Mystère (1978)
by Rochas

Unique, deep dark oriental, also seems like chypre. Spicy oomph at first, exotic & not too sweet. Tames down, a little.. dries to a cobalt blue silkiness, with rich dark wood underneath. pretty good sillage & duration. Drydown reminds me of Knowing- cool dark woods & flowers w/soft musk. But this has alot more pizazz! 2nd try- Full moon clear sky kind of feel.. not so soft & cozy, more moody. I love this but just for once in a while.

I first wore this when I was 21 and considered myself very grown up and chic. Then it was one of the most mysterious frags I had used. It seemed very chic and french as FroFro commented. I recently began to use it again now I am in my 40's and found that either it had changed or possibly I had grown up. I found it mildly sickly and shallow. Still woody but also too sweet! I was disappointed and still grieving as I had lots of lovely memories wearing this frag. I won't buy it again, just good to remember it as it was. For those trying it first time, try before you buy. Goodbye old friend!!!

I was prepared to love this classic chypre, but after three tries I'm only guardedly positive. There are just so many other chypres out there I like more. The main drawback for me was nose fatigue - after five minutes I couldn't smell it anymore. I could detect the sillage wafting around from time to time, so I knew it was still there. While that meant others could still smell it, I like to be able to smell my own fragrance - it's part of the enjoyment for me.
On me it was a somewhat dry and non-sweet chypre, not at all objectionable, but I had a hard time wrapping my feelings around it, or feeling too much of anything, really. I have a mental ranking system that puts this in my category of "Would wear this if gifted with a bottle, but wouldn't buy it".

The first time I smelled this out of the bottle, my jaw fell open. Perfect, I thought; ethereal. It's a classic mossy chypre, a wooded glade at twilight. But it also seems to vary dramatically on my skin from application to application -- sometimes soft, sometimes sharp -- so I can only wear it occasionally. It can also have a similarly disturbing effect on my mood as Mitsouko, which I still consider a masterpiece. Unusual and elusive. Love the oblique bottle, and the black oblique cap.

I got this one as a gift when I was around 20, and, surprizingly, loved it even then (this is a mature scent, not really suitable for young girls). After that, I've bought it with some regularity (last time about a year ago, I guess).

I'd describe this as "very French"; it does tend to be somewhat strong, so use sparingly if you're not into heavy scents.

It's an oriental woody; bergamot, tangerine and ylang-ylang, blended with notes of vanilla, musk and amber. None of those really stand out on me, so I end up with a very nicely blended scent, not immediately identifiable. They really balance each other out very well.