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Why I love to hate Mitsouko...

post #1 of 14
11/12/06 at 4:47am
Thread Starter 
There is a lovely, half full vintage bottle of Mitsouko on my dresser. Bought it off ebay. First purchase from there in about five years. I thought it would be a nice initiation for me into this magical world of scent. I was beginning a journey and I wanted to have a milestone. A marker. A signpost. Mitsouko is supposed to be a classic. Go. Green light. So when I first "acquired" it, I jumped in, so to speak, into what I realize now was a dabbing frenzy. What resulted was a fetid stink that made me resigned to looking at the lovely bottle and I figured that was the end of it. Count my losses and move on.

The other day, I happened to sniff the sleeve of the sweater I was wearing during my Mitsouko encounter gone bad (I had quickly removed it to avoid contamination) and was amazed at the soft, peachy embracing notes that wafted heavenwards out of the fibers...this is more like it, I thought. This is what I had dreamt about.

Heartened, I placed two careful dabs, one on each wrist, and let the infatuation begin.

The next morning, bottle poised where I had left it as my designated scent for the day, I tried again, having gained confidence from our happy embrace the night before. But NO.
Fickle Mitsouko seemed to have run away from me again...it just didn't work for me.

Now I am afraid to open the bottle again. Not completely true. I sniff the inside of the stopper every once in a while, casually, trying not to get my hopes up. I like it from a distance. The cap smells good. It is like having a genie in a bottle , who , once released, messes up the room and you can't wait to stuff her back in again. Bottle looks pretty, smells pretty, but I am keeping my distance for a while.
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post #2 of 14
11/12/06 at 6:40am
I understand completely - had many such experiences. Remember - wait or try for three days - if after three days there is no "sympathy" - forget it. AS well, contact with skin gives other results than contact with textile and other stuff.
Just a pity - sometimes it simply doesn´t work. But a three day rule is to be observed.
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post #3 of 14
11/12/06 at 6:40am
Interesting -- I've had a similarly difficult experience wth Mitsouko over the last few weeks. I've tried it at least a dozen times and just keep getting overwhelmed with that hay note. The first whiff is promising, and after a number of hours I start to pick up a hint of the advertised spiciness (which I love), but it's all buried in hay, hay, hay.

It's not that it smells bad so much as it smells so different from the rapturous descriptions on Basenotes and elsewhere. I'm tempted to blame the bottle - a new EDT mini on I bought on eBay - but the mini of Shalimar parfum I got in the same lot smells like Shalimar, and doesn't smell old or weak. I'm going to have to find an EDP or parfum sample from a reliable source before I can write Mitsouko off, but it is frustrating.

On the up side, I got an EDP sample of Jicky this week, and it is everything I could hope for in a vintage Guerlain - big and complex with a wonderful evolution. At least I know my nose still works!
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post #4 of 14
11/12/06 at 7:10am
Thread Starter 
Alicka, thanks for the 3 day rule...somehow it seems that Mitsouko's legend breaks the rules for me...sigh.

Emfoley, can you give more details about your experience with Jicky? I have yet to find a Guerlain that makes me swoon...not that I have tried TOO many. I sampled Shalimar in the store, and probably would have liked it if I didn't note the similarity between it and my nemesis, Mitsouko...you can tell they are kin.

So far, Caron and YSL are houses that I feel welcome me with open arms. Caron for its complexity and uniqueness, I feel that I can have a long term relationship with nearly every scent of theirs I have sniffed, and YSL has this smooth , sensuous suavite that just slides right in...
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post #5 of 14
11/12/06 at 8:30am
I know how you feel! I wanted to love Caron, what a wonderful house. Yet not one of theirs works on me- just a complete misfit. Sadness, woe, misery, do I blame myself?? Buy hey, the old Guerlains are fabulous on me. You just never know how it's going to work out. So I send my condolences to you, and who knows, maybe Parfum Sacre is your HG??
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post #6 of 14
11/12/06 at 10:26am
I love the Guerlains, Shalimar and Samsara being my favorites and Samsara being something that I could sniff forever. I have heard about Mitsouko from so many different places as being tops, but for some reason, it does not work for me. Because of it's popularity and the basenoters love for it, I have been willing to give it more of a try than others. But it just turns to something dead with sour snot in it on me. I wanted so much to love the Hermes line because when I was young I studied Hermetics. But loe, not to be. The Hermes frags turn to salt on me. Pure Salt. So I have really learned that body chemistry has much, much more to do with scents than I was willing to look at.
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post #7 of 14
11/12/06 at 10:51am
I think Mitsouko is hard to wear in an everyday way - at least for me it is. I almost never reach for it. I like it because it's an "experience" that I occasionally enjoy (usually at home alone). It's not a fragrance I can just wear and enjoy without thinking about it. Mitsouko is so serious really, isn't it. So hallowed. Sometimes I really hate that. But I think it would make a great candle or something. Was it one of the Basenoters here who once posted that Karl Lagerfeld loves Mitsouko but cannot wear it on his skin, so he spritzes his curtains with it? I think that's a great idea.
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post #8 of 14
11/12/06 at 11:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Elf

I know how you feel! I wanted to love Caron, what a wonderful house. Yet not one of theirs works on me- just a complete misfit. Sadness, woe, misery, do I blame myself??

