Mitsouko Eau de Toilette

All seasons. Any time of day. If you disagree, you have my sympathies in advance for the day AI takes your HR job. I've spent half a decade with my face pressed to the shop window, waiting to pull the trigger. I'm ecstatic over finally having crossed the threshold. It opens with a harsh double bell alarm of aldehydic bergamot that's bitter as a mouthful of pure alkaloids. Save yourself the post-shower splash of 4711 in the morning. This will wake you up plenty on its own. I know aldehydes aren't listed in the notes, but I hear aldehyde c-14 was used from the start to create the unique peach note, so there you are. And it definitely fizzes to a rolling boil in the opening, elevating the bergamot to an iron-knuckled backhand. In a good way, for those with the palate for vintage. As the peach and jasmine creep in, pulling some of the earthiness of the roots with them, the bergamot mellows into a sweet citrus-peach cold press that's reminiscent of the canned fruit cocktails with peach, grapefruit, mandarins, and utterly denatured maraschino cherries in light syrup. Don't misunderstand my description, however. There is nothing gourmand about the sweetness. From there, the spices strut through, giving the final transition from top to middle a brief but vivid presentation of a clove-studded orange floating in holiday punch. I was hoping to detect the rose and jasmine more distinctly, but my albeit limited experience with Guerlain's expert fragrance blending has taught me that hope might be a virtue, but expectations are foolish. As the heart of the fragrance develops and dries down, it becomes a sour-sweet, bright and earthy, green and creamy example of non-gourmand olfactory gastronomy reduced to perfection by a Michelin saucier. As you sweat, express skin oil, and cultivate body heat, this really shines, rising to a class exemplar of skin being the secret ingredient of a scent. I can't speak for every wearer, as body chemistry, diet, etc all play a part in a person's body odor but my personal experience is tending to suggest that the more a wearer smells like themselves, the better this will smell on rhem. I encourage anyone curious about this to load their hotter, high-moisture areas with a good dose. Armpits. The crooks of the elbows. This is a fantastic chypre, performing in the biologically specialized way I've come to expect from the genre. Especially from its classically feminine offerings. A prime example of what makes feminine chypres so typically unisex. A skin scent, not in terms of projection but rather in terms of its dependence on and conformity to the actual skin of the wearer. In this way, while I don't smell the "vaginal" quality distinctly, I do smell something that makes me understand what those who remark on that quality are talking about it. There's something fleshy and intimate about it, but not in a dirty, animalic way. If this comes from Mitsouko's zeal for the natural dermal personality of the user, I can definitely see that intimacy I'm smelling be a bit more distinct on at least some women. But that's hardly a bad thing. It's remarkable. I can easily see myself collecting every concentration or formulation I can sensibly get my paws on. Twelve out of ten Join or die

Mitsouko is a timeless masterpiece which tastes of earth, soil and spicy. Born more than a century ago as a woman fragrance, nowadays could be considered as fully unisex. It can be worn by everyone, everywhere, at anytime, as is true only for the real masterpieces. However, today, in a humid a cold end-of-autumn day, it enfolds more brightly than usual. Lasting time is excellent, more than 8hrs. Oakmoss, the main protagonist of this fragrance, has been strongly restricted, thus we cannot expect that new Mitsouko smells identical to the vintage version. Nevertheless, I think tha Guerlain and Wasser have done the best possible - and even more- with the legendaries line, and with Mitsouko in particular. The souls of these masterpieces still shine brightly.

My thoughts on the beautiful EDP (not the EDT) in this new bottle with the black-and-gold label, which Fragrantica doesn't have a page for yet: If it was good enough for Jean Harlow, Charlie Chaplin, Ingrid Bergman and Sergei Diaghilev, it's good enough for me. Somehow both historical and avant-garde, simultaneously sensuous and intellectual, it makes me want to be around myself. In other words, a stunning creation! -- but a lot of you already knew that.

