The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Witch Extrait arrived in 2025 as part of JMP Artisan Perfumes' The Transcendental Stories collection, created exclusively for House of Merlo, a perfumery in Warsaw. Jakub Pietrynka, who founded the Polish house, built his reputation as a perfumer who works in the space between raw nature and careful craft. Witch Extrait carries an unusual provenance: it isn't a general-release composition but a fragrance developed specifically for a single retailer's clientele. That exclusivity shapes everything about how it presents itself, from the note selection to the way the green-aromatic accords are layered. It's a scent with a clear point of view, one that was refined through the particular demands of a boutique environment rather than mass-market distribution.
The composition leans on a green-aromatic structure built around several key players. Angelica brings that slightly bitter, almost root-beer-green quality to the top of the pyramid, lending an herbal density that grounds the brighter citrus elements. Rose oxide adds a metallic shimmer through the heart, the kind of note that gives green fragrances their contemporary edge. And the rhubarb-sage pairing is doing serious work, tart and savory at once, keeping the whole thing from tipping into herbal-tea territory.
The evolution
The opening hits green and sharp within seconds. Angelica and blackcurrant arrive together, the angelica carrying that slightly bitter, almost celery-root character, while the blackcurrant adds a tart, almost dusty fruit note underneath. Mint and petitgrain cool the edges and keep things from reading too vegetal. It's bright, almost sparkling, and lasts about 20 minutes before the shift begins. The heart is where the composition earns its name. Sage arrives first, dry and slightly medicinal, then rhubarb's tartness cuts through the green. Rose oxide adds something metallic and almost cold, like the smell of stone after rain. Nutmeg warms the edges just enough to keep it wearable. This phase runs for about two hours, and it's the most distinctive part of the fragrance. The drydown settles into oakmoss and ambergris, with white musk softening everything underneath.
Cultural impact
Witch sits within JMP's The Transcendental Stories collection and was created exclusively for House of Merlo in Warsaw. The exclusive arrangement with a single boutique gives the fragrance a defined retail context. House of Merlo, a Warsaw perfumery, partnered with JMP to develop a composition that would speak to its particular clientele, collectors drawn to green and aromatic profiles. Witch Extrait's aromatic-green character draws on materials with deep roots in European perfumery, including angelica, sage, rhubarb, and oakmoss, while incorporating modern molecules like rose oxide to update the structure.
