The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Something Fierce arrived in 2019 as part of Poesie's Wuthering Heights collection, a line of fragrances connected to the Brontë novel that gave the collection its name. Joelle Nealy composed the scent herself, working with a handful of notes that pull in opposite directions: bitter orange for the bright, sharp opening, black licorice for its dark almost-sweet edge, and caramel and sugar for a warmth that never fully resolves into comfort. The result is a composition that refuses to behave like a crowd-pleaser, closer in spirit to a mood piece than a straightforward gourmand. There's something unapologetic about the way the anise and citrus collide, and the sugary base seems designed to complicate that collision rather than smooth it over.
What makes Something Fierce unusual is the way licorice behaves in the mix. The note has shown up in niche perfumery before, but here it shares the spotlight with bitter orange rather than hiding beneath sweeter materials, and that pairing gives the opening its particular character. The citrus and anise play off each other from the first spray, one bright and zesty, the other dark and almost medicinal, each pulling the composition in a different direction.
The evolution
The opening belongs to orange and licorice, and the combination is louder than expected. Bright pith, sharp anise, a sugar-dusted edge that keeps the whole thing from going austere. The caramel arrives quickly, settling into the spaces between the sharper notes, and the composition starts to round. As the fragrance develops, the heart takes shape: licorice still leads, but it shares space now with patchouli's earthiness and the dry warmth of cedar. The orange hasn't disappeared; it's been folded into the base, lending a faint citrus bitterness that keeps the drydown from going too sweet. What lingers is the anise-patchouli-cedar axis, a warm, slightly resinous shadow that holds on skin. The patchouli gives the drydown a grounded, almost smoky quality, while the cedar adds a clean woodiness that keeps the sweetness in check.
Cultural impact
Something Fierce has carved out a place among indie perfume enthusiasts who gravitate toward compositions that take real risks with unconventional notes. The licorice-forward construction appeals to wearers who already know they like anise in fragrance and want to see what a dedicated house can do with it, rather than something that hides the note behind layers of sweetness. Within the Poesie catalog, it stands as one of the more distinctive releases, a scent that wears its boldness openly and doesn't apologize for the sharpness at its center.