I know what you mean -- as a fan of Guerlain and orientals, not loving Mitsouko makes me feel kind of like a theater major realizing that she just doesn't *get* Shakespeare.

Quote:
Originally Posted by rtamara41

can you give more details about your experience with Jicky?

First off, Jicky is probably one of those love-it or hate-it fragrances, depending on how you feel about vetiver & patchouli, and even if you like those notes, it can be overpowering if you apply too much. It starts off with a citrus note that is faintly medicinal, but don't let that put you off, as it soon passes. The next phase is woody and aromatic with a bit of smoke -- facets of cedar, rosemary and a hint of jasmine mixed in with the sharp vetiver and patchouli notes. Over the next couple of hours that sharpness softens, warms and sweetens with with leather, incense, musk and tonka, and the final phase gradually takes on a pleasant hint of soapiness. To me, it has a lush, symphonic evolution from sharply masculine to intimate and feminine. I love it.
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post #9 of 14
11/12/06 at 12:40pm
Our differences are what make life interesting. I love Mitsouko and every oud scent that I have ever tried. Woods are my favorite note. But many flowers smell too sweet and intense on me.
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post #10 of 14
11/12/06 at 2:36pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by emfoley

I know what you mean -- as a fan of Guerlain and orientals, not loving Mitsouko makes me feel kind of like a theater major realizing that she just doesn't *get* Shakespeare.



First off, Jicky is probably one of those love-it or hate-it fragrances, depending on how you feel about vetiver & patchouli, and even if you like those notes, it can be overpowering if you apply too much. It starts off with a citrus note that is faintly medicinal, but don't let that put you off, as it soon passes. The next phase is woody and aromatic with a bit of smoke -- facets of cedar, rosemary and a hint of jasmine mixed in with the sharp vetiver and patchouli notes. Over the next couple of hours that sharpness softens, warms and sweetens with with leather, incense, musk and tonka, and the final phase gradually takes on a pleasant hint of soapiness. To me, it has a lush, symphonic evolution from sharply masculine to intimate and feminine. I love it.

Interesting. Reading this makes me think of my first experience with Tabac Blond and the fabulous drydown. It is sort of a bisexual fragrance in the way you describe, going from the more assertive masculine leather and tobacco to a vanilla, sweet powdery drydown. At least that seems to be what happens with me and Tabac Blond.
See, there I am in the House of Caron again...I think I will just relax and enjoy it! I am thrilled to have found a handful of scents that truly speak to me...for now this is good and satisfying.

I like the idea of using Mitsouko on fabric, though, it smelled WONDERFUL on my sweater!
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post #11 of 14
11/12/06 at 2:37pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Elf

I know how you feel! I wanted to love Caron, what a wonderful house. Yet not one of theirs works on me- just a complete misfit. Sadness, woe, misery, do I blame myself?? Buy hey, the old Guerlains are fabulous on me. You just never know how it's going to work out. So I send my condolences to you, and who knows, maybe Parfum Sacre is your HG??

Today is sure does feel like my HG. Thank you for your understanding...
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post #12 of 14
11/12/06 at 2:39pm
I understand completely! For years, I tested the edp with the hope that eventually it would smell good on me. It started out promising, but always dried the same: really sour. Then, I took a chance and bought the edt unsniffed after reading positive reviews on mua. On my skin, the edt is lighter, fresher and wearable!
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post #13 of 14
11/14/06 at 10:38am
I had the same reaction to Mitsouko as emfoley - hay, hay, hay. It is a shame, but L'Heure Bleue and Apres L'Ondee are wonderful compensations.
I'm also like Elf about the Carons - my relationship with their classics are dysfunctional. Even if one smells good for 5 minutes, I know in 10 minutes the relationship will turn bad. I certainly desire the experience people describe with them, but the reality is simply awful for me.
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post #14 of 14
11/17/06 at 7:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sherrie11

I think Mitsouko is hard to wear in an everyday way - at least for me it is. I almost never reach for it. I like it because it's an "experience" that I occasionally enjoy (usually at home alone). It's not a fragrance I can just wear and enjoy without thinking about it. Mitsouko is so serious really, isn't it. So hallowed. Sometimes I really hate that. But I think it would make a great candle or something. Was it one of the Basenoters here who once posted that Karl Lagerfeld loves Mitsouko but cannot wear it on his skin, so he spritzes his curtains with it? I think that's a great idea.

I completely agree with you Sherrie. I love Mitsouko but I don't wear it, just sometimes when I'm alone. But if you spritz the curtains... it's wonderful, especially for Xmas... magic
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