Fragrance (Target)
What the fragrance does not have, is first of all incense. This is a disaster for a fragrance that has incense in the name. A myth this fragrance will also never become, that much is certain. So the second component of the name is also a total failure, a zero, an air booking. It used to be called something with Oriental. The innocence of this name component can be doubted (see the very readable blog by MCPS on this), maybe that's why it was dropped. In any case, the fragrance has nothing to do with the Orient. What the fragrance also lacks is a base. Since I like progressions in general and drydowns in particular with Guerlain, this is annoying. Finally, the silly note "undergrowth" is also missing (how please is that supposed to smell). Maybe because it's stated in the base note, and it's missing all together. Sharpness also nada, niente (because of pepper).
Fragrance (Have)
In the opening phase (a few minutes) I feel EM as horribly unsorted and sticky-sweet. Here are some of my associations: Squeaky duckies, pink cartoon kittens, baked apples, Black Forest cake, apricots preserved in strong alcohol. That cheesy fruity sweetness, which I don't know where it comes from, soon retreats from the forefront, but is always loitering menacingly in the background. Aldehydes soon make an appearance, but freshly showered and strained they come off as overly artificial-hairspray-like. Combined with a non-stinky rose (I usually have trouble with roses, but this one's ok, almost too ok, touching on the cheesy again). A fresh, dew-wetted bouquet of roses, grown to be "inconspicuous smelling," and a bowl of rose jam next to it.
In the long, long middle part of the fragrance, wood dominates for me, but neither underwood, nor overwood, but rather normal wood, heartwood, plywood and young wood. Sometimes it's a bit creaky, sometimes it's quite fresh-green. Sometimes it's oiled, sometimes it's damp. Actually a pleasant, interesting beautiful woodwind ensemble. Plus the problem-free rose continues, and a pleasant generic-warm spiciness (no pepper). Towards the end, the sweetness comes out again, leaving diffuse marzipan impressions.
Name
A name where both name components are outright lies is junk. Anyway, I don't like the word mythical (actually something like: "in the manner of ancient legends and fairy tales"). It's often used with "mystical" ("mysterious", especially in the context of religious practices), which is probably what is meant here (incense!) and therefore might suggest a certain lack of education in Guerlain's marketing department. Besides, in addition to a good book (the Myth of Sisyphus), one of the worst books of the 20th century (meaningfully titled: the Myth of the 20th Century) is named after it, and anyway, I don't like the whole myth thing. I'm a man of the Enlightenment on that one. But maybe the title is meant ironically, referring to the fact that there is no incense right now. After all, the word myths is also used in the sense of lies (mythomaniac: a person who compulsively lies all the time).
Company + perfumer
Guerlain is one of my favorite brands, but lately it doesn't always cover itself with glory. the whole Idealmann line I think is expendable, and the Aqua Allegorias are inflationary, even if there are nice ones. I have an undecided relationship with Mr. Water. He is not my mythical hero. With this fragrance, he will also not.
Verdict
In the all-dominant middle part, a nice, pleasant, interesting fragrance with a lot of woodiness, surrounded by freshly showered rose, marzipan and a warm winter spice blend. But because the whole thing is very unspecific and not impressive, because of the rather lukewarm performance, the completely crazy upbeat, the läppischen Drydowns and the lied name but then a fragrance that is located between unnecessary and annoying.
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Godspeed
BertolucciK
BoBoChamp
SergioT
JoaoMartins
Lillibet
