Amber Mystique

A vibrant scene unfolds before you - the Garden of Eden is radiating with a million jasmine flowers in full bloom, lush raspberries and black currants are brimming with their succulent juices, ylang-ylang and roses of countless variety lend their crisp and dewy presence to cut through the sweet amber pouring from the lips of your eternal lover. You revel in the endless majesties this land holds for just you and your lover. The days are endless and the nights eternal - there is no sense of time for the first of mankind as the world revolves around you. Somewhere, deep in the night, you hear the whispers of forbidden knowledge and the betrayal of your lover. Day broke with the succulent kiss of your true love - in her eye was an unrelenting twinkle and, in her hand, she held the most beautiful fruit. It radiated the scent of a world on fire - the everlasting char of ancient oud, scorched earth, blackened leather, and the pain of a trillion souls. She took the first bite, you followed without hesitation - the universe irrevocably shifted in an instant and Paradise was lost forever. The two souls found themselves submerged in pain and shame...they sought refuge in their supple golden flesh. In a bed of iris and rose, they forged a bond that would carry all humankind toward the end - there musky bodies and labdanum tears set the tone for an eternity of heartaches and jilted love. For now, they had each other and the white noise of a new dawn... Day 78 - Toward the End Listening to: Wilson - Centipede Notes: I have to say that I got this for a song and expected quite little...it was surely one of the best surprises I have had in quite some time! The opening is brilliantly complex as it pits ripe raspberries and currants against a lush floralscape of jasmine and rose with the sharp undercurrent of ylang-ylang. Buried just beneath the surface is a fiery oud, incense, and leather accord that is paired with a succulent amber and sandalwood. This fume switches partners often in its graceful dance - the florals peek out from time to time, but the main players are the smoked wood accord and the opulent amber accord. Somewhere in the depths is a gorgeous soda pop myrrh note that keeps me wanting more! These notes play out again and again until the pair slowly winds down to a gentle sweet and woody musk some 10 hours after it began. Perfect for man or woman and surely something to be tried as it is a gorgeous experience to behold!

I haven't worn this for a while, so am approaching it with a fresh nose. Amber Mystique is a long, looooooooooonnnng way from being unique or innovative, but it's a bloody excellent quality scent, nonetheless. It was released six or so years ago; given the success and influence of the Arabic market by 2012/13, AM's lack of originality (particularly its use of the rose/oud combo) is forgivable. Does anyone know the identity of the perfumer? In my opinion, Amber Mystique is beautifully well-balanced, and I'd like to test some of their other compositions. It's early autumn here in the UK, so whilst it was about 17C during daylight, the temperature this evening has dropped considerably,so Amber Mystique seems to be an excellent choice of perfume, as it smells warm and comforting. On my skin (and to my nose) there's a powerful raspberry/floral/smokey incense on first spraying. I own - and love - a number of fragrances from Middle Eastern houses, so generally speaking, I don't find oud intense or intrusive; this may be why, as AM dries down, leather and incense seem to dominate the base on me. Amber Mystique is NOT an overwhelming or animalic perfume; it's enchanting and rather sexy, drawing you in for a closer sniff. A reviewer below (AMV10) says Amber Mystique is "like Youth Dew Amber Nude married with Bel Ami in a light cloud of incense and oud". As a result of his/her comments, I decided to spritz a little YDAN (which I also love, although not as much as the original YD) on the back of my left hand to compare and contrast it with AM. Unfortunately this has - right now - had the undesirable result of making YDAM smell rather like fly spray in comparison. Amber Mystique is NOT a safe blind buy, unless you are a fan of the genre; it is, however, 100% unisex (in my opinion). Longevity is well over eight hours on my skin, far longer on clothing, and sillage is somewhat beyond arms-length. It's definitely worth testing if you are a fan of high quality perfumes with a "Middle-Eastern" influence. I'm now in search of a back up bottle, as AM seems to be discontinued. If anyone in the UK is seeking to dispose of theirs, please let me know. Bee x ETA: I was wearing 4160 Tuesdays Amberama yesterday - there are definite similarities to ELAM, but the sillage and longevity of this one are outstanding in comparison.

