Mouchoir de Monsieur (1904)
by Guerlain

Mouchoir de Monsieur is one of the best fragrances I have ever smelled. Its opening is warm and smooth, floral with a touch of something animalic (thank the civet), with a powdery drydown with prominent notes of iris and patchouli underpinned by bergamot.
It is elegant, subtle, and gentlemanly-- but also quite dirty. Guerlain doesn't seem to confirm that there's civet in MdM (mind, they don't confirm that there's civet in Jicky either, and Jicky is a civet zoo), but there almost certainly is.
The civet in MdM is luxurious and erotic. It smells like a kiss--when you can smell yourself on your partner after a good hour of necking. It's that saliva-smell that the civet brings to the table, and it is brilliant.

MdM is frightfully short-lived, though. After only a few hours the wearer is left with a faint trace of bergamot and patchouli, which is a little disappointing. I think this should be made into an EDP.

Thumbs way up!

A civet note with a pure lavender and a floral-esque masculine note that composes a wonderful, rich lavender that's lovely and beautiful.

Mouchoir de Monsieur is another historic Guerlain masterpiece that I'm glad I own. It's obvious (to me) that it is Jicky's brother. I enjoy MdM when I don't want the in your face civet of Jicky (although Jicky carries it masterfully). This is a classic gentleman's scent which you won't smell many men wearing. It is a sophisticated lavender topped fougère that cannot fall out of fashion. I treasure my bottle because one never knows about these classics being available in the future.

A week ago, I sampled Jicky for the first time (in the parfum form) and was blown away by its refined character. I quickly searched Basnotes and learned how MdM is commonly viewed as a more masculine version. So, I went online and purchased a bottle of MdM. I've just recieved it and let me say that I have never been so excited by a fragrance. Wow. It really is everything I have been looking for - masculine, elegant, soft, refined. Dreamy. Relaxing. Breathtaking. I cannot stop sniffing my arm! Top marks Guerlain. Please don't ever discontinue this one.

Mouchoir de monsieur is the most intriguing, mysterious, hypnotic and seductive fragrance i have experienced. The first time I sprayed the liquid from that elegant bottle in an upmarket department store, I was a little horrified by the animalic quality (civet) that affronts your nasal passages. 'Something refined, highly regarded and expensive wouldn't smell like this?' I thought. And it seemed so 'alien' in its vast difference to any of today's bland, unisex fragrances.

But as the time passed, and the fragrance settled, it's seduction truly took effect. It wraps you in a soft, 'velvety' olfactory glow that carries you off to another time, another world, where incredible style and sophistication exist for those who desire it. With SO much character, today's world of mass-produced, bland unisex fragrances seem insignificant next to this aristocrat of the scent world.

Yes, it's expensive. (Though a bargain compared to Creed scents!) Yes, it's rare. But it will set you apart. It is not a man's scent. It is a gentleman's scent. For a prince among men.

This is another classic from a hundred years or so ago. The folk wisdom is that this was the follow-up EdT version of the 1889 Jicky.That may or may not be true... Now there is an EdT version of Jicky, and I can tell you, personally, I like Mouchoir de Monsieur much better.

The official notes (from the Guerlain website) are:

Head notes : Lavender, bergamot, verbena;
Heart notes : Rose, jasmine, neroli;
Base notes : Fern harmony, patchouli, vanilla, iris.

Other folk wisdom says there's civet in this, but Guerlain doesn't seem to confirm that... or are they just trying not to alarm the timid among us? Or is it possibly subsumed under "fern harmony?" I definitely smell something like an animalic note in this, but perhaps it's just because I want to believe it's really there.

In any case, my take on this one is that it's a beautiful snapshot of what masculine elegance seemed like at the turn of the last century; and having said that, I want it to be the epitome of masculine elegance today as well! The feeling I get when I wear this is superb, like walking on air. No matter what's going on in my day-to-day pedestrian existence, I can't believe there's anything to be concerned about if I smell this good.

The wonderful thing about M de M is that you can wear it in just about any temperate weather, although I do think it's nicer in the spring, on a cool-to-mild day. People who encounter it on me seem a little perplexed at first, but if they've noticed, they usually have something very good to say about it. It's quite different from anything else out there (except maybe Jicky), and so it usually gets remarked on a bit more than the run-of-the mill scents people are over-exposed to.

I have worn this to work, although for me, it works better for leisure situations. It's just that it's hard to be other than carefree when I'm wearing this; it takes an effort to feel I'm seriously responsible for anything other than existing and communing with the beauty of life.

If there's one word for this scent, as far as I can tell, it would have to be "optimistic."