We’re decidedly in rainy season, though it started fairly late this year. The dog is moulting big time which means vacuuming once a day and sometimes spot checks with the hand vac. Another orthodontic appointment this week, so an excuse for a small wander in town. It’s hot chocolate season – definitely with marshmallows and whipped cream.
Onward to perfume. Today, we tackle the rest of my Heretic samples. A very mixed bag indeed.
Nocturnal Tuberose. Notes: neroli, linalool, Sichuan pepper, tuberose, ylang, jasmine, rose, gardenia, orange blossom, ambrette seed, vetiver and cistus. Gentle tuberose. This is pretty and undemanding. If the big tuberoses make you twitchy but you still want to have a go this might work. Really, it’s a pretty white floral rather than seriously tuberose centric.
Black Salt. Notes: black pepper, lime, tangerine, eucalyptus, jasmine sambac, water lily, Turkish rose, smoked sea salt, seaweed, labdanum and petrichor. This starts salt water taffy on me and that’s in a good way. I loved SWT back when and I have the fillings to testify to that. It never loses that slightly sweet/salty chewy feel, though it does become more slightly brackish ocean water, before just being SWT again. It’s fascinating.
Dirty Violet. Notes: jasmine sambac, cedarwood, frankincense, violet leaf, orris root, Turkish rose oil, ambrette, cypriol, labdanum and patchouli. This smells really lovely: cardboardy, a bit green, dry (the orris?) and violet pastilles (but not too sweet). If you want iris but are put off by really cold stuff (Lutens ISM again) this is worth a look.
Voodoo Lily. Notes: geranium, coriander, frankincense, juniper, black pepper, Moroccan rose, black currant, lily accord, patchouli, sandalwood, oud and styrax. This does not smell like any of the lilies I have in the garden or anything I’ve ever had in the house. It lacks that strong peppery thing even though it has black pepper and lily accord. It is by far the gentlest Heretic I’ve tried, much softer than any of the others. I get a bit of currant. Maybe more than a bit. Currant is not a fave note.
Häxan (see Swedish film poster below). I really liked the name so looked that up: Swedish for the witch. Notes: osmanthus, Turkish rose, oakmoss, fossilised amber, supernatural musks. Yeah, ok, on supernatural musks. If you must. This is ‘I could be a chypre — I’m not sure’ and I get citrus in the opening but maybe that’s the osmanthus. It’s quite fetching and not terribly dark. Way more accessible than Smudge et al I posted about a few weeks ago.
Blood Orange. Notes: blood orange, bergamot, red mandarin, bitter orange, lemon, ylang, cedar, champaca flower, pink lotus, apothecary rose, jasmine sambac, ambrettolide, bezoin and vanilla. This is definitely the least interesting and least challenging of my samples, which is too bad because I was rather excited about the idea of using blood orange. Anyway, it’s upmarket orange soda but not sour enough to be engaging and then it’s orange and vanilla soda.
All in, after testing what showed up in my box I found the first three the most intriguing plus Häxan and Black Salt. I’m not sure I have the oomph to try Poltergeist or Nosferatu again – maybe on fabric or paper. (NB: I did Nosferatu again and it really is intriguing — if you go for that sort of thing.)
Any of these sound intriguing? Did you stop reading after you saw the Heretic headline a second time?
Pics: pexels, mine, wiki
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Black Salt piqued my interest because… well… it sounds interesting. I wear a lot of‘pretty’. Interesting? Not so much!
You should have a go with Black Salt — it is so intriguing.
I enjoyed your Heretic reviews. I own Dirty Violet, Smudge and Coeur Noir. Would love to try a lot more if I could go into a shop and spray testers rather than spend $$$ on samples, but I really don’t need more perfume anyway.
There are a lot more I’d like to investigate but, as you say, I’m not forking out for more samples. What is Smudge like on you?
The blood orange sounded interesting until it didn’t. Not your fault. If you are going to specify blood orange, perfumers, please don’t make it go all Shasta on us. Or worse, Tang
Yup, that one was too bad. I was hoping for a dark citrus. Alas.
Cinnamon, I’d read your stuff right to the end even if I’m dubious about the scent house! I’m not sure if Heretic would work for me, and I’m weary of scents whose names would embarrass me at church ( I have enough trouble with JHaG Lady Vengeance).
My pup is a terrier and something mix (shih tzu?) who sheds a fair amount. (So do I and it’s a real contest whose hair is clogging the vacuum any given week.) She is quite small though, about 11 pounds, so it could be worse.
Thanks for the informative review!
I think if one lived nearby a shop that stocked these they be a lot of fun to work your way through.
Ah, the tumbleweeds that float around the house. Who’d have thought a creature could divest enough fur to actually form a whole other critter.
What an interesting batch, Cinnamon. Nocturnal Tuberose, Dirty Violet, and Haxan all sound good to me. Thanks for the reviews. I was just at a BlueMercury that carried Heretic but I didn’t sample anything from that line. Rats!
I think they are worth investigating. Wow, I remember what must have been one of the first Blue Mercury shops in NYC decades ago. We’re lucky we now have Sephora back, even if it’s only online.
We got our first (standard, purebred) poodle when the girls were small and I never looked back. I’m a person who’s driven insane by pet hair, tbh (also: allergic). It’s been a series of non-shedding dogs since then — all rescues, although yes, they do have to be groomed, which costs more than I spend on my own hair lol. Coco my “free” toy poodle cost me $2k in dental almost immediately (which did not take me by surprise.) She’s worth it. The Heretics that intrigued you also intrigue me, I should order a sample set.
Def a sample set. They are worth the time — and the offer is large enough to find interesting things.
Oh, dog dental. Not fun.
The joy of having a minimal moult dog. He sheds a tiny bit, but nowhere near Labradorean moults. Jarvis has more of a poodle fleece. Downside is the upkeep.
Some of these read more promising than your impressions do.
Does Jarvis go to the groomer?
Yes, I think others with different body chemistries will probably be able to wear them well, unlike me. I have enjoyed my trawl through them though.
Oh yes, regular grooming is a must. Every 6-8 wks in summer & every 10-12 wks in winter. Not a cheap hobby.
In lockdown I bought some clippers & did him myself. 45 years after working at a groomers as a teenager I was delighted I still had some skills. Jarvis gets very wriggly for me though so it’s easier for us both to have him done professionally.
I was grooming a toy poodle and a maltese for awhile during lockdown. They looked like they’d been groomed in the dark. By moths.
Did you come out unscathed?
Oh yeah, I was completely fine!
Read right to the end Cinnamon,
Dirty Violet sounds like a win too. I do like iris.
Weird that your pup is moulding as the cool weather hits. Ours do about 6 weeks in spring then stay good till they go again next spring.
Portia xx
Labs supposedly moult twice a year but the joke is that they are constantly divesting bits of floof. He is currently getting rid of his summer fur to make way for the winter coat. I brush him outside and like to joke the birds are collecting up his floof for their nests come spring.
I am hoping people will buy some of the Heretic offer based on them smelling way different than on me.