Launched in 2016, by goop, the wellness lifestyle brand founded by Gwyneth Paltrow, Edition 03 – Incense is the third in a series of four fragrances based on the seasons.

Paltrow loves fragrance, but perfume isn’t exactly ‘healthy’ and this doesn’t sync with Paltrow’s love of all-natural lifestyle philosophy.  So, to be able to enjoy wearing fragrance, Paltrow teamed up with organic perfumer Douglas Little, founder of Heretic Parfums and nose behind the outstanding Dirty Ginger, to create all-natural, luxe perfumes for goop.

Edition 03 – Incense opens with the heady scent of green frankincense from Oman. The green colour gives the resin fresh aspects of lime and menthol, making the opening airy and woody and deep. It’s the smell of mysticism and spirituality and the backdrop to what comes next. Juniper tiptoes forward, herbaceous and camphoraceous, it heightens the freshness of the green resin. Spicy, earthy, black pepper is the perfect foil for the juniper. But this isn’t the only yin-yang pairing. There’s aromatic cardamom, sweet and spicy, with a woody, balsamic undertone that’s bolstered by cedar. It feels good to fill my lungs with it. Labdanum lurks here too, rich and complex.

But this story is all about incense and there’s plenty of it wafting throughout the fragrance making Edition 03 – Incense a smoky, resinous siren call.

Every time I catch a whiff of it, I am impressed with the balancing act Douglas Little has pulled off in Edition 03 – Incense. The notes don’t disappear into each other nor do they fight each other, rather they gently tug and tussle back and forth while keeping their own identities. Masterful.

Notes: green frankincense, juniper, black pepper, cardamom, cedarwood, frankincense, resins and labdanum.