Mitsouko Extract

Luca Turin is the guy who got me into Mitsouko, so for all his dismissive, acrid prose of things he does not enjoy (a couple of which I love), I thank him for putting a name to a Proustian childhood memory that in adulthood, isn’t simply a recalling of something comforting (like 4711 cologne) but really has taken on new hues of appreciation as my experience of perfume grows. My first sampling of Mitsouko was at a Guerlain concession in a department store in Singapore where ai live. By and by all guerlain concessions here do not even carry Mitsouko in any concentration, which is baffling. But along one wall of a sort of display vanity counter compete with parlour chairs, quite separate from the main ‘salable’ merchandise, there was a row of squarish testers or extrait quality, very unassuming-looking. I reached out for it and the shop lady (who prior to this had told me they did not carry Mitsouko nor did they have a tester, and who seemed confused when I asked her if Spiriteuse Double Vanille was a linear scent, like seriously how do you work for Guerlain and not know basic perfume terminology) actually hurried up to me and wanted to discourage me from spraying it, saying it had been there a Long time and it may have ‘turned’ and that it was just for display (which is ridiculously akin to a restaurant putting out plastic replicas of food it does not intend to serve). I just smiled and sprayed with abandon, hoping to empty out half the bottle before her desperate eyes (actually just three or four sprays) and smiled and said not to worry, my skin is not that precious. I was at once greeted by a delicious bracing aroma of mulled wine with a symphony of clove,cinnamon and star anise, like Christmas had come early. At first I saw some similarities to Nobile 1942’s Rudis in the tangibility of the fruit. This I understood to be that famous synthetic peach accord much talked about, but to me it isn’t so much about replicating fresh peaches as it is about the condensed, heavier flavour of preserved plum blossom fruits (from the same Prunus genus as peaches) locally known as ‘sng bueh’, particularly the totally desiccated variety that resemble mummified dates. In a way that association is perhaps more allied with Mitsouko as I imagine plum blossoms, with their gnarled trunks so often depicted in Chinese brush paintings in vast swathes of rich black ink In direct opposition to the tiny white flowers which bloom in the depths of winter and symbolise the approach of an as yet unseen or unfelt spring, to be the darker, more resilient Sisters of the gayer pink cherry blossom. So two months on (and many subsequent sprays at the same Guerlain store later), I decided to buckle down and purchase a bottle of Mitsouko, and I looked on eBay to see if I could find some good vintages for decent prices. I finally settled on a 7.5ml ‘parapluie’ bottle in its lovely original box with the Marly horse logo, slightly trepidatious that at approximately half a century old, it really might have ‘turned’, or at least the fresh tangy fruity notes would have entirely gone by now. Well at leas the box is gorgeous and I’m a sucker for packaging... It just arrived and I am astounded to say, the scent is exactly as I remembered it from the shop, with no diminution of the fresh top or heart notes. One hour in and the fruitiness is still blazing ahead with gusto, backed by a wonderful wall of lipstick and spices that really surrounds you like a luxurious little panelled antechamber, plush and soundproof, except for the scintillating ping of that peach note that tinkles like a distant yet bright wind chime at irregular intervals; that to me is the real joy of wearing Mitsouko. The box depicts a sort of chinoiserie interpretation of a coromandel screen done in a gilded Boulle style on burled wood, and that really is the perfect imagery for the scent:a French fantasy of all the visually heavier aspects of Japanese aesthetics so counterpoint to western notions of femininity - the pungent black maki-e lacquerware, the slightly ominous and angular hairdos of the Edo period, the flattened busts and heavy platform geta clogs, and the coromandel screens themselves. It’s that resinous lacquer-like quality that really separates this from any other fruity fragrance and lends it real gravitas while, I assume, preserving those peaches in such perfect form for so many years.

