10/14/2023
NicheOnly
44 Reviews
NicheOnly
2
Sample nostalgia
Mystic Experience was my most-worn sample of 2022, but after purchasing a bottle in September 2023, I don't find myself feeling the scent as much after getting deeper into the hobby and not having tried it for a year or so.
Mystic Experience opens boozy with some warm spiciness & woodiness, like if Black Phantom Memento Mori didn't have any sweetness. It's another classic example of a coffee fragrance that doesn't actually smell like coffee, the same criticism that can be applied to nearly every coffee scent in the market. The drydown of this scent is dry, mildly dusty and dare I say even ambry, reminiscent of the feel you get in Sand Dance if you, again, added something sweet (like the cocoa in the Stéphane Humbert Lucas). There is a very present warm spiciness to the scent, and the sweetness is not sufficient to list that as the #1 accord for this scent.
The glaring weakness of Mystic Experience was always its performance. My first experience wearing Mystic Experience outdoors was in a sub-zero snow storm in Helsinki and even then the scent struggled to get lift. This is one of those scents that I could wear in almost any scenario without it becoming overpowering. On my skin, the performance is a dud.
I don't think this scent can really be called a hidden gem, because there's no gem quality to Mystic Experience. It's a poorly performing fragrance in a scent category with quite a few formidable contenders, including scents like Amber Star and Amber Sky on top of the previously mentioned Kilian and SHL. The only advantage this Initio has over its competition is the value, with €220 for 90ml being the best pricing in the scent bracket. As such, there still are reasons to buy this, but I would recommend becoming more familiar with the competition first.
Mystic Experience opens boozy with some warm spiciness & woodiness, like if Black Phantom Memento Mori didn't have any sweetness. It's another classic example of a coffee fragrance that doesn't actually smell like coffee, the same criticism that can be applied to nearly every coffee scent in the market. The drydown of this scent is dry, mildly dusty and dare I say even ambry, reminiscent of the feel you get in Sand Dance if you, again, added something sweet (like the cocoa in the Stéphane Humbert Lucas). There is a very present warm spiciness to the scent, and the sweetness is not sufficient to list that as the #1 accord for this scent.
The glaring weakness of Mystic Experience was always its performance. My first experience wearing Mystic Experience outdoors was in a sub-zero snow storm in Helsinki and even then the scent struggled to get lift. This is one of those scents that I could wear in almost any scenario without it becoming overpowering. On my skin, the performance is a dud.
I don't think this scent can really be called a hidden gem, because there's no gem quality to Mystic Experience. It's a poorly performing fragrance in a scent category with quite a few formidable contenders, including scents like Amber Star and Amber Sky on top of the previously mentioned Kilian and SHL. The only advantage this Initio has over its competition is the value, with €220 for 90ml being the best pricing in the scent bracket. As such, there still are reasons to buy this, but I would recommend becoming more familiar with the competition first.
BoBoChamp
NicheOnly
Kateisgr8
Omardo
Elyewceeay
