Beauty Care: Initio Mystic Experience Perfume Review

Initio Mystic Experience Eau de Parfum opens with sweet, mixed red fruits that became more like bitter, black coffee mixed with equally dark powdered cocoa, though there was a musky quality (possibly with a hint of amber initially) that made it less photorealistic than that description might sound. The addition of sandalwood as the amber and musk intensified led to a more animalic, somewhat fruity (but less red in quality) scent that dried down to a soft, slightly spiced and sweet, musky, woody blur.

Mystic Experience Notes

It is described as a “combination of musk and coffee.” The notes are listed as “coffee, musk, vanilla, and patchouli” by the brand, but retailers also listed sandalwood, amber, and oakmoss.

What does Mystic Experience Smell Like?

It was marked by sweet, red fruits in its first 30 seconds, which were slowly steeped in black coffee with a dusting of dark, bitter cocoa. It was no longer so fruity and was darker, deeper, and headier with a very rounded body that wasn’t a photorealistic coffee scent (which isn’t a pro or a con, merely trying to set the stage) that has a warm, nutty coffee kissed by a mix of amber and musk, slightly sweet and musky without being terribly animalic or powdery (where musk tends to go to my nose).

The sandalwood crept in, adding a smooth, woody facet underneath the amber, musk, and vanilla (with a dab of coffee more amorphous in the background) after a half hour of development on my skin. The remainder of the scent’s wear was more linear with the amber and musk taking turns on which was more prominent (musk wins out eventually), whether it was woodier, slightly spiced and golden in its sweetness or a little more animalic and musky (though never strongly animalic).

The musk took over after two hours, and it was sweet, more animalic, though not pungent, with a touch of abstract fruitiness over a smooth, woody base with vanilla warmth. From the second through the sixth hour, Mystic Experience was largely linear. It remained a sweeter musk with an overripened, fruity quality paired that sweetened with vanilla and had a slightly drier, woody base in the drydown.

Longevity

It lasted for three hours until it was a skin-scent and about 12 hours before it was quite difficult to detect on my skin. The sillage and projection were on the lighter side, though it was detectable close-up for much longer than I anticipated.

Personal Notes

It was a less assertive, smoother and more blended–not necessarily in a good or bad way, simply more diffused and less distinct in its note structure–to Black Afgano by Nasomotto. It was a pleasant scent, probably not something that was enough of a draw to buy, but the lack of longevity was the biggest deal-breaker for me personally, especially against the price ponit.

These are more subjective feelings based on what I like (or don’t like) in a perfume as well as considering the fragrance against other perfumes I own and love.

Testing Methodology

For testing, I used 1/3 of a 0.7ml sample vial dabbed to the underside and topside of my wrist area. I used an unscented moisturizer prior to applying the scent as I found scent did not hold well here otherwise.

I purchased my sample in January 2022; fragrances are known to be reformulated over their lifetime, so be mindful of when a review was made, e.g. a review from 2010 may not reflect what the same-named perfume smells like in 2022.

Availability

Mystic Experience is available for $300/90ml.

If possible, I highly recommend trying a fragrance before purchasing a full bottle because fragrance can wear differently just because of skin chemistry. Skin chemistry can effect not just the longevity of a fragrance but also what notes are prominent or hidden.

Mystic Experience Samples

We recommend the following retailers for purchasing decanted samples (typically 0.7ml to 2ml in size). This is a fuller list, so individual availability may depend on inventory.