“Me he shall suck” - Indra, King of Gods. An ancient king named Yuvanaswa had great wealth, good fortune and many wives. But no children, which he wanted more than anything. So the holy sage Bhrigu agreed to help prepare a magic potion for the king, and Yuvanaswa, being a very devout man, arranged a great ritual to please the gods. The ritual went on for several days, by the end Yuvanaswa was exhausted and very thirsty and as he stumbled around he came across a beautiful pitcher of water and drank all of it. But, plot twist. The pitcher was the magic potion prepared by the great sages, intended for the Queen. So, obviously, the king himself got pregnant. Luckily for Yuvanaswa, he was held in high regard by the holy powers. And when his pregnancy came to term, the seven great sages and even the King of Gods, Indra, joined him and cut a hole in the king’s thigh to deliver the baby boy. But a new problem arose; the king could not breastfeed his child. Indra slit his thumb, and because he was a god, his veins were filled with life-giving nectar instead of blood. So he let the boy suck his thumb and he proclaimed “Mandhata”, and that was the name of the new king, who would conquer all of the earth. And that’s why babies, being born with the memory of their divine ancestors, still suck their thumbs. Thumbsucker features top notes of honey and narcissus; middle notes of violet and cherry; and base notes of Himalayan cedar, bitter almond, styrax balsam and candle wax. It is an eau de parfum, edp.
STORA SKUGGAN THUMBSUCKER REVIEWS
Fragrantica: "What greets me first is a sweet-leaning yet strikingly dirty, animalic black honey accord. Alongside it, I catch something leathery, hay-like, and indolic; which turns out to be narcissus. Then, quite suddenly, the fragrance begins to transform. I usually dislike aggressive shifts, but in this case, I found it genuinely entertaining. Enter cherry; not the usual playful kind, but one woven into that dirty honey framework, carrying a distinctly fruity yet shadowed character. I’ve smelled countless cherry notes before, but never quite in this context or with these companions. This is extremely unique. For context: this comes after roughly 850 fragrances tested, and cherry–honey isn’t a pairing I’d normally gravitate toward; this sample came unplanned in a discovery box. Still, I’m very confident about its uniqueness. There’s a familiar backbone here; this house consistently leans into dirty, leathery, herbal, and woody territory, and this scent is no exception. This is by no means a carefree, glossy cherry; the dirty honey makes that clear from the outset. It’s a playful yet dark cherry, and because of that duality, this fragrance has firmly claimed a place in my mind as a succubus scent. I have a deep fondness for styrax in the base; its dark, balsamic, smoky character and leathery nuances always elevate a composition; and its presence here only deepened my appreciation. I took immense pleasure in smelling this."
Fragrantica: "This is such a delicious, mouthwatering, and intoxicating fragrance! I just bought it, and can’t stop smelling myself when i wear it. In a weird way, this smell similar to what my boyfriend smell like after working out (so like pheromones?), so it smells like the body of someone you are attracted to. Even though this is a very sweet and heavy floral scent, it has a velvety and soft feeling on the skin, probably from the beeswax note, which I really enjoy."
Fragrantica: "Okay I decided to re-review this as I have other thoughts now; I actually don't mind this! The more I examine the perfume the more I can sense the harmony between all the notes. Actually, I’m kind of in love. I will say that it starts out sharp with what I believe is the narcissus, but only for a few seconds. There's this underlying smell of something syrupy or marzipan-like to me, which I believe is a combo of the cherry and bitter almond. The fresh honey is noticeable with a quick whiff, but with a longer whiff you can sense the true depth of it. This is definitely a "warm" sweet floral, there's a sizeable amount of powderiness as well (from the violet) but it all dries down to be more of a lovely beeswax. Overall it really reminds me of a vintage floral perfume but syrupy sweet, it's a lovely little thing that makes me think of a forgotten boudoir gown that belonged to an actress or showgirl."
Fragrantica: "Ohhh this is nice and very complex. Starts off as very strong and sweet but very quickly becomes airy and flowery without losing its honey sweetness. This is one of the rare perfumes where I can smell all the notes. It is sliiiightly soapy though but I swear each time I take a whiff, i smell different notes, on rotation. So the soapiness isn’t there all the time."
Fragrantica: "Oh this is very good, Stora Skuggan has impressed me so far, with this being my current favorite. This scent is absolutely delicious, bordering on gourmand yet firmly grounded in vintage floral territory, an irresistible combination. The sweet fruitiness of cherry, contrasted by the thick powderiness narcotic florals, namely violet, renders an almost rosy effect. These honeyed florals are dense and sweet, it comes across astoundingly like a leather accord. Words don’t do it justice. I need this fragrance, and I plan to buy it without doubt. Why have I not heard people talk about this before? It’s absolutely magnificent."
Fragrantica: "I quite love it. A bomb of old fashioned flowers. "Lipstick scent". I like the prominent violet notes. The scent is thick, greasy, but not heavy, quite addictive. However, my boyfriend hates it and says it smells exactly like poop smeared baby wipes (i guess the baby powder scent, beautiful as it is, may be a lifelong trauma, when the association with poopy diapers is strong) so I guess it's a polarizing scent lol :)"
Fragrantica: "Woah. Absolutely f*cking gorgeous. I love this so much. I smell so much almond so much honey and it's really pleasing to smell. Very wearable which isn't very stora skuggan-ey but hey! No losses on my end."
Fragrantica: "Well I thought based on the reviews that this would be very divisive. I didn't expect to feel so divided myself. I thought I would love it or hate it. I really wasn't a fan of the opening. More vintage powder puff face powder. Think Airspun or something similar you probably have smelled on your grandmother, if you're of a certain age. There might have been a little honey to create a powdery/sweetness combo that just felt like riding around in a vintage pink Cadillac. Later I smelled a bit of cherry lipstick, the cherry becoming more prominent and syrupy in the middle making it a little more nuanced and agreeable but not FB worthy. Then the dry down. I DON'T KNOW WHAT I AM SO ATTRACTED TO HERE. It's addicting af. It makes me think of rubbing my face on a warm cuddly cat, which is weird since I wouldn't say its animalic in anyway so its a strange association, but it brings comfort - which I guess is the intent of the composition. I usually wouldn't buy an expensive perfume on the dry down alone, but I might...something about this dry down I can’t stop sniffing."
