Reviews of Mitsouko (1919)
by Guerlain

I am lucky because I live in a world in which Mitsouko exists. I am lucky because Mitsouko likes my body chemistry. I want to put this marvel on a pedestal above the rest of my perfume wardrobe; to give it 6 stars instead of 5.

It is a perfume to be sampled on your skin - for an important reason - this is an old style fragrance that needs your skin as the final element of its composition (much more so than some of the created-to-be-fail-safe modern scents do).

For me, Mitsouko opens with a sparkling, mouth-watering bergamot and a hint of fruit (the fruit - like a peach that has been crystallised, dusted with vanilla, ground to a powder and sprinkled on top of the bergamot). This experience lasts just seconds, after which the fruit fades and the spices, nutty, papery, leathery and soothing powdery aromas come forth. This stage lasts at least an hour - then - the fruit returns, but this time it's covered in cream and caramel, accompanied by sexy woody notes and smoky green vetiver. This lasts for a good couple of hours; then fades to resins, wood and hint of powdery vanilla.

This composition and its development on my skin is interesting, sensual and wearable. My husband likes the smell very much and I like it on me too. It's one to wear when I want to feel comfortable in my skin, confident, sexy and grown-up feminine; without the sweeties.

I like the smell of books, old libraries, leather, pipe tobacco, spices, peaches, apricot, bergamot, jasmine and florals - and I don't care much for the overly "aquatic" aldehyde fragrances, or for the popular "melon" note. I also used to adore very sweet florals (Paris, Jardins de Bagatelle) and still happily wear the latter one of the two. Most of my everyday scents are fairly uncomplicated florals. This doesn't mean I can't also enjoy a walk on the Mitsouko side.

This is one to try and see; don't make up your mind until you've put some on your skin.

I'm giving this a qualified thumbs-up. On me, at least, this stays very close to the scent in the bottle - it doesn't morph much and it doesn't persist awfully well. The strange, disturbing note others have mentioned is, I think, nothing more than the overtly artificial scent of the synthetic peach scent. Very bright, without a lot of complexity. I don't notice much change from beginning to end - it settles down a bit but doesn't evolve much. When the aldehyde begins to fade, one is left with a fairly linear floral that really does smell like someone's grandmother. Mine.

That said, it is interesting, unusual, and well worth an occasional spritz when I want to play at being someone else for a while.

This review is under revision.

Mitsouko - meaning 'mystery' in Japanese - was the first of the chypre fragrances after the original 'Chypre' by Coty. Created by Jacques Guerlain in 1919, Mitsouko is still today recognized as the quintessential chypre, exemplary because its formula is short, simple and refined. It boasted the very first use of synthetic peach fragrance - aldehyde C14 - in a perfume, which harmonizes the lurid, dry chypre-base with a powdery, fleshy and luminous feel. 'The best perfume ever made', says perfume expert Luca Turin. The name was derived from the heroine Mitsouko of Claude Farrere's novel 'La Bataille' about the love affair between a British naval officer and the wife of a Japanese admiral. The fragrance itself can be said to live up to its name since it's extremely abstract: Its notes are some of the hardest to decipher among all the Guerlain perfumes. Mitsouko is in a different world than the flowery orientals, at least as strange as it is sensual, as peculiar as it is pretty, both violent and wonderful - some even call the scent 'disturbing'. Fans will die for it, while others are downright put off by it. Due to a bottle shortage after the First World War, Mitsouko shares its design with L'Heure Bleue, and it's said that the two identical bottles mark, respectively, the beginning and ending of World War I, like a parenthesis. Recent European health regulations have banned the use of oakmoss in perfumes and led to a reformulation of Mitsouko, leaving the new Mitsouko somewhat brighter and 'younger' - but no less enigmatic.

The first "women's" fragrance I've worn out of the house (Shalimar's probably next, not coincidentally also an older Guerlain) and without the slightest twinge of self-consciousness.

This juice can hang out with the guys and kick everyone's ass at pool, poker, insert stereotypically masculine pursuit of your choice here. And still remain to its core a sensitive and pensive soul. For those who've navigated a third path in life, effectively and intelligently splitting the difference between sensitive and scrappy.

Oh, and it's powerful, not to mention ineffably classy in a fascinatingly abstract and most un-obvious way...a mystery that never betrays a hint - but a goal well worth working toward.

