Imari Mystique

You had me at "honeyed" -- One thing I've noticed, I'm really taken by fragrances that have ingredients with a strong base of "honey". I bought this after reading some of the fragrantica.com reviews. After wearing this a few days, I am really loving this. The shower gel is exquisite too - love that! --------- Imari Mystique is strong and could easily be considered a unisex cologne. It resonates in a range with a lot of men's colognes (lower alto register, tenor, soft base), but this fragrance sets up on the skin in a very alluring way. It beckons for people to come closer - more in a whisper, than a shout. This fragrance is much more "close to the skin" than Imari Elixir or Imari Seduction. Both Elixir and Seduction have top notes that vault off the skin. Imari Mystique draws you in... it is much more introverted than its sister fragrances Elixir and Seduction. I feel that Imari Mystique would be a great fragrance to pair with the other Imari's that I mentioned because this is a "go-to" fragrance on days when you are needing to dial down the volume of silage... or perhaps when you've been told that your fragrance is too over-powering in the office, or if someone gets a headache around extremely STRONG perfumes. Imari Mystique whispers -- in a kinder and more gentle way, but is still a fragrance with depth and sophistication. This would be a good fragrance to wear for the office, at the theater, in a classroom, in an elevator, in a closed car/vehicle with someone sensitive to overly intense fragrances -- etc... when you are going to be in close proximity to a number of people. I would still spray this about 30 minutes before wearing to an event - because this still goes on very strong, but within the first 30 minutes - this wears much closer to the skin than the other Imari's that I've tried. ---------- Why did I try this as a blind buy? I love Imari Elixir and Imari Seduction - and these all appear to be sister fragrances. Imari Elixir is one of my favorite fragrances of all time - and I could definitely wear this as a "Signature Fragrance" in the fall and winter. I get a ton of compliments on this. Imari Seduction - is also incredible on - and draws a ton of compliments! It is more "berry" than Elixir. It wears very similar to Trish McEvoy's Sexy #9. Both of these Imari's are such GREAT FRAGRANCES that I really had to try Imari Mystique too! --------- The tobacco base in Imari Mystique reminds me a lot of Tuxedo, by Ralph Lauren - which was tragically discontinued a few years after its introduction. If Ralph Lauren refuses to bring this back - I'd love to see Avon bring back something that has a blend of Vetiver and Tobacco in the base... similar to RL's Tuxedo! I loved this fragrance and have been searching for years to find another fragrance that I adored as much as Tuxedo! Imari Mystique is very close to what I remember Tuxedo smelling like. But Tuxedo had more of a vetiver and tobacco type base. ----------- Many reviews on Imari Mystique express a desire for Avon to bring this back. I can definitely see why people would say this. It is a really great fragrance, and serves a much needed purpose for days that you want to dial things down - and not wear Imari Elixir, Imari Seduction, or Imari... because they wear "too strong" for the occasion. I'd love to see Avon bring this back as one of fragrances in their sample sets - with several other fragrances. This is a great way to try more than one Avon fragrance and to get the word out on how good Avon's fragrances truly are! If you are someone that loves sophistication, depth, and something that wears closer to the skin -- something that whispers rather than shouts -- this is definitely the Imari that you should purchase. Another great Avon fragrance! I love it!

I have had so-so luck with Avon products. I also have a passion for spicy, warm frags and this one...it knocked me off my feet in the most wonderful way! The black iris and honey warm on my skin and all I can compare it to is this beautiful plum velvet colored dress I had a long, long time ago, I always wore it in the fall and winter and it flowed beautifully and wrapped around me, "ensconced in velvet" as George Costanza would say. This fragrance does just that-it initially is a powerful blast of golden honey and jasmine (I'm not a jasmine fan, so the first half-hour or so I'm kind of overwhelmed by the jasmine note), but then the dry down brings on the amber and the patchouli and what has to be cedar oil. Oh my gosh...the cedar! I think this is the note that kind of gives it that "masculine" bend, but I get this with Aqua di Parma as well (which I also love, love, love!) but unlike A di P, this settles into a sultry, sexy velvety mist around me, with the amber and the cedar lulling me into a luxurious, sex-kitten mood. I adore this fragrance! I wish I could wear it everywhere, every day but I can definitely foresee other people calling it "heady" or "potent". I like that, but it's not for everyone. It is for me, and I will hoard it as I find it! Bravo, Imari Mystique! Bravo! ***EDIT Sept. 20, 2013*** I wore this today as the weather has turned colder here in the mountains. It's drier now, less humid-and the difference has affected the notes in this frag for me. I smell tobacco! Of all things...it's SPENT tobacco, as in 'ashtray-ish'. It's not BAD, like it doesn't smell as though I rubbed cigarette ashes all over me, but it reminds me of a very well-heeled, pretty woman who wears perfume and happens to be a smoker. The blend is...sort of 'dirty' in a good way. I don't know how else to express that. The sweet edge of this honeyed frag is definitely curttailed by the drier air and the smokiness has become very pronounced. I still love this, and I'll add that I think layering it with the lotion really emphasizes the smoke as well, as I find that note is very pronounced in the lotion-not so much in the spray. This still makes me feel very lush and pretty. Even with the 'spent tobacco' lingering in the air. (It would not surprise me in the least if someone asked me if I was a smoker today...LOL)

