Mousse Illuminee

Mousse Illuminee is just so great! It is three dimensional. A whole ecosystem lives inside of this perfume. It is otherworldly and transportive. I imagine hiking in a pine forest. That balsamic piney, sappy, motor oily, sweet fragrant sensation you get from tearing off a piece of pine bark or pealing off the wiry leaves from an evergreen or a spruce is what’s in this fragrance. That is the opening: a rich sappy, spicy opening that just sends the nostrils wild and back onto the mountains into an old cabin. In the transition to the dry down of Mousse Illuminee we begin to experience a mentholated texture provided by the white flowers (usual suspects of menthol being jasmine and tuberose as I've discovered from other fragrances eg. Sultan Pasha's Vetiver Blanc) and laurel leaves. Spicy, fresh, rich and somewhat piercing. In my opinion not a "green" sensation more a "pale blue" like a Hall's Cough Drop. I think of natural eucalyptus oils or even Tiger Balm when it gets to this point but this fragrance then does something totally essential on top of this unique transition. It sweetens the menthol and camphors into something so frigging rich, approachable, attractive and modern. Menthol or camphor smells in fragrances are difficult for me to enjoy but in this fragrance it is addicting. The camphor and powdery qualities in this have so much richness that it practically becomes wearable Altoids or sugared Tiger Balm in the air. Fresh, delicious, cooling and clean. I’ve tested this on skin and it is so powerful with so much lift that I’ve sometimes just sprayed a napkin and left it on a desk to perfume a room. I absolutely adore this scent it is three dimensional, with performance that goes beyond expectations for an attractive and ultra-approachable scent profile. I have no complaints smelling like this for days. I would give this a perfect score but the sweetness makes this just a tad less mature than I would like it to smell. It feels comfortable and playful somewhat mass appealing as well which I appreciate and respect about this formula. A minor concern but if the sweetness was dialed down by 5% or 10% it would make my top favorite like Bon Monsieur. I believe the sweetness is how this scent acquires its modern feel as most scents of the past would usually have animalic, powdery, spicy or savory qualities in place of today’s fresh, soapy and sweet qualities. Believe it or not, something in Mousse Illuminee also reminds me of the dry-down of my first fragrance Myrurgia Yacht Man Red or by association Dunhill Desire Red probably because of the spicy and woodsy, soily qualities of those fragrances that smell like potpourri. 9.5/10

I am most fascinated with psychology - particularly, how the human mind handles anomalies. In this case, an independently-produced perfume, heavily based around natural ingredients seeks to pay homage to the essence of a bygone era. In this case, it is just as divisive as it is impressive. We need to first address the almost never ending misunderstanding here. This is NOT AN OAKMOSS FRAGRANCE. This is a fragrance based around TREEMOSS, artemisia, florals, and musk. Treemoss is distinct from oakmoss insofar as it is less powdery, more resinous, and overall "greener." I can understand how this leads to some disappointment for lovers of other oakmoss fragrances (New York Intense; Mitsouko; Eucris), expecting a more "refined" and "powdery" (French) olfactory experience. I'm sorry to say - you're looking in the wrong place. Critical thinking is important here. Is it reasonable to expect a lion to be anything but a lion? Or a swan anything but a swan? No. So why are so many people disappointed that this doesn't smell like something from Chanel or Guerlain? This is a perfume based heavily around volatile naturals and created by a self-taught independent perfumer, not some designer house with a legacy of hundreds of years. If you can find the humility and patience to think about it - this is an outstanding achievement. Mousse Illuminee is purportedly a tribute to 80's powerhouse fragrances, and that's from the horse's mouth. But the freedom and love of an independent nose, a passionate hobbyist, imbues an incredible quality into this juice. You can certainly smell the love Manuel has for fragrances and that is something you don't often find in major houses, even niche. How would I describe the fragrance? It is almost as if you spilt a bottle of Green Irish Tweed in a forest cave (though MI is not at all derivative). The tenacity and sheer magnitude is admirable, but the creativity is impressive. The Frankincense note is simultaneously purifying and dirty (like earth.) The florals are smaller, but lend a great complexity and natural effervescence to the composition. The lush green of pine, treemoss, and laurel harmonize perfectly. This is a natural masterpiece - this thing is alive on you. If you love green fragrances and are willing to step outside of the traditional boundaries of fragrance into something organic and alive, this is for you. Even if you are intimidated by the criticisms here, this is something you need to smell at least once. I know, it will be in my collection for life.

