Blodwode

Blodwode by Heretic Parfum carries the scent of what remains after the transformation. Bitter wormwood, the bleeding resin of wounded trees, and wet leather meet a sharp, metallic blood accord. Cinnamon bark, mastic, dark blossoms, and earthy vetiver combine with animal musk and the warmth of human skin. Rough, bitter, and untamed – a disturbingly physical fragrance where cold iron and living warmth meet.

Blodwode is the third and final chapter of the limited Werwulf collection by Heretic Parfum, Robert Eggers, and Focus Features. The moon is waning. The transformation has taken place. What remains are the traces: torn bark, crushed herbs, the scent of leather, fur, and blood. The forest has seen everything. And it forgets nothing.

• Top notes: Cinnamon bark, mastic resin, metallic blood accord
• Heart notes: Jasmine, Turkish rose
• Base notes: Patchouli, vetiver, benzoin, animal body musk accord

Blodwode opens sharp, bitter, and metallic. Cinnamon bark brings a dry, biting spice, while mastic adds a tart, green, resinous note. Between them is the unusual Yren-Blod accord: cold and iron-like, with a coppery sharpness that evokes fresh blood. Bitter wormwood belongs to the dark fragrance story – like wild herbs crushed beneath hurried footsteps.

At the heart, jasmine and Turkish rose emerge. But they bring no romantic lightness. In combination with the metallic sharpness, their floral facets feel darker and heavier, like blossoms lying among wet earth and broken branches. The fragrance retains its tension. The flowers do not soften its raw character; they make it even more unfamiliar.

Beneath this, the composition deepens into a blend of resin, damp leather, dark roots, and warm animal skin. Patchouli and vetiver lend it a heavy, earthy depth, while benzoin brings balsamic warmth. The body musk accord evokes living skin, fur, and the scent of an animal that has just crashed through the underbrush.

Over time, these physical facets become more pronounced. The sharp chill of iron stands alongside warm skin, wet leather, and resinous woods. The fragrance feels wounded, raw, and alive. It preserves the tension between a cold, metallic accord and the animal warmth beneath it.

Blodwode is not an easygoing fragrance. Douglas Little wanted to create a razor-sharp, coppery-metallic blood accord and connect it with softer, skin-close woody notes. This contrast makes the composition so unusual: the metal feels cold and alien, while the animalistic facets are disturbingly human. An uncompromising niche fragrance that deliberately polarizes.

The forest does not forget

Blodwode means “Bloodwood.” The name leads to the final chapter of the Werwulf story. The moon is waning. The transformation is over, but its traces are still fresh. Resin seeps from wounded trees; herbs lie crushed on the forest floor. The smell of iron and warm skin hangs between the branches. The forest itself becomes a witness to what happened here.

In Heretic’s story, this forest speaks with an ancient voice. It knows the smell of wolves. It was already here, long before humans learned to fear the dark. Then came a man, staggering beneath the bare winter branches. His breath burned in the cold air. Salt. Leather. Living skin. His hands brushed the tree bark, leaving their warmth behind for a fleeting moment.

But something changed. Bitter wormwood was crushed beneath invisible footsteps. Resin oozed from torn bark. Beneath it stirred another scent: fur, musk, animal warmth. Wet leather and the heavy smell of skin mingled with the cold air. Something ancient and wild had taken possession of the body.

Then the forest heard fabric tearing and bones cracking. The smell of iron spread, mingling with the warmth of flesh. It was the smell of a transformation that could not be undone. The forest needed no eyes - it had smelled what had happened.

For perfumer Douglas Little, this moment became the starting point for Blodwode. He developed a sharp, coppery blood accord with hints of iron and rust. He paired it with softer woods whose scent profile evokes human skin. Cold and warmth, metal and body meet. The fragrance is meant not simply to imitate blood, but to convey the unsettling feeling that something terrible has happened and left its traces indelibly behind.

Blodwode preserves the scent of what the eyes can no longer see. The warmth of the human, the animal's fur, bitter wormwood, and the resin of wounded trees. The transformation is behind us. But the forest still carries it within.

The Three Witnesses

Following their collaboration on Nosferatu, Heretic Parfum, director Robert Eggers, and Focus Features have created another extraordinary fragrance collection. This time, it accompanies Eggers' horror film Werwulf, set in 13th-century England and opening in US theaters on December 25, 2026.

For almost two years, Heretic founder and perfumer Douglas Little immersed himself in the world of the film. Ancient myths, medieval language, historical research, and creative exchanges with Robert Eggers all shaped the development.

The result is three fragrances that embody different witnesses to a bestial transformation. Each preserves a different moment in the story unfolding beneath the changing moon. Together, they tell of the thin boundary between civilization and instinct, human and animal, memory and myth.

The three witnesses. The forest. The beast. The blood.

Þe Wode Hath Teth – The Forest. As the moon waxes, the story begins. Smoke, ash, resins, frozen earth, and dark woods evoke a wild, unforgiving forest where something begins to stir.

Werwulf – The Beast. Beneath the full moon, the beast awakens. Animalic musk notes, skin, resins, roots, and the impression of damp fur tell of the moment when the boundary between human and animal disappears.

Blodwode – The Memory. As the moon wanes, traces remain. Metallic, animalic, and resinous notes tell of what has happened. The forest has witnessed everything—and forgets nothing.

Who is Blodwode for?

Blodwode is a distinctive choice for those who love animalic, resinous, woody, and experimental niche perfumes. The metallic blood accord gives the fragrance an unusual character, while rose, jasmine, benzoin, and soft woody notes create contrast. Those drawn to dark leather accords, earthy vetiver, patchouli, and skin-close musk notes will find an unconventional composition here.

Within the Werwulf collection, Blodwode has the most distinctive metallic facet. Þe Wode Hath Teth evokes a cold, smoky forest, while Werwulf captures the body's warmth and the awakening beast. Blodwode captures the moment after: the metallic trace left behind in the forest.

Heretic Parfum

Heretic Parfum creates distinctive, gender-independent fragrances with a botanical signature. Founder and perfumer Douglas Little combines botanical ingredients with selected modern fragrance molecules. His compositions are often inspired by rituals, unusual experiences of nature, and the darker sides of the human imagination.

Blodwode consists of 97% ingredients of natural origin and is based on organic sugarcane alcohol. The fragrance is vegan and cruelty-free. The metallic blood and animalic body notes are fragrance accords, not animal-derived ingredients.

Discover more creations in our Heretic Parfum collection. Learn more about the brand and its founder in our Heretic brand profile.

Application

• Spray onto the wrists, behind the ears, the sides of the neck or the décolletage as desired.
• Let the fragrance develop on the skin and do not rub after application.
• Reapply throughout the day as needed for a stronger presence.
• Also suitable for layering with other Heretic fragrances. For the combination, Heretic recommends applying the heavier fragrance first, followed by the lighter one.

Fragrance family

Spicy, Leathery, Earthy, Balsamic