Dans Tes Bras Frederic Malle

 

DtB was an instant love for me but I can see how this could be a polarizing, love it or hate it scent. But to me, it smells  comfortable and makes me feel very cozy.

The name is very fitting and translates to “In your arms”. And it does feel like a hug. But not a sexy, lustful hug. Way more platonic, though it could be a hug between a romantic couple. It could just as easily be a baby in mothers arms hug too, though.  It’s a grateful hug, affectionate, and loving. It’s a hug from a soldier finally home from being away for a year. He could be embracing his wife or he could be hugging his mother or his kids, either way, he’s thankful to the core to be home.

DtB is more of a skinscent although I do catch wafts of it here and there. It’s soapy but not necessasarily clean. But there is something about it that smells like skin that I can only attrubute to the cashmeran and musk. Overall, it’s a fairly light powdery, softly woody, floral and not super synthetic smelling.

Although the projection is low the sillage is nice and it lasts all day.  It’s not offensive by any means, though it has mixed reviews. It’s genuine and unique for sure.

I just have a small decant for now that I got at Saks to test but this IS on my FB want list.  It’s very different and gentle and I love it.  It makes me feel calm and safe. Just like a warm embrace.

Season: All

Notes: Heliotrope, Jasmin, Woodsy Notes, Pine Tree, Cashmeran, Sandlewood, Musk, Incense

Encens Mythique Guerlain

 

I received a sample of this about a year ago from a purchase I made through a Fragrantica swap and wasn’t very crazy about it when I tired it for the first time. I ended up forwarding the sample to another friend and didn’t think much of it. I can’t fully remember what it was exactly that I didn’t much care for but I remember thinking it smelled kind of like burning plastic.

But for some reason this frag kept hitting me in the face. Everytime I’d get online to look up reviews there would be references to this perfume or this collection somehow. It was as if it were calling my name lol.

All other reviews I read raved and wrote about how soft and amazing this perfume was. Nothing like what I’d experienced from that tester. So I determined that the tester I had must’ve been off somehow, or old, or had gotten overheated. It DID come through a swap afterall and no telling what it’d been through before it came into my possession.  But it very well could just be my nose too. It seems to change a bit over time lol.  

Being a perfume enthusiast, I knew from everything I’ve read and learned that I really couldn’t go wrong purchasing this frag, or the entire collection for that matter, since if I ended up not liking it, I could still sell it easily for what I paid for it or evenly swap it for something of equal caliber. So I took the plunge. I went online to Saks and ordered the entire 3 bottle collection.

I can’t lie, I was pretty nervous about ordering them since is was a pretty big deal for me, getting all 3 at once.  This was me really going off the deep end. I crossed my fingers and prayed I wouldn’t end up with buyers remorse lol 😣

Anyways, 2 days later I received my package and my suspicions were confirmed. This fragrance was everything everyone said it was and so very much more!! I instantly fell in love.

Encens Mythique is a sweet ambergris fragrance. It’s lightly smokey from the incense but not overpoweringly so.  It’s very lightly spiced from the pink pepper and saffron plus the hint of patchouli. I think the balance is perfect though and doesn’t come off dirty at all even though it’s not a clean fragrance either.  I tend not to wear animalics very well, especially musks, but in general they seem to read extra dirty on my skin. Joy by Jean Patou on my skin smells like I peed myself 2 days ago but smells like flowers on my friend, for example.

Not this one though.  This one’s different. I totally get the animalic vibe but it’s not offensive nor does it smell like something that oozed out of a mammels orafice 😂. It’s REALLY nice and smells wonderful and is very different. There is definitely a “wow factor” here. 
 
It’s very unisex, however leaning more towards the feminine as it’s fairly sweet but not in the modern sense of sweetness in perfume. It’s sweet in the sense that L’huere Bleue is sweet. To use a very American description:  It’s very delicately sweetened, like English biscuits: just enough to be considered cookies and not crackers by Americans, if that makes any sense.

Although the projection isn’t extremely high with Encens Mythique, the longetivity is rather impressive. 2 sprays on my skin easily lasts 18-20 hours though a few extra spritz give a little more body and projection. The sillage is intoxicating.  I wore it to bed the first day and it was amazing how the next evening I could still catch wafts of it on my pillow.  It’s definitely got some “sticking” power.

This is by far my favorite frag from this collection and in my opinion, the easiest to wear. It’s a very cozy scent. When I put it on I just want to cuddle up with a warm fluffy blanket fresh out of the dryer, and read a good book. Or spritz on before going to bed and enjoy the wafts of this glorious scent as I drift in and out of dreams.

I think if I were to never purchase another perfume again, I’d die a happy woman with this one. It’s everything you could want in a perfume and more. It’s classy, sweet but not too sweet, slightly smokey, slightly woody, classic but modern, lasts forever, and would be appropriate for any occasion, any season imo.

This one has skyrocketed itself so effortlessly into my top 10. A must try for any fragrance lover. I know I am completely smitten with this perfume lol 😍😍😍(and not an ounce of buyers remorse😉)

Season: Winter/Fall but I think it’ll work well year ’round

Top notes: Aldehydes, Rose, Saffron

Heart notes: Pink Pepper, Vetiver, Patchouli

Base notes: Ambergris, Incense, Woody Notes