Rochas Mystere replacement

Whoops!

Not just the same, but you might try:

Donna Trussardi lighter to be sure, but there is a real relationship, to my nose!
Krazy Krizia This one might be as close as you will get I think this is a good rec.
Paco Rabanne La Nuit be careful, as this is more hardcore and sweet.
Parfum de Peau by Montana
Priscilla Presley Moments

Too bad about good ol' Mystere, huh?
It's an Oriental, but has a chypric drydown. The note pyramid, I do not know, but there is a lot of galbanum and coriander in the top... and loads of civet, oakmoss and patchouli in the drydown.

Hi evo5039, and welcome!

Although it's also discontinued, I have to recommend the original Gianni Versace from 1981. You can usually find it on eBay, and it's much more affordable than Mystere (which has been very hard to find lately, and at terribly inflated prices when you do manage to locate it.)

I would categorize them both as animalic chypres, but as Hillaire mentions, they tend to wear like orientals. The only discernable difference to my nose is that Mystere seems a bit more civet-y and animalic while Gianni Versace is more leathery and dry... but in all honesty, they smell almost exactly alike. I have actually done the wrist-to-wrist comparison and the differences become more obvious that way, but even then they are more alike than not (and my fiance can't tell them apart at all.) They're so similar, in fact, that I believe it had to have been deliberate (Mystere's from 1978.)

Here are the notes. I'm surprised they don't have more notes in common, but they do share several in the middle.

Gianni Versace -
Top notes - aldehydes, spices, fruity notes, bergamot
Middle notes - carnation, tuberose, gardenia, orris root, jasmine, l.o.v., narcissus
Base notes - benzoin, leather, sandalwood, amber, patchouli, oakmoss, incense, myrrh.

Mystere de Rochas -
Top notes - coriander, galbanum and hyacinth
Middle notes - rosemary, carnation, tuberose, violet, orris root, jasmine, ylang-ylang, l.o.v., narcissus
Base notes - styrax, cypress, patchouli, musk, civet, oakmoss, cedar.


If you care to look for the Versace, here's the most common packaging out there -


It originally came in this red & white box, although the bottle design wasn't changed (they only look different because they're different sizes) and neither was the juice.



I hope you get a few more suggestions - I'd be very eager to hear about anything else like Mystere! Good luck, and please let us know what you find!

I wonder if your mother would like Hermès Amazone. It's been a while since I smelled either, but I remember years ago finding Amazone and Mystere similar in that they both had a woody dryness. I would imagine Amazone has been reformulated since then, however. Anyway, here are current fragrance notes I found online...

Top - Narcissus, Galbanum, Daffodil, Tuberose
Middle - Jasmine, Cassis buds, Peach, Mandarin
Base - Sandalwood, Cedar, Vetiver, Amber

My wife was very disappointed at Mytsère's demise. To fill the hole in her wardrobe we tried Magie Noire and Vol de Nuit (parfum), settling eventually on the latter. Neither is a real "smell-alike" but but both capture something of Mystère's mood, content, an general style. (Magie Noire is more the bitter, dark leather chypre, Vol de Nuit the hybrid green chypre/oriental.)