Pan’s Labyrinth v2

THIS IS A PREORDER! BOTTLES WILL NOT SHIP UNTIL WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 16TH!!!

This project began as a creative conversation between two people who live and breathe scent, myself and Rajesh Balkrishnan, a perfumer and fragrance storyteller whose eye for nuance helped shape every part of this composition. What started as an idea to capture the balance between mystery and softness, much like the film that inspired it, became a year-long process of building, discarding, and rebuilding. We created ten different versions before we reached the one that finally felt right.

With the V2, we haven't changed a single note. This is the exact same formula, built from the exact same ten versions of trial and adjustment, but taken to a higher concentration. Every accord that made the original so detailed is still here, just turned up: louder in projection, deeper in the base, and considerably longer lasting on skin. If you loved V1, this is that same fragrance living up to its fullest potential.

At its core, Pan's Labyrinth is a modern fougère, reinterpreted with depth. It holds the structure of the classic fougère, that interplay of lavender, moss, and coumarin, but reimagined through a sexier, powdery lens. The fragrance moves differently than traditional structures; instead of crisp freshness, it opens with an enveloping sweetness, and at this higher concentration that opening arrives with even more richness and presence.

The idea of powder became central to the identity of the scent. I wanted something that carried comfort and elegance without drifting into cosmetics. To achieve that, I spent two months developing a custom powder accord, blending, filtering, and balancing small trials until the right texture appeared: airy, slightly sweet, but powdery enough to lift the heart of the fragrance. This accord became the key that tied the entire formula together. On its own, it's subtle, but in the full composition, it gives everything a smooth surface, the rose is a bit softer, the lavender a bit smoother, and the wood base finds a velvet finish. At V2's higher concentration, that powder accord carries further and lingers longer.

The top of Pan's Labyrinth opens with bergamot, rose otto, bitter almond, and a touch of white ambergris. The bergamot gives an effervescent brightness, while the rose otto blends into the almond's faint sweetness, creating a powdery lift right from the start. The powder accord sits beside them as a main player, ensuring that even the brightness of the opening has softness built into it. The ambergris adds diffusion, letting the top spread evenly before it settles, and in V2 that diffusion is noticeably wider from the very first spray.

As it moves into the heart, the fougère character comes alive. Lavender essential oil provides that traditional backbone. Coumarin gives it the recognizable fougère rhythm, that hint of warmth and balance between sweet and dry, while rose absolute, ylang ylang, and patchouli form the core texture. The florals are used carefully; they don't dominate or make the scent lean floral. Instead, they sit beneath the lavender. The patchouli gives just enough weight to hold the powder accord in place, so it doesn't fade too quickly, and with the increased concentration of V2 that heart phase stretches on for hours longer than the original.

The base is where Pan's Labyrinth takes its full form, and where V2's higher concentration makes the biggest difference. The blend of Sri Lankan sandalwood, Siberian musk, and Malaysian oud gives the scent its warmth and dimension. Each material was chosen for purpose, sandalwood for creaminess, musk for texture, and oud for depth. French oakmoss and pine tree moss connect the structure to its classical roots, while fir, labdanum, and bakhoor tincture add a resinous, slightly incensey base. The bakhoor tincture, in particular, gives a faint incense profile that on its own has many fougere notes intertwined to it, connecting the sweetness of the powder accord to the depth of the wood and moss.

Nothing stands apart from the rest; each material is woven into the next. The first few minutes bring brightness and powder, then a soft floral heart, and finally a clean, woody base that now stays for the better part of a day. It's designed to move slowly, allowing the materials to breathe and reveal their character without clashing, and V2 simply gives that unfolding more time and more depth to work with.

The collaboration with Rajesh is a story of shared passion. Every trial, every adjustment was deliberate. He brought an incredible ability to sense proportion, to know when a few drops too many could change the entire blend. His support went beyond the formula.

We didn't rush the process. The formula was left to rest and mature before bottling, letting the oils blend. V2 simply takes that same completed formula and gives it the strength and staying power to match its complexity.

Every element, from the bergamot and rose to the oakmoss and bakhoor, plays its part in service of that single idea; to create a fragrance that feels as detailed and deliberate as the world of Pan's Labyrinth itself, and now, as enduring as it deserves to be. Now offered at a concentration that lets it fill a room and last from morning into night don’t miss this second chance to own this masterpiece!

Top Notes
Bergamot
Rose Otto
Powder Accord
Bitter Almond
White Ambergris

Heart Notes
Lavender EO
Coumarin
Rose Abs
Ylang Ylang
Patchouli

Base Notes
Sri Lankan Santal
Siberian Musk
Malaysian Oud
French Oakmoss
Pine tree Moss
Fir
Labdanum
Bakhoor tincture