into the bottle. Here is the full lineup ahead of tomorrow’s drop.
Blacklight
I am on a huge blacklight kick, as you can probably tell from the Fumery’s updated color scheme. I thought it would be very fun to challenge myself to capture the essence of blacklight posters for the Fall Collection this year.
This was a matter of balancing electric fluorescence against a dark backdrop, allowing it to shine and effervesce without becoming obnoxious.
I used a suite of notes I’d never touched before, and there was a lot of uncertainty during development. The most interesting thing to me about Blacklight is that I don’t really like any of the individual components on their own, but the combined result has become my personal favorite to wear. I am obsessed and have worn it daily. I love it, and I am surprised.
It probably isn’t what you expect based on the description alone. It’s not a gourmand scent despite having distinct fruit and candy notes. You’ll really just have to smell it for yourself. Get a sample, at least.
As a footnote, I really love the Strange Fire & Fumery-themed blacklight poster design by Gera Novrando.
Notes: Electric fruit accord, black velvet, 80s candy, fluorescent vinyl.
Grimoire
The very first entry in my Strange Fire & Fumery work notebook is a sketch for an “old books” fragrance. Everyone wants to do one. Everyone tries.
I have spent nine years chasing that scent. I buy every adjacent sample I can find, and it’s just never really clicked until this year. I knew I wanted to make a grimoire-themed fragrance, and to do that I absolutely had to secure an “old books” note to my standard. I took a completely wild swing with a new lab and a lignin-to-vanillin transition accord I came up with, and incredibly, it worked on the first try.
The word grimoire has its roots in “grammar.” I think of it as the instructional language of magic. The technical process behind the extraordinary result. The intellectual component behind the high Art.
That felt very appropriate for this fragrance. The grammar of perfumery had to align perfectly to create an effect more wondrous than the sum of its parts. And for the patient practitioner, the prize.
Notes: Lignin, dark tonka, rosewood, worn leather.
Bonefire
Mmm! A bonfire! Smells like smoke and smoke on top of smoke! Who wants a big ole smoky smokefest?
NO ONE.
The word “bonfire” comes from “bone” and “fire”—a fire in which bones were burned. That is where this fragrance began: with the ritual, and with the bones.
That is much cooler than “a big pile of logs burned for loud drunk people.” (To be fair, bonefires were probably also burned for loud drunk people.)
I leaned fully into the ritual nature of the bonefire and gave it a pleasantly tart (and unusual) herbal top note, a heart of rich, resinous agar and vetiver, and a base of the most wearable smoky bone char you’re ever going to find.
One of my earliest testing remarks was “Oh my god, a smoke note I don’t hate!” Do with that what you will.
Notes: Rhubarb, resin-soaked agar, vetiver, bone char.
Hekate
The triple goddess. Maiden, mother, and crone.
I love Hekate, and I have several objets d’art concerning her.
For this offering, pomegranate is the star of an utterly witchy, sensuous blend. Pomegranate for the Maiden, Nag Champa for the Mother, and dark patchouli for the Crone.
It’s a three-note accord blended with intention and love for a friend, and dedicated to the only goddess for whom it is a worthy offering.
Notes: Pomegranate, incense, dark patchouli.
Four fragrances. One very Strange fall.
What ties these together is the pleasure of finally getting a difficult idea right: fluorescent fruit that refuses to be a gourmand, the old-book note I’ve chased for nine years, smoke I actually want to wear, and a three-note offering made with intention.
If you’re drawn to artificial light and unexpected fruit, start with Blacklight. If you’ve been waiting for the old books, Grimoire is your first stop. Bonefire brings the ritual outdoors; Hekate brings pomegranate, incense, and dark patchouli into focus.
The 2026 Fall Collection arrives tomorrow at Strange Fire & Fumery. For now, meet the fragrances. Tomorrow, you can choose your own strange company.