This is one of my favorite fall/winter fragrances. It was one of the lucky blind buys that I did when I realized that I loved a couple of the other Imari perfumes in Avon's collection. This is so awesome - I can't believe that it isn't one that Avon has kept in their current line. I'd love to see this one with its own body lotion, shower gel. This is an ageless, timeless scent that is classic. This will never go out of style. ------------ After trying Versace Crystal Noir - these two are extremely similar, although not duplicates or clones of each other. Imari Mystique is one of my favorite Avon perfumes. I really love this one - and it is wearing as if it is the crushed berry version of Versace Crystal Noir. The notes are more strikingly bright and sharp (with a slightly more masculine tobacco note...although is perfect for a woman too), where as Versace Crystal Noir is still more reserved, a bit more shy and demure... but still alluring. Both are alluring in their own ways and it would take a well trained nose to tell the difference in these two - especially the longer this wears on the skin. Versace Crystal Noir is smoother, slightly more feminine in the way the perfume is crafted. ------------- Imari Mystique is in the same fragrance family as Versace Crystal Noir, Narcisso Rodriquez For Her, Alien (the original), Calvin Klein Euphoria (the original). All are a deeper berry purple smell - softer, sexy, alluring. Avon does Imari Mystique so well that it could have been the inspiration for a number of these other perfumes. After trying all of these at the very same time - Imari Mystique wears the best on my skin. The tobacco notes are grounding and the berry notes are extremely lovely.

Imari Mystique is easily a unisex fragrance. On my skin, in dry weather, Imari Mystique begins with a strong blast of very spicy woods. Spices mix with strong cedar wrapped in deep dark honey. It does give the impression of sweet rich spiced tobacco. This phase lasts about 2 hours, then rose, jasmine,and iris bloom softly, soaked in thick dark honey and amber joined together with the spicy woods. Mystique is NOT powdery at all. The iris here is soft, silky. After another hour passes, spices and florals recede leaving a very long lasting blend of deep sweet smooth patchouli, honey and amber that linger close to skin for another 8 hours. One of my friends smelled Mystique on me and she just HAD to have it ! She normally wears Chanel Coco Noir and Lancome Magie Noir. I gave her a bottle of Mystique and she LOVES it ! She says it lasts MUCH longer and projects better than her Chanel Coco Noir ! She recently stocked up on Avon Mystique. I'm so surprised that this is an Avon scent! It's strong, smooth, unique, niche high quality with excellent endurance. I LOVE Mystique ! I'm thrilled to have found this wonderful treasure !

I'll TRY not to be long winded! I've had this perfume for a long time. It's fresh as the day I bought it making this a good hoard. I didn't think much first try years ago, and it's just been sitting. I decided to really really try it one day. My clothes the next day, still smelled strongly of it. I fell in love thinking, "THIS is the SAME perfume I wore yesterday!? Oh dear, what a FOOL I've been!". This is a scent that is magical. You want to smell the person that wears it...well I do. It's a portrait of a very envied and loved girl I wish I could be. She's earthy, vibrant but shadowy, leather boots, brown eyes and hair, jeans, a true 70's hippy girl that wreaks of class and appears to be far more refined than the best of those surrounding her. This scent is just so special to my heart. It's one I'm thankful I couldn't trade off! If you stare into my eyes to see my soul, you'll see a reflection of this perfume bottle. So, SO, sooo underrated. "That girl" has been a twin sister for years and years. I'm 60 years old now, and hope to be just like her when I grow up!