Fantomas

The Verdict

Nasomatto Fantomas is not a fragrance that asks to be liked. Released in 2020 by Alessandro Gualtieri, the provocative nose behind the house, this extrait de parfum caused immediate controversy in the fragrance community and continues to divide opinion sharply. Some call it a masterpiece and pure art in a bottle. Others describe experiencing a distinct feeling of terror and disgust. Very few people land in the middle.

This is Nasomatto doing what Nasomatto does best: creating concentrated olfactory experiences that defy conventional expectations. Whether Fantomas succeeds as wearable perfumery or functions better as conceptual art is a question each nose must answer individually. What is undeniable is that there is nothing else quite like it.

What It Smells Like

The opening is immediately disorienting. Sweet melon arrives alongside smoke, rubber, and plastic in a combination that several reviewers compare to Japanese milky honeydew melon hard candies wrapped in something industrial. There is an ozonic, almost sterile quality beneath the sweetness, as if the fruit has been vacuum-sealed in synthetic material. Gunpowder adds an acrid edge that intensifies the smoky character.

As the composition develops, the industrial edge softens. Caramel and candy-like sweetness emerge, transforming the melon from something alien into something almost comforting, though never conventional. Tropical fruit notes appear in glimpses, adding a surreal lushness to the proceedings. The familiar Nasomatto mustiness associated with Black Afgano runs through the composition as a dark undertone.

The base reveals patchouli and earthy notes that ground the more volatile elements above. The overall drydown is sweeter, calmer, and more introspective than the opening suggests, settling into a warm, fruity-smoky skin scent that some find genuinely beautiful in its strangeness.

When to Wear It

Fantomas resists conventional occasion-based recommendations. It is not an office scent, not a date-night crowd-pleaser, and not a casual everyday fragrance. It works best when worn for personal pleasure or in settings where unconventional self-expression is welcomed, such as art events, intimate gatherings with fragrance-savvy friends, or quiet evenings of contemplation.

Some reviewers find it wearable in cool weather when the smoky, sweet elements feel more harmonious, while the rubber and plastic notes can intensify uncomfortably in heat.

Longevity & Projection

As an extrait from Nasomatto, Fantomas delivers the powerful performance the house is known for. Longevity is exceptional, with the scent lasting well over 12 hours on skin and considerably longer on fabric. Projection is strong, particularly in the opening hours, and the scent can fill a room with just a couple of applications. Multiple reviewers warn that these are super-strong compositions that might need multiple washes to remove, and that missing the adequate number of sprays can easily lead to choking yourself.

A conservative application of one to two sprays is universally recommended.

The Community Says

The community response to Fantomas may be the most divided of any fragrance in recent memory. Fragrantica has published multiple editorial reviews with radically different conclusions. One titled it A Concentrated Scent of Nightmare, while another called it Fake Fragrance in a reflective rather than pejorative sense. Basenotes reviewers describe it as nostalgic, weird, yet fun and pleasant, very artistic, and gorgeous in an oddball way, while also noting it can be sweetish, fruity, milky, musky, and not easily definable.

Reddit users have been equally split, with some calling it criminally underrated and others warning that it smells of nothing they have ever put their nose on before, and not necessarily in a good way. The closest thing to consensus is that Fantomas must be sampled to be understood.

Who Should Buy This

Fantomas is strictly for adventurous fragrance collectors who approach perfumery as an art form. If you enjoy Nasomatto's other offerings, particularly Black Afgano and Pardon, and appreciate compositions that prioritize creative expression over wearability, Fantomas deserves serious consideration. Its uniqueness alone makes it a conversation piece.

This is emphatically not for those seeking everyday wearability, crowd-pleasing appeal, or conventional beauty. The rubber, plastic, and smoke notes will repel as many people as they attract, and the high price of a Nasomatto extrait makes blind buying risky.

The Bottom Line

Nasomatto Fantomas is perfumery at its most provocative, a sweet, smoky, melon-laced extrait that occupies its own strange corner of the olfactory universe. Alessandro Gualtieri has created something that genuinely defies description and challenges the notion of what perfume should smell like. It is not for everyone, and it knows it, and that uncompromising vision is precisely what makes it fascinating.