Douglas Little, Heretic, and a werewolf written in the old tongue

Oct 29, 2026

Some perfumers start with an accord. Douglas Little starts with a reading list.

The heretic, literally

Little launched Heretic Parfum in 2016: 100 percent natural, artisanal fragrances built around the mysterious and feral side of nature, handcrafted in a Los Angeles studio. He debuted the line that March at Barneys New York, the first 100% natural perfume collection ever sold there.

The name is the whole argument. A heretic, he says, is "one who is at odds with the common ideas of the masses". Naturals at that ratio are the harder road, and he took it deliberately: the materials cost more and shift from batch to batch. He studied with Mandy Aftel, who he calls the queen of natural perfumes, and he is blunt about the alternative. Synthetic rose and jasmine, to him, are "a plastic surgery view of these notes".

What pulled him in as a kid was not chemistry. It was the folklore and mysticism attached to the raw materials. Hold on to that line, because it explains both of his film collaborations.

The Nosferatu job, and what it showed about his method

Some context, if you missed it. Nosferatu is Robert Eggers' version of the old vampire story, a Focus Features film centered on Count Orlok, and it opened on Christmas Day. In 2024 Heretic made a fragrance for it, , and for once the working method got written down: Little watched the film and went deep into historical research to answer what a vampire smells like.

The answer refused the obvious. and up top, a heart of , and , a dry-down woven around vegan and absolute.

That is a research answer. Incense and a blood accord would have been the mood board answer. Orris is cold and rooty, petrichor is wet stone after rain, and together they suggest something more like a shut-up house than a monster.

Three witnesses, three moons

Eggers' next film is Werwulf, in theaters Christmas. Heretic's limited edition for it, made in partnership with the film and Focus Features, is not one bottle. It is three, and the house calls them witnesses: the forest, the beast, the blood. Each one takes a phase of the moon.

One note before we go in. Heretic writes its pyramids in its own old spelling. First Ayre is the opening, Herte the heart, Lasting Wyrde the base. The note names are spelled that way too, so we will translate as we go and leave the few we cannot read with confidence exactly as the house lists them.

Þe Wode Hath Teth, the forest, waxing moon

The title translates as "the woods has teeth", and the fragrance takes the waxing moon and the feral forest.

The house lists Mineral Spark (), Frosten Ayre (frozen air, ) and Pyne Terpenes () on top; Snapt Cypres (), Blak Peper (), and in the heart; frozen , primal and at the base. Heretic describes the opening as and sharpened by , and a heart where pepper and carrot seed crack through resinous .

Read that list and you get something austere. Pine, cypress, pepper and carrot seed are dry, green and cold, and vetiver keeps the base from softening. Osmanthus is the single warm thing in there, apricot-leaning and brief. This is the one for anyone who wants woods without comfort and smoke without sugar. It is 94% naturally derived as defined by ISO 9235.

Werwulf, the beast, full moon

Wer means man, wulf means wolf, and the house puts the fragrance in the gap between them: the full moon, the moment civility gives way. The copy promises skin, damp earth, root, resin and the suggestion of wet fur.

The notes are more surprising than that sounds. Bitter Pomel (), and open it; the heart is Ireos (), Violette Leef () and Vanylle Bene (); the base is , , and Beest-Fur ().

Rose, violet and orris is a powdery, almost cosmetic trio. Setting it over labdanum, benzoin and a fur note is the real idea here: the polite thing and the animal thing sharing one bottle, with vanilla bean keeping the landing soft instead of rank. If you like your animalics padded rather than raw, this is the one to sample first. It is 97% naturally derived under the same standard.

Blodwode, the blood, waning moon

translates as "Blood Wood". It takes the waning moon and the scent long after the act has been committed. Heretic frames it as resin bleeding from wounded bark, wild wormwood, wet leather and the heat of flesh in the aftermath.

The pyramid: Cynamon Bark (), Lentisque () and Yren-Blod () on top; and rose of Turkye () in the heart; , , and Flesh Musk () underneath.

A metallic opening under jasmine and rose is an unusual thing to build on purpose. Expect flowers in a room where something happened, with cinnamon adding dry heat and patchouli and musk holding the floor. This is the darkest reading of the three on paper, and the most floral. Also 97% naturally derived.

Cold air first, animal heat after

Put the three lists side by side and the same shape repeats. Mineral, resinous, cold air is the architecture; fur, musk and skin are the payoff. stays out in the frost. is the crossing. is the warmth going cold again.

That is harder to build with this much natural material, not easier. Little has said plainly that naturals cost more and vary batch to batch, and frost effects are the fussy end of any formula. Doing frost and fur at 94 to 97 percent naturally derived is the difficult version of the brief, and it is the reason we would sample all three rather than guess from the names.

When you can smell it

The collection is on pre-order, expected to ship 11/6, and samples are available. There is a discovery set with three 5ml minis if you want all three before committing. The film opens at Christmas. As with everything from this house, the fragrances are genderless and may be worn by all.

Your turn

If one of the three lands on your skin, tell us which. Rate it on Fragplace, log the day you wear it in your Scent Calendar, and leave a review so the next person reading a note list in the old tongue has something real to go on. Torn between the forest and the beast? Put them side by side in compare.