Sample Set
Stora Skuggan
Discover Stora Skuggan through this sample set.
Set of 2 ml vials containing:
Hexensalbe
Azalai
Thumbsucker
Mistpouffer
Moonmilk
Silphium
Fantôme de Maules
Hexensalbe
Stora Skuggan
“In rifleing the closet of the ladie, they found a pipe of oyntement, wherewith she greased a staffe, upon which she ambled and galloped through thick and thin, when and in what manner she listed”
– Proceedings Against Dame Alice Kyteler, Prosecuted for Sorcery, 1324
Hexensalbe, also known as witches’ flying ointment, was a hallucinogenic salve used in witchcraft in the middle ages. It was a mixture of extremely poisonous ingredients.
The drug produced an ecstatic trance with powerful sensations of flying, images of otherworldly creatures and a primal sexual hunger. These hallucinations are at the core of the mythology of witches, where they fly to the sabbath at Blåkulla or Brocken to do it with the devil and other witches in unholy rites.
So, the image of witches flying can be traced back to the use of hexensalbe, but why on a broomstick? The ointment was so poisonous that eating it would be directly fatal, instead it was applied to other soft membranes of the body, armpits and more commonly the genitals. Because of the erotic effects of the high, the salve would often be rubbed directly onto a phallic object like the end of a staff or a broomstick. And so, the witch did not ride the broomstick like we picture her today. She actually -really- rode it.
Given which aspects of the story of hexensalbe has survived into the modern image of witches, and what has been suppressed, it would seem that the one thing more terrifying than witches or devils, is female sexuality.
Top notes: Wormwood, Salty liqourice
Heart notes: Tuberose, Angelica, Rosemary, Belladonna
Base notes: Black hemlock, Patchouli, Lichen
Specifications - 30 ml. Handmade in Stockholm, Sweden.
Please note: Perfumes are only shipped to EU.
Azalai
Stora Skuggan
The Azalai is a caravan route through the Ténéré region of the Saharan desert where camel trains have transported salt and gold for a thousand years. Along the route stood one single acacia tree, the only living thing in an ocean of sand. This was the most isolated tree in the world, 150 km from any other.
This acacia, known simply as The Tree of Ténéré, was the last surviving plant from a time when the desert was less parched than it is today, thanks to roots reaching deep down into a water pocket, an underground pool hidden more than 30 meters below the desert. It’s easy to see how the Tuareg caravan riders, themselves desert survival specialists, held the tree and its amazing fortitude in highest regard. Breaking its branches for firewood or letting the camels eat from the leaves were considered blasphemy.
This loneliest tree in the world was one of very few landmarks along the Azalai, a sacred testament to the resilience of life, that had guided caravans for centuries. In spite of this, and the fact that it was the only obstacle for miles around, a truck driver that had drunkenly fallen asleep behind the wheel crashed into it in 1973, and killed it.
The scent is as an olfactory impression of gold, with radiant warmth from saffron and blood orange, and the glossy, luxurious musk velvione (a material that has been described as pressing the nose to the skin of a newborn’s scalp). Gum acacia, a syrup made from acacia sap, provides sugary sweetness balanced by salty amber and incense. A touch of mint tea and dried fruit pays homage to the Tuareg caravan riders.
Top notes: Blood orange, Mint
Heart notes: Saffron, Dried fruit
Base notes: Amber, Incense, Gum acacia, Velvione
Specifications - 30 ml. Handmade in Stockholm, Sweden.
Please note: Perfumes are only shipped to EU.
Thumbsucker
Stora Skuggan
Thumbsucker is the fifth fragrance from Stockholm based perfumery Stora Skuggan. It’s a narcotic nectar floriental inspired by the reason babies suck their thumbs according to Hindu mythology.
Stora Skuggan wanted to create a perfume that was both sweetly comforting and intimate bordering the uncomfortable. The fragrance is centered around a few key elements, sweet and exhilarating honey is mixed with the narcotic and slightly dirty flower narcissus. In the base the golden hue of honey is mirrored through Himalayan cedar, which is similar to cedarwood atlas but even sharper and unmistakably sacred in impression. Cherry, styrax and bitter almond creates a dissonant underside to balance the sweet nectar.
