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Stora Skuggan Moonmilk & Mistpouffer ~ fragrance reviews

Posted by Jessica on 23 January 2020 13 Comments

A cloaked and masked phantom who wanders through dense woodlands, stopping only to smell flowers. A legendary, extinct herb praised by ancient philosophers, emperors, and cooks. Puddles of gleaming white liquid dripped by stalactites in Alpine caves. You have entered the world of Stora Skuggan, a niche perfume brand that delights in translating tales of myth and mystery into olfactory experiences.

As the Stora Skuggan website says of the above-mentioned phantom (whose legend inspired their first fragrance, Fantôme de Maules), "The modern world is alight with information and the shadows are shrinking. It is rare to come across someone who doesn't feel it is necessary to explain himself." Perhaps that's why I enjoy encountering a perfume line that remains faceless, almost nameless. There are four or five individuals (perfumers and/or graphic designers) behind the Stockholm-based brand, but they keep a pretty low profile.

Back in 2017 Kevin reviewed Silphium (the one inspired by an ancient herb) and liked its "big personality and vibrancy." He was also curious about the packaging, which he hadn't seen in person yet, and I can confirm: Skora Skuggan's bottles are really fun to handle, with heavy resin caps that resemble billiard balls. My first dip into this brand was Moonmilk (above right; the cave-puddle one, with the cream-colored cap), just because I liked the name and the enigmatic motif on the bottle. 

Moonmilk's composition includes notes of black tea, lime, mandarin, lily of the valley, cardamom, black pepper, sandalwood and leather. Overall, it's a contemporary sandalwood fragrance with a lactonic leaning. This creaminess smoothes out the woods and the subtle spices and tea keep things just lively enough. If you like the idea of wearing a sandalwood perfume but something like Le Labo Santal 33 is just too blunt (and too clichéd) for you, you might embrace this milky, sueded take on the theme. Moonmilk has excellent longevity on my skin and is completely gender-neutral.

Mistpouffer (above left) is Stora Skuggan's newest scent and it's named for "an unexplained natural sound, a sonic boom like distant cannon fire that seems to come out of the fog over large lakes or rivers." I've never experienced a mistpouffer, so I can only guess how it would sound — or smell — but this fragrance seems to fit the bill. It's a composition of immortelle, bergamot, pine, fig leaf, ozone, smoke, vetiver, malt sugar and cypriol, resulting in a can't-quite-put-my-finger-on-it blend of air, earth, and vegetal effects.

Nothing in Mistpouffer stands alone: notes of cool air and fig leaf, damp soil and lightly incensey smoke all circle around for a while. Mistpouffer's core is as tricky to pinpoint as whatever you're trying to see or hear in that metaphorical foggy sky. Its drydown after a couple hours is easier to describe: a very skin-close, musky-sweet vetiver base. This is another gender-neutral fragrance, and it endures well, although not quite as long as Moonmilk.

I share Kevin's gratitude that Stora Skuggan, unlike so many niche and indie brands, releases its fragrances gradually and thoughtfully. This way I can get a grasp of the brand's identity by spending "quality time" with one or two fragrances rather than trying to absorb seven or eight at once and figuring out what, if anything, is their through-line. Stora Skuggan definitely has a unifying concept: the meeting point of natural phenomena and human storytelling, which is a perfect conceit for perfume, if you think about it. I'll be curious to see what olfactory tales they'll tell us next.

Stora Skuggan Moonmilk and Mistpouffer are each available as 30 ml Eau de Parfum ($148) at Twisted Lily.

Possibly of interest

Stora Skuggan Moonmilk ~ new fragrance
DS & Durga Italian Citrus and Stora Skuggan Silphium ~ fragrance reviews

Filed Under: perfume talk
Tagged With: sandalwood, stora skuggan

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13 Comments

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  1. Calypso says:
    23 January 2020 at 6:53 pm

    Wow, I want to try both of these. The combination of notes sounds so strange.

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    • Jessica says:
      24 January 2020 at 11:50 am

      The Moonmilk is pretty straightforward (and well-done) and the Mistpouffer is more unusual, yet not in a big loud attention-getting way — it makes me want to get closer and try to figure it out!

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  2. Jalapeno says:
    23 January 2020 at 8:00 pm

    I keep thinking that “Mistpouffer” would be a great name for a Persian kitty. ?

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    • Oakland Fresca says:
      23 January 2020 at 8:59 pm

      In looking up the word, I came across another great one, “Skyquake,” although it doesn’t work for Persians, or for Calicos for that matter 😉

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    • Koyel says:
      24 January 2020 at 11:00 am

      I was just thinking it sounded like a name from Cats, the musical.

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      • Jessica says:
        24 January 2020 at 11:50 am

        Magical Mister Mispouffer!!

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    • Jessica says:
      24 January 2020 at 11:50 am

      YES

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  3. skalolazka says:
    24 January 2020 at 7:39 am

    I live near (1.5 miles) a large and deep lake (33 miles long, 600 feet deep). We call our “mistpouffer” the “lake gun.” It is part of the Native American mythology tied to the region. I’ve never heard it, alas, but now I want to try this fragrance! Thanks, Jessica!

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    • skalolazka says:
      24 January 2020 at 7:46 am

      Replying to myself, because I just went to check out samples and see that the copy on the Twisted Lily site acknowledges the role the mistpouffer plays Native American cosmology. I am so glad to see it! ICY haven’t seen the term before, Haudenosaunee is the word for Iroquois; the wording in the copy implies, incorrectly, that it is a subgroup.

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      • Jessica says:
        24 January 2020 at 11:52 am

        Ooh, interesting. This whole occurrence, and its various names, are new to me. Maybe that copy will get updated/refined at some point…

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  4. LizzieB says:
    24 January 2020 at 10:06 am

    These scents sound very interesting. Moonmilk, especially. Love a good sandalwood, and combined with tea and spices? Yum. I’ll settle for samples, given they’re out of my price range.

    I may be alone, but I’m not a big fan of bottles that have such huge tops. I just didn’t find them visually appealing.

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    • Jessica says:
      24 January 2020 at 11:51 am

      The tops are quite big — someone really went for it!! lol. They’re fun to handle.

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  5. Gardeniagirl says:
    25 January 2020 at 4:22 am

    I really like Moonmilk, it is a wonderful sandalwood with great longevity – still there the next day on my skin. Have not tried Mistpoufer but quite like the other two fragrances from this brand. They are unusual and a bit challenging, in a good way.

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