The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Zadig & Voltaire released This Is Us! in 2020 through perfumer Mathilde Bijaoui, building on the house's philosophy of effortless unisex dressing translated into scent. The brief was simple: create something that belongs to whoever wears it, without gendering comfort or softening the edges. Bijaoui worked with vanilla and sandalwood as anchors, layering musk and patchouli into a composition that doesn't announce itself so much as settle in.
What makes This Is Us! work is the restraint. Vanilla often overwhelms, turns cloying, turns cheap. Here it stays close to the skin, held by sandalwood's creamy woodiness rather than amplified. Patchouli doesn't dominate; it grounds the sweetness, keeps it from floating away. Musk threads through everything, creating the effect of warmth without weight. It's a fragrance built for layers, worn over a jacket, under a scarf, somewhere the wearer can reach for it and find something steady.
The evolution
The opening doesn't burst so much as arrive. Creamy sandalwood arrives first, soft and unhurried, carrying vanilla in its wake. There's a brief moment where the patchouli surfaces, earth, slight spice, then retreats. The heart settles into something warmer, the musk becoming more apparent as it reacts with skin chemistry, creating a slightly different signature on everyone who wears it. By the drydown, the fragrance has become something quieter: sandalwood and vanilla remain, but quieter now, intimate. The longevity hits around six to eight hours on most skin, though dry skin may pull the patchouli forward earlier. What's left the next morning is a memory of warmth, not the fragrance itself, but the feeling it created.
Cultural impact
This Is Us! occupies a particular corner of the Zadig & Voltaire lineup: not the provocateur, not the statement piece, but the one you reach for when you want to smell like yourself but better. It's become a quiet staple for those who find most woody-vanillas either too loud or too thin. The fragrance wears well in cooler months, fall and winter especially, but its restraint makes it versatile enough for spring evenings when the air still carries a chill. What sets it apart from similar compositions is the patchouli: not aggressive, not earthy in the way that reads as unisex-by-default, but present enough to keep the sweetness honest.
