The Story
Why it exists.
Nicolas Beaulieu built Voodoo Chile around a single contradiction: cannabis, so often associated with sharpness and skank, rendered soft and enveloping. The scent itself is calm, not trippy. Beaulieu reached for herbaceous warmth from the first note, then layered cedar and sandalwood underneath to hold it steady. The 2022 release joined nine other fragrances in The Art of Contrast collection, each created by a different perfumer working within the same designer's visual vocabulary. This one earned its name by smelling like something familiar turned slightly sideways. The way the warm, soft cannabis accord sits against cooler herbal notes creates that sense of displacement, like recognizing a song you know but hearing it played in a different key.
If this were a song
Community picks
Redbone
Childish Gambino
The Beginning
Nicolas Beaulieu built Voodoo Chile around a single contradiction: cannabis, so often associated with sharpness and skank, rendered soft and enveloping. The scent itself is calm, not trippy. Beaulieu reached for herbaceous warmth from the first note, then layered cedar and sandalwood underneath to hold it steady. The 2022 release joined nine other fragrances in The Art of Contrast collection, each created by a different perfumer working within the same designer's visual vocabulary. This one earned its name by smelling like something familiar turned slightly sideways. The way the warm, soft cannabis accord sits against cooler herbal notes creates that sense of displacement, like recognizing a song you know but hearing it played in a different key.
What makes Voodoo Chile interesting is how the cannabis accord functions. Instead of leaning into the green, skunky intensity that cannabis carries in nature, the accord here reads differently, shaped by the other materials that support it. Rosemary reinforces that herbal edge, keeping the top from going too soft too quickly. The heart then delivers mastic or lentisque, a resinous green material that bridges the freshness of the opening and the warmth of the base. Patchouli adds depth to the composition, contributing its own character without the earthiness some might expect from the note.
The Evolution
The opening hits with that creamy cannabis, immediate, warm, slightly sweet. Rosemary arrives within minutes, lending an herbal clarity that prevents the top from going flat. The handoff to the heart is subtle: mastic or lentisque brings a resinous, green quality that deepens the composition without changing its direction. Patchouli settles in quietly underneath, adding a balsamic weight that the herbs alone can't carry. The base is where this fragrance earns its reputation. Cedar arrives firm and clean, then New Caledonian sandalwood takes over, creamy, persistent, intimate. On fabric, the sandalwood lingers overnight. On skin, the fragrance unfolds across hours, with the different notes revealing themselves gradually as the warmth of the body interacts with the materials.
Cultural Impact
The Art of Contrast collection launched in 2022 with ten fragrances, each by a different perfumer. Voodoo Chile stands apart for its use of cannabis as a cozy rather than confrontational note, a choice that positions it differently from other fragrances reaching for similar materials. Wearers describe it as the scent of someone who doesn't need to announce themselves, preferring to let the fragrance speak quietly to those who get close enough to notice. There's an intimacy to the whole composition that resists the performative quality found in many fragrance releases, making it feel less like an accessory and more like a second skin.
The House
Belgium · Est. 1986
Dries Van Noten is a Belgian fashion house founded in Antwerp in 1986. The brand became a defining force in contemporary fashion as a member of the influential Antwerp Six, known for bold painterly prints, rich textures, and a signature aesthetic that blends eclectic global references with artisanal craftsmanship. In 2018, the company partnered with Spanish fragrance and fashion group Puig, which acquired a majority stake while Van Noten retained a minority shareholding. The brand expanded internationally with flagships including an 800 square metre space on La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles, stores in Shanghai and Chengdu, and in 2022 opened a Paris gallery devoted exclusively to fragrance, beauty, and accessories called Galerie Quai Malaquais. The beauty line features twelve gender-fluid fragrances, thirty lipsticks in refillable packaging, and a range of accessories. Soie Malaquais won the Fragrance Foundation UK Award for Design & Packaging. In June 2024, Dries Van Noten stepped down as Creative Director, passing the role to Julian Klausner, who had joined the house in 2018.
If this were a song
Community picks
Voodoo Chile sounds like a late afternoon, the sun dropping, the temperature settling, everything going amber. There's a herbal sharpness in the opening, like someone crushed rosemary between their fingers, followed by warm wood and something almost creamy underneath. The track that pairs with it has that same quality: something unexpected and soft, played in a minor key.
Redbone
Childish Gambino
