NOSFERATU X HERETIC PARFUM
Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake. In partnership with Focus Features for this film, we are proud to collaborate on Nosferatu Eau de Macabre, a fragrance inspired by the iconic vampire.
What does it smell like?:To capture the olfactory universe of Nosferatu into one glass bottle is no mean feat. Given that it’s a ground-breaking movie, we wanted to move beyond tropes like blood, roses, smoke or candle wax and explore a very different idea of this creature of the night. Instead, the fragrance reveals itself to the wearer with a clap of thunder and downpour of rain outside Count Orlok’s castle. Strikes of lightning fill the air with petrichor and electricity. The damp earth releases a fresh, clean, but ever so musty scent of plant oils and geosmin released from the Carpathian Mountains. Fittingly named after the Greek word ‘petra’ (stone) and ‘ichor’ (the fluid that flows in the veins of the Gods), petrichor symbolises renewal and the cyclical nature of life (unless you’re a vampire).
Once the rain has subsided, we discover, tangled behind a craggy crevice of rocks, a shock of pale lilac. Entranced by its vibrant, floral and slightly powdery scent we are immediately reminded of Nosferatu’s heroine Ellen Hutter. Our reminiscing is punctuated only by the sight of inky violets whose delicate freshness, entwined with the lilac, creates a delirious, green, flowery accord of innocence lost and love everlasting. But in a flash and to our horror, the violets suddenly fade! Our deep- purple beauty has vanished. Such is her ethereal nature that we can only appreciate her otherworldly essence for a fleeting moment. Just as we begin to mourn our loss however, to our relief, she appears once more as if back from the dead. The ionine, also known as ‘the disappearing molecule’, from her delicate leaves and stems, has brought her back to life and will do so again and again. In other words; every time we smell a violet, we do so for the first time.
Just as our elusive violet is revived, another complex character drifts onto the scene in the form of ambergris. A paradox to our senses, it reminds us of the salty oceans we long for, where a ship is waiting to take us home, far away from Count Orlok’s mountainous lair. Yet it also evokes the scent of the earth underneath our very own feet. The enigma deepens when a luxurious but simultaneously animalistic scent unfolds, as ambergris intermingles with seductive oud, making us contemplate the primal instincts that are within us all and the twilight zone between man and beast inhabited by the vampire.
The symphony of these alluring components being brought together is nothing short of encountering an apparition; otherworldly, straddling a line between this world and the next. As the uncanny chords of the fragrance radiates from Orlok’s castle, across the mountains, the seas and all the way to Ellen Hutter’s Wisborg, Nosferatu will haunt you, but in the best possible way, with its pale, pellucid beauty.
About the film: Writer, director and horror film icon Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake. Widely praised for his visionary work exploring themes of madness, isolation, the supernatural, and psychological claustrophobia in films like The Norsman, The Witch and The Lighthouse. He has assembled a stunning cast lead by Bill Skarskård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp and Willem Dafoe.
Only in theaters this Christmas 2024.
Licensed by Universal Studios Licensing LLC @ 2024 Focus Features LLC
SHOP NOSFERATU EAU DE MACABRE
