Miroir des Secrets (2008)
by Thierry Mugler

I'm dedicating a few days to sampling and reviewing this obscure Mugler line, and into day two I believe this is my favorite of the bunch. All of the Miroir! Miroir! scents are mildly gourmand, with accords anchored to a lightly sweetened, vanilla, but Secrets is the least gourmand and perhaps the most subtle. It starts off with a very curious aldehydic 'green note' I can't specifically identify. This green note is quickly joined by a faint, musky patchouli. The patchouli is not anything like a patchouli-centric fragrance but a subtle and sweet patchouli. For a few hours Secrets slowly melds between very mild background notes (the patchouli always being noticeable) and a vanilla base. I suspect there's some iris in here because the powdery heart/base seems to be more then just a musk. Overall the style of Secrets is very much in the modern Guerlain floral/gourmand mold and in many ways it reminds of Quand Vient la Pluie.

Until it reaches its base, Secrets is remarkably subtle and delicate - pretty and remarkably well balanced. For a few hours I was thinking that this would be the one I would purchase.... but I'm not sure about the base. After such a well developed top/heart perfumer Bertier cheats a little with the base, opting for a fairly generic woody amber I've encountered in countless modern fragrances. There's still a musky vanilla to take the edge of the woody/amber, but the generic ending is akin to traveling in first class for a vacation up until the flight home.

Still, a wonderful fragrance and recommended. Sillage is a bit lower than the other Miroir scents but longevity is superb.

This line, available at select Saks and the Mugler website, is regrettably being kept quiet. It's something like a 'niche' line for Mugler but there's no buzz or marketing of these scents, which are absolutely niche quality and a welcome departure from the countless Angel/A*Men flankers (which still being very identifiable as in the Mugler style).

5th August, 2009.

Smells milky... like a cup of hazelnut creamer (the stuff for coffee) with a rose scented parasol on the side. Nice and sweet but not overly so. I can see this more on women than on guys.

5th October, 2008.