It reminds me of Shalimar. I love the bergamot note, the peaches and the spices, which give it a powdery vibe. These are the notes I pick up most definitely. It is eau de parfum, though I see fragrantica labels it as EDT.

spicy johnson & johnsons baby lotion, in the bestest of ways

this is so effing beautiful! im out of words

A witch’s spice cabinet. Love it!

Juicy tart peaches and bright spices. The fragrance is crisp and sparkly. It would defiantly smell very elegant on well mannered woman from a noble family. It smells like old money. A woman who wears and behaves in a way that respects others because she knows they respect her for what she represents. I really like Mitsuko when smelled in the air. In close proximity it reminds me of hair spray for some reason especially at the first 30 mins then it sparkles. I think if you are a woman who is smart, well mannered, and dresses well, Mitsuko would definitely rhyme with your charisma.

Oh well, I expected to love this. Mitsouko EDP is my favorite thing on Earth to the point I hope I will be buried drenched in it. I’ve read so many reviews raving over and over about how the EDT is supposed to be sooo superior. However, there’s a citrusy harshness to this that detracts from the balmy amber base I enjoy so much in the EDP. I will stick by the side of my beloved EDP.

Mossy, spicy, dry, woody, intense, mature, and devoid of any sweetness. This is as far removed from modern female fragrances as you can get. Very blended, like all old Guerlains, meaning that I can’t really pick out many individual notes, as it smells more like “perfume mush” to me. I’ve never found Mitsouko “vaginal”, whatever that means, but there’s definitely something peculiar-smelling about it. I’d call it a musty, dusty, waxy, stale smell, like extremely old rancid soap. I barely noticed it before, but after I got a decant of the EDP version, I can’t ignore it anymore. I do not like the EDP; that musty and rancid smell is 5 times stronger in it, while here it’s still kinda manageable for me. I’ll have to demote Mitsouko EDT all the way from ‘love’ to ‘okay’. It’s still an interesting scent, but trying the EDP ruined it for me.

It's funny, I had a vague but pleasant memory of Mitsouko being a spicy perfume. But when I smelled it recently, I didn't really like it because the spices have almost completely disappeared. I smelled a woody, earthy rose, barely tinged with spices and paradoxically - since there was a reformulation - old-fashioned. The cinnamon, now completely evaporated, used to embellish this perfume, making it beautiful, warm, sensual. Without it, Mitsouko is dull, pale, cold. In short, I'm almost disappointed to have smelled it again. I should have kept my memory intact. It is now tainted, trampled on and I almost wonder if it was ever real or if it is my mind which, over the years, has beautified Mitsouko. Sad.

the recent neutering of perfumes by European regulators means my days of wearing eaux de toilette are mostly over, and Mitsouko EDT is a perfect example of this. i did give her another chance in a higher concentration — after being intrigued here by her antique-shop eccentricity yet disappointed by her vanishing act. AND that was a success. def recommend the eau de parfum over this. performance is so weak here. musical accompaniment: “Bachelorette” by Tori Amos /current edt

Unfortunately the pyramid isn't real. This is a little sweet, classic old fashioned chypre fruity smell with aldehydes, oakmoss ("roots" or "undergrowth notes"...lol), cinnamon, nutmeg, vetiver and few peaches.

definitely for an older person, smells very old, just old. reminds me of my grandma and what i imagine perfume used to smell like in the early 20th century. would never wear this. I expected something mossy (which i usually like) but i just got grandma/grandpa citrus. great sillage!!

This is a complicated scent in a forest setting somewhere but I have a complicated chemistry and this one drys down terribly on me. I think I might like it on a man but this forest feeling has some screech owls hissing in the background on my arm. Can't do it.

I blind bought this based off “amazing” reviews. The notes looked safe so I went for it. This smells NOTHING like the notes. This smells like powdery elderly person. Mind you, I’m older myself in my 40’s. My grandmother wouldn’t have even worn this. Maybe my great grandmother or great great grandmother. Luckily I didn’t spend too much on this. I’ll be donating it to the local senior center.

