This week Laura’s pick for Friday is Fantôme de Maules, the first fragrance from the Stora Skuggan line.
The setting: Maules, a small village in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, surrounded by agricultural fields and dense forests.
The subject: An enigmatic being, seen by many wandering the local woodlands for the past decade, dressed in nothing but cloaked camouflage and an obsolete mask. Most likely human but one cannot be sure. Looming at almost two meters tall, he seems to take particular interest in the surrounding flora and fauna.
“The Fantôme is interesting because even though he looks scary, he’s not! He just loves nature and is happy to be in amongst it.” – Laura
Fantôme de Maules is an example of a chypre fragrance – a classic fragrance category categorised by citrus top notes, floral middle notes, and mossy/woody basenotes. In true Stora Skuggan fashion however, they have made this fragrance a more modern interpretation of a chypre – it’s brighter, crisper and more green.
NOTES
Top: Bergamot, Green Leaves, Galbanum, Lemon
Middle: Coriander, Cardamom, Forest Flowers, Lavender Absolute
Base: Oakmoss, Cedarwood, Sandalwood, Tonka Bean, Labdanum, Vetiver
Opening like a portal into an enchanted forest, Fantôme de Maules is dewy, green and utterly bewitching in its verdancy. As you pass through the portal, herbal lavender and forest flowers unfurl, dotted with sparkles of green spice. The dry down is really where the magic happens though. Mossy undergrowth meets the dry grassiness of vetiver, underpinned by the earthy richness of labdanum and the scent of ancient tree trunks.
“Apart from this fragrance being so long-lasting, we’ve found the base notes can vary quite a bit depending on who’s wearing this scent. On me, it dries down leathery, almost animalic – probably due to the vetiver and labdanum.” – Laura
Exploring the different facets of the colour green through scent
When we first started stocking this line, Fantôme de Maules was actually the first fragrance to sell out – it’s a pretty sought after fragrance for niche chypre lovers.
It has the feel of old-world elegance, but with a raw, earthy, other-wordly twist. Its journey on the skin will have you going back to smell it again and again as it wears – there are times when it’s fresh and green, times when it’s resinous and woody, and times when it’s borderline animalic in its earthiness. A scent to make you feel at one with nature, and therefore with yourself.
