Secret Mélange (1988)
by Maître Parfumeur et Gantier

This is one of the very few fragrances from MPG that I resolutely don't like. Spicy soapy orange, clove, spicy, cannelle spicy, soapy, orange, cannelle, cannelle, spicy orange orange cannelle spicy soapy orange, what??, cannelle...messy isn't it?. It definitely smells like bathrooms. Bizarre, in a bad way!

31st May, 2011.

It strikes me as one of the strangest fragrances from MPG that I’ve encountered so far. Strange in the sense that it doesn’t seem like something MPG would make. Unlike many of the other MPG’s, it lacks any kind of drama or panache or even identity. It’s just an odor: not pleasant and not disagreeable not subtle not aggressive … it’s just there with a smell that reminds several people, myself included, of bathrooms. It seems like something Demeter would make: a plain linear scent—no movement, no progression, and no nuance—a copy of an interesting random olfactory occurrence (Demeter picks more interesting random olfactory occurrences than the bathroom accord in Secret Mélange). This particular mélange is one with a predominance of cloves supported by some lavender and some lemony orange and something burned—probably the patchouli. That’s it; that’s all there is: On my skin it is just a ho-hum odor. Certainly not a bad fragrance, but, after an hour or two of smelling it, I’m basically thinking: “What’s the point?” Perhaps Secret Mélange should have remained a secret.

Originally submitted 22 April 2007, Taiwan

10th December, 2010.

Straight out of the bottle -- Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy! Delicious, delightful spicy orange, what bliss!

First hour -- Orange, Clove, & Love! A nice balance of lovely things. Obviously high quality materials. Christmas Potpourri in a bottle.

Second hour -- Everything fading, a flatness coming on,as Foetidus says, it seems to be an odor, not a perfume. I feel like I'm wearing high-quality room-spray.

Third hour -- Sadness. Depression. All top and mid notes gone. Strange base note is all that's left (some kind of patchouli? an herb?) smells plasticky, cold and unpleasant, starting to trigger sinus headache above the left eye-- ick.

It all started so well and then, well, c'est la parfum, c'est la vie.

12nd March, 2010.

There is something really mysterious about SM...it's a clove based scent yes..but there is a "X" factor in there...something tht my nose cant pick but my senses can feel...theres a lot going in here behind the wall of freshly grinded "Cloves" the image tht comes to mind is takin handful of cloves and rubbing it against a stone covered with moss...the journey fro mMid to basenotes is again one of the smoothest accords i have ever sniffed. pure class.

caltha is very right whn he said it reminds him of Hammam Bouquet..how apt...they don't smell similar atall...but its in the raw true nature of the accords that gives off the feeling its been made ages...or maybe centuries before...not an ordinary scent. For someone looking for "that" mysetrious scent...look no further.

21st September, 2008.

Feels very vintage with its powdery/soapy/aldehydic, rich, warm and slightly musty (not in a bad way, mind you) rendition of a clove-studded orange. I think I get a whiff of nutmeg too, but not much else. Definitely a gentleman's scent but I'm not sure why - because it feels barbershoppy with its soap and citrus notes? Because it lacks the sweetness to make it into an equally vintage-feeling ladies' oriental? Anyway, I quite like the old-fashioned quality, it reminds me of scents like Creed's Ambre Cannelle, Penhaligon's Hammam Bouquet, Guerlain's Habit Rouge and even Old Spice... It's been a while since I smelled bay rum, but I think there are similarities there too...

27th August, 2008.

Interesting. Reminds me of Paco Rabanne pour Homme but with a Ungaro I or II undertone to it. lavender with a huge moss. I haven't tried many of the other MPG's but this one is interesting. I think disliked this one at first but it's the most intriguing orange spicy and moss fragrance I've encountered.

25th June, 2008.