Encens Mythique

This is a great potion. Ethereal, spiritual. Rosewater ambergris. Some subtle support. Waxy, indolic, hint of Incense, a faint sanitary antiseptic smell. The rose smells a beautiful spectrum of white to red. It wafts and sparkles from time to time. Soapy and stale to sweet and powdery. It can also go a little in the old vase water direction. It's got depth of soul. Transcends boundaries. It's fairly potent on my skin. Well named. It has mystique also. What happened to the Incense? I can get hints of a beautiful frankincense balm, waxy yet balsamic. I think the saffron, patchouli, and vetiver are coming off a bit medicinal in this potion. I can pick out some of that quality camphorous menthalated vetiver if i really bury my nose. Incense also fades in and out and goes from cold, to smokey, to stale, and captures the essence of a rose and ambergris temple blend. I got this for the ambergris which is very well done here. I'm sure it's natural ambergris fortified with modern synthetics by a master. I'm getting schooled here. I was hoping for more Incense. I think my nose is having trouble detecting it fully. I'll keep trying. I don't know much about aldahydes so I can't say much. I've smelled lots of #5 and can smell something similar but I can't really point it out. I love this kind of art. Very familiar yet unique. It's an Obvious blind buy for any fragnerd. Really impressed and happy with this stuff.

I've avoided reviewing this, which sometimes happens with scents I really love and am somewhat in awe of. This 2019 Woody-Chypre Ambergris Aldehyde & Frankincense Scent opens with a slightly soapy aldehydic rose accented by saffron, but already the ambergris & frankincense are swelling through with salty & smoky resinous tones. As it transitions to the heart, I get a flutter of pink-pepper as the rose deepens into a rose-patchouli blend. Vetiver is there bringing some grassy & faintly fruity touches, while woody notes add their timbre to the mix. This is really well blended, and the longer it's on the skin the richer and sweeter it gets, picking up a nearly honey tone on a soft dry woody base. I agree with other reviewers who name this as their favourite of the line. This isn't a dupe of anything, but there are distant echoes here of vintage amber-spicy, woody & chypre scents, but there is also a contemporary vibe and something forward thinking about it, like some future point on an infinite loop of time. Performance is excellent for year-round wear, but this might be overpowering in warm weather, and a light touch works best. It's a love for me. Enjoy!

This starts out with pungent rose, bright rosy aldehydes first and foremost, with salty ambergris in the back---the ambergris does very heavy lifting from start to finish; it's always in the picture. Slightly briny, almost pickled (the rose and ambergris together reminds me of the pickley rose from Toy Boy). And with rose, aldehydes, and ambergris dominating the opening, this scent is undoubtedly inspired by classic women's fragrances from the mid-20th century, but it quickly begins to evolve in a way that makes it a truly modern take on classic elements. The ambergris comes to the forefront, accompanied by olibanum and saffron. Masculine amber, woody, leathery, spicy, fresh laundry. The essence of the opening does not disappear, but it falls back and plays a supporting role to the dry down. The amber is the star of the dry down, through and through, but the top notes linger and complement the musk, giving it a freshness that appeals the cashmeran, and the the saffron gives the dry down a sexy, masculine spicy leather component that burns until the scent disappears.

It starts out like an outdated vintage perfume, and dries down to something deep, velvety, and luxurious a couple hours later. Unisex, leaning feminine, the opening is more masculine, and it gets more feminine over time. I smell a warm, savory note (Ambergris), olibanum, clean crisp vetiver, and the subtle sweetness of damask rose. It has a beautiful rich depth to it without being overwhelming or heavy. It’s incense-y in a smooth, haunting way. It doesn’t smell particularly mature, rather it smells like old money and (to me) Arabian royalty. It goes well with Abayas (the long black robes worn by women in the Gulf), it smells exclusive, regal and enigmatic. After the aldehydes fade (I am generally not a fan of the outdated harsh soapiness that aldehydic notes impart)…it’s all about Ambergris, frankincense and rose for hours and hours and hours…gorgeous!!! Better for cooler weather, or indoors in air-conditioned environments…this would be stuffy in the heat.

I remember trying this (or so I thought) in an airport Duty Free and my socks were blown off. This was beyond this world. Finally my search for that ultimate perfume had ended. After some time and research, I pulled the trigger on a bottle. When it arrived I sprayed it and got nothing but an overwhelming "old lady" rose. It seemed super feminine in a dated, odd way, and I'm a man who generally loves masculine fragrances. I checked my notes to see if this was indeed the same fragrance that I loved when sniffing it on my travels. No! It wasn't. I'd tried Encens Mythique and had concluded that there was something too sweet about it, and while it had "something interesting aspects, but it's not really me. Pass." Damn, so I just wasted almost $100 on this bottle and now had to sell it, I thought. But as the day went on, I couldn't stop smelling myself, and I noted how the rose slowly gave way to something really intriguing and softly mysterious in the drydown.