If I had to choose only a one perfume to wear for a lifetime, that could be Mitsouko. It is such a unique and classy scent. It smells very nostalgic, yet not in an old-fashioned way. This perfume is able to recreate itself to harmonize with the spirit of all times. I would not try to define how this perfume smells, cause to me Mitsouko smells like Mitsouko and nothing else!
Everytime I wear this scent I get compliments. There is more than that: Once, a man overtly tried to sniff me!

i've tried the new formulation
and i found it far more pleasant that the old one
yet they are very close, the new one has lost this "frying oil" odor i got in the old one and found so displeasant ; it's maybe less earthy and mysterious, but still as deep, rich and complex and surely more wearable by men even if it's more floral
some will think a masterpiece has been massacred and some, as me, will think that a new masterpiece was born !

Mitsouko is new to my decant collection, and while I find it completely alluring and addictive after the first hour or so, I'm getting a strange opening that worries me in contemplating a full bottle. I get nuts...overwhelming nuts for a good hour. It does subside of course, but I find it rather disturbing. (No identifiable peach or citrus on my skin either.) The dry-down is magical...soft, sweet, faintly woody, and almost honeyed...but the nuts are hard to live through. I can't pinpoint what's causing the offending impression, and I'm hoping to try a decant from a different source to see if it's just my particular sample (which I'm crossing my fingers it is!) The closest cousin to Mitsouko in my closet seems to be Jo Malone's Nectarine and Honey, although worlds less sophisticated and interesting, but sans the nutty opening. I've been afraid of Mitsouko for so long, it's good to know it won't devour me, and is in fact an eloquent and warm hug on the skin. What an endearing scent!

I just went and bought the Parfum version of Mitsouki for a cool 100 euros but it is such a gorgeous smell it is worth it! The parfum version isn't hard to find in Europe...

Initially a bit too sickly sweet but v quickly settles into a lovely warm and gorgeous fragrance...

Mysterious, it definitely is and I love how it makes a very loud, and long lasting, voice to the current perfume trend.

This is a time where popular perfumes are usually by popular actors and artists and the smell are usually soft and very mainstream friendly. By the end of it all, people tend to smell the same!

That is why when I put this on and see the surprised look on my friends face, I knew this is one perfume to keep. Rich, often misunderstood and instinctively earthy, I'd wear this sparingly during the evening and anytime when I want to make a statement.

An extraordinarily exciting fragrance and decades ahead of its time--especially considering the many super-powdery spice bombs of "Mitsouko"'s era. It's a fresh, teasing scent that starts in a burst of Geisha femininity but ends with the power of modern androgyny.

"Mitsouko" opens as a sparkling nectar, with a subtle herbal tone and a dash of "plumminess"(the rose, peach and jasmine combo, perhaps?) that immediately gives it "Eastern Appeal"; although, there is also something of a brisk, Italian cologne effect to it. The Guerlain essence is more subtly evident in "Mitsouko" than in "Shalimar" or "L'Huere Bleu" but the seductive sweetness of the iris, tonka bean and vanilla combo makes an appearance and remains for the entire visit. Then, just as you're feeling a smooth sense of calm and tranquility, the real roller-coaster ride begins...

Suddenly you enter the "chypre" realm of "Mitsouko" and it's a huge rush of energy and silky leather---it pulses with a green, spicy sensuality that hints at the 1920's Western fascination with Eastern art and design; this is Louise Brooks in a green, red and black silk jacket...sipping champagne...eating strawberries and admiring the moonlight on an East U.S. Coast, dance hall veranda.

At first experience, "Mitsouko" might appear severe and overt, but don't let its passionate intensity decieve you; this is a playful, intellectual scent that pours on the charm and charisma. It's hard to dislike "Mitsouko" on account of its utter uniqueness and quirky eccentricity; all oddness considered, you just have to keep this one around because it's such an interesting dandy.

For anyone interested in trying Mitsouko, or sinking serious money into a bottle, I would ONLY recommend buying the edp (parfum so hard to find)! Anyone trying this beautiful poem in a bottle should stay clear away--clear away-- from the edt. You will only get sharp, sour whiffs.. I bought my first bottle of edt 10 years ago and quickly gave it away.

