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Smudge Heretic 2018

6.8 / 10 38 Ratings

A perfume by Heretic for women and men, released in 2018. The scent is resinous-spicy. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Resinous

Spicy

Woody

Smoky

Earthy

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Frankincense

Atlas cedar

Sichuan pepper

Heart Notes

Juniper

Tonka bean

Clary sage

Base Notes

Labdanum

Fir balsam

Patchouli

Sandalwood Styrax

Styrax

Perfumer

Douglas Little

Ratings

Scent

6.838 Ratings

Longevity

7.832 Ratings

Sillage

7.231 Ratings

Bottle

7.037 Ratings

Value for money

6.521 Ratings

Submitted by OPomone · last update on 12/01/2025.

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Reviews

7 in-depth fragrance descriptions

10/31/2025

8.5Scent 9Longevity 8Sillage

DRKSHDW
155 Reviews

DRKSHDW

2

WITCHY!

If Halloween had a signature scent that didn’t rely on pumpkin spice or caramel apples, Smudge by Heretic would be it. This isn’t your cute, “I put on a witch hat for the party” fragrance. This is the smell of the witch’s actual cottage, the one deep in the forest where something is definitely bubbling in a cauldron. From the first whiff, Smudge smells like a room filled with burning candles. Wax is melting in uneven pools, and the air carries that unmistakable smoky aroma that rises the moment you blow out a candle, warm and oddly comforting.
It’s joined by bitter herbs and sage. Imagine dried bundles of herbs hanging upside down from the ceiling, brushing your head as you walk through. The witch has clearly been busy: grinding roots, drying flowers, and possibly prepping her next meal (spoiler alert: it might be you). There’s a waxy, oily undertone that clings to the skin like you’ve just been anointed for either protection or sacrifice. The scent doesn’t morph much; it’s beautifully linear and steady. It has good performance.

If this perfume were a character:

Deep in the forest, a witch lives alone in her crooked, candlelit cottage, wholly devoted to botanical potions and alchemy. Rumor has it she is 500 years old, yet she never ventures to the village. Desperate souls seek her out, hoping for love potions or swift answers to their desires, offering gold coins or delicacies in return. Some leave with what they came for; others never return. No one dares to challenge her, for rumors of her dark arts creep through the village like mist.

08/30/2025

6.5Scent 9Longevity 8Sillage

itscoraline
180 Reviews

itscoraline

2

Burnt Sugar Incense Bomb

Opens with a dizzying blast of sticky, burnt sugar incense, like a cedar box full of spiced molasses toffee thrown into a fire.

Patchouli and resin eventually join the party, but that hefty dose of incense never departs — it just shifts into a drier, smokier version.

In the end, this fragrance is too much for me: too big, too heady, too sweet, too resinous. (Admittedly, I’m not a big fan of incense, with the exception of the chilly gothic Craft) But if you love bombastic incense, this is the scent for you.

Projection and longevity are strong — this is a fragrance that announces itself and will hang in the room after you’ve left. Unisex but could be interpreted as slightly masculine coded.

03/20/2025

1.5Scent 5Longevity 6Sillage

Elijahrb67
120 Reviews

Elijahrb67

1

Animalic Incense?

I can normally tolerate about 99% of fragrances, even if I don't particularly love certain things about them, but Smudge is an absolute no from me. Although this appears (at least based on the notes) to be a relatively straightforward incense fragrance, I got absolutely everything but that. I've even smelled this 5-6 times on both skin and paper and I just cannot get over the fact that it smells like some sort of greasy animalic concoction. The opening is the most awful to me, smelling like dirt and livestock, with a bit of a urine-esque civet note thrown in. I'm confused as to where this is coming from, as none of the listed notes here really raise red flags to me, but it's certainly there. There's also a looming note of cigarette smoke and tar as well, which I would imagine comes from the resins, but the rest of it is inexplicable. As it dries it becomes at least somewhat tolerable, losing some of the greasiness that it has in exchange for a sweet, cedar like note, but the rest of the skanky animalic facets are still there, forever looming and nauseating me. I get virtually zero incense or

I find it odd that this fragrance repulses me so, as I tend to like more animalic fragrances, but this another level entirely. Perhaps my sample is just bad, or maybe it doesn't agree with my nose, but I won't ever be truly wearing this as I can't stand it. For those willing to take an unusual risk, be my guest and give this a try, but I will personally be avoiding this one from here on out. I typically love incense fragrances, but I can't stomach this.

05/30/2025

8Scent 10Longevity 8Sillage

Indigsmoke24
13 Reviews

Indigsmoke24

1

Smudge

To cliche or not to cliche that’s the question here?
Smudge and Heretic was actually the first fragrance and brand to really kick start my journey into the ol factory, niche now artisanal fragrances. Smudge was a no brained for me as I’m just an old free spirited type of guy, the name was just a great catch for me personally. Upon first spray I fell in love this is by far the best palo santo fragrance I’ve ever smelled and what blows my mind the most is there’s no Palo santo wood in it. Nuts. Anyone that’s familiar with smudging can easily make this correlation. How in the world ppl are picking up on animalics here is wild I’m heavy in Oud musk and other animalics atm and i Can assure you this has none of that. This is all sweet sticky palo santo smoke at a powwow

01/02/2025

6Scent

parfumpixie
358 Reviews

parfumpixie

1

Smudged smoke

a heavy, stuffy, tar like smokiness that feels like the left over wood logs after a bonfire, a fire in the woods, smoke out the chimney. There’s a touch of something rich here coming from the tonka, but never sweet. Just earthy and rich, and so so dry, especially in the dry down. The styrax is the star of the show in the full dry down, smoky, chalky, a tad tire adjacent, but feels fresh with fir and a bit softened by the sandalwood. Overall a very smudgy smoke scent

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