There are fragrances which transport you to places you want to go. A Mediterranean villa, a garden at dawn or, a stand of pine trees. Then there are those groups of fragrances which might take you places you aren’t sure you ever wanted to go. Etat Libre d’Orange’s Secretions Magnifiques has become that fragrance every perfumista has to try but will rarely wear. Bvlgari Black and its signature rubber accord is not for every fragrance wearer, either. Even Eau D’Italie Sienne L’Hiver is an accurate depiction of a Tuscan town in winter but how wearable is it? I love and wear these kinds of perfumes because they present such a singular viewpoint and are an anodyne to the run-of-the-mill.

I had read about Aesop fragrances about two years ago and based on the responses both of the releases Mystra and Marrakech sounded like they were the kind of fragrance which would be one of these interesting experiences in a bottle. Only recently have I been able to obtain samples of both.

Althought neither name, strictly speaking, is Middle Eastern; these are fragrances that are inspired by Middle Eastern influences.  Both of these fragrances present intense, primal scented experiences even if it is a quickly developing one, on my skin. Accoding to Aesop they use no synthetic ingredients without going so far as to say they are natural. I’m not sure what to make of those semantics.  

 

 

Mystra takes you deep into the Spice Souk and asks you to breathe deeply and draw the funk of the market deep inside. There are only three listed ingredients incense, labdanum, and mastic. These are most certainly not all that is going on here. On my skin Mystra opens with the wood smoke wafting from the braziers along with spices like cumin and coriander. There is a raw animal accord throughout the middle part of the development. All around this are the incense and labdanum peeking in and out. Mastic provides the foundation for Mystra to end on.

 

Marrakech explores the shadows that invariably go with the light. Marrakech is of light notes like bergamot, neroli, cardamom, and jasmine. All of these are in oil form and so they add an intensity to Marrakech. The shadows are provided by clove, patchouli, and rose.  If Mystra is the spice market, Marrakech is the silk trade, more refined but still the scents of an open-air market waft throughout the development.

Mystra and Marrakech have unusually low longevity and slightly below average sillage. The Aesop website says to apply these fragrances liberally. I’m not sure that is a great idea because both of these fragrances in abundance would be difficult for even someone like me who likes the unusual. Better to wear your normal application and top it up over the course of the day.

After hearing about both of these fragrances neither disappointed. They are unusual but in different ways. I could wish they last longer but there might be others who will be happy with a short experience with both of these fragrances. These are not fragrances for everyone but for those of you, like me, who like their fragrances a little bizarre and dark both of these fragrances will delight you.

Disclosure: This review was based on samples purchased from Luckyscent.

–Mark Behnke, Managing Editor