Nosferatu (2024) might have been snubbed by The Academy, but certainly not by our gothic fragrance fans at Lore Perfumery. In the three months we’ve had the limited-edition official fragrance of the film, we’ve sold more units of it than any other fragrance at Lore!
We aren’t surprised though – Nosferatu (Eau de Macabre) is incredible. We haven’t even needed to do any promo on it, it’s basically sold itself. However, we are so obsessed with the fragrance that we wanted to shine a spotlight on it, and perhaps introduce it to you if you’re not yet familiar.
When we heard one of our favourite fragrance houses, Heretic Parfum, had been enlisted by director Robert Eggers and Focus Features to create the official fragrance of Nosferatu, we were ecstatic to say the least. All of us were guessing what it might smell like – would it be the scent of Count Orlok himself? Or the perfume of the innocent Ellen Hutter? Perhaps it would smell like the scenery where the film is set? It turns out that all of our guesses were kind of correct in a way, but the scent is by no means literal or gimmicky, it’s delicate, complex, and surprisingly, very wearable.
In creating the Nosferatu fragrance, Heretic was determined to create something unique and unexpected, avoiding cliche vampire tropes.
Nosferatu, like the film, was designed to make us contemplate the primal instincts that are within us all and the twilight zone between man and beast inhabited by the vampire – It’s a fragrance that will haunt you, but in the best possible way.
Notes
Top: Lilac, Ambrette
Middle: Petrichor, Violet Absolute, Orris Concrete, Cypriol
Base: Vegan Ambergris, Oud, Labdanum
This fragrance evokes the uneasy chill of encountering an apparition. Beginning in the midst of a freezing thunderstorm outside Count Orlok’s castle in the Carpathian Mountains, the scent of petrichor and the ever slightly musty scent of plant oils and geosmin filling the air.
Tangled in the stones of the dark, wet heart chord you will find lilac in a vivid bouquet of cadaverous hues punctuated by inky violet absolute. We are immediately reminded of Nosferatu’s heroine Ellen Hutter.
Just then, another complex character drifts onto the scene in the form of vegan 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. Soft and velvety, the ambergris dances on the skin in a nostalgic waltz that is both delicate and hedonistic.
YOUUUUU MUSSSTTT… TRY IT!
At first it’s green and damp in a musty, mildew-y way, but as soon as the lilac appears it becomes much more pleasant and wearable. The vegan ambergris makes it last for a good amount of time on the skin, and gives the fragrance a your-skin-but-more-vampiric feel.
There’s definitely a distinctly melancholy feel about it, which we think is great. This is a fragrance that is true to concept, not trying to be marketable, and we are all about that at Lore Perfumery.
Don’t believe us? Here’s what some of our customers have had to say about Nosferatu…
“This smells INSANE.” – Bathory
“My whole life is made.” – Anastasia
“Obsessed with smelling like wet rocks right now!” – Levi
“I don’t even have the words to do this fragrance justice. I’m obsessed with this in the same way Count Orlock is obsessed with Ellen. I’ve just purchased a second bottle because I already know I won’t be able to stand the heartbreak when I run out.” – Caitlyn
Amazing news! We’ve just gotten wind that Heretic will be doing a few more drops of Nosferatu, so if you haven’t been able to get your hands on a bottle yet, you’ll still have the chance.