Top notes: Honey, Narcissus
Heart notes: Violet, Cherry
Base notes: Himalayan cedar bitter almond, Styrax balsam candle wax
Specifications - 30 ml. Handmade in Stockholm, Sweden.
Please note: Perfumes are only shipped to EU.
Silphium
Stora Skuggan
Silphium (probably of the genus Ferula) was a plant that grew in the area of Cyrene, present day Libya, and was widely renowned as a spice, medicinal herb and perfume ingredient throughout the empires of the classical antiquity. It was praised by Greek philosophers and writers, as well as Roman emperors and cookbook authors. This is combination with its qualities as seasoning and medicine made Silphium the most valuable spice in the world, outshining both saffron and cinnamon. The demand for Silphium eventually became so overwhelming that it was harvested to extinction, and the taste and smell of the once greatest spice in the world was lost in time.
Top notes: Silphium accord, cistus
Heart notes: Cinnamon, tobacco leaf, geranium, black pepper, ginger, clove
Base notes: Frankinscense, cedarwood, myrrh, leather.
Specifications - 30ml. Handmade in Stockholm, Sweden.
Please note: Perfumes are only shipped to EU.
Moonmilk
Stora Skuggan
The famous Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner is considered the founder of mod- ern zoology, but as a true 16th century scientist he was also: a prominent physician, botanist, linguist and — of course — spelunking adventurer. In his ‘Descriptio Montis Fracti sive Montis Pilati’ from 1555, he chronicles his climb to the summit of Mount Pilatus, but we also get to follow him into the caves of the Alps. ‘At night, the moon shines into the cave so brightly the light itself seems to take form, like a mist. It gathers in the ceiling and makes the limestone stalactites glitter and gleam, dripping tears of white liquid into puddles on the rock floor that never dries. Moonmilk.’
Today, moonmilk still exists in caves all over the world, with the largest formations being found in Arizona, but the theory of it being produced by the rays of the moon has lost some of its popularity.
The holy smell of sandalwood is present throughout the entire lifespan of the perfume. The top notes are coupled with fresh lime and dry black tea, while spices and lily of the valley bolster the heart of the fragrance. As the per- fume dries down, the sandalwood remains dominant, with a supportive note of light leather.
Top notes: Black tea, lime
Heart notes: Cardamom, lily-of-the-valley, mandarin, black pepper
Base notes: Sandalwood, tan leather
Specifications - 30 ml. Handmade in Stockholm, Sweden.
Please note: Perfumes are only shipped to EU.
Mistpouffer
Stora Skuggan
A Mistpouffer is an unexplained natural sound, a sonic boom like distant cannon fire that seems to come out of the fog over large lakes or rivers. It has been recorded all over the world throughout history, and is the source of many legends. In Japan the phenomenon is called Uminari meaning “cries from the sea”. In Connecticut the Machimoodus State Park gets its name from the Native American name for the area, which means “place of bad noises”.
Despite scientific attempts to understand the sounds (that can still be heard to this day), its source has still not been identified. Possible explanations include solar winds resonating in the atmosphere, underground earthquakes or gas bubbles being released from the deep. Others believe it is the work of extraterrestrial or subsurface civilizations. Early settlers in North America were told by the native Haudenosaunee Iroquois that the booms were the sound of the Great Spirit continuing his work of shaping the earth.
Top notes: Bergamot, Immortelle
Heart notes: Ozone, Fig Leaf Pine
Base notes: Smoke Vetiver, Malt Sugar Cypriol
Specifications - 30 ml. Handmade in Stockholm, Sweden.
Please note: Perfumes are only shipped to EU.
Fantôme de Maules
Stora Skuggan
Fantôme de Maules is inspired by an enigmatic hermit that’s been living the last ten years in the forests of Maules, Switzerland. A modern forest spirit with the scent of oakmoss, lavender, green leaves, spice and sandalwood.
Top notes: Green leaves, Lemon, Galbanum, Bergamot
Mid notes: Black pepper, Cardamom, Cedarwood, Coriander, Lavender, Olibanum.
Base notes: Ambroxan, Iso E Super, Habanolide, Cashmeran, Oakmoss, Labdanum, Vetiver, Sandalwood
Specifications - 30 ml. Handmade in Stockholm, Sweden.
Please note: Perfumes are only shipped to EU.