D'Orsay, Mystère, 'Mystery', Leather, 25 ml. or 0.85 oz. Flacon, Parfum Extrait, 1925, 1940, Paris, France ..

The perfume house of Parfums d'Orsay is a truly aristocratic perfume line from France. The philosophy of the house is based on quality, understatement, character, seduction, praise, creativity and originality. They are very proud of their long tradition and heritage.

Although the house never belonged to the Count d'Orsay himself, his perfumes and the romantic air of his name gave birth to the Compagnie Francaise des Parfums d'Orsay, founded in 1908 with the goal to preserve the Count's perfume heritage and develop an aristocratic luxury perfume house on its basis. Many of the perfumes developed in this great perfume house were designed for men.

Launched in 1925, Mystère d'Orsay parfum for men (or women) is a fabulous warm fragrance which is aromatic, boozy and has a hint of powdery amber A truly stunning scent and hard to find since it has not been in production for many decades. Mystère d'Orsay perfume is as mysterious as the name suggests. It is at the same time floral, leathery, ambery, smoky, balsamic, resinous, pungent, and tangy. It classifies as a leathery chypre.

Top notes are Bergamot and Ginger
Middle notes are Cinnamon, Rose, and Geranium
Base notes are Patchouli, Oak Moss, Amber, Vanilla, Spices, Sandalwood, and Leather

"The opening is quite gentle, a fleeting hint of a flowery note, and then a very nice amber - the later is the core backbone and defining component of this scent. It is a fairly bright, light and slightly sweet amber, that is beautifully made of top-quality ingredients. The second half sees an occasional moment where the amber turns into a slightly more leathery experience, like a fresh, soft Italian leather wallet that new on the shop shelves, but the Amber takes over again quickly to reassert its role as the dominant note in this composition.

The sillage is moderate, the projection adequate and I get five hours of longevity on my skin. This is lovely on autumn days, and unusual even for an illustrious house like D'Orsay, but on the other hand D'Orsay itself is unusual as a perfume house." Basenotes Review, R. Baker

Offered here is a sweet little flacon of the lovely perfume in a charming bottle. It has been opened, but only lightly used. Still smells wonderful. Possibly made for men, but lovely on women who enjoy a little leather in their perfumes. Still intoxicatingly sweet too. Very rare, and increasingly hard to find .. possibly from the 1940's ..