Mythological Scene, with a Warrior Addressing a Lady Outside a Classical Mansion, Two Maidens Riding Unicorns Behind

[Little Bird]

Florentine orris butter, red sandalwood, white patchouli, leather accord, and ambrette musk with a drifting eddy of King mandarin, wild bergamot, bourbon vanilla, and gold-limned saffron.

Mythological Scene reminds me of a lot of the Phoenix anniversary blends at first, in that it has a warm, glowing feel underneath darker notes. In the drydown, it reminds me a bit of Morocco.
The red sandalwood is prominent, giving off a warm, almost incensey woods note, with the mandarin giving it a sweet, citrus brightness. The patchouli and leather add a dark, earthy hint, but that's barely there on my skin, and I have to really search for the leather, especially in the drydown.

 

In the drydown, this is mostly vanilla and sandalwood on me, with the orris giving it a plush, powdery softness. Woody, warm, red sandalwood and creamy vanilla with a hint of powdery orris. I smell a soft, white, suede-like leather every once in a while, but mostly this is a soft vanilla-sandalwood.

[LiberAmoris]

Mythological Scene smells regal. Wet, the orris butter, red sandalwood, and mandarin are the most prominent notes, with the patch and leather close behind. The ambrette musk comes out as this starts drying down, and gives it a rawer edge that works well against the elegant orris. The bergamot, bourbon vanilla, and saffron are tougher for me to pick out, although they seem responsible for the red-orange-gold glow imparted to the sandalwood and musk. Once it's fully dry, I catch bits of the saffron for sure.

 

This is totally beautiful and so difficult to describe. It's like something outdoorsy—warm woods and musk—up against something refined—orris and leather—burnished with something bright and gourmand—saffron, vanilla, and mandarin. I'm going to love wearing this now, and also in the fall.

[sprout]

I can't pick out the individual notes, this melds together very well. The leather is polished but the support notes keep it from becoming harsh or Uber masculine. The drydown is like lying on a bed of warm leaves in the forest, on a leather jacket with errant sunbeams piercing the canopy. The citrus is well behaved and gives that late afternoon warmth when the rays of the last sun are long and suffuse the forest with a warm Golden glow. It is indeed buttery but not foodie, woody, leathery, warm and slightly sweet with a glowing nutty and musky finish. This never became powdery but it has a soft Golden glow like many Amber blends do. I'd swear there was oudh here but perhaps that is the ambrette and leather together giving a incense without the smoke or fire feel.

 

If you were hoping for vanilla, I can't pick it out but as I said, this is fairly seamless. It lasted longer than most.

 

Can you tell I'm already plotting an additional bottle?

Edited August 20, 2016 by sprout

[zankoku_zen]

Red sandalwood, leather, orris, patchouli and musk. Okay, I amped up everything I was hoping I wouldn't. I was hoping more for a mandarin, vanilla, saffron and sandalwood blend. It's a very golden blend though, but I get a good bit of patchouli and leather on the drydown. Very medieval. Great throw and wear length.

[Convallaria]

The mandarin in the opening reminds me a little of Shade - it's almost like there is a champagne note in there too. It soon morphs into orris butter (very butter-y), then saffron-spiced vanilla. Patchouli is behaving, staying put as a stage prop rather than actor, which suits me fine. Leather isn't too strong either. The drydown is mostly musk. Despite the ecclectic ingredients, the scent as a whole is surprisingly mild. Maybe a bit too mild on me.

[VetchVesper]

This is all kinds of beautiful. In the imp, the mix of red sandalwood and patchouli reminds me of Anne Bonny, b/once it hits my skin the other notes start to emerge and it becomes it's own thing. I get the king mandarin. It's very orangey b/not citrusy/sharp. The way it blends w/the orris is really interesting and adds a soft sweetness to the mix. As Mythological Scene dries, I become more aware of the bourbon vanilla, b/ it's still very much a part of the whole. This scent morphs through different stages b/ in the end the notes blend seamlessly creating a soft, powdery, warm sandalwood incense that's just lovely. I think this will age beautifully too. Of all of the round 1 unicorn scents, this and Crucifixion are the only two I'm considering bottles of.

