The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
OR/18 emerged from A. N. Other's 2018 collection. Perfumer David Apel worked with an unusual triad of materials: cannabis, myrrh, and night-blooming jasmine. The combination reads as medicinal at first, then shifts into something greener, earthier, more complex than a standard oriental. Night-blooming jasmine brings a nocturnal sweetness that feels almost meditative, while myrrh adds a resinous depth that anchors the composition. The driftwood base serves as the element that prevents the sweetness from floating away entirely. Sweetness with weight. That's the brief.
What makes OR/18 stand apart is the cannabis accord sitting at its center. It's not the skatole-or-nothing approach of some avant-garde houses, this is aromatic first, cannabis as a green, herbal material rather than a shock tactic. Paired with myrrh's resinous depth and jasmine's nocturnal sweetness, the heart reads as meditative rather than challenging. The driftwood base ties everything together: slightly salty, weathered, warm. It keeps the vanilla and tonka from becoming dessert and the citrus-anise opening from reading as candy. Balance through texture, not sweetness.
The evolution
The opening hits fast, blood orange and sugar create an immediate brightness, then star anise slides in sideways with its cool, clean spice. The citrus doesn't fade so much as dissolve into the heart: jasmine and myrrh over cannabis's green depth. The cannabis accord doesn't announce itself. It settles in quietly, giving the composition its herbal, slightly meditative quality. By the second hour, the drydown takes over, vanilla and tonka bean warmed by driftwood, close to the skin, intimate. The driftwood lingers longest, even after the vanilla fades.
Cultural impact
OR/18 relies on a cannabis accord that gives it a point of difference. The material remains uncommon in mainstream fragrance, making it a reference point for anyone exploring aromatic-oriental territory.
The House
A. N. OtherA. N. Other is a fragrance house defined by its deliberate anonymity. The brand strips away the mythology often surrounding perfume, choosing instead to let the scent itself speak. Each fragrance carries a minimal alphanumeric designation rather than a evocative name, a naming convention that forces focus entirely onto the liquid inside the bottle. The house emerged with its first releases around 2017 and 2018, producing gender-ambivalent compositions that span different olfactory territories. The 2017 FL/18 launched alongside several 2018 releases, establishing a catalog that would grow through 2020 and into 2024 with additions like Sultry Green and Crushed Velvet. Rather than relying on celebrity endorsements or elaborate brand narratives, A. N. Other positions the perfumer's craft as the singular selling point.
The Creator
David ApelApel's style draws from over four decades of experience across the industry's most respected houses. His background in chromatography gave him an exceptional understanding of raw materials and their behavior in formulation.