For today I consider myself to be one of the luckiest men on the planet because I get the pleasure of visiting an old friend and one of the most beautiful friends I have ever known, Mitsouko. Not only do I get to visit with her, on my left arm is the extrait and on the right is the EdP. What a truly wonderful day. Now, for the EdP, as with the extrait, I must first say that I believe Guerlain to be making a huge mistake with Mitsouko. Why is this marketed as a women's perfume? How terribly unfair to us fellows out there. I think this makes an excellent masculine fragrance - well, an excellent unisex scent to be fully honest. If Guerlain simply said this, it would give thousands of men permission to try it and I suspect that most of them would fall in love with it. What might hold Guerlain - and many thousands of men - back from this simple yet life-changing perspective is the floral and fruity middle. Up top you have Guerlain's classic shimmering and powdery bergamot. Guerlain uses this all of the time, including in their masculines, so there's point number one. Then you get to the middle, a beautifully evocative and soft expression of jasmine, rose, peach, and ylang-ylang. This part does smell decidedly feminine but to Jacques Guerlain's genius he didn't make it a full-on sugary syrupy flower and fruit bomb; it's subtle, it's gentle, it's a beautiful tissue paper rather than a thick crinkly and loud wrapping paper. For the relaxed, understated and suave gentleman this would work very well. Finally, at the base, are equally tissue-paper like notes of spicy woods, oakmoss, and vetiver - classic masculine accords. So, we have a masculine template top and base, and a more feminine but wearable-by-all middle; two out of three makes this plausibly masculine in my book. But, however, I am and will very much admit that my argument is reductive. The EdP on my right arm is not as good as the extrait on my left arm, but few things have ever existed that are as beautiful as Guerlain's Mitsouko extrait, so I will not make this unfair comparison. They are basically the same, except that the extrait is richer and lasts longer (no surprise). Mitsouko transcends gender, time and place, and everything we currently think perfumes should be (especially in these modern times). This is beige satin porcelain in a bottle, and beige satin porcelain suits all genders and tastes. It is quiet, refined and gentle, yet stunningly beautiful; a very modest but room-lighting smile through the kindest of eyes, like Mona Lisa's if it were put on the most beautiful and legendary of geishas. This is a perfume everyone who likes perfume, or more so than that, should smell at least once in their life. I would like to say everyone should wear it at least once in their life but that might be a bit too much of an infringement on freedoms. Many perfume critics, experts, creative directors, and perfumers consider Mitsouko to be the greatest perfume of all time. I don't know that I could ever develop a sufficient enough argument to say otherwise, nor would I ever feel the need to try.

Oh with shock and sadness I see the reviewer before me saying that vintage bottles purchased smell no good. I'm weighing in because Vintage Mitsouko is my utter holy grail, my lifelong obsession, my perfect perfume. It's so divine that I guess sadly there are fakes. I can even pick the golden brown aura of the colour, and I do know being in the visual arts world that just about anything can be faked. I've bought many bottles of vintage Mitz, maybe I've cornered the market, sorry....I used to wonder sometimes where they all came from😄. Butttttt.... it depends upon what you call vintage and how you hunt for it. My vintage bottles purchased from Japan and Taiwan and even Hong Kong, from only E bay because I'm a rural Australian, are all genuine, up to about five years ago, because I finally decided I had to get a grip....if I have any fakes, they are so damn good that I'd buy them again...[I know they aren't fakes because of five decades of Mitsouko}. What I'm trying to say here is that genuine vintage Mitz has been in my experience bombproof. It doesn't really have top notes of any consequence. I got a bottle of current, about 6-8 yrs ago_ reformulated post-ifra stuff for comparisons sake, and while nice enough it just isn't in the same universe. Have I already explained how I used to tuck empty extract bottles into my undies drawer? Soooo, this really begs the question of why the hell don't they produce vintage Mitsouko any more? Everyone, well a few hundred of us, wants it. It smells heavenly. It's allegedly IFRA the bad guy, but maybe they are really too scared to give us the real stuff instead of 'vetivering' it. Meanwhile Guerlain, part of LVMH, can also just firehose dozens of new addition fumes a month onto the shelves, and produce 'limited edition' fumes with apparently a hundred bottles. I'm ranting because I also love modern trendy 'fumes. I love many of the Maison Diors, the T Fs, the SLS. Adore the cultish Delina and the peach beauties Good Girl Gone Bad, Peche Cardinale, Cassini. LMVH, it's not a contest as to how you can rip $$$ off the consumers. (Actually sadly it is 🤨. ) Some of us want the really beautiful stuff. I want a real peach chypre Mitz, with maybe the tiniest lickable smear of overcooked sweet peach jam playing around the witches house while She has a yeast dough leavening, in a Baba Yaga haunted forest. And a pirate has come home with some overaged ambergris and magic mushrooms that glow. Wait lol I already have it! Actually I have to be real here, there is no peach candy in vintage Mitz. It's a perfect fuzzy ripe peach just plucked from the green leafy tree with pollution averse moss growing on its woody bark. Yet the Amber, the oak moss which I don't find dry and acerbic at all, is so sweet, so carnal and addictive. Obvs.

