Rhubarb Thief

Fresh fruity green. The opening is full of Grapefruit and Rhubarb. After the opening greener facets creep in. I love the Verbena and Cypress. I'm less familiar with Pink Jasmine, but thankfully it isn't like the Jasmine used in Jasmin Smoke (straight up fecal to my nose, sorry). So far Heretic as a brand has been very hit or miss for me, but I'm noticing that I really enjoy their green fragrances. My favorite fragrances are not photorealistic exactly, but more like Magical Realism, or a memory that has morphed into being more idealized than what it was in reality. That's where Rhubarb Thief, Dirty Grass, and Nosferatu land, better than what the real thing would be. Some might find this too sour candy-esque or screechy in the opening, so definitely try a tester first, but it's a great fruity green scent, very vibrant and wakeful.

Lovely, lovely, lovely! This one feels really photorealistic to me, and I love when perfumes are like that. It's honestly delightful. It's not really something I'd wear, however I love having it as a part of my atmospheric perfume collection.

Starts off like a sour citrus, then smooths out to a citrusy, woody, very slight herbal and earth smell. Kind of like pinesol, and I'm totally ok smelling like that.

SO good! Luscious rhubarb. Juicy, tangy, fruity fresh floral. Light, airy, close to skin. Need to overspray & spray throughout the day, as longevity is abysmal.

GREEN! This is so green and ripe. For that sharp rhubarb and tomato leafy smell this is your girl. So realistic and so delicious

Green, pretty, potential. Rhubarb Thief opens with a sharp green brightness that borders on citronella—slightly oily, slightly citrus-adjacent, and just uncertain enough to make you wonder where it’s going. Not unpleasant, but not fully convincing either. Then it shifts. The oiliness burns off and what’s left is a dry, airy green texture. It avoids the perfumey trap and settles into something clean, breathable, and quietly structured. There’s a subtle white floral thread—barely there—but it helps round the edges without softening the core. While it never takes center stage, it adds just enough intrigue to keep you coming back for another smell. The drydown is where it clicks. It reminds me of the texture of Future Society’s Floating Forest (one of my personal favorites). It arrives at a place and simply stays there. No drama, no big arc—just a consistent, green atmosphere that feels fully formed. The difference is this feels like the same idea turned down slightly. Same signal, just less of it. That makes it surprisingly useful. Not a statement scent, but an easy inner-elbow wear. Something that adds lift and air without taking over. It ended up being closer to what I wanted from a “citrus” fragrance than most actual citrus scents—more green than fruit, more structure than sparkle. I wouldn’t call it essential, but I will reach for it. And for me, that’s usually the difference.

Opening notes are sour and bright. To my nose it is orange pith and grapefruit rind. There is no sweet citrus juice here but it is a fascinating and fresh scent. I feel like there is not enough use of sour in perfumery and this note is refreshing to encounter. After about 30 minutes the perfume has transformed from an unusual sour scent to a lovely clean soapy scent. I would not have called this a floral scent at all but I suspect it is the pink jasmine note that I'm reading here. This is not an old fashioned soap, it is fresh, modern, and strong. After an hour or so the soap has settled and you're left with a beautiful, clean and enchanting scent that my nose initially called musk (official notes are elemi and oak moss). It drifts in and out of my senses and leaves wanting to reapply. Performance: Out side of the opening spray this is a fairly quiet scent, not a strong projector. I was wishing for a little more performance and went back and applied more generously then I normally would. When sprayed onto clothing it holds on to the opening citrus much longer. Overall I would call this an day time/everyday wear for spring and summer. The soapiness pushes the sent to a more feminine lean though there's nothing overtly female about it. The base is enchanting and leaves me wanting to sniff at my wrist. I'm looking forward to wearing this some more.

On me, this scent leans heavily green and slightly floral. I don’t notice much of the fruit, but that might be because I’m so used to fruit scents being sweet and this is only fresh (which is nice!). In the first hour the dry-down of elemi and oakmoss was really pleasant on my wrists and it does make you want to keep sniffing, but sadly it doesn’t last on skin very long. It did last much longer on my shirt and I keep getting whiffs of cypress with a citrus tang, and some of the jasmine. Overall, its pleasant and lovely for summer and spring but I’m not sure it’s a “I need a full bottle right now!” type of fragrance. It’s like the tease of a gothic fairy land right outside your window but you’re never allowed to open the door and actually step outside. Pleasantly frustrating.

Started out deliciously tart, with lots of grapefruit. An hour later, it’s like a nice verdant soap. I am experiencing a vague memory trigger with this. I think it might be the scent of a bottled carpet cleaner, but it’s not putting me off because the memory isn’t specific to a time and place. Is it pleasant? Yes. Does it read as rhubarb to me? Sadly, no.

The grapefruit here is sparkling, delicious and punchy. A young and sweet aromatic fragrance invigorated with citrus. Grapefruit feels like a mid note as well as it settles. Definitely a mood booster. Heretic perfumes are often short lived on my skin but this is the kind of scent I'd revel in respritzing.

Initially, pure grapefruit. As it starts to dry down, it becomes quite herbal, almost astringent. But not unpleasant. Once the rhubarb makes an appearance, it's very wearable. Unfortunately, the scent does not last long.

I love rhubarb scents!! I think I do prefer delulu to this one but still a fun choice. At first tart and juicy but as it dries down it smells a bit more powdery and faint than I would want from a rhubarb scent.

I definitely get more grapefruit than rhubarb but a green, bitter quality that really keeps it refreshing and not at all cleaning product on me. Interesting but it's gone in an hour or two.

Tart mix of citrus and herbal notes. Bright and fresh. Feels like the florals detract a bit from the rhubarb, but in a way that many might appreciate. Uplifting. Needs over-spraying.

Cutting up grapefruit peels and rhubarb, then washing your hands with jasmine scented soap. Nice. Pretty good performance for the brand.

The grapefruit is very overwhelming to me. I found that it dried down to a strange powdery citrus, which was not my thing. Was not picking up on the complexity that the notes listed would have suggested at all. To me, it felt sort of one dimensional, and the profile could have down with the removal of the grapefruit. I will say, this is coming from someone who kind of hates citrus. But irregardless, I liked it when I first spritzed, but it aged badly on my skin. There are many other scents that do this kind of profile infinitely better.

I love the name, the packaging, and the opening notes of this scent, especially on paper. It smells so juicy and fruity with a lot of balance and freshness as well and isn’t very sweet which makes for a very unique pairing. However, the dry down is pretty lackluster and smells like something I could easily find elsewhere for a cheaper price point. Speaking of, it unfortunately didn’t last very long for the price. This is also a close to skin scent with limited projection for me so I won’t be revisiting.

The opening is my favorite part, a zesty blast of grapefruit. As it settles it smells less and less realistic to me, there’s something synthetic and headache inducing in the drydown.

This whole brand has a longevity problem.

Bitter and biting grapefruit peel with fresh aromatics that feel right out of the forest. Tangy rhubarb with a bit of a kick to it accompanied by a whimsical sweetness of pink jasmine. What an interesting take on jasmine bc in some way it really does smell pink lol. Cypress adds an extra freshness like breathing in forest air. Dry down gets darker and earthier with smoky elements and dry woods. Like a spring fragrance turned gothic and lost in a witches forest.