I often find myself pining for Byredo, the aching cool Stockholm perfume line with haunting titles and expertly complicated scents – or Diptyque, who always nails it with a scent that’s simultaneously familiar and unexpected. I want fragrances that unfold like a great story. From time to time, I’ll finding lovely fragrances that are ‘clean’, but ultimately, the romance fizzles when the oils go rancid or the perfume goes off after a few months of being opened.
Enter Heretic, from the charmingly esoteric Douglas Little, who drops the mic in satisfying every perfume longing I’ve had yet. It’s taken years to find a fragrance house as relentlessly clean and steadfast in its mission of safe, non-toxic fragrance, but also hold its own in an oversaturated mainstream fragrance market. Employing old world perfume crafting methods, these fragrances somehow unfold like a conventional formula.
Dirty Jasmine (my favorite). My goto perfume in my twenties was D&G Feminine from Dolce & Gabbana. It was powdery, gorgeous, and like other conventional fragrances, unclear about what was exactly in it (fragrances are considered proprietary intellectual property so manufactures can legally stay mum about the ingredients by simply listing the scents in their product as ‘fragrance’.) This is a solid dupe, it’s unabashedly sexy but at the same time, smells like an old lady’s handbag.
Dirty Grass (hello fans of the iconic 90’s GAP grass EDT) is laced with CBD and is aggressively plant-y.
Dirty Neroli quite literally smells like the mediterranean orange blossom trees from my childhood.
Dirty Vanilla is an excellent stand alone, but pairs wonderfully with just about every other perfume I own (Heretic and otherwise).
Florgasm is a round, transparent and aquatic floral, I’ve gone through my first bottle quickly and midway through my second. If you love florals, but want something that’s unexpected and iconic, this is the one to reach for.
Slightly Bitter is sugary citrus with a sharp bite at the end that mellows out after an hour of wear.
Dirty Mango and Dirty Lemon are both sweet and gourmand, but at the same time very adult.
Pistil Whip is an edgy tuberose.
Dirty Fig is a deeper, intriguing scent that I love wearing in cooler weather.
Unsure where to start? They thankfully offer sample sizes to test drive in the comfort of your own home. Consider signing up for their newsletters, they have monthly limited edition drops and specials well worth checking out.