[800] Mitsouko is, in the truest sense of the word, an icon. The queen of chypres, and one of Guerlain's very best offerings, this century-old perfume is something special. While Coty Chypre predated Mitsouko by two years, pioneering (and eponymising) the chypre scent family, Mitsouko was an improvement on - if not a perfecting of - Coty's efforts and has also greatly outlived it. Quintessentially French in every sense but name, it is a rich, opulent beauty with a delicious oakmoss note in the base. I have a treasured extrait from the 1970s in a rosebud flacon, housed in the harvest box. While my 2012 EDP sample is a reasonably faithful rendering of this classic scent, it pales in comparison to my vintage extrait. Mitsouko opens with bergamot, the definitive start to a classic chypre accord. Orange is also evident, bright and fresh, followed closely by powdery florals. Iris is evident initially, a personal favourite, followed by rose and clean jasmine. Alongside the bergamot and balsamic base that develops slowly in the background, the Guerlinade accord is very much present. The inclusion of the peach note was a masterstroke in the creation of Mitsouko - it lifts and complements the chypre components to perfection, adding sweetness, brightness and softness to the rich, mossy base and dense, powdery florals. It has been copied many times, often extremely well, but Mitsouko is its original story. The balsamic amber accord that permeates this scent becomes more prominent as it dries down, punctuated by the rich oakmoss - truly one of the best notes in vintage perfumery. Warm, rich spices round it out, notably sweet cinnamon, and soft woody notes round out the mossy-amber base. Vetiver is a key player here, dry and grassy. The chypre accord is richly dense yet airy, not as inky-dark as in Givenchy III for example. The amber becomes more leathery as it progresses here - I get a labdanum note. It becomes musky as it fades, with soft spices and woody notes remaining until final fade. Sillage is moderate and longevity is long-lasting. Unisex by modern standards, Mitsouko is utterly timeless - versatile and wearable despite its veneer of vintage glamour. Oft-imitated, it has paved the way for many of my favourites (Estée Lauder Knowing, Jubilation 25 et al.). While the modern version (2012) isn't bad, it doesn't compare to this vintage beauty. I must try the modern extrait for comparison. A top-notch example of the genre, Mitsouko is a true classic. 5/5.

God I love chypres, and Mitsouko is first among them (shh, Coty) - it's one of several examples in perfumery where the art was perfected early on and later additions to the genre have had a hard time matching this (though many other lovely chypres do abound). I suppose if one's interested in the extrait, one ought to have already smelled the EDP and/or EDT, so I'll limit my comments to what makes the pure perfume special in my eyes. Guerlain uses its extraits both to present perfumes with higher total oil concentration (indeed, 2020 Mitsouko extrait leaves oily residue on my skin) and to use higher-quality materials to really give the perfume a classical sensuality. Despite this, extraits aren't always my favourite concentrations - I prefer Shalimar as an EDT, for example. Shalimar, however, is dominated by both affordable naturals (bergamot, mainly) and affordable synthetics (ethyl vanillin) so switching the rose and jasmine out for expensive versions doesn't make much difference. Mitsouko, by contrast, benefits hugely from high-quality, high concentration naturals because apart from its gamma undecalactone (the green, almost pregnant peach note, which is synthetic and therefore identical across concentrations) Mitsouko uses a complex floral bouquet, and both natural oakmoss and labdanum. This buffered complexity really lets it reap in the extrait version. Mitsouko extrait has a delectable floral mid, in which I can pick up an obvious rose which is much more subtle in the lighter concentrations. The extrait is also sweeter, unexpectedly, I'm assuming from an amped-up labdanum. Where the EDP is an image of the unripe peach, the pure perfume is like you've taken an axe to the peach tree, and a peach-scented amber is oozing out of the wound. It's remarkably resinous, and while still on the drier side of perfumery is more sap-like and less granular than the EDP. For people who like Mitsouko's peach, the pure perfume really is the next level and it's one of my all-time favourites from any house. Its one caveat is its longevity, which is not bad per se (around 6 hours) but isn't quite as good as it ought to be at this price. Nevertheless, this is the height of fine perfumery, it honestly doesn't get better than this, and it's WELL worth hunting one (or two!) of these bottles down if you can.

