Neith by Neela Vermeire Creations: A Perfume With the Soul of a Warrior

Written by Kristina Kybartaite-Damule

Neith, the latest creation from Neela Vermeire Creations, makes its intentions clear from the very first spray.

Images by Darius Damulis

Introduced at Esxence 2026, Neith was an instant love for me. Dark, spicy, resinous and warm, it immediately stood apart from the many fragrances I smelled during the exhibition. Interestingly, while smelling it in hot June in Milan, I was transported somewhere completely different: straight into the winter holiday season.

Not the bright, sugary version of Christmas filled with vanilla cookies and candied fruits, though. Neith evokes something older and darker. Burning resins, flickering candlelight, spices, smoke and a mysterious sweetness lingering somewhere underneath.

Created once again by Bertrand Duchaufour, Neith joins the extrait de parfum creations of the house. The official composition brings together floral accords, oud, resins, woods, castoreum, cypriol, and pepper – and it makes instantly clear that the perfume is leaning to the dark side.

The first thing I notice is density. Neith feels substantial from the beginning, with black pepper creating a spicy, smoky darkness. Resins (maybe myrrh?) are particularly noticeable to me, accompanied by the dry, earthy character of cypriol.

There is sweetness here, too, but calling Neith a sweet perfume would be misleading. It is more of a mystical, resinous sweetness – something emerging from smoke and woods rather than sugar.

It feels almost ceremonial. I imagine dark rooms, old wooden furniture, burning incense, heavy fabrics and the warmth of fire somewhere nearby.

And despite all that darkness, Neith feels strangely cozy. It is heavy without feeling suffocating; dark without becoming gloomy. The resins create an enveloping warmth that makes me want to sink deeper into the fragrance rather than escape from it.

Then there is the animalic side.

With oud and castoreum in the composition, Neith develops a slightly wild quality on my skin. But I wouldn't describe it as aggressively animalic. Nothing here feels dirty for the sake of being provocative. Instead, that animalic undertone gives the perfume life.

It prevents all those beautiful resins from becoming too polished or static.

The brand describes Neith as a fragrance that “speaks of endurance, instinct and survival,” with an emotional resonance that feels “universal and timeless.”

After wearing it, the choice of name makes perfect sense. Because Neith is definitely a warrior.

It has weight. It has presence. It doesn't try to be universally pleasant, transparent or easy.

Yet I wouldn't call it austere. There is too much warmth for that. Underneath the armor, there is something deeply comforting and even spiritual. The longer Neith stays on my skin, the more I notice this contrast between strength and intimacy.

When I interviewed Neela Vermeire a couple of years ago, she told me something that has stayed with me: she doesn't follow fragrance trends. Her ideas are, in her own words, hors tendance. She and Bertrand Duchaufour work slowly because they want their perfumes to have a soul.

Neith is a clear expressions of that philosophy.

There is nothing particularly trendy about it. Nor does it seem interested in becoming an easy crowd-pleaser. Instead, it feels artistic, uncompromising and carefully constructed – exactly the type of perfume that reminds me why niche perfumery became exciting in the first place.

Who Is Neith For? Definitely not someone searching for a quiet, clean everyday fragrance.

Neith is bold. Heavy. Spicy. Resinous. Slightly animalic. It demands a certain mood, and probably a certain weather.

For me, this is unquestionably a cold-weather perfume. I discovered it in June, but I immediately wanted to fast-forward several months and wear it with a coat in cold evening air. Autumn will suit it beautifully; winter even more so.

I find Neith completely unisex. There is nothing conventionally feminine or masculine about its darkness. It simply smells powerful.

It may not be for the faint-hearted, but neither is it darkness for darkness's sake. Beneath all that smoke, spice, oud and resin is an unexpected warmth that makes Neith surprisingly inviting.

I fell in love with it instantly at Esxence. Months later, that first impression hasn't disappeared. If anything, I'm even more convinced: Neith is one of those perfumes that doesn't simply smell beautiful. It creates an atmosphere around you.