The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Bri Beyer launched Nocturnal Tendencies in 2021. The composition treats grass and sage not as a bright daytime accord but as the prelude to something deeper. That green opening deliberately leads the wearer somewhere else, sliding from a powdery violet heart into a base stacked with frankincense, patchouli, cedar, amber, and myrrh. It's a layered arc that feels less like a daytime cologne and more like an indoor hour, the kind of quiet where incense defines the air. Bri Beyer composed this as an eau de parfum, giving the resins enough weight to carry the full arc without losing the green that started it all. The opening grass carries a cool, almost dewy edge that softens quickly into herbal sweetness as sage rounds out the herb profile.
What makes Nocturnal Tendencies worth a second look is the way it stacks two opposing families on top of each other. The top notes, grass and sage, are sharp, herbal, almost cooling. The base, frankincense, patchouli, cedar, amber, myrrh, is a full resin cabinet, warm and heavy with smoke. Most fragrances commit to one direction. This composition refuses to. The violet and orchid in the heart act as the bridge, softening the green into something powdery before the resins take over. That powder-to-resin handoff is the move. It's what keeps the fragrance from feeling either too bright or too church-like. The result is a scent that smells like it's being lit and extinguished at the same time.
The evolution
The opening arrives cold and green, grass cutting through sage in a way that feels almost agricultural, like a field right after rain. Within ten minutes, the violet begins to surface, and the green loses its bite. The powder takes over, orchid adding a creamy, almost soapy lift that softens everything. By the thirty-minute mark, the resins start their climb. Frankincense arrives first, bright and lifted, followed by myrrh's deeper sweetness. The patchouli grounds it, cedar sharpens the edges, and amber warms the whole structure from underneath. What surprises is how long the violet lingers into the base. Even at the four-hour mark, there's still a powdery sweetness sitting underneath the incense. The frankincense and amber carry the final two hours as a skin scent, close and resinous, the kind of drydown that gets discovered the next morning on a scarf or collar.
Cultural impact
Nocturnal Tendencies treats its grass-and-sage opening as a deliberate lead-in rather than a standalone green composition, placing that herbaceous start against a frankincense, myrrh, and patchouli foundation. The structure offers something quieter than the louder, sweeter resin-forward orientals that tend to dominate attention in the category. Its strength lies in restraint: the green notes stay crisp without veering into sharp or aggressive territory, and the resinous base unfolds with a measured warmth rather than overwhelming the wearer with smoke or sweetness.