I just bought a large bottle of the edp, and I could swoon over this! This edp bottle is a TREASURE! : )

My absolute favorite fragrance, smelly dolly captured its sense very well; on me it dries quickly to a softly leathery-gentle floral with a peachy-woody-mossy undertone---I keep reapplying it as it is so intriguing to my nose. If it was a man, I'd marry it.

One of my favourites!! Fur (faux of course), open fireplaces, leather jackets, velvet skirts, satin blouses over sinful lingerie, expensive port, crowded bookcases, vases of lillies, sumptious furniture, good conversation. How do you feel? Sophisticated and wonderful. Pure warm sensuality!!!

Rich, complex, slightly heady.

Very nostalgic, and somewhat romantic.

I definitely get the peach, jasmine, rose, carnation, clove, mosses, vetiver, musk, vanilla and Guerlainade accords in this.

A beautiful fragrance.

Mitsouko smells like Mitsouko, very distinctive and memorable. It's a vintage-styled chypre but it still stands out form the rest. It is a bit musty and "old lady-like", but I don't mind that in the least. It's also less "dense" than other vintage chypres, with bright aldehydic/citrusy/soapy notes. I get the powdery bitterness of oakmoss and the juicy sourness of hardly ripe fruit, but most of all the notes just blend together into something very unique. I think my version is the detested reformulated edt, but I really like it and I might like other versions even more...

If you are new to fragances, you will not get impressed by Mitsouko if you only sniff the bottle or smell it from a paper. You must let this fragance be placed on your skin, to smell the beauty! - I neglected this masterpeace for almost a year, being a perfumeaddicted, because I just sniffed it from the bottle. But the first time I tried it on my skin, I immediatley realized this magicly beautyful fragance must have a place in my wardrobe of perfumes!

I have the EdT, and I don´t know if it is the new or old formula, but I love it! The other concentations I will have to find abroad, as they are not sold in my country...

A rich, complex, multifaceted, gorgeous, unparalleled masterpiece. This is what perfume should be. Having every concentration, I love them all. The extrait is sheer heaven, deep, warm, and luscious.

I too bought my first bottle on eBay and all subsequent ones, also having only read about it. When it arrived, I immediately sprayed it on my wrist. It was almost as though reality shifted. This perfume takes you somewhere else.

Magic.

Undoubtedly my favourite Guerlain.

I have gone insane over Mitsouko. I have the new EDT, which is great, but I had a small sample of the original formula and it was almost criminal in its beauty. The new bottle has a plastic top, which is sad.

Mitsouko for me today is a trip back into my past, when I marvelled at the look of the bottles in the department store and the bottle of extrait opened and held to my nose when I asked a kind and patient sales associate. All I remember was it smelling diffusive and thick, like velvet being wrapped around you over and over...not a bad thing, just too seductive for a kid who didn't even know what a paycheck was.

I managed to snag a small bottle of vintage extrait lately. JOY! The scent hadn't degraded, its beauty well preserved to present day. It definitely speaks of a romantic era and time, with an undercurrent of melancholy, a quiet despair. Its spiciness is what grabs me and seems prominent in this extrait. It's wonderful how the oakmoss isn't persistent, but creates a delicate base on which the floral and spice rest. It's the peach that creates that melancholy against what I consider to be a seductive and mysterious elixir. Indeed, it's wonderfully made, but all too nostalgic and profoundly expressive which I think makes many turn away from this scent.

Pretty? NO! Not for someone if you want to smell pretty. Powerful and expressive and rather dark/mysterious? A definite and resounding YES!! for me. This is Guerlain in its true form.

I just received my bottle of the EDT today. When I first put it on, it smelled like cooking brown rice and old books, which was something I did not notice when I first tried it out at the store. This was not a negative, however, as I love the smell of old books and will often duck into used bookstores just to sniff the air. As I wore it, the peach started to come out and the overall scent got warmer and a bit sweeter but not overly so. Now, it is about 12 hours after I first put it on, and I smell something like the woods in early spring before the flowers have really started to come out. I am glad to have Mitsouko in my collection.

It seems this fragrance evokes stories as well as descriptions. And so, since my opinion of the fragrance matches those of LoneFish and VintageVogue (August '05), I'll tell my story:

I came to Mitsouko through Inoui on a web search, strictly through their commonality of Japanese names. However, Inoui is a pungent yet subtle green, and Mitsouko is a complicated chypre: what was I getting myself into?

