Moss Cologne

I already had my antenna up for this kind of scent profile after I saw an advertisement for an "Oak Moss Cologne" in a vintage September 1969 issue of GQ Magazine. Doesn’t say the brand, only that it "...is available at Abercrombie & Fitch stores". That fragrance of course is long gone, but then seeing Moss Cologne in Bortnikoff's current catalog really got me excited, so I ordered a decant to test wear. The citrus-oak moss-champaca opening is simply beautiful, and its full-bottle worthy to me for that alone. Its got a classic vintage vibe, which seems to be a part of Bortnikoff's house DNA, based on my limited exposure to the brand. Throughout, the oakmoss imparts a musty facet, but a pleasant one that is part of the semi-sweet citrus-champaca melange. Really nice, like the most pleasant smelling sweet musty attic imaginable. I was wondering how and why a moss-centered fragrance manifested as light and bright instead of the powerful, intense, earthy vintage moss fragrance DNA's I was used to, so I queried an AI engine for fun. "The moss note in Bortnikoff Moss Cologne smells light because the fragrance is built as a bright, translucent citrus chypre rather than a heavy, dank forest floor. Dmitry Bortnikoff counterbalances the natural oakmoss absolute with a massive, effervescent opening of sweet orange, grapefruit, bergamot, and lemon, alongside sparkling natural ambergris and radiant champaca floral notes." So thats why. Its built go be a bright, translucent citrus chypre, and not heavy and dank. Its light and dank. On test blotter, the white floral indoles were quite prominent, but on skin the indolic facet thankfully didn't manifest. I wish the citrus persisted with the oak moss for much longer. Doesn't Litsea Cubeba enable citrus accords to appear to be more longlived? Maybe using something like that would have helped as that unbelievably beautiful citrus-moss opening melange subsided quickly, and the earthy and woody accords ascended. But its all very nice, although the performance is not good overall, and I'm not even a "Performance Bro". I kept refreshing my sprays to keep that opening melange active. The florals are actually quite subdued. I read the Fragrantica article that included Moss Cologne, and it mentioned the "overripe" fruits (citrus). I have a bottle of the vintage Dior Diorella, which is often characterized as having an overripe fruity accord, so I sprayed it on blotter to compare. I noticed the similarity in those "overripe" fruits, and mossy accords, although the two scents diverge significantly. I have a clone of Tom Ford Moss Breches and so know something of its scent profile, and can say it is not similar to Moss Cologne at all. Breches is much less wearable, more abstract and artistic, with its honey and moss accords. I don't have a Bortnikoff full bottle, but Moss Cologne is worthy, although imperfect. And the bottle design of Bortnikoff is beautiful. Of the Bortnikoff's I've tried, this one and Amber Cologne are worthy. The other few I've tried were not executed very well imo, so maybe there is something to the above review about the perfumer "trying to hard" and compositions being "unbalanced". I believe the perfumer is not formally trained, correct? Update: I have a full bottle now. But wearing it after about 15 sprays, the performance is barely a whisper. Also, an old vintage Avon fragrance released in 1950, and worn by my Grandmother, reminds me of Moss Cologne: To a Wild Rose. Update: I wear Moss Cologne and Avon To a Wild Rose (released in 1950) as a combo now. And both have grown on me even more. They are both now in my "Favorites Collection" as a pair, a collection of the top 50 frags in my overall Collection of 400+ fragrances.

The opening is a gorgeous combination of citrus and woody oakmoss that has some floral notes peeking out, too. As others have stated, this falls off in 15-30 minutes and you're left with a linear mossy scent. So, how much you love this will be directly proportional to how much you love old school moss notes in scent. I tried this one and Rogue's Mousse Illuminee side-by-side as I (in my mind) sort of lumped them together. They, I guess, share a genre but are pretty different. Moss Cologne has a dated but much lighter and more moss-oriented body. Green, smooth, classy. I actually find it really well-blended and perfect for older men who want a scent that harkens back to days of past but with a slightly modern (smoother, less screechy, and better blended) technique. Longevity and projection are average on my skin: 4-6 hours. Probably good enough for much of a day at the office, whenever those might be again, with the ability to apply something else for the bar/date night after work if you gotta. I'd say it's definitely NOT a compliment getter for most men. My wife thought it smelled animalic and like a bathroom. If you've smelled the urine note in vintage Kouros, you can imagine a bit of that here, too. 7.75/10 for me. Just barely misses the 8.0 that I tend to draw as the "buy a bottle" line in the sand.

This is a gorgeous citrus oak moss and floral fragrance. I find it leans male. So the sample that my kind friend gave me is going to my husband. But it will be wonderful on him. The oak Moss here is of the highest quality. I'm surprised they got it past IFRA quite frankly. This fragrance smells Very natural. The floral notes are quite tame here You get a little bit of the champaca a little bit of the violet leaf a little bit of the Jasmine. I love the nutmeg in here It adds a nice spicy warmth. Very natural high quality materials here. I'm very impressed. Just upgraded it to a love. But it means male in my opinion. If you miss oak Moss this is a really good oak moss fragrance. This reminds me of like a masculine Mitsuko. But it's less earthy. And of course it lacks the dominant peach note. Personally I think this would be a good masculine counterpart to Hiram Greens Shangri-La.

A wonderful and unique chypre. It opens up with a beautiful citrus combination supported by floral notes that give the opening a slight bubblegum nuance.The opening is absolutely stunning overall and sets things up for the remainder of the journey. Almost immediately the earthy oakmoss becomes apparent and it is the oakmoss the remains the central theme of the fragrance as the top notes start to taper off.The drydown is slightly sweet with added woody elements and again the oakmoss shines through. Masterfully blended with good longevity and moderate projection, this one will be a hit.

To me this feels like a better version of Chypre du Nord, which feels too heavy handed and cloying. This one is just delightful. I think it's the only Bortnikoff I've smelled with a violet leaf note and it's a wonderful rendition of that note. It swirls between champaca and violet leaf, with the creamy oakmoss grounding it and the nutmeg giving it some warmth. The citruses in the opening are the usual grand Bortnikoff glittery fanfare, goes without saying really.