Mousse de Chêne - Oakmoss

The best oakmoss fragrance. Bought a bottle of the body lotion many, many years ago at a TJ Maxx on clearance...I think $7. This was before I had ever heard of eBay or even owned a computer. I loved this lotion and used it only sparingly. The night I met my, now, husband, he kept sniffing me and telling me how much he loved that scent. At the time, he was in the Army, freshly divorced and his "beauty" routine consisted of Irish Spring soap, any cheap shampoo he could get his hands on (he was paying big child support), Gilette shave cream and that was about it. He said to me, "I would wear that!!!!!" Cut to years later, on our wedding day (yes, years later...we were friends for many years before I agreed to go out with him...he really wasn't my type), I gifted him a bottle of this in cologne form. He used that in a flash! 21 years later, we fight over the one bottle we possess as it is rather hard to come by. This stuff is that good. It can entice you a mate, prompt a marriage proposal and keep you married for many years. Much better and less costly than online dating and marriage counseling. Wink!

This fragrance was love at first sniff for me, and my husband. I love how Outremer makes these simple fragrances that are beautiful on their own, but still play well together. I layered this with their Vanille today, and I could not stop sniffing my wrist! Mousse de Chene is a gorgeous, earthy, green, scent that feels beautifully light, yet still grounding. Perfection. And it's freakin' $22.

My vintage eau de toilette doesn't carry nearly as much citrus as other reviewers seem to be getting here – just a light arc of bergamot hazing over the opening. Nor do I get any lavender or coumarin at all, so I definitely am not on board with the claims here of fougere structure. In fact, a distinct labdanum accord in the drydown places this squarely in the chypre category for me. I do get a lot of woods – mostly something in the cedar area – some tastefully light musk, and perhaps even a hint of patchouli to keep things herbal and woody well into the drydown. Great stuff, and very reasonably priced. I've layered it successfully in the past to amp up oakmoss in marred chypre reformulations, something I'm otherwise loathe to practice.

As several folks have mentioned below, Mousse de Chene is more of a citrus fragrance than oakmoss. It has a very non-sweet citrus note like you find in Vince Camuto Femme and Guerlain Eau des Fleurs de Cedrat -- simultaneously very refreshing, unisex, and sophisticated. Since I'm typically more of a floral fan, it's probably not one I'll reach for much, but it is kind of beautiful, if austere.

Smells like oakmoss, as advertised. I have the perfume extract, not the EdT, so it doesn't project as much as a spray would, but it's nice and fresh and earthy. I'm going to let it macerate for a few weeks to see what happens but I'm looking forward to wearing it as fall progresses!