I took a HUGE chance by purchasing an older (and very large 3 to 4-ounce) full and sealed-with-cord Baccarat bottle of the EDP on eBay, before I'd even smelled the fragrance. Pure intuition.... as well as a lucky find, since there was only one other buyer, so the price was oh-so-sweet....

Received it in a lovely old beaded-cloth box where it had been stored away since-- when? Maybe the 60's, maybe longer.... Whoever owned it must have simply stashed it away and forgotten about it. I tried to open it, but it was sealed tight and wouldn't budge. Went to a local perfume shop, and the proprietor also attempted to unseal the stopper for 20 mintues with no success.

Meanwhile, I took a whiff of Mitsouko EDT he had on hand in his store: YIKES! How sharp that opening riff!! Quite disagreeable. Undaunted, I dabbed on a dot of it, and noticed how through the course of the next few hours it kept changing and changing....

Meanwhile, the mystery of the crystal container continued. I researched various methods of unstopping stuck glass stoppers, and realized that most of them wouldn't do, since they involved introducing foreign substances (oil, WD-40 -- gack!) into the process.... or potentially subjecting the perfume to extremes of hot and cold temperatures.

Finally, I hit on a solution: I wrapped the heart-shaped top of the stopper in a little bag of crushed ice, and after a few minutes I wound a thin strip of hot moist cloth around the neck only, keeping it away from the liquid below. Contracting the stopper, while at the same time expanding the neck: suddenly and sensuously, my hand turned the stopper, and the genie was released from the bottle.

Oh my -- yes, the EDP also starts sharp, but dries down quickly to mellow, and the fragrance is pure heaven on my skin -- it *becomes* my skin as if I'd become a saint profused with the "odor of sanctity."

Putting my wrist to my nose doesn't inform me; shortly after applying it, it's as if the perfume had disappeared. And yet the fragrance wafts up from the heat of my body through the course of the day in its own mysterious way. Wearing it, I feel deeply at peace with myself, in love in the very best way. Not proud or exultant, but in a Mona Lisa way. I drive a city bus in a large West Coast city, and I swear my passengers are affected by it when they come aboard -- it's always a peaceful mellow bus when I'm wearing Mitsouko.

By the way, I took the opened bottle back to the perfume shop, and the proprietor pronounced it pure and undegraded -- it's also one of his favorite fragrances, which sparked a lovely conversation between us.

The Baccarat bottle now rests upright, wrapped in cloth, and stored in a copper can in cool cellar darkness. I'd love to display it -- but the cargo is way too precious, and there's a lot of it. I'm decanting small amounts into a tiny amber vial for regular use. And I trust that my treasure will last a long time.

One of the best perfumes ever.
It's my favourite Guerlain fragrance, much better than L'Heure Bleue and so much more subtle than Shalimar.
My absolute favourite when it comes to seducing someone...I always have a bottle of pure perfume in my wardrobe.

This is one of my favorite! So beautiful & elegant. Made me feel so special & quite relaxing as well.

This is the Queen! It's a masterpiece as everyone knows. A fabulous classic creation that only Guerlain could have pulled off. Although it's not my all time favorite.....and I must be in the mood for Mitsouko.....I wear it and wonder why I don't wear it more often. It is a dream in the parfum and body cream. TIMELESS!!

The Baron de Charlus once composed an incantation for Mitsouko eau de toilette: "O mighty metamorphoses of variegated impressions, O subtle transmutations of delicate echoes in animalistic abysses, initial whispers of jacinth, tamarind and peaches retreating in smoke, O shifting shapes, ash on an old man's sleeve, the powdery, withered skin of the elderly Duchess, nefarious odours emanating from under the flaps of the crocodile's scales, the rich, overheated boudoir with the windows sealed shut, the Queen's laundry basket full of the smells of soiled and perfumed clothing, the haunted mansion on the hill lost in mist and time, disembodied voices of the dead recalling their memories of fleshly delights, the sweet, powdery smell of slow decay flitting over the pure and virginal skin of the young Princess, frail dawn cobwebs hanging in the sombre woods, somewhat nauseous waves of respectability, decadence, sex and death emanating from the pages of a Victorian novel.
Poetic? To be sure. Philosophical? To be sure. Wearable? Hmmm ... In terms of wearability, its final phase seems to me the best - when Mitsouko takes on the aroma of a warm, kindly, subtle second skin, both natural and elegant."

