The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Strange Days arrived in 2025 from Synesthesie. The composition is attributed to Francesco Perini. Its stated inspiration is the streets of Tokyo, where incense and wood can shape the atmosphere around it. That setting gives the name its charge: not fantasy, but the sensation of familiar streets behaving strangely. Cypress and calamus bring a green, aromatic edge, while bitter orange cuts through with brightness. The result feels urban, nocturnal, and slightly cinematic, like a soundtrack arriving before the scene changes. As the fragrance develops, the opening sharpness settles into a warmer arrangement of resins, florals, and spice, revealing a composition that moves between clarity and shadow with a measured, atmospheric intensity.
The composition’s character comes from its friction points. Incense forms a central smoky thread, while Egyptian jasmine and Moroccan rose soften the edges without turning the scent floral. Cinnamon adds heat among the resins, and the base of Egyptian balsam, ambergris, benzoin, and oud gives the whole structure a dark, polished center. Labdanum appears in the opening notes too, making the transition from brightness to smoke feel less like a change of fragrance and more like a gradual exposure of its hidden architecture.
The evolution
The first impression is a tense meeting of bitter orange, cypress, calamus, and labdanum. Citrus establishes a bright opening, but it doesn’t disappear completely; its presence lingers beneath the greener notes and gives the incense a vivid contrast. As the heart develops, cinnamon introduces dry heat while Egyptian jasmine and Moroccan rose add a restrained floral pulse. Then the composition drops lower. Egyptian balsam, ambergris, benzoin, and oud turn the middle into a resinous, ambery base, with the rose becoming a shadow rather than the main event. On skin, the drydown can feel like warmed wood, incense ash, and a faint trace of citrus at the edges. The scent shifts gradually from luminous and aromatic to dark, woody, and close, with the different note groups revealing themselves in stages rather than all at once.
Cultural impact
Strange Days takes its stated inspiration from the streets of Tokyo and turns that setting into an atmospheric fragrance concept. The city reference appears through the interaction of incense, resin, wood, spice, floral notes, and shifting citrus, creating a scene that feels urban, nocturnal, and cinematic. Its name reinforces the sense of familiarity becoming unfamiliar, while the composition follows a similar path: bright opening notes give way to smoke, warmth, and darker resonances. The result invites discovery through contrast, presenting fragrance as an evolving sensory atmosphere rather than a single fixed impression.
The House
SynesthesieSynesthesie is a fragrance house that emerged with a collection of five new releases in 2025, including Mothers' Instinct, Step Into Liquid, Blow, Substance, and Strange Days. The brand positions itself around the concept of synesthesia, the neurological phenomenon where one sense triggers another, suggesting an artistic approach that seeks to translate sensory crossovers into olfactory experiences. Despite marketing language referencing longevity and sensory legacy, verifiable independent sources about the house's founding, location, or creative team remain limited in the research gathered. The 2025 fragrance lineup indicates recent activity in the niche fragrance market.
The Creator
Francesco PeriniPerini favors natural materials with a strong sense of origin. Tuscan cypress, resinous woods, and aromatic herbs from the surrounding countryside appear frequently in his compositions, though he does not limit himself geographically when a material serves the work.