I need to be honest here. I know that Mitsouko is consider a classic in the Guerlain canon, and in perfume history as well. Ive tried so many versions - EDP, EDT, even vintage cologne, which was my favorite todate. The problem is that I don't like oakmoss. I can tolerate small amounts in a base note, but Mitsouko is a oakmoss beast! I gave it another try, with a different formulation and prior to all of the European restrictions started. It's the Extrait, and I finally get it. Yes, on first spritz, the familiar assault of oak moss is all I can smell. While it stays present throughout, gradually other notes begin to emerge, taming the moss. I begin to get a touch of cinnamon at first, followed by peach, and I develop a new appreciation for how well layered this is. Other spices begin to observe, and it evolves into something with an oriental element. On it goes, as the oakmoss, still present, recedes into the the base of the scent and other notes emerge that I cannot specifically identify, but add to the beauty. The longevity is pretty good, perhaps 6 to 8 hours on me, and as it blooms, the sillage is about arms length but more noticeable with movement. I am FINALLY impressed. I don't think I will ever be a big fan of chypres in general, though I own several that I enjoy. In this case, I think I am going to need a few more wearings to fully understand it. The allure seems so much more apparent in the Extrait, probably because the newer versions are sub par and seem to fade before the beautiful stuff begins to emerge. The cologne was a step up, but this version is the true masterpiece. I'm marking it as a love, primarily for the construction right now and the way it develops, but will take a few more wears before I acclimate my nose to the parfum as a whole. I am so happy that I didn't give up on Mitsouko. I think she has finally let me into her secrets.

My skin is hard to perfume, most fragrances smell harsh and sharp on it. Even Shalimar smells like pure citrus detergent without a single hint of vanilla. In my late teens, a friend introduced me to Mitsouko which was the perfect choice- smooth, warm and salty. I didn't wear anything else for 10 years. I loved the smell myself, but never got a single compliment. Instead, the boyfriends who weren't indifferend would ask, beg and plead with me to get me to stop using it. I would just continue, alternating eau de parfum with parfum. And then I stopped using it when I got pregnant. I kept a small bottle of vintage perfume to smell every other year at the most. Then I met a man who loved perfume on himself, and on women. But Mitsouko reminded him of his evil grandmother. A long search begun for something he could like, and I at least tolerate. The irony of it all was that at the right stage of unwash, his armpits smell exactly like Mitsouko, smooth, warm and salty. (I just caught a typo: Pitsouko, but I should start calling him that!) I would find something that worked for me, kind of, use it for a year, get bored, try to find something else. Now I have a number of ok ones ones I can alternate, but I kept searching for something to love. Lately the search intensified, there must be something else out there that's really really good! Mitsouko can't be the only one. And does it really smell that fantastic? Today I brought out my old bottle and yes, it does. Right from the application, no neew to wait for an acceptable drydown. Nothing else even comes close. I will stop looking for others and start ebaying for vintage...