This was love at first sniff. I have been wearing it on and off since I was 16 and 27 years later I still wear it regularly. I personally have never been able to smell the peach note in it.

This is an intimate perfume, to be worn when seeing friends or lovers, not aquaintances. Take it out to dinner but not to a big party. Wear it at home when you are the elegant hostess, or home alone when you want to be your own best friend. Wear it when you want to feel rich and refined, just don't wear it when you're feeling depressed. The vetiver and spices give it a wistful note that can evoke memories.

Bliss on the right woman, absolutely dreadful on everyone else. Some men can get away with wearing it.

For some reason, this delightfully mysterious scent always reminded me of tincture of Valerian. ;) Even so, it is certainly distinctive, and for me nothing is more important than that.

I also find it to be one of the most "treacherous" fragrances there are. By that I mean that its reaction with an individual's skin tends to be even more unpredictable than usually. (Which is actually a good thing, at least in my book, but it does require a lot of patient testing.)

The spice! The dry peach! The soft mossy woods... It's all just too, too much. Love, love, love this one. For me, this scent is very modern, a skin scent that is sweet but not cloying in the least. It is also somehow dark, in the there's "more to you than meets the eye" sort of way. But do not fear, you can wear this one to work, on the weekends with jeans and a snuggly sweater , or all dressed up. I am wearing this in the fall. I can't say how well it would behave then it is 92 degrees in the shade and humid to boot. Also this review is for the EDP, which has good lasting power as well- a must for me to rate a perfume more than 3 stars. The EDT is insipid on me. The peach in it is sharp, synthetic in a bug spray-ish way. And over-all it is way more "perfumey" but also fades quickly.

A beautiful scent. Mitsouko has a definite presence on the skin. Maybe you're in a peach orchard, but it is an overcast day and you also have the woodsy, spicy, mossy smells of the earth. The peach does come up again later, warmed by a vanilla-like note.
An intense experience, a very refined fragrance, some memory you can't quite recapture. Purplebird 7 said it best-her review 0f Aug. 11, 06 is perfect.

The first time I wore Mitsouko all these 19th century Romantic (with a capital "R") images took over my mind. It was truly like a haunting. Strange, potent effect it had on me. I have a bottle of the edt. I rarely wear it, however - it's just not what I reach for on as all-round everyday fragrance, and everyday casual is pretty much what my life is all about. But I am in love with the old world quality of Mitsouko. It's makes me feel nostalgic, but for some other incarnation I think. It's spicy and peachy on me - it's a tough old leathery dried peach that still has in the center the slightest lingering odor of a summer long past, and the mustiness of old books and abandonment, and there's vanilla in there, too, which gives it a bit of lushness to balance the dryness and bring you back. It's just one of the most extraordinary fragrances.

I guess I'm not too good with differentiating peach and oakmoss, but the first thing that came into my mind when I smelled it for the first time is that it smells like a girl who has a really rich grandfather - a grandfather who sits in stuffed leather chairs and drinks brandy. It smells rich.

Alleysmom

How I looked forward to receiving my mini Mitsouko... and what a disturbing feeling it was to dab a tiny drop onto my hand, and realize I had suddenly released the genie of old ladies. Why? Is it it that my nose has no sense of sophistication? Does my mini *also* date from 1919? (If a perfume already smells of old lady, can the bottle itself go "old"? Will I wake up thirty years from now with a nose for this?) Once again--yet for the first time with a Guerlain scent--I am reminded of the half-dozen perfumes that my grandmother (god rest her soul) must have purchased when she was in her twenties, each which had that old-crusty-perfume-build-up around the edges of the bottle. One day my nose will recognize the "mystery" in this scent; until then, it will remain a lovely little mini bottle on my desk.

EDIT: Never let it be said that elderly ladies are transparent. Despite my prolonged negative response to this, I must admit that I find it terribly intriguing. I don't know if I'm convincing my nose to like it, or if my nose is convincing me that there is more going on here than I want to admit. Either way, Mitsouko has many stories left to tell...I think I might be ready to listen.

At first I thought she was too old for me (I'm 26). But I kept being drawn back to her. She grew on me, and now I love her.