NOW I get what people are talking about!! I love this - it reminds me of the powerhouse oriental scents of the 80s - especially Opium and Cinnabar. I get a deep and fragrant myrrh and incense, that avoids that medicinal edge I sometimes get with that myrrh.. Of course, the amber is bold as well. The oud (definitely Western style) adds body, and I get the barest trace of taif rose. This was a very successful blind buy - it has enormous presence and must not be over sprayed. I spray to the top of my hand it the aroma is surrounding me!! Scrummy!! EDIT - This has definitely grown to be one of my favorite oriental fragrances of all time. It just hits all the right notes on my skin - pun intended! I have tried quite a few new (for me) incense/resinous scents over the past couple of months, along with some vintage old faves such as Opium, and I love many of them, but this may be THE one. I sniff and my eyes roll back into my head! I think I may like it even more than Opium (vintage only), which has been a love since I was a teenager. Of course, that's just how I feel at this moment, but I know that this is one that will require backup bottles, because I don't ever want to be without it. Thinking about the wood one next... ADDITIONAL EDIT 5/7/21 - This has been replaced by TF Sahara Noir as my favorite Oriental scent. It's a pretty close second! However, given that a bottle of the discontinued SN now commands hundreds of dollars on Ebay while the discontinued AM can still be found for under $50, I think that I'll stock up on a bottle or 2 of AM, at least until the universe rewards me with a bottle of SN at the "bargain" price of, say, $150 or less!

As the winter wanes, I am wearing some of my more rich and opulent fragrances while they still seem most appropriate. We've reached the end of February, and the temps are entering the 40s, so I think I can swing Amber Mystique, the best kept 'secret' (or is it?) from Estee Lauder. This one has a potency and quality that matches that of higher end frags with much higher price points: your Tom Ford Private Blends, Frederic Malles, and the like. Curiously enough, both are owned by none other than...Estee Lauder. Well then, the myths melt and the prestige is demystified! Heaven forfend we believe that a fragrance that can be had for under 40 buckaroos could actually be of premium quality... Amber Mystique is a take-no-prisoners kind of scent, with rich florals and jammy fruits colliding with mildly animalic amber and a Western-nose friendly oud simmering in a cauldron of incense, and it is magnificent. Undulating wafts greet my nose with a turn of my neck or a turn to my step, its as if I am in an olfactory force field, protected in this rosy, woody bubble of bliss. The dry down reveals what seems to be a myrrh note, at once bitter, but also sweet, maybe even umami (is there a smell equivalent to that? savory?), and there is a lingering dry pepperiness. The base, several hours in, is only rivaled by the likes of Annick Goutal Ambre Fetiche in terms of substantivity. I want to thank the Aetherialist (YT reviewer) for clueing me in to this affordable (at least for now) treasure.

Amber Mystique reminds me somewhat of Perles de Lalique, even though that one has a woodier, less ambery base. I never would have guessed that this was an Estée Lauder fragrance in a blind sniff test. It reminds me of some of my Middle Eastern rose fragrances, too, like Infini Rose. If I had known it would be quite so similar to some of the other fragrances in my collection, I might not have bought a full bottle, but it's discontinued now, and I'm guessing it will just become harder to find over time. I do find this on par with Desert Eden, from the newer "Luxury" line--now, ironically, the bargain choice, at least relative to the "Legacy" line--and I'm pretty sure they could have just re-released this one and its sister, Wood Mystique (which I don't own and have never smelled) along with the rest of them. I think the bottle is beautiful, far better than the elegant but ordinary look of the Legacy and Luxury lines, and probably better than the Aerin bottles, which just look like Tom Ford rip-off bottles to me, with all the pseudo-minimalist pretensions. Update nearly two years later: I'm really starting to appreciate this more--figures it would be discontinued. It's especially good in the cold weather. I'm not sure I could bear it if it were even slightly warm. It has some slight PoaL vibes, but Amber Mystique has far less patchouli and a smidge more oud in the base. Smoky incense and jammy rose give it a churchy feel, but it's a little bit dirty, too.