By Dane
I am one of the fortunate ones that has a Guerlain boutique in their city. Such a magical place...fragrances in every concentration, in-store exclusives, attractive staff...what more could you ask for? Knowing that stock of Mitsouko bottles are safe and close-by helps me sleep better at night (you don't have to say it...I know).
My first impressions of Mitsouko were not good ones. I'll admit, it's not an easy scent to love at first sniff. My reaction was, "cardboard???...has this gone bad?" Ah naivety. I knew there had to be something that I was missing, so I stuck with it. I tortured the poor ladies at that Guerlain boutique with my repeated visits...until the store manager finally quit! (I'm sure not because of me, but one can never be certain.)
The dusty, milky quality of Mitsouko makes it fascinating. Its peachy undertones with dry oakmoss and iris blur the lines between what is seen as masculine or feminine, and therein lies the genius. My first bottle of Mitsouko was a great buy on eBay...a vintage, sealed bottle of the extrait from a lovely lady in Hawaii. The extrait was really what made me fall in love. Lush, exotic and rich. I'm not sure how old my bottle is, but I know from smelling the current extrait that things have changed.
Upon hearing that Guerlain was (gasp) reformulating Mitsouko to comply with new European cosmetic regulations, I ran out and bought every bottle I could find. At that point, I was too late for the EDT, which had already been (somewhat brilliantly) altered by Edouard Flechier. As of my last visit (I limit them now), it was the only concentration that had been reworked. Although I have stocked up on the previous EDT formulation (thanks again to eBay), not all is lost with the new. Overall it is still recognizable and wonderful, only a strange bread-like note sits in the topnotes which threw me off at first, but tempered itself soon enough.
Almost 90 years later and still brilliant. Recommended for all the guys out there that are tired of the usual butch drone-scents.
Year: 1919
Perfumer: Jacques Guerlain
I am one of the fortunate ones that has a Guerlain boutique in their city. Such a magical place...fragrances in every concentration, in-store exclusives, attractive staff...what more could you ask for? Knowing that stock of Mitsouko bottles are safe and close-by helps me sleep better at night (you don't have to say it...I know).
My first impressions of Mitsouko were not good ones. I'll admit, it's not an easy scent to love at first sniff. My reaction was, "cardboard???...has this gone bad?" Ah naivety. I knew there had to be something that I was missing, so I stuck with it. I tortured the poor ladies at that Guerlain boutique with my repeated visits...until the store manager finally quit! (I'm sure not because of me, but one can never be certain.)
The dusty, milky quality of Mitsouko makes it fascinating. Its peachy undertones with dry oakmoss and iris blur the lines between what is seen as masculine or feminine, and therein lies the genius. My first bottle of Mitsouko was a great buy on eBay...a vintage, sealed bottle of the extrait from a lovely lady in Hawaii. The extrait was really what made me fall in love. Lush, exotic and rich. I'm not sure how old my bottle is, but I know from smelling the current extrait that things have changed.
Upon hearing that Guerlain was (gasp) reformulating Mitsouko to comply with new European cosmetic regulations, I ran out and bought every bottle I could find. At that point, I was too late for the EDT, which had already been (somewhat brilliantly) altered by Edouard Flechier. As of my last visit (I limit them now), it was the only concentration that had been reworked. Although I have stocked up on the previous EDT formulation (thanks again to eBay), not all is lost with the new. Overall it is still recognizable and wonderful, only a strange bread-like note sits in the topnotes which threw me off at first, but tempered itself soon enough.
Almost 90 years later and still brilliant. Recommended for all the guys out there that are tired of the usual butch drone-scents.
Year: 1919
Perfumer: Jacques Guerlain
Notes: Bergamot, Peach, Jasmine, May Rose, Spices, Oak Moss, Vetiver, Wood