I smell mostly moss on me, with a very little bit of dry peach. I love the moss. It smells earthy and natural. After awhile, it doesn't smell like perfume at all, just like a woman's skin. This is not for people who like bold, modern fragrances. It is for people who want to smell unique and mysterious.

Haunting and unique, captivating and beautiful beyond belief. This is no edible peach, but an aeromatic peach. Enveloped by musty spice and resinous, powdery woood. The scent wafts from the skin like a sigh, daring one to guess as to its origin. The mind wanders to a large, old house with high ceilings. A breeze blows from the peach orchard into the open windows of unlit rooms. Oh, the ecstasy and emotion contained within this little bottle. Cry, laugh. It doesn't matter. Buy it. Wear it always.

A bewitching one - takes a while to get to know her, to get her comfortable with you - or vice versa - but so worth the effort. The EdT has a light spaciousness; in the EdP formulation there is more emphasis on the peach notes; in the parfum, the oakmoss is deep, heavenly, nearly leathery. There is a sense of mystery in this one, an elusive quality that impels you further into the woods after something of rare beauty. The strength and integrity of the oakmoss, the beguiling softness of peach and the may rose heart - perfectly balanced.

Well, I didn't think I'd ever find a perfume with my favorite scent in all the world, kyara, but this is it! I'm hooked. I think this perfume has drug-like effects on me- I'm unreasonably happy when I smell it. It must the the kyara wood. I collect incense based on very old recipes and much of the incense from the Shogunate period of Japan contains kyara, a very refined form of aloeswood. This perfume dries down to the fully kyara scent and wow. It's worth any price in my opinion. Not daily wear, though- too rich and exotic.

I adore Mitsouko! Mitsouko is creamy fabulous peachy richness on me with lemony bergamot hints. It's sensual but still seems 'light' not overpowering. I bought the body cream too and it's an utter luxurious delight. I want to smush my face in it like a big bowl of ice cream. This scent is to die for.

I am not as well informed on the intricacies of fragrance composition as other reviewers therefore what follows is only my personal reaction to Mitsouko based on a few wears and a fair amount of time spent sniffing my wrist!
I have spent some time 'getting to know' this fragrance because it has puzzled me from the start. At first it smelled as though it belonged to another age, the Busby Berkeley 'Lullaby of Broadway' era, chinoiserie, fringed silk shawls, etc. I could imagine someone like Jean Harlow wearing this perfume on her way to a premiere. The style of the twenties/thirties holds no particular attraction for me. I kept going back to Mitsouko however because there was 'something' about it. It seems to be magically composed of countless particles of all the best smells in perfumerie. That is my clumsy way of trying to say that it is a chameleon among perfumes: everytime I smell Mitsouko I get something different and the overall impression it leaves is far more complex than the notes listed would suggest. To describe Mitsouko at the most basic level I'd say there was a beautifully light, yet pure, floral sweetness to it, underpinned by soft spices and warm woods: Mitsouko is a perfectly blended fragrance. I don't find it to be heavy, overtly sensual or animalistic. As Mitsouko's multi-faceted characteristics become more familiar to me it becomes more comfortable on my skin. I would say don't judge Mitsouko on first impressions if it is not to your liking. Take time to get to know it for yourself and perhaps your opinion will change.

I immediately fell in love with this one...it melded into my skin instantly, as if it was part of my own DNA. The blend of notes is smooth and refined. Most definitely a classic masterpiece by Guerlain! Although my olfactory was completely satisfied with Mitsouko, I don't feel it was an accurate expression of my personality. I will wear it on occasion, but not on an everyday basis.

Mitsouko is a sensual, voluptuous fragrance, like a dark, full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon. I like Misouko very much. Dear Hubbie does not, so I wear this when I want a perfume just for me. I like the very subtle mossy peach overtones on me. Also, I love to use this EDP to layer with other perfumes.

definitely one of the most sensual and misterious perfume in the frag world ,i simply love it everyday and everywhere ,i dont find it particularly feminine at all ,and i have to say that seldom i smell this on italian women that prefers horrible frags

Mitsouko is longed-for beauty; The Heart is a Loney Hunter by Carson McCullers...deep, emotional, provokative, earthy, and beautiful. I cannot imagine a perfume world without it.