If you get a little bored and tired of the mainstream fragrances I urge you to consider this product. I enjoy most genres of fragrance from general designer offerings right through to arty/niche creations. This is something different to both of the aforementioned. It's a throwback! It's an interpretation of times gone by but manages to feel a little edgy in the blah blah modern age we live in. If you enjoy classic barbershop/fougere scents this should hit the spot. If you enjoy something that feels special, this'll do the trick. Because of the quality of ingredients and masterful blending this offers something that'll powerfully standout amongst the ocean of gourmand, sweet and myriad of available fragrances on the high street/mall. It's clean, masculine and authoritative. This is for the man who is put together and knows what he likes. A guy who values and considers the opinions of others but will fulfill his objectives anyway and you'll thank him for it! 😆 Performance is good. Very noticeable for anyone within speaking distance for several hours.....and trust me, people will notice the individuality when you opt for this. It'll continue to waft about noticeably for another several after too, just a little more intimate by then. It's sillage will drift behind you gradually weakening over a full day but never disappearing until you shower. It's a stunning fragrance for men above the ages of 35 and of a mature mindset. Of course, who am I to say a Woman couldn't wear it! It's distinctive and something that any strong character could carry should they so desire. It'll work any season but I feel it's so distinctive and fresh that it works best for the daytime. I usually want something a little more serene of an evening to help me wind down, not energising me. But it'll definitely carry itself fine for a night out comfortably. I won't break down the scent as the info is here in abundance already. But I will say that the overall scent is reasonably linear which is a good thing for this potion. It's unique which in conjunction with real quality ingredients make this scent pungent and very noticeable. 4-5 sprays is probably enough for any sane person! What I can tell you for sure, this will be a regular for me from now on.👌 Listen, if you want something that will leave an impression, feel special, that offers something unique then this is a bullseye 🎯.

If you can imagine an 80s powerhouse feminine white floral perfume yet done for men with an equally loud helping of oakmoss, then you are on your way to understanding what Mousse Illuminee is like to wear. There is no such thing as conservatively wearing this perfume. It is big, bold, and tenacious but yet despite the obvious retro-lean, the heroic creative brief, and its gargantuan nature, it doesn’t collapse under its own gravitas. Cool herbal and woody bay leaves and artemisia open Moussse but immediately give way to carnations and jasmine that are taken to the max. It is plenty musky - there is another reason for this that we’ll get to in a second - dry and indolic, peppery, a touch citrusy and green, and very obviously white floral. There is a natural and very sound link to the green facet of the jasmine and the outsized oakmoss accord that burgeons around the florals. Mousse is seriously mossy. The damp, green, earthy, and woody moss is pitch-perfect and volume-equal to the florals, as if you are smelling a massive bouquet of moss, carnations, and jasmine, and it’s one of the best moss materials I’ve smelled in many years. Underneath this planetary sized heart is a bed of white soap musks of notable quality. They are certainly pushing the musky qualities of the heart forward with their own character while smelling slick, clean and floral soapy. Turning the musks from bright white to a more calming and elegant beige color are gentle tendrils of frankincense that provide breadth while naturally linking to the green and woody facets of the other accords. This is probably the first time a floral-leaning fougere has ever smelled operatic to my nose. Most fougeres are calm, soothing, clean, and restrained affairs for the dapper gentleman not wanting to announce himself too much, but Mousse is no choir boy, it’s Carreras or Pavarotti making sure the orchestra behind him is giving it their all lest he drown them out. Wear this one sparingly, it won’t take much - not unless you want Pavarotti right next to your head making your eardrums bleed. This is a stunner, literally and figuratively. If you are looking for a classic masculine fougere that leans floral, and it’s just “more” in every way, I don’t think there is anything out there that will scratch that itch like Mousse Illuminee.

I had been putting off getting this scent because of all the comparisons to Polo, that being my (long past) father in law’s signature scent. As long as I’ve known my wife, that is the one fragrance that she asked me to never wear. About a month ago I decided that I would finally try MI and went ahead and got the 30ml bottle with the expectation that I would rarely get to wear it. To my delight, while this does share similar characteristics with Polo, it doesn’t smell like Polo. My wife even commented on it, very elegantly, stating that I smelled like a “crunchy hippy”. Needless to say, it’s not her favorite scent, but it didn’t even faintly remind her of Polo. I’ve given this about 6 full day wearings now and I see why it’s so loved by those who’ve tried it or who own it. It opens up with a huge dose of that tree/oak moss that sticks around heavy for the first 2-3 hours of the fragrance. That’s also when it projects the most. After that it begins to settle into to the mix and the cedar and musk start to come through a lot more. It smells the closest to Polo on the dry down, but still different enough to have it’s own personality. All in all, I love this fragrance and I’m happy to have it in my collection. It’s definitely not a mass appealing scent by todays standards, however, in the right occasions this can shine. I can see this working in pretty much every season, although I wouldn’t wear it in the high summer heat. To me this gives off a classy/sophisticated aura and could easily be a signature scent for someone who presents themselves very put together. I get about 6 hours of solid projection, after that it creates a nice personal bubble. Becomes a skin scent around the 8-9 hour mark on me, but will still catch wafts of it when I heat up. So, to anyone that’s putting off trying this because of the comparisons to Polo, don’t. This definitely has its similarities, but it has its own personality. The same way that people compare “blue” fragrances, this is in the same wheelhouse has Polo. If you’ve read this far, get a sample and try it yourself. You just might find the next fragrance you love.