I was really excited to try it it ́s one of those classics I ́ve heard so much about and it's the perfume Catherine Deneuve wears on belle de jour but I hated it there ́s nothing earthy or spicy about it to my nose I just smell a really waxy rancid lipstick

Everything LadyIva said below. So spot on, and my only difference in opinion is that I'm missing the peach of the vintage juice. Wasser has done a fantastic job with the Legendaires line, and this latest version of Mitsouko is so much better than other recent edps and edts I've tried (just realized how middle-aged I've become when "recent" means within the last couple of DECADES. lol. ugh. Let's ignore that. Moving on!). Only the vintage mid-century cologne and extraits I currently own can beat it, although I find the vintages of any version of Mitsouko are highly volatile (so much more so than my vintage Shalimars), and the several bottles I own all smell very different from one another now, even the extraits. Yes, the peach is much more front forward in the vintages, but, sadly, that peach note also seems to become more 'off' with each passing year, veering toward rancid in some bottles. Boooo. This Legendaires version is much spicier and drier with less of that sweet, juicy peach. I actually like that original peach note and definitely prefer the original oakmoss, as well as something animalic in the dry down that the current formulation is lacking. There's gotta be civet in the vintage, right? I think I smell it now, even in the vintage cologne. Hah never really paid close attention to it before but I love it! I think the cumin has been enhanced in the current Legendaires version in an attempt to imitate that bit of raunch in the vintage that I love so much, thus adding to its spicier character along with the overdose of cinnamon. Hey, I'm not really complaining: I love cumin in fragrances. It's just not quite as nice as the vintage civet, and I'd prefer less cinnamon as well. Regardless, there's no denying that the Legendaires is excellent, particularly when one considers the current restrictions on perfumery. Okay, here I am over an hour later, the spice overload that smacked me in the face upon first spritz has calmed in the dry down (now the abundance of cinnamon is working for me. Certainly better than it ever has in Musc Ravageur), and the florals, "roots" and moss have been out to play for some time. Yeah, I love this one, even if it doesn't quite reach the perfection of the vintage cologne and extrait. It's pretty darn close! Time hasn't been kind to my vintage bottles, but at least I have this newer version of Mitsouko to enjoy alongside them. : )

Thierry Wasser has done a really good job reformulating Guerlain's oldies goldies for the 'legendary' collection. Not only are the old scents (based on many components that are nowadays banned or extinct) very nicely reconstructed, but the bottles are also very striking, and best of all, Guerlain has not been greedy and hiked up the prices beyond most people's reach. I think that offering these legendary masterpieces at relatively decent prices is a really good strategy, and I hope that it will encourage new generations of fragrance enthusiasts to familiarise themselves with these revamped gems. The newest version of Mitsouko is still as mysterious and exquisite as before, but with some new twists. The opening is quite murky, with that peculiar mixture of soil, incense, spices, and mosses, but then it evolves to reveal its floral heart, consisting of jasmine and rose. This particular jasmine is also used in the newest versions of Samsara (which is to die for!) and Jardins de Bagatelle. This incarnation of Mitsouko is completely unisex and, thankfully, stripped of the strong peach note that used to bother me in earlier versions. Performance-wise, Mitsouko is quite a beast; it leaped off my skin in a second and started projecting fantastically (literally filling a room). It stays on the skin for at least 7-8 hours, evolving all the time, from the initial smell of the moorland in autumn to the spicy finale.