I agree with RoseAmber. More than any other fragrance I wear, Mitsouko changes in character depending on my mood and chemistry -- but it always induces a vague sense of melancholy in me. Nonetheless, it is a beautifully constructed, classy scent -- not sweet, rather assertive and angular (melting down to a warm, woody accord), not for the immature or insecure. Puts the modern Guerlains to shame.

Mitsouko is a noir perfume, reminiscent of an angular woman with a marcel wave in her hair, wearing a black column evening dress and smoking through a long cigarette holder. This is not a modern fragrance, but it is a compelling one. It is deeply feminine but without the obviousness of a floral. Greta Garbo must have worn this.

Mitsouko is a wonderfully rich and classical Guerlain. The peach note balances it out perfectly, and makes this a bit more wearable than many other classic Guerlain fragrances. I’d recommend every man and woman try this. It’s surprisingly unisex.

The Parfum is the best of Mitsouko - a scent reminiscent of flesh, with animalic features, refined, not clean but dirty, but not repulsive - on the contrary - magnetising

I love to smell Mitsouko. I have a tiny parfum, and I take it out to sniff it every now and then. But I cannot wear Mitsouko. It's beautiful, but it creates a dark and withdrawn mood that I don't have time to deal with. Someday I want to take time to write poetry again, and then I'll actually wear Mitsouko and let it influence my thoughts. This is the fragrance of Changelings wandering in mossy forests at twilight. It takes you with it into its hauntings.

Mmmmm... How I love the soft, warm spicy peaches in this gentle chypre composition. When I wear it, I think of Sploosh, from the book and movie, "Holes." For those who missed it, Sploosh is a cache of long-lost canned spiced peaches, which sustains two runaways in the desert. Yes, softly aged mossiness underlying gentle spices and mellowed peach. A dash of amber adds to the mystery and exoticism in this classic 1919 fragrance. I love this on me, and I think I would love it on a gentle, romantic man, too.

This scent is at first very pungent and sharp, and I wasn't too thrilled with it, as I felt it gave me a headache. I find it can't be worn in a hurry, but it is a slow, relaxed scent. It starts off very strong but eventually just sinks into your skin and mingles with your natural scent. It smells very animalistic, and spicy, but the mossiness keeps it from being too sharp, and makes it deeper and more subtle. It could probably be worn by a man to great effects as well. I think I am in love with this scent now, and what I find most amazing about it is the fact that it seems so natural against the skin.

First released in 1919, Mitsouko (Japanese for “mystery”) opens with a zing of peach, bergamot, and something that smells like leather. This abstract fragrance needs two to three hours to cook on your skin. Don’t decide if you like this one right away; give it time to transform itself with your chemistry. It may take three or four tests for you to decide if it works for you. Mitsouko becomes a true skin scent as it develops on the skin. The woody, chypre drydown is like being in a thick forest during Autumn---vetiver, oakmoss, cinnamon, amber. Very French, very voluptuous, and with an enticing sensual sillage. Many have tried to copy this one, but Mitsouko yields its place to no other fragrance. One of the jewels of the House of Guerlain. It’s Woman. All Golden.

..and a mysterious charm it has indeed! 1001 nights + 1 summer morning is what it means to me! I smell fresia mainly but they are mentioned nowhere.

