Smoky & Earthy

Harshness is the acrid, almost burning sensation you experience when inhaling smoke from a freshly extinguished candle—sharp, slightly metallic, with an underlying bitterness. Imagine the charred edges of burnt toast, the metallic tang of iron filings warming on a stove, combined with the peppery bite of black smoke curling through cold air. It's deliberately unpolished, confrontational even, lacking the smooth sweetness of other smoky notes. There's an almost medicinal quality, like antiseptic meeting ash.

Citrus

Italian lemon smells like the precise moment you bite into a sun-warmed Amalfi lemon—bright, zesty, and almost painfully fresh. It's sharper and more nuanced than a generic "lemon" note; there's a subtle creamy sweetness lurking beneath the initial citrus burst, with a faint herbal whisper and a slightly bitter pith character that feels genuinely authentic. Imagine the scent clinging to your fingertips after peeling the fruit, combined with the oily, almost waxy skin of a premium Italian variety.