I am utterly in awe of Guerlain and of in-house perfumer Thierry Wasser for taking such good care of a perfume that is over 100 years old. Mitsouko takes you on a time-travelling journey. I am so grateful to be able to buy a freshly-made bottle of it in 2022. Mitsouko is autumnal, grown-up, complex, and as her Japanese name suggests- mysterious. She reminds me of film noirs from the 1930’s, like Marlene Dietrich & Anna May Wong in Shanghai Express. I need to be in a pensive and nostalgic mood for her; desiring to please myself more than others. I recently bought this new version so that I don’t finish my vintage extrait too quickly. ♥♥♥

Weird to smell this after wearing dhiegelev for weeks. I mean it’s actually like 90%+ the same. Making a dupe but instead more expensive is something. Anyways, I found this markedly more “thin” and airy than Rojas take with less peach, more Vetiver,and overall less baroque and more light feminine vibe. I think this is really nice because dhigelev can get almost suffocating at times, and mitsuoko doesn’t have the stale cigarette smoke soaked velvet curtain thing going on either. It’s really gorgeous, will have to pick up a FB at some point

This is a beautiful, out of the normal design type perfume. Its a developed, rich, complex, ''old / vintage'' smell. The more you smell, the more spicier it gets, anis flower, cumin, clover... its warm and embraces you with this ''cloud and sillage'' of oriental vibes. I don't know why no one talked about it, but its a perfect version of classic Aramis, but a little bit more feminine, mellow. If you have Aramis (old formula) and this one, spray them side by side and you will be so surprised.

Well, I gotta say, this one is special. I travel a lot for work, and I've tried Mitsouko twice in the airport. And both of these times it was way too mossy and felt wrong. I got it recently, after spotting it in a nice price and gave it a full wear. The magic opened! It's beautiful! I understand the fragrance now. It speaks to me. It's a story in a bottle, folded beautifully over several hours and layers

My bottle of this 2021 version is on its way. However, has no one noticed that—at least on Guerlain’s USA website—this is Eau de Parfum, not EDT? Fragrantica has this wrong. The 2021 is EDP! From my online Guerlain receipt: LES LÉGENDAIRES Mitsouko - Eau de Parfum Spray 75 ML / 2.53 OZ Quantity : 1 $135.00 EDIT: Confirmed. Bottle received. It is Eau de Parfum.

I expected so much more from Mitsuoko. Maybe the formulation I have is missing the nuances of the original. There is no peach and minimal spice. Some stale moss and a lot of powder. I can tell there is something good in it, but it just doesn’t stand out. It is comforting in a familiar way, and well blended. But I would love more spice/earthy from it.

The cooldown is SPICY GRANDE... I get sheer smoke and spices all over after an hour in. Vetiver is really tough which makes it amusing and captivating. I get the bergamot as well with dust, some mild roses, and dark air. I am really being amused sniffing Guerlain blends, and those 2021 version are very interesting! they held quality. Beautiful.

@edgarasgeras I tested it in Paris a month ago and to me it smells as edt always did. But I didn't wear it properly, so can't tell much about its development hours after spraying. The pyramid above is certainly not representative of what's really in the fragrance.

Ok, so I finally was able to wear it couple of times and must say this incarnation is divine! I can now detect that wonderful note in it I could last smell in the Parfum de Toilette version from late eighties / early nineties. For that I love you Thierry!!!

I just love it. Younger people will hate it as it does not smell like „realistic fruits” nor does it smell like food. I’m wearing it right now. I blind bought ot because i love guerlain but i do not reccomend blind buying otherwise. 🧡🍑

A masterpiece. It is strongly related to Shalimar, however, the incense is definitely softer and rounder, leaving space to white florals and powdery notes to really shine. In my brightest dreams I see this worn by the man of my life.

Anyone, is this juice somehow different from the previous version in older style label bottle? I am wondering because the list of ingredients is different. Thanks

Even this new one is my love. If you wanna understand what "old fashioned chypre" means, this is a good example. An old fashioned peach chypre 🙂

mitsouko is THE spicy perfume. along with Shalimar. you simply have to smell it to understand its beauty.

Just to clarify for all. In Europe at least, there are both EDT and EDP versions in the new bottles.

I like this version of Mitsouko edt very much. Good ingredients. Perfect masculine.