Mitsouko Eau de Toilette:
Dry, delicate and refined.
Starts very fresh and tangy, a hint of citrus. Then, the pure and refined rose-jasmine accord shines in and is beautiful and enigmatic.
The classical Eastern Vetiver and Agarwood dominate the base, accentuated with a clean and dry patchouli, and there is just a hint of oakmoss and a warm, animalic labdanum note at the base. The warmer notes of the base grow on you bit by bit, but always stay very mellow, as the centre of the stage is that enigmatic, sweet&sour Japanese Agarwood, and the dry or moist vetiver root. The drydown posseses only a hint of the ambery-vanilla Guerlinade accord, and is mostly a classical, well-refined woody Chypre.
It makes you feel like you are floating in air and at the same time is very grounded. Itís like forgetting yourself while playing classical music (probably from the romantic period ñ Tchaikovskyís Seasons comes to mind..), being reminded that you are still in the room by the scent of the old wooden piano...
I find the EDT very refreshing and light, and perhaps will have a better diffusive power in the summer. I also think it will smell lovely on a man. Mitsouko has a very natural scent and creates an aura of enigmatic serenity.
Mitsouko Eau de Parfum:
Starting up with rich citrus accord that is strongly backed up with the enigmatic vetiver and agarwood Mitsouko theme.
The overall impression is a clean, yet rich and intense scent, somewhat powdery, with lavender and orris notes.
This fades quickly, to be taken over by an interesting bitter peach-like note, which brings to mind the feeling you get when you crack the peach core, and the little bitter almond flavour emerges along with the dry woody aroma of the seed, and blends in with the pink sweetness of the not-yet-so-ripe (but full of aroma) fruit!
The texture overall is that of an under-ripe peach skin, very velvety but somewhat shivering to your touchÖ But you touch it anyways to feel the Summer arrivingÖ
But also of the dried peach, wich posesses a rich and somewhat bitter aroma, and is not as sweet as the fresh fruit.
These notes are enticing, full-bodied and very refined. Definitley not for everyoneís taste, and they take a while to get accustomed to and be fully enjoyed and appreciated. This unique and lovely peach accord is subtly backed up by the notes that make Mitsouko the wonderful Chypre it is:
Vetiver, Sandalwood, and a very modest (just the right amount) of patchouli to make the scent warm but not heavy. These notes politely invite themselves in, to accompany this interesting gathering of notes that are both Eastern and WesternÖ
The notes intermingle with each other so harmoniously and so beautifully that by this time it is hard to tell one from the other for a whileÖ You just give yourself up to fully enjoy the experience and the big mystery behind itÖ
It brings to mind a wild desert windÖ And at the same time acts in a most refined and cultural manner.
It is luscious and almost convinces you that it is delicious and fruityÖ But does not rise up your appetite at all.
Itís a perfume for the sake of perfume, not worn for any other reason but to appreciate this original orchestration of counterpoint and intermingling resonances.
Full of mystery and subtle nuances, it is a perfume to meditate uponÖ
The rose and jasmine accord at the heart is now much more subtle, and is immensely deepened by a higher amount of the woody vetiver and agarwood, and dry allspice and some other earthy spices that remain a mystery... Once the intense and overwhelmingly mysterious overture is over, the curtain lifts and reveal the mystery that intensified the experience so far: woody base of vetiver and agarwood accompanied by no other than the musky spice of sweat-like-smelling cumin seed!
These will gradually make some room to the base of oakmoss, patchouli and labdanum, but will still dominate Mitsouko. This drydown is essentially similar to that of the EDT, only that it is a bit rounder and creats a more soft and pervasive aura which is more musky and earthy (where as the EDT is a lot less pronounced and is fresher all the way through), and after a while turns into a more pronounced jasmine-vetiver accord.
Mitsouko Parfum Extrait:
The mere act of opening the brown illustrated case where the lovely art nuveau flacon resides is an experience on its ownÖ
It brings you back to times and places long forgottenÖ It is just like pulling out an old violin out of its case, to play the most sentimental Sonata (in the romantic, passionate and most realy meaning of the word). The flacon itself, with its stylized, curled stopper, brings to mind a string instrumentÖ
As for the scent ñ it is close to that image so much, that I will now be sahmelessly repeating the matphor of the Mitsouko fragrance to that of an old wooden instrumentÖThere is something fascinating about it, almost like time that stoppedÖ like visiting an old museum-house and hearing the voices of history whispering from the wallsÖ
The brown colours of the packaging definitley represent the scent very well. It forever remains earthy, woody, and very brown in tones.
I find the final drydown of the parfum very similar to that of the EDP: dry and fresh and woody, and once you get really close to it, there is an interesting grassy resonance of jasmine and vetiver.
Mitsouko speaks in a silent and subtle langauge, that cannot be heard by all. I feel it represents a persona of restrained passion and always keeps certain distance ñ as if not willing to fully reveal itself even when intimately worn as a ParfumÖ
It is not a knock-off, super-soft or even in the least sexy or seductive, as you may expect from such a concentration.
I find it very hard to grasp. Itís a fragrance that needs to be worn in very specific moods, when you can totally tune into it. Even than I always feel like there is a lot I do not understand about it.
Overall, I find the EDP to be the softest and most interesting of all the Mitsouko variations, especially I enjoyed the surprising cumin note! It makes it warmer and more sensual than the other variations.