TRADITIONAL CHYPRES 🍁 Amouage Jubilation XXV 2007 There is missing some main elements of Chypre scent here but it performs very similarly like Chypre anyway. This is soft and Ambery, very refined. The warmest of these all. 🍁 Guerlain Mitsouko 1919 Mossy and earthy, new epd is a little bit sharp while my new extrait is soft and more round, polished. I used to layer them to get the best from both. This new epd is the most dry of these ones. This extrait version of Mitsouko, even if it’s the most recent one, is mesmerizing, rich and intoxicating blend. It’s very different than edp where the beautiful sweetness from Peach is very faint and a deep, mellow, mossy base is just earthy and very dry. Extrait is so amazing and evocative definitely one of the best Chypres. I highly recommend that one, there is a huge difference between those concentrations. 🍁 Rochas Femme 1944 A little bit more fruity than others, beautiful Plum, Peach and Apricot brings a gentle sweetness. Feels smoky/earthy after the opening but not for long time. Performs darker on my husband’s skin than on mine. 🍁 Roja Parfums Diaghilev 2010 Very strong and majestic dark blend, a challenging to wear for many. This one definitely needs the right kind of clothes, otherwise you look and smell totally ridiculous. Sharp and spicy, leathery@and musky, the most masculine of these ones, actually there is nothing feminine in this. Thank you for reading, I hope my review was helpful. I would appreciate a lot if you want to follow me on IG and/or YouTube (English subtitles): @ninamariahperfumes It gives me a lot of motivation to write more. 🤗

Oh god, I was familiar with the current formulation of the EDP--and I love it--but my perfect perfume pen pal, Sarah, sent me a dabberful of the extrait (a vintage formulation from the '60s or '70s), and it's a revelation. I see why this has a cult following, and I see why Luca Turin wears it, and I just cannot believe how much more the peach accord comes out in this. It smells gorgeous and yet perfectly unisex. Not in the way of, say, Libre, with its traditionally feminine notes balanced against traditionally masculine ones, but unisex in the way of a Van Gogh painting, or a forest, or a sunrise. Just too beautiful to fit into any dumb human binary. I had to re-up a few hours later, like a desperate addict. My husband discerns something he called "an animalic funk" but also stipulated that he didn't dislike it. I think it's the combination of peach, cinnamon, and oakmoss, because those are the notes singing the loudest on my skin. I'm used to dry, almost medicinal chypres, and this one is lustrous and juicy. Like eating a cinnamon-sprinkled peach in a mossy courtyard, after the rain (a bit like "Après l'Ondée," with extra petrichor). There is certainly civet, but it just doesn't read as skanky to me (although I guess that could also account for my husband's "animalic" remark). I do feel more at home in my skin when I wear L'Heure Bleue, Nahéma, or Samsara, but maybe that's just because I haven't ever owned more than a small vial or dabber of Mitsouko. I sense it is the kind of fragrance you grow into, over time. I respect it too much to dabble with it!

For me, a lover of Mitsouko in EdT concentration, this parfum is fragrance heaven. Being so familiar with the EdT concentration, it is impossible to review the parfum concentration without comparing it to the EdT, but I will try. Mitsouko parfum has a beautiful, typical Guerlain citrus opening, that takes ages to develop. Musty citrus and soft floral notes take their time to get to know each other, supported by the tiniest hints of oak moss and spices. Slowly but surely the fragrance becomes deeper and a dark jasmin takes over, balanced by oak moss and wet, rooty vetiver. Flashes of ripe peach bring light in the darkness. Then spices, dry but smooth and dark, take center stage and dance with the jasmin. The fragrance stays like this for a long time and then becomes sensual oak moss, garnished with spices and vetiver and balanced by hints of smooth amber. And here is where is differs from the EdT (one comparisson is alowed I would say); the parfum is much smoother and darker, deeper also, with stronger base notes. The EdT is much more citrussy and lighter. It seems also thinner and has a somewhat "raspy" texture, created mainly by the cinnamon. Both are exquisite, but the parfum is simply divine. Mitsouko parfum has very low sillage, but is always there for the wearer to smell. Perfect elegance. PS: this review is for a very recent formulation of this parfum. I believe it's from 2014.

