Fantosmia

Fantosmia gave me a few of my firsts: my first serious perfume purchase and first ‘perfume love’. Through it, I learned for the first time, what peppery notes and ‘fresh spicy’ and ‘aromatic’ accords smell like. I can only think of fate as the orchestrator, that I happened to stumble upon it and felt compelled to make a blind purchase of the house’s discovery set—and so early in my scent journey too, knowing nothing then and receiving neither direction nor recommendation. I feel so lucky whenever I think about it. Who’d knew I’d enjoy pepper? I remember when a friend shared with me that her favourite note was pepper. Her daily fragrance was this one-note pepper fragrance from CDG. I was skeptical. Shortly after, I fell in love with this scent and I finally understood her. First impressions are definitely important and formative. I cannot forget my first few times smelling this scent; reviewer @TBonetheFella perfectly described what I’d felt then. Indeed, I remember the opening being a peppery and even metallic blast, much like that of a sword (I noted down ‘pepper’ and ‘metal’ then). Then, I felt as if I were greeted by a minty wind of aromatic and earthy elements from natural greens and spices as the sword ‘sliced though the underbrush of a forest’. The scent has evolved to me over time, especially as my nose matures. I reckon it will continue to do so as my bottle macerates. Now, it smells industrial to me, but still cozy, peppery, spicy and green, like that of pine. It reminds me of the scent of new books. When I first got my bottle, the smoke from the tobacco, and I think leather, were very detectable for a good amount of time. I had not noticed them while using the sample. I’m relieved that the leather in particular is much softer now. I wear this so often that even when I don’t, I still smell phantoms of it on my body and my clothes—it stays forever on clothes. However, I will never forget that initial impression. It was unlike anything I’ve ever smelled before. For that moment, it was as if I had a similar experience with the perfumer, a sort of phantosmia (the inspiration behind the perfume); I felt as if I had opened my eyes, or rather my nose, to something that was once elusive to me.

This is for me a great spicy fragrance with an oud background. In this case the oud used is soft and weareable, more Woody than animalic or fecal. However the mix with the spices and the castoreum gives some animalic vibe ti the fragrance, overall during the opening phase. The dry down is a bit sweeter and more delicate and elegant. It lasts for hours, more than 10 on my skin, although after the opening phase It keeps very clóse to the sking, almost without projection. It is a very nice oud option for those Who doenst like the strong oud fragrances or as an everyday use oud perfume. Scent: 9.5 Longevity: 9 Sillage: 6 Versatility: 9 Originality: 9 Global: 9

smells like shoe polish, burning rubber, sharp black pepper to start - dry down opens into a warm, aromatic and spicy leather (not listed on fragrantica, but jorum studio does list leather as a note). the opening is sharp, industrial and interesting. the dry down is approachable and cozy for those interested, the perfumer shared in an interview that the fragrance was inspired by his own experience of phantosmia. he lost his sense of smell, then as he regained it he smelled “phantom” odors that weren’t present in the room. he compared aromachemicals to his olfactory hallucinations, and developed fantosmia.

Reviewing a sample from 2024. Fantosmia was launched in 2020. This is a beautiful spicy and complex leather/white oud fragrance born of phantom smells. Fantosmia opens with a touch of sweet solvent, peppery and spiced.There are subtle fruity florals. The base is a leathery tobacco with the most gorgeous creamy white oud. Not as animalic as I had imagined it would be with the castoreum. It feels warm and radiant. Artistically crafted and well blended as expected by Jorum. Quality- excellent Unisex Performance-excellent Fantosmia is a resinous leather oud scent. Unexpectedly refined and very wearable. 9/10

i quite like this unisex fragrance and find it to be an easy, daily, go-to. it is soft, rounded, approachable, interesting enough but uncomplicated. 'might be a tad leathery though that note is not listed. the tobacco, saffron, and nutmeg are most prominent on me with the shiso still noticeable, making it a bit fresher and cleaner than it would be otherwise. wishing the pepper notes popped more on me. i'm enjoying it, though. bought a full bottle after having a few samples.