The spooky season calls for something smoky and incense-like, and while our fall oud theme is befitting, this offering from Tom Ford’s Private Blends is an underrated gem for that sort of vibe. Originally I got a small bottle of this because I was only going to use it for a Stevie Nicks concert, but it has become a fall favorite in its own right for its pungent feel and seasonal magic.
The notes of myrrhe, vanilla, sandalwood and musk, tempered by some leather and jasmine, make it sound like a sweeter concoction than it is ~ I find it magnificently darker than how that reads on paper. There’s something resinous and smoky at work, and it carries a deeper patina than ‘Ebene Fume’, to which it has been favorably compared. (I’m a big ‘Ebene Fume‘ fan so any similarity would be celebrated.)
This almost approaches the vaunted holiness of ‘Amber Absolute’ territory, but stops sadly short of that original’s hallowed performance ground. Still, to even approach such a grand vision is a feat in itself, and ‘Myrrhe Mystere’ is a lovely scent for keeping warm and cozy on these darkening days.
