Thumbsucker

I am quite taken with Stora Skuggan so far. A Swedish niche perfume brand, their perfumes are high-quality, creative and unusual, yet wearable. Thumbsucker caught my attention thanks to its adorable name, and kept me interested thanks to its rich, sweet-sour honeyed brilliance. Thumbsucker opens with sweet honey notes alongside polleny narcissus. There is a slight smokiness, providing a nice counterpoint to the sweetness of the honey. As it develops, sour cherry emerges, boozy and slightly medicinal - not typically my favourite note, but here it works. It is complemented by the smokiness and the almond note, the latter adding a slight gourmand effect. A beautiful violet note joins, powdery and slightly candied, becoming quite prominant in the later stages. A beautiful honeyed amber accord develops as it dries down, thanks to the beeswax note which ties it all together. Some woodiness complements it to perfection, adding a cosy softness. Remnants of the smoky cherry and violet accord remain as it fades, adding a rich, dark fruitiness. Sillage is moderate and longevity is long-lasting. Best worn in cold weather. A great unisex scent featuring honey, Thumbsucker is a creative, unusual composition yet works really well. For me, it is olfactory art - I have much appreciation for it, but I'm not sure that I would wear it. Excellent regardless. Come for the name, stay for the honeyed goodness. 4/5.

My fancy bottle of thumbsucker arrived yesterday and I was so nervous as I blind bought it. And it exceeded all my expectations, she is a beauty and I am in love. I am a vintage lover though, and I think this is probably the most vintagy modern perfume I know, but done with a twist of being cleaned up and toned down. Of all the vintage perfumes I own (a small collection), thumbersucker is probably the closest to Antilope by Weil, I have a little mini from 60s. The original Antilope perfume is from late 30x, it is very animalistic, comforting and warm, like the fur it was marketed to be sprayed on. I noticed that some people put Chocking Schiaparelli in "reminds me of" section which is compared to another Weil's perfume called Zibeline, I have not smelled that one, but I suspect they may have similar dna. I am very impressed how the accord of honey, some florals and beeswax in Thumbsucker could mimic the animalic notes of the vintage in the past. Very unlinear, on me it stays very long but does become a skin scent after an hour or so. Very clever and very brave. And very addicting sniffing. Pure happiness.

I can see from other reviews that this perfume is divisive; like all Stora Skuggan stuff, it's multilayered and has dramatic changes throughout its little symphony that plays out on the skin. For me, this really works, even though I wasn't sure it would at first. It reminds me of the scent of perfumed dolls I had when I was a kid- slightly plasticky, slightly artificial, slightly cherry and honey. I love that. It somehow (for me very specifically) manages to be both nostalgic and like nothing I've ever smelled before. Doesn't layer well with anything (I don't think any Stora Skuggan perfumes do?), but that's ok. It's sweet but not edible. It's powdery but not dusty. It's nostalgic but not kitschy. It's hard to describe, and worth a try. I'll be wearing this one for awhile.

Super, super floral. Very pollenated. This is like those nature bitches talking about sex like bees pollenating a flower. I personally can’t do this because I’m more of a powdery vintage floral enjoyer but I can appreciate this. This is like those pictures of paint huffers with the shiny silver and gold on their faces, but instead of paint, they’re huffing pollen off their cars and windowsills. One big flower. I am one big flower garden right now and I love it, but it’s not me. Whoever can pull off this whole waxy, cherry, honey, pollen collective should invest in this one. I can’t pull it off, but I truly wish there was someone who could so I could smell them, like, I’d be the bee and they’d be the flower. Yum

Thumbsucker opens with a weird, yet oddly satisfying accord. Syrupy sweet amber, a touch medicinal. a few minutes in, it’s definitely a strong, creamy bitter-almond scent and I love it. The perfumers describe it as a “hangover perfume” for “hedonistic self-soothing”, hence the name Thumbsucker. And it’s a good fit for the brief; the sweet, doughy-powdery off-white almond does make me feel like reverting to greedy toddlerhood. Thumbsucker isn’t high perfumery, it’s loud crude indie stuff, but I kind of love it. There’s not enough almond scents in the world and I find them addictive. It’s also a lot like the discontinued cult classic Luctor et Emergo (another cherry-almond powdery play-doh scent).