Parfums Delrae Mythique: Perfume Review

In the last couple of years, iris perfumes have, in my humble opinion, over-saturated the market, turning the fairly precious ingredient into something ubiquitous and thus no longer exciting. Or maybe I simply never have been that much into iris, and after a couple (dozen) of releases I was done with the note. Mythique, Yann Vasnier's (not Michel Roudnitska's, thank you for correction!) new creation for DelRae revives my interest in all things orris. Inspired by the legendary courtesan Diane de Poitiers, the scent is a simultaneously playful and classic take on iris. If you wanted a raw, "natural"-smelling orris, this is probably not the scent for you. This is a perfumey iris, imaginatively adorned with other ingredients and gallantly stylized. Totally suited for a courtesan in a way that the earthy-streamlined-realistic Iris Pallida is not. I like the fresh, slightly sweet juiciness that citrus fruits in the top notes lend to iris, the note that fairly often tends to be quite dry. I love the rosy glow that peony puts on its ordinarily pale cheeks and the way jasmine highlights the sensual side of orris, a side not often enough brought up in iris perfumes. And I adore the way sandalwood, ambrette and patchouli create a leathery quality in the base of Mythique, giving its flirtaceous, vivaceous, girly femininity a dark, subversive depth. If Mythique had an ad campaign, it would be shot by Ellen Von Unwerth. If I had to compare Mythique to other iris scents, I would say that the rich, honeyed, again, perfumey way the note is interpreted here, made me think of the late and lameted L'Artisan Orchidee Blanche and Editions de Parfums Iris Poudre. Right now Mythique is available at First in Fragrance, €145.00, or Les Senteurs, £110.00 Image, obviously, is by Ellen Von Unwerth. Yes, I know that it is stylized for an epoch later than Poitiers's, but it fits my impression of the fragrance.