Ile Mythique

This is one of my absolute all time favourites. It's so anise-dominant that I don't think there is a way around it. You really have to love the note, because everything else in this is playing second fiddle to the anise. It's both potent and long lasting, so there is no getting away from it, which for me is a massive plus, obviously. There is nothing generic or commonplace about this fragrance. Aside from the immediate blast of anise, it opens with a dose of lavender and basil. I can even make out the tarragon if I put my mind to it. But the latter is not particularly strong. Especially as there are other notes in this that can work together to a similar effect, and by that I mean the combination of myrrh, anise and basil. Reading the notes could make one think this is likely on the sweeter side of things, but I can tell you that this is absolutely not true. The composition comes across almost salty. At its final drydown I can mostly detect anise (still going strong) with the resins and perhaps a hint of woodsy notes. The ambroxan in this isn't overt because of the nature of other notes, but I believe it definitely adds to the projection. The leather comes through more than the votes would suggest, in my opinion. It's not a linear fragrance, but its development is so gradual and smooth that unlike in a lot of other fragrances where notes just suddenly disappear it's much much harder to pinpoint the stages. And as it's *very* long lasting this process is also stretched out over a long time. This is something I can still smell on myself the next day, even after a shower. Its performance is outstanding.

At last, I found my Brach's anise-flavored gum drop note in a fragrance, ever so lightly sugared and vanillic, the showstopper at the opening of Île Mythique. Another discovery is that, twenty minutes or so into development, there's a distinct tarragon note. Its scent profile is often compared to that of anise or licorice, but what it's mostly composed of is not anethole as in anise, but estragole. I've studied this natural constituent in isolation, and while similar to that of anethole, it's more bitter, fresh herbaceous, and phenolic (earthy/smoky/medicinal). I truly love that a tarragon accord makes up the heart of Île Mythique after its anise opening. It's what most certainly sets it apart from peers such as Lolita Lempicka etc. Estragole is found in great quantities in basil as well, which accounts for suggestions of its presence in this stage. Myrrh and other resins fix this all into the base of Île Mythique, growing more dusky and mysterious, like facing a walk into dark, shadowy woods. It's appropriately autumnal in feel, evoking the winding down of life. Its dry down gives me moments of the sweet decay of leaves in the undergrowth; those leaves that have blotches and beautiful discolorations, like sassafras leaves and the ghostly purple of maple viburnum. An almost salty, dry quality begins to come through in its last stages, likely attributed to ambroxan (used in a principled manner here), further fixing the resins to a trace of a skin scent hours later. This is a non-linear development, moving from light to dark, which makes it a true standout and a joy to wear.

As every Chabaud fragrances this is also no too deep, layered, nor complex ( for example compared to a Pierre Guillaume creation) but very lovely! Because there is that recognisable fringerpint of the brand which makes their scents very harmonious, emotional, delicate & tender. Ile Mythique isn' t different. It's a fine piece of olfactory art with its own dainty simplicity. In this fragrance Anise is the roleplayer, the every other notes are just modulating & toning it until the upcoming result become a blurred, gloomy, dusky deep & dark turquise-green dense haze with a bit transculent, sparkling, ethereal & mystical light veil on it. This is the most mellow, anis-dominant composition what i ever smellt and it has this arcane, melancholic but also playful vibe which makes it truly beautiful. It wraps you in to mystery. If you like that similar, mysterious absinth/green-fairy vibe of Kilian L'heure Verte (its compisitions also builds up to the contrast of dark and light) but u find it a bit too "agressive", contrasted or maybe masculine then give Ile Mythique a try! It's a more mellow and ethereal enigmatic green fairy! ✨️💚⚗️🧪🐍🌌🌑🛸🧫🎠🔮🎇

I am a sucker for a smoky, woodsy fragrance, so it's hard not to like this one. That said, I was quite surprised at how the dry down, on me, lacked complexity. It's a straight-up fireplace scent. Nothing wrong with that, I suppose, but it's not exactly intriguing or mysterious or layered. And the star anise, on my skin, isn't nearly as aggressive as it seems to be on many others'. I just get plain, burning wood. Not something I'd buy, personally, but I could see this being exciting for someone who has yet to venture into the woody fragrance territory.

Opening is centered around star anise, with a burst of spicy notes (basil and lavender coming through). After the first few minutes, it's mostly wood notes - the spiciness and sharpness settle a bit. Dry down is a mix of leather with a note of star anise (it comes back) - it's surprisingly sweet. It's very potent, spicy and masculine at the beginning, settles into a pleasant smell that keeps close to the skin.

Spicy, fresh but also smoky, complex, not overly sweet. I usually cannot stand aniseed or licorice but this is actually nice. Maybe because it is not a photorealistic anise but a sort of a anise frame that is filled with other things too. Maybe because it does not have a disgusting overly sweet balsamic ending. Cannot smell any lavender, but agree with the most of other pyramid notes. Unisex towards male.

