The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Chasing Ghosts takes its name from that act of pursuing something you can never quite hold, a memory, a feeling, a moment that exists only in the reaching. Margaux Le Paih-Guérin built the fragrance around this tension: the sharp green of the opening as the chase itself, the warm heart as the thing almost caught, the soft drydown as what remains when the chase ends. The unusual top pairing of rhubarb, pink pepper, and cannabis isn't accidental, it's the scent of pursuit, vivid and alive, before it fades into something gentler and more intimate.
What makes Chasing Ghosts structurally interesting is how the opening and the base exist in entirely different registers. The top is sharp, green, almost aggressive, rhubarb's tart bite, pink pepper's lift, the herbal edge of cannabis and hemp. Then the heart shifts. Rice adds a starchy, slightly sweet grain quality that feels almost gourmand without crossing into food territory. Solar notes and orange blossom absolute bring a creamy floral warmth. Tea keeps things slightly astringent. The contrast between that sharp opening and this soft, luminous heart is where the fragrance lives, and it's what makes the name make sense.
The evolution
On skin, the opening hits sharp, rhubarb's tart bite, pink pepper's lift, a flash of grapefruit brightness cutting through the herbal cannabis and hemp. That top phase holds for thirty minutes or so before the heart begins to emerge. The heart softens considerably. Rice brings a starchy, slightly sweet grain quality that grounds the sharper opening, while solar notes and orange blossom absolute introduce a creamy floral warmth. Tea provides a gentle astringency that keeps things slightly contemplative. This middle phase persists for a couple of hours before the base gradually takes over. The drydown reveals something more intimate, cashmere wood's velvety texture, ambroxan's mineral warmth, and white musk creating something close and personal. The sillage drops from moderate to intimate within a few hours. By morning, only a faint trace of cashmere wood and white musk remains, like an echo of something that was never quite graspable.
Cultural impact
Chasing Ghosts arrived in 2024 as a counterpoint to more conventional niche releases. The unusual top pairing of cannabis and rhubarb, combined with the warm rice and solar heart, attracted wearers looking for something that doesn't follow the expected playbook. It's become a fragrance for people who want to smell like they're chasing something, not quite present, not quite gone.
