Mousse de Chene 30 Amsterdam

I tested it on paper and on skin yesterday and found Mousse de Chene having the same vibe and some similarities with two other fragrances by Le Labo, namely Baie Rose 26 and Ylang 49. Mousse de Chene opened with aromatic, spicy and light greenish floral notes. As the fragrance starting to settle, the Patchouli like Clearwood note dominated giving the fragrance a soft, clean and airy Patchouli nuance. Very quickly the rosy sparkly Baie Rose (pink pepper) joined in and stayed as an airy Rose/Patchouli for a little while until some warmer light spicy notes appeared. The synthetic Evernyl, crystal moss, note was there but IMHO not strong enough to make this fragrance merit the name Mousse de Chene (Oakmoss). The dry down was warm, somewhat earthy and spicy with a lingering sheer woody character. Although the scent seemed to be sort of soft and transparent, it did travel quite far and one spray on the back of my hand allowed me to smell it for a few hours while walking around on the street and having dinner in a very spacious restaurant. The price for this fragrance, as a matter of fact all the city exclusive fragrances, is crazily expensive. Although I really like it, how could I not like a fragrance that reminded me of my most favourite Baie Rose 26, I really need to calm down and think about it. Luckily it would not be available for sale in Hong Kong until September. I still have over a month to make my decision to see whether it should be part of my fragrance wardrobe.

August 16, 2023. It's funny. Certain things don't matter anymore. I thought this was important. But now my dog is dead and suddenly I don't care about whether or not the Amsterdam city exclusive is worth the money. Because it's not. And we all know that. I guess we like to come here and pretend we are all experts. And our opinion actually means something. But, opinion only matters when you have the fundamentals in your life. For me, one of those fundamentals was the companionship of my dog Bubba. No it is not fun anymore. If given a choice, 100 out of 100 times, all of us would choose our beloved animals over anything purchasable on this entire website. So why am I here? I suppose writing this review is a kind of cathartic experience. Mousse de Chene 30 is providing a therapeutic environment for me to relax and calm myself and for that I am grateful. The fragrance itself is very herbaceous and brings you closer to the earth. I am also grateful to be wearing it tonight during this process. Perhaps it has just shown me it's value as I write down these words.

I have an older bottle, I don't know if the formula has changed. I don't get the Amsterdam connection but this is a modern oakmoss perfume and doesn't smell old school. It's got 4 different types of oakmoss, 2 natural and 2 synthetic. Finally a scent where oakmoss is at the center stage and not just a background player. I remember vintage frags (pre IFRA) and although this doesn't scratch that itch, it does satisfy in general. This opens sharp and almost jarring. Oakmoss is the main player with patchouli,bay leaves and woods. It's not harsh like oakmoss can be sometimes. It's very smooth after the initial jolt winds down. I'm wearing it right now and loving it. It's also strong and I feel like if I was to go too heavy on the sprays it I might smell like Ajax. Not for people that don't like Longevity is around 8+ hrs. Scent 10/10 Performance 7.5/10 Update: Le Labo SA told me it reflects Amsterdam as being old and traditional (oakmoss), while also being progressive (formula is a more modern interpretation of classics) which I guess makes sense.

I like this fragrance a lot. A very fresh, wet green opening, which settles to provide a nice warm comforting blanket of a perfume. I get the moss, patchouli and a faint whiff of pepper. I got good projection on my windy walk to work and, after four hours at my desk, I still get pleasant occasional whiffs. This seems very versatile. I'm wearing it on a very hot day and could imagine wearing it any time of year. My absolute favourite fragrance is Patchouli 24 and I am desperate to find a hot day equivalent, this really might be it, despite the price ... I do confess I'm not wholly convinced by the sillage or longevity, if I can get another three hours, I'll be satisfied, but I am half inclined to put it down to a poor spray on the test vial. Update: A full eight hours and I still get the occasional reminder as to what I'm wearing. The patchouli is definitely still there, the pepper and moss have gone, but there is something slightly sweet that remains. Similar longevity to Musc 25 and Vanille 44, but probably slightly better projection.

Mousse de Chêne translated to english is oak moss. So, you'd expect oak moss to be the primary note... seems logical. No, this is Le Labo, and if you're at all familiar with this brand each perfume is centered around a note as 'inspiration' not always the main note of the composition. The heart note of this composition is patchouli. Oak moss is there but the first and most lingering note is a soft, slightly sweet patchouli floating in a cloud of soft, slightly sweet oak moss with a hint of soapy (maybe aldehydes?), musky woodsy note that is a bit powdery in effect. This is a light fluffy fragrance, and not at all the spicy, dark, chocolate patchouli, and heavy woods you might expect reading the notes here. Sillage and longevity is medium to strong. I really like this one a lot, and it's a high quality scent. I don't get any sharp edges, or chemical mess - it's very smooth, and dry down is gorgeous. Highly recommend getting a sample during Le Labo's once a year release of their city exclusives online.