I’ve had one of those vintage 7.5 ml vials of this one for 5 years. There is something special about this one. It affects my day more profoundly than any other fragrance I own. There’s nothing like it. It stands out as extremely classy and comforting at the same time. It has this highly emotionally evocative quality that seems to affect not only me but others near me. I’ve had several people excitedly ask what I’m wearing with this one. It’s like if you hopped in a time machine and hung out with your grandmother when she was in the prime of her life. The idea of Diaghilev wearing this to Ballet Russes premiers makes perfect sense. Not dated at all or particularly vintage smelling, it’s categorically timeless. Theres a warmth that goes along with the peach & guerlainade that makes this special. I won’t belabor the point by trying to describe the scent in detail: it’s gorgeous. To me, the experience of wearing this is about as good as fragrance gets. It often finds its way onto ‘best fragrances of all time’ lists, taking 1st place frequently. Entirely justifiably so in my opinion. I’ve read the recent formulations are good, but I’ve never compared. Very good news if so. Not suitable for ‘scentmaxxing’ bros or those chasing the next flavor of the month. You have to carry yourself a certain way to wear this or else it’ll wear you! I don’t even wear it much despite loving it.

I was hoping to find an Areej le Doré Antiquity fragrance. Very hard to find. It has peach aldehydes and Oakmoss. So I sought after the Mitouko extrait. I just received the 2017 Mitouko edp as well. I have tried the current edt. The extrait is by far the best. It's resinous with labdanum and benzoin and a great oakmoss. The cinnamon and clove are most present. It smells like an old vintage Guerlain should. It also has a strong vanilla. I'm quite pleased with the edp that I'm wearing now. The peach is really nice in accord with tree moss and some warm spices, cinnamon and clove. I like the peach best in the edp. The edt was the most feminine and very thin. The florals dominate the peach accord and make it too feminine for me. I gave my edt away. The extrait and the edp are beautiful true chypres that are gender neutral. The extrait smells the most natural. The edp has more aroma chemicals, but is still blended so nicely. The extrait smells most vintage. Rating: 10/10. extrait 8/10 edp 7/10 edt God bless. Ephesians 2:4-6

Mitsouko: The Enigma of Chypre Elegance Perfumer:- Prominent presence of oakmoss absolute as its bed with a touch of civet, intertwines seamlessly with bright bergamot. Additionally, the inclusion of peach lactone (gamma undecalactone), a synthetic compound, provides a luscious, fruity dimension. This harmonious blend of natural and synthetic materials forever altered the chypre landscape, setting a benchmark for future compositions. The current batches of Parfum and EDP are much better than the batches I had tried from 2016-2018. The oakmoss substitute smells like Givco 214/3 in place of solely veramoss, which holds the damp, mossy texture of real oakmoss properly. Subtle hints of non-indolic jasmine exist which I fail to detect on batches from 16-18. Peach and the vibrant citruses up top are more realistic than the vintages I had tested(1981 [ext], 1992 [ext], 1997 [edt]). Overall, in the hands of Wasser, the reference chypre has been preserved in its best possible state, even after 104 years! Vintage >= Modern

I purchased the 2013 reformulation of this by Thierry Wasser. My only other comparison for this is a vintage eau de parfum version. The two versions are very different, but I love them both! The oakmoss in the 2013 extrait is not as strong as in the vintage, being a low atranol type, but it is still a clear note. What I do find very different from the vintage is that the vintage is much spicier with much more of a clove and cinnamon bite to it. Does not have the lasting power of the extrait. The extrait is plush, delicious peach and oakmoss, sensual and luscious. The kind of perfume you wear to bed for a lover. You wake up in the morning, and the scent is still there on your skin. What a novel delight in today's world of weak, skimpy scents! And thank goodness that Guerlain cared enough to try to restore the oakmoss to this beauty, even in a slightly weakened form. Now if only the IFRA and EU can be stopped from banning any forms of oakmoss in the future....What a tragedy.