Wow, a straightforward pure licorice type of scent! The projection is wide and it is a little salty as well. It's very well made, but you definitely want to smell like you were rolling in licorice, star anise, and fennel seeds to wear this.

Like eating a black jack sweet and drinking a glass of dandelion & burdock at the same time. ( uk treats) absolutely intoxicating. Love it.

This one surprised me a bit. To me, the opening was thick and green with incense mixed it. It didn't strike me as spicy at all, just sort of warm, incensey, and somewhat smoky, which perhaps could be perceived as spicy by some. As it opens up, the wood becomes detectable, but it never seems to be in the foreground. The anise doesn't seem overly strong to me, and in fact, it actually seems rather weak compared to the other notes. It's certainly a unique fragrance, at least from my limited experience. This one strikes me as firmly unisex. Edit: I do detect some actual spice deep into the drydown, but it hides beneath the lingering smokiness.

This one smells like its warm weather, you eat some spicy food (seasoned with star anis) and dried dates while you watch the sunset. Near your dinner table, there is some incense. The warm Mediterranean breeze blows towards you occasionally. You are in Spain or Italy.

Cedar shavings, a little lavender, a TEENSY bit of anise, and maybe something vaguely citrus? But terribly impressed. Not offensive, but very bland and pretty generic.

#1548 in my "Tour de Fragrance" Got this as a decant. My first Chabaud Maison de Parfum scent My one lifelong friend that I consider a brother from another mother, a guy who drummed for me in one of the roadhouse cover bands I started in high school, called me yesterday to talk over the Chicago Bears' prospect for a championship run, and toward the end of our wide-ranging conversation about our childhoods, brought up our mutual hatred of "Black Jack" chewing gum. I will probably never be a wild fan of any scent with detectable anise or licorice, and "Black Jack" is why. Kids would swap the gum in a "Double Bubble" package with "Black Jack" to trick you into sticking some in your mouth, so they could see you spit it out as you realized you were being poisoned. Among chewing gums it stands out as the depth of abomination. I've purchased maybe a dozen or so scents with anise or licorice notes, some pronounced, some not, which I've either given away or never taken out of the storage bins they're in. Armani "Code" (gave it away), Cremo "Bourbon Vanilla" (gave it away), Guerlain "L'Instant de Guerlain Pour Homme" (both the EDT, which I gave away, and the EDP which is still in a storage bin), Calvin Klein "CK Free" (gave that one away too), Dior "Sauvage EDP" (also given away), Maison Alhambra "Salvo" and "Salvo Intense", Yves Saint Laurent "L'Homme Libre", Al Haramain "Amber Oud Tobacco Edition", Mauboussin "Pour Lui", Rasasi "Hawas Ice." I haven't worn any of the them since I blind bought them and tried them out. There are at least a dozen more such scents I've test-driven but never purchased a full bottle. It took a while to realize what the above scents had in common was a licorice undertone. They smell nice at first, but that licorice/anise scent creeps out and ruins the experience for me. Now licorice and anise are on my "no fly list." But I got this decant before that realization had sunk in. And not surprisingly, though this seemed fine at first, in the dry down it was clear I would never wear this. While the anise here doesn't give this scent a strong black licorice character, it's enough that I don't care for it or find it enjoyable. That said, even if I did enjoy this I would not be a buyer because the quality is poor. While it barely holds on as a skin scent till lunch, the projection is barely arm's length for a couple of hours and what does project smells like topsoil. So even though it's not pricey, a $100+ for $20 in quality is not something I knowingly do. I buy scents to get favorable notice and I wouldn't expect this scent to draw favorable notice if it draws notice at all. So I recommend you keep hunting, or at least try a decant before you drop $100+ for this juice.

FIRST IMRESSION: i really dislike this. right off the bat it's exactly what they say it it - licorice and star anise. it's a spicy scent trying to come across as mediterranean, but it just smells like our spices drawer. not fun. i hate star anise. FEW HOURS LATER...' thats really not my thing. it is black pepper heavy, with other annoying spices. overly manly and not very wearable, especially for me. 34/100

NOPE! The star anise is sooo in your face, so strong. You have to be a star anise enthousiast to like this one. I am not. It might have worked for me personally had the star anise been replaced with liquorice, maybe. Definitely unisex. Unlike most Chabaud perfumes this (incl. the two other Paysages Olfactifs perfumes) is a quite intense and long lasting experience. Tip: Go easy on the trigger!

I love the house of Chabaud. This fragrance, however, is not my taste. It's the combination of lavender and anise - it just doesn't work for me. It makes the anise too strong and sharp. I also think the amber makes the fragrance too heavy, especially since I find both lavender and anise to be heavy themselves. Each of those notes are favorites of mine, but together in this fragrance, it's just off for me. I think the fragrance is a fine herbal amber. For the right person, it could be a winner.