Edited August 30, 2016 by VetchVesper

[Casablanca]

When first applied, Mythological Scene's orris butter note is most prominent on me, blended with a sweetness maybe from the vanilla, a nutty ambrette musk, bergamot, and mandarin. But the King mandarin here has none of the bitter green nip that it had on my skin in Asp Viper.

 

This is complex and soft, with a vibe of ancient-world aristocratic luxury. The red sandalwood feels to me like a lightly grainy wooden edge, framing the scene.

 

I start to smell the patchouli as this dries and, just barely, the leather. The patch smells pale and a little earthy-powdery -- although the powder might be its blending with the orris. It's kind of like an earth bleached and dried almost to talcum dust. I can smell saffron now, too, and I think it's contributing to this impression. I like the way the saffron works with this patch.

 

There's nothing outdoorsy or wild about this blend to me. It makes me think of subdued daylight on the dusty, pale streets of an aristocratic part of an ancient city. For no reason that I know of, it makes me think of ancient Rome.

 

It's not very me, but I'm enjoying it, and I'm curious how it'll age.

[Balame]

I don't know what's going on with this blend! It sounded beautiful from the description, but when I wear it all I get is the barest whisper of leather and a vague ambrette musk.

 

That is IT.

 

No vanilla, no mandarin, no patch, no orris, no saffron. Honestly, it's pleasant, but absolutely boring.

I would've had zero idea there were any other notes in this blend aside from leather/ambrette had I not known otherwise.

 

Normally I'd say my skin must've ate them, but all the notes listed normally show up on me just fine.

So, I have no idea. Had high hopes for this one but it's just a soft, basic leathery musk on me. Oh well.

[Aviatrix]

This actually reminds me a little of the Shunga Embracing Komachi, only in a heavier, earthier version. Not that they have a ton of notes in common, but the overall vibe reminds me of that.

I am getting a LOT of orris from this + a kind of leather I can't quite put my finger on. It doesn't smell like any of the other BPAL leathers I have tried, so it's rather interesting. There is also a hint of patchouli, but not much, so if you - like me! - usually can't do patchouli, this might still be an option!

I am not getting any of the citrus notes at all.

 

I'm not really sure what to think of this, actually. It is nice, but it's as if there is simply too much going on, you know? I'm not sure I would ever wear it myself.

[JTobias]

While I realize vetiver is not a note in this blend, I must say on me this is a sexy sexy dark vetiver; it's quite reminiscent of Laura Belle McDaniel; it lasted about three hrs pretty strong, then died to a soft dark patch and faded.

[rawgirl75]

I must have an odd nose. In the bottle, it really strongly reminded me of another bpal I used to own (I really popular one who's name I've forgotten). And on my skin, it reminds me of a combination of Velvet Tiger and maybe Question Mark. I don't get any orris or leather.

 

Was not what I was expecting, and sadly not my cup of tea.

Edited December 25, 2016 by rawgirl75

[gloame]

I think I may cry because, wet, this is a cream dream of soft leather and sandalwood, and my heart was bursting with love. But then it dried down and there is a sour tang, almost like rotted cheese. But maybe I'm imagining it. I hope I'm imagining it. I will try again tomorrow and see if I get the same thing. Prayer circle for me.

 

 

ETA ... I got the same thing. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to let this one go.

Edited December 28, 2016 by gloame

[doomsday_disco]

I didn't have hopes for this going in with orris being the first ingredient listed, and I was right to be wary. It's a powder bomb on me with the orris being the prominent note throughout wear and some sandalwood and leather being thrown into the orris powderfest. My skin just would not let awesome things like the citrus and vanilla notes to peek out.