7 Gothic Fragrances Far From Boring

There is something about an obscure scent that cenements itself into your mind forever. Its unforgettable nature comes from the intoxicating notes, whether gnarly, sharp, or sweet and spicy. It’s the eerie clouds of incense flowing through empty churches, musty leather jackets brushing our shoulders on the train, and sweet dewy dirt notes that stick with us forever. Here’s a thoughtfully curated list of seven fragrances with both odd notes and stunning bottles.

1. Resonant By Oddity

Much like the hand crafted stone top, this scent perfects what it’s like to get a whiff of cool silver metal. Resonant by Oddity is a fragrance made up of Yuzu, Mandarin, Bergamot, Ginger, Petit Grain, Cold Metallic notes, Musk, Guiacwood, and Ambergris. Oddity describes it as a hot iron and a cold explosion, both weird and intriguing. It is a perfect mixture of the steam coming from a freshly pressed button up with a hint of freshly peeled mandarin. Resonant is for the colder months, blending into the biting chill of the wind and standing out in any crowd.

2. Notre Dame notte di Natale by Filippo Sorcinelli

Maybe you’ve seen this bottle before, in your dreams or littered on your pinterest feed. The beautiful bronze speaks for itself, with details like embellished rings and art nouveau designs on the base, it’s hard to forget. Even more unforgettable is the smokey sweet scent. The notes consist of Frankincense, Tonka Bean, Amber, Chocolate, Orange Blossom, Cedarwood, and Cinnamon. It clings to the skin for an impressive amount of time, leaving a trail of musky dessert. Though uncommon, the mix of incense and citrusy bitter chocolate pair impressively.

3. Dawn Whispers by L’Entropiste

From the crisp imagination of perfume critic @Cammyreviews on TikTok, this scent is described as indulging into a spongey slice of vanilla cake while soaking up the metallic blood trickled down from a nose bleed. The L’Entropiste website displays the scent as a work of art, an “unsettling feeling of experiencing a moment already written elsewhere.” The sweet milky notes blur into the amber touches creating whispers of an unforgettable scent. The bottle itself is sleek, clean, and slightly off putting, the fragrance speaks volumes with a gentle thirst for blood.

4. De Profundis by Serge Lutens

Elegant, earthly, and undead this staple gothic fragrance floats along the fog of limbo. De Profundis captures the dewy damp scene of a forgotten graveyard complete with the hints of violet and chrysanthemum flowers resting at each tomb. Serge Luten is known for gothic vampiric scents, spraying obscure feelings that stick on the skin for hours. Though dark and ominous, its earthly beauty makes it the perfect androgynous scent.

5. Encre Noir by Lalique

Encre Noire is like tucking yourself in under a blanket of soft moss on the forest floor. Marked a masculine scent, it holds strong notes of vetiver, wood, musk, and earth. This scent will have heads turning as you walk about the grocery store, and for a great price too. Like the bottle, the bold earthy scent floats in a dark abyss, simple yet powerful. This is a great place to start your gothic fragrance collection without having to break the bank.

6. Sweetly Known by Kerosene

Created by perfumer John Pegg, Sweetly Known captures the nostalgia of roaming the damp chilly streets of London while indulging in a London Fog and listening to Joy Division. The top note is Earl Grey, awakening the bitter sweet stick of tea. It mixes in lemon, honey, caramel, vanilla and waffle cones. Deliciously sweet, balanced with bergamot and tonka bean. A classic from Kerosene, it is an easy purchase with a beautiful gold plated bottle.

7. Black Afgano by Nasomatto

From the brilliant nose of Alessandro Gualtieri, Black Afgano is a daring scent made to tease and attract. It captures the magnetic scent of lighting a joint, smokey, raw, and promiscuous. The stark black bottle and jet black dyed perfume is hypnotic, arousing and evokes a sense of danger. Think of coating yourself in a cloud of airy perfume attempting to cover up the lingering smell of smoke stuck on your skin. Although this scent makes you instantly cool and rebellious, your parents probably aren’t the biggest fan. Whether you are a vampire, ghost, smoker, or human these fragrances are made to impress. Scent is one of the best accessories, sticking to pleated skirts, ironed button ups, and half shaved heads. One whiff can linger in one’s head for days. “What was that smell?” Weed, waffle cone, metal, blood, or maybe a combination of all of the above. What is your signature scent?