The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Bullshit was first shaped in 2016 as a candle, a collaboration between IIUVO and Mexican conceptual artist Stefan Brüggemann. The scent moved between formats for years before settling into its eau de parfum form in 2020, created by IIUVO founders Tomi Ahmed and Leo Gibbon. Brüggemann's art practice trades in blunt language and philosophical provocation. Naming a fragrance Bullshit is the kind of gesture that fits his vocabulary, and fits IIUVO's catalogue of Fonteyn, Gilot, Soigné, and Madame X, names that read more like a set of characters than a conventional perfume wardrobe. The shift from candle to bottle gave the original idea room to breathe, and a sharper citrus spine to carry it.
What makes Bullshit interesting isn't the note list at first glance. It's the way a few fairly common materials get arranged against each other. Sichuan pepper next to lavender is unusual. Grapefruit playing off rose is more familiar, but the addition of lily of the valley gives that pairing a cooler, greener edge than you'd expect. The base of tonka bean, vanilla, musk, and guaiac wood leans gourmand-adjacent, but the guaiac keeps it from collapsing fully into sweetness. The result sits somewhere between aromatic spice and an unexpected floral heart that smells more deliberate than decorative.
The evolution
The first 15 minutes belong to the citrus. Tangerine and grapefruit hit bright and sharp, with Sichuan pepper buzzing underneath like static. That pepper note does something the citrus can't do alone: it adds a subtle numbing heat that makes the opening feel intentional rather than just fresh. Around the 30-minute mark the florals take over. Rose, lavender, and lily of the valley arrive together, and the composition shifts from bright to slightly powdered. This is where the lavender earns its keep, anchoring the rose so it reads almost herbal rather than purely romantic. The drydown starts around the 2-hour mark. Tonka bean and vanilla soften everything, and guaiac wood pushes in underneath, slightly smoky, slightly warm. The musk at the base keeps the whole thing close to skin rather than projecting hard. Expect roughly 4-6 hours before it disappears, with the warmest vanilla-and-wood whispers lingering into the next day on fabric.
Cultural impact
Bullsit is the kind of release that splits rooms. The name does half the work, signaling a brand comfortable with provocation, and the scent itself leans into a citrus-gourmand territory that doesn't pick a side cleanly. Among independent fragrance circles, it sits next to releases that treat naming as part of the composition. Wearing it reads less like choosing a fragrance family and more like picking a stance.
