Fantôme
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Tropical brightness explodes—tart mandarin and pineapple leading—but immediately something musty, almost archival, creeps beneath like mildew under floorboards. The contradiction is deliberate, almost jarring, establishing an off-kilter elegance from the first breath.
As the citrus evaporates, pale florals bloom through the residual mustiness, transforming it into something more atmospheric than repellent. Jasmine and freesia become translucent, powdery, whilst dark chocolate and vanilla rise from the base, creating an unexpectedly sensual warmth that feels both comforting and slightly sinister.
The composition collapses inward into a whisper of sandalwood, vetiver, and cedar, with vanilla lingering like fading perfume on vintage linen. All brightness has vanished; what remains is a cool, dusty, thoroughly introverted skin scent that feels more like memory than presence.
Apsara Fantôme presents itself as a fragrance in existential crisis—caught between the lustrous décor of a Parisian boudoir and the melancholic decay lurking beneath its wallpaper. Ursula Wandel's 1989 composition opens with an almost mischievous contradiction: crystalline citrus (mandarin, lemon, pineapple) sits atop a deliberately soured base note, "moldy wallpaper," which functions less as olfactory sabotage and more as an unsettling textural anchor. It's as though you're inhaling the ghost of faded grandeur.
The floral heart—jasmine, freesia, and lily of the valley—attempts rescue, softening the initial discord into something honeyed and feminine, yet never fully banishing that musty, slightly decayed undertone. This is gourmand without cloying comfort; the dark chocolate and vanilla in the base arrive not as sweet reassurance but as deepening shadows beneath the florals. Sandalwood and vetiver weave through with a cool, almost skeletal grace, while cedar adds a desiccating quality, as if the composition is slowly mummifying itself.
Add fragrances to your collection and unlock your personalised scent DNA, note map, and shareable identity card.
3.2/5 (133)