As same with L’Heure Bleue Extract, I don't have to write anything about this masterpiece, but this is the best Chypre Fruity for me who loves the classical scent. Since Mitsouko, I've never taken the scent of Chypre perfume like strong women of early 20th century. Of course, I know that there were Chypre notes before Mitsouko and have heard that the scent has been changed the recipe during the 100 years for regulation of some materials. Though, after all, I always return to here (only the category of Chypre notes). It had included intertwined spices and Cinnamon, ripe peaches, jasmine of distinct outlines and powdery and classy oakmoss, so it was a dignified scent with a strong intention even in the amidst silence. Though, I feel she might pass away after it came her aniversary of almost 100th (or already). But I would never forget the scent at that time and also respect the efforts of the perfumer Mr. Thierry Wasser. Great perfume.

i reviewed my 1998 EDT recently (LOVE) and have an extrait mini... well, whatever vintage my beautiful teeny Guerlain bottle is...this lady has lost her spice, citrus, sweetness and her golden beauty isn't shining as it should. she sits sadly, surrounded by strong sharp oakmoss, which smells synthetic and bitter to me. Unless...this is old school oakmoss from a long ago vintage, which has a raspy sharpness to be expected, perhaps. but i did imagine the extrait to be smoother and deeper, yet have the same warmth and sunshine as my EDT. i hear the current formulation is very true to the original, despite the use of synthetic oakmoss. i do remember dabbing this and liking it very much, as it convinced me to bid for the EDT (yellow box) on eBay, which when it arrived...had never been sprayed and lasts at least 12 hours, with all those notes working in perfect harmony. this lasted about 4 hours and as expected, wears close to the skin.

Applying Mitsouko parfum is like a sacrament. There is perfume, and then there is this. It is the chypre perfected. It is a distillation of more than fragrant materials, but of human inspiration. Set aside any criticisms of Orientalism and we see that there is an earnest homage to ritual and culture, not a bastardization or objectification. The bergamot in my vintage bottle is still intact (what a blessing, it's such a part of Mitsouko), feeling like tea and filtered sunlight. The splendidly sharp, bittersweet peach here, far more prominent to that of the EDT and even EDP. There are tonal contrasts here between it and the florals in the heart. Then there is the enchantment of the oakmoss and labdanum-inflected woods buttressing Mitsouko, reminiscent of ripening fruits and fermenting autumn, crepuscular in mood. It's a rite of passage for the diehard perfume enthusiast.

This is just wonderful. I'm wearing it now on one wrist (gorgeously dainty little 15ml bottle from 1984) and the EDP (recent formulation) on the other. Wow. They are two totally different beasts. I thought the EDP was lovely, beautiful... 'nice', but now that I've smelled the vintage parfum I feel ruined. The EDP feels pale and hollow in comparison. The first 5-10 minutes feel quite similar, with the EDP feeling overall a bit brighter and sharper than the rich and earthy parfum.. but after about 15 minutes, the parfum just completely shape shifts and all of a sudden she's jammy and dense and spicy and so beautifully powdery. The EDP isn't revealing herself or unfolding in the way her older sister is. All I can say is, if you LOVE the EDP... just buy yourself a bottle of vintage parfum and hold on to her for dear life.

Last week, a sales lady forced me to try Mitsouko, and sprayed EDP on my wrist. Oh noooooo, how dare you....wait, ahh, this smells sooo good! She was right. After few days, I got a Parfum. In early 00s, I tried Mitsouko at random sales points. It was gorgeous, but something in it always caused bad reactions like headaches, sickness and fever. I gave up and said goodbye to Mitsouko... Maybe Thierry Wasser broke the curse. Current version doesn’t give me any bad reaction. It’s fresh and spicy. Topnote is like a deep breath in mountain, morning mist of deep woodland, or a Japanese garden that has a pond and mossy stones. And then, hot spicy cinamon lits a fire in my heart. It gives me ambivalent feelings, calmness & passion, coolness & fire... Is this Mitsouko’s forbidden love? Dangerously beautiful.

This review is from a vintage 80s or 90s sample. I had read enough to know to expect mossy and earthy but I was still surprised when I initially sprayed this onto my skin. It’s VERY mossy, VERY earthy. I wasn’t sure if I liked it at first, but as I kept getting wafts of this perfume, I started to notice my energy; my thoughts shifted to reminding me that I am a powerful woman, strong, and beautiful. This perfume conjured up almost witchy thoughts. I have never responded to a perfume in this manner. I’m still not totally in love with the scent, but I could see myself using this scent like a talisman when I’m feeling down or having self doubts. This perfume is special, and I’d definitely like to seek out more than this itty bitty little sample I had.