A litmus test of a chic woman is to have such great taste in fragrance that you are literally stopped by strangers asking, “What perfume are you wearing?” Ever since I picked up a bottle of Häxan by Heretic Parfum, I’ve officially felt like a truly chic woman.
People who brush against me on the subway, at work, and at the grocery store have complimented me on it. The perfume, which is the brand’s latest launch, smells unlike anything else—and I have tried a lot of perfumes.
Häxan is undeniably sexy, yet surprisingly gender-neutral—an unexpected vibe atypical of floral-inclusive scents. With notes of osmanthus, rose, oakmoss, amber, and musk, it starts sweet but evolves into a spicy, woody finish that lasts all day. It is woodsy and tangy without the nose-tingling sharpness of more traditionally masculine fragrances.
I love an earthy, spicy fragrance—especially in the fall. Think something like Santa Maria Novella’s Opoponax (resinous, musky, citrusy, and almost peppery) or D.S. & Durga’s Cowboy Grass (herbal and amber with eye-opening vetiver). Häxan allows me to indulge that olfactory hunger of mine with the added complexity of a rose note that I don’t typically find myself drawn to in spicier scents.
Heretic Parfum Häxan Perfume ($125 for 30 mL, Shop Now)
While the brand’s description of Häxan speaks of enchantment, shape-shifting, and oracles, I find the fragrance very rooted in the real world. The magic is there, but it’s tangible—similar to how a brisk, early-fall walk in New England can feel magical. The air nipping at your ears and a wind sweeping leaves up at your ankles. You’re rushing to meet your friends for a meal, and the weather is so cold that you’ll finally have to sit inside for once, where they will wave to you from their table inside a fogged-up window.
When I wear this scent to the office or a breakfast meeting, I like to layer it with something lighter for a more daytime-appropriate blend. Coeur Noir, another stunning concoction by Heretic, is a lighter, powdery vanilla that effortlessly softens the resinous musks of Häxan, making it more “eggs benedict” and less “ego death at the coven.”
Heretic Parfum Coeur Noir ($165 for 50mL, Shop Now)
Fragrance is challenging to convey online, which is why writers so often employ metaphors and hypothetical scenarios when describing it. Allow me, then, to set the scene: Häxan is 6 p.m. on the last day of the Renaissance Faire. It’s dark outside. All your friends are lined up to get their tarot cards. A wind chime tinkles in the air, and soon you’ll pile up into a car and drive home silently in the dark, where you’ll dive under the comforter and fall asleep early with the blinds still up.
Häxan is about the rounded corners of November. It is introspective but romantic, sexy but a little sad. It’s about the pinch of heartache you get sometimes randomly, for no reason. It’s true and false sweetness in layers, wooded spice, herbaceous longing, and smelling really, really good during all of it. With a scent this evocative of mystery, you can see why so many people stop to ask for its name.
You can pick up your own bottle of Häxan Perfume for $125 from Heretic Perfume or Revolve.
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