From the brand’s own pages, read September 27
Say what you think, then see how everyone else read it.
Enchant your space with O Tannenbaum, an indulgence for the tastefully unhinged. A collaboration with the Edward Gorey Charitable Trust, this home fragrance is festive, faintly haunted, and inexplicably cold on only one side of the room. Fir needles, clove, and melted candle wax evoke the curious melancholy of a parlor in December. Evergreen. Eerie. Unseasonably suspicious. SCENT NOTES: Balsam Fir, Pine Needles, Juniper, Cedar, Frankincense, Myrrh, Oakmoss SMELLS LIKE: A freshly cut fir tree, covered in snow. FRAGRANCE STORY Evergreen. Eerie. Unseasonably suspicious. O Tannenbaum is a home fragrance of fir needles, clove, and melted candle wax that evokes the curious melancholy of a parlor in December. Festive, faintly haunted, and inexplicably cold on only one side of the room. HERETIC X GOREY To collaborate with the Edward Gorey Trust was less like a professional venture and more like a long-awaited séance with a beloved muse. Gorey's world, exquisitely drawn, wryly sinister, and curiously elegant, is an enchanting realm of mischief and magic. In 2025, Heretic inaugurated a new and slightly ill-advised tradition by translating the peculiar genius of Edward Gorey into scent. A series of room sprays appeared quietly without fanfare, evoking abandoned corridors, ill mannered weather, questionable refreshments and social occasions best remembered imprecisely. These fragrances were not designed to brighten a room. They were meant to occupy it. To linger. To suggest that something had occurred though no one seemed inclined to discuss it. This year the collection continues with new Gorey-inspired scents, extending the atmospheric narrative into additional seasons and scenarios, room sprays, candles, and more. These fragrances further refine the collection’s preoccupation with polite unease, sunlit events with unfortunate undertones, domestic spaces behaving suspiciously, and environments that feel faintly over-prepared for disaster. Each fragrance is conceived as a setting rather than a scent, narrative-driven and resolutely unconcerned with conventional notions of comfort. Together they deepen the Gorey world Heretic has begun to assemble, a place where nothing is overtly wrong yet nothing feels entirely safe. These are atmospheres for those who prefer their spaces expressive, their seasons peculiar, and their pleasures tinged with uncertainty. HOW TO AWAKEN THE ATMOSPHERE 1. Enter the space with purpose, or at least a vague sense of curiosity. 2. Before each lighting, trim the wick to 1/8 of an inch. A neglected wick may become unruly and cause damage. 3. Place the candle upon a stable, heat-resistant surface. Even the most well-appointed séance requires a steady foundation. 4. Light the wick and wait as the scent unfurls like a polite specter. Breathe deeply. Sigh theatrically. Works wonders on musty corners and awkward silences. 5. Do not let it burn for more than 4 hours at a time. When the appointed time has passed, extinguish the flame and allow the wax to cool before lighting again. Never leave a burning candle unattended or burning for more than 4 hours. Keep it well away from drafts, children, pets, and all flammable materials.
