Fantome de Maules, from Stora Skuggan was released in 2015. The perfumer behind this creation is Tomas Hempel. It has the top notes of Bergamot, Galbanum, Green Notes, and Lemon, middle notes of Cardamom, Cashmeran, Coriander, Floral Notes, Lavender, and Pepper, and base notes of Ambroxan, Cedarwood, Labdanum, Musk, Oakmoss, Sandalwood, Tonka Bean, and Vetiver.
Ghost roads converging on a cemetery, whispers of a green-cloaked figure vanishing into mist. Fantôme de Maules unfurls like a secret, a sylvan, spectral musk, dark green dusk gleaming through branches, hovering just above the skin. The green here isn't lush or vibrant, but austere – twilight filtering through pine needles. There's a whisper of lavender, more herbal than floral, and a hint of dry, shadowy spice – prickly subterranean murmurs from some hidden place. I catch wisps of mossy flowers through the mist, their fragrance elusive and fleeting, obscured by that omnipresent veil of cool, verdant fog. It's beautiful, in a melancholy way, like stumbling upon abandoned ruins in a forgotten glade. The scent carries a weight of isolation, of time stretching endlessly through silent forests, the grass and loam of secret paths trodden by solitary feet. The bittersweet ache of chosen seclusion, of a world deliberately left behind. The gossamer soapy-powdery aspect feels like a fading remnant of civilization, washed away by years of woodland solitude. It's a fragrance whose presence is defined by absence, a mystery I'm not sure I want to unravel – what's missing, or why it matters.