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Mitsouko and Jicky for Men

post #1 of 30
4/24/08 at 12:27am
Thread Starter 
Okay, I know this is totally subjective, but here goes:

Some men won't wear anything remotely "feminine." Others will a bit and others will a lot. Some people associate vanillin with women's fragrances; I love vanilla (I'm a man). Anyway...

So I've worn Mitsouko a few times and it took some experimenting. Masculine or feminine, I find the top notes very, very powerful and I learned to just apply less. Even then, I feel like I need to hidden from the world for twenty minutes or so...and then I love it and think it is 100% worthwhile. My wife really likes it, both on me and herself. It's interesting to feel the effect of the same perfume on two different and close bodies, even just watching TV.

My question is this: I haven't smelled Jicky in ages and, living in a small Italian town, I would have to mail order. I gather Jicky is less sweet that M. Is it more or much more floral? And, subjective opinions here: which perfume is easier for a man to pull off? M is at my boundaries (although I love TDC Osmanthus and it is a staple...but far different character) -- would Jicky be over my boundaries?

The funny thing about all this is that, in actuality, I am a very relaxed and informal guy. Sandals, jeans/shorts, and polo/tee-shirt/linen in summer and boots/jeans/tee shirt/fleece in winter. My fragrance collection is WAY more colorful than my wardrobe!

Thanks!
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post #2 of 30
4/24/08 at 12:42am
I haven't smelt Jicky but my understanding is that it was originally made for the male market so don't think its too paris hilton!
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post #3 of 30
4/24/08 at 12:47am
Y'know, I never really found Mitsouko at all sweet despite the peach note. All spice and earth to my nose. It's not something I find wearable, but not for the reason that I find it too feminine.

I wouldn't think twice about wearing either for fem/masc reasons, as neither strikes me as traditionally 'feminine'. I can usually pull off unisexes well -- My skin chemistry has a tendency to stifle sweet notes, anyway.

Don't care much for vanilla on me, though.
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post #4 of 30
4/24/08 at 3:37am
Jicly is far less feminine than Mitsouko so if you dare the mossy peaches of it, I could see you easily wearing Jicky since it's a fougere opening over a powdery-animalic guerlinesque semi-oriental base. Just a suggestion: prefer the edp contentration.
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post #5 of 30
4/24/08 at 3:52am
Men were first to appreciate and wear Jicky. It definitely has a less feminine feel then Mitsouko, so I think you could definitely pull it off. I personally prefer the EDP over the EDT - but you should try to sample both to determine which one is right for you.

You might also want to look into Shalimar. It is another fragrance that is marketed as a women's fragrance, but many men enjoy wearing it also.
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post #6 of 30
4/24/08 at 4:28am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by petruccijc View Post

Men were first to appreciate and wear Jicky. It definitely has a less feminine feel then Mitsouko, so I think you could definitley pull it off. I personally prefer the EDP over the EDT - but you should try to sample both to determine which one is right for you.

You might also want to look into Shalimar. It is another fragrance that is marketed as a women's fragrance, but many men enjoy wearing it also.

My wife wears Shalimar from time to time and I love it. I love it on her. The thing is, my mother ALSO wears Shalimar (let's not go there; they both have good taste!) and I grew up around the scent of Shalimar and Chanel No. 5. Because of that, really, I just couldn't do Shalimar. Maybe around the house, though, for kicks. Why not. Tonight!

From what I've read and now seen in this post it seems like Jicky really might be a good, if pricey in EDP, "new" fragrance for me to try.
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post #7 of 30
4/24/08 at 7:44am
Jicky is closer to a classic men's fragrance with its lavender and bergamont accord. I think most men would have difficulty with Mitsouko's now classic peach note that is so much identified with women's fragrances.
That said, Mitsouko is a very androgynous, serpentine fragrance that makes me feel like a lounge singer when I wear it.
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post #8 of 30
4/24/08 at 8:10am
I find Mitsouko to be more masculine than feminine. I wear it all the time.

I don't own Jicky yet, but will soon, and will wear it without hesitation!
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post #9 of 30
4/24/08 at 9:14am
I appreciate Mitsuoko, but prefer Jicky to wear.
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post #10 of 30
4/24/08 at 10:14am
I like and wear both, think both pass easily as unisex fragrances, and I agree with Ruggles that Jicky profiles closer to a classic men's fragrance.
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post #11 of 30
4/24/08 at 10:43am
I wear Mitsouko in the parfum concentration, and I love it. I also like Jicky EdP but haven't got around to buying it. Mitsouko is perfect for me, the peach note doesn't last for too long, and even when it does, there is the dusky oakmoss scent behind it.
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post #12 of 30
4/24/08 at 11:34am
You'll never know until you have an ounce of each and wear them for awhile.

Try Mitsouko EDP/Parfum. For Jicky, I prefer the less creamy, more effervescent EDT.

You should be trying Vol de Nuit and Shalimar as well.
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post #13 of 30
4/24/08 at 11:43am
has anyone reached the end of Burr's new book where Jaques Guerlain shares his thoughts on his Mistress' rear end and and his use of animalics in all of his perfumes. Jicky with Lavender on top of animalics is not for me. Lavender seems to be the most acceptable flower in men's fumes'. Lavender I really have no use for at all. Un Homme Pour Caron, no thanks. The drydown is a fabulous vanilla but lavender is the deal killer.

I happen to like Mitsouko a great deal and feel that anyone at any age would smell fine wearing it.
--------------------------------------
when peach is referred to in perfume it seems as though we envision a peach at it's ripest and sweetest. The peach smell a perfumer may be smelling is a green peach still holding snuggly to the tree.

Ellena spoke of western mangoes which I've had at their best and sweetest in the Caribbean and a mango which is found along the Nile. Probably a more wild mango which hasn't seen generations of breeding but which is holding on for dear life in arid conditions.
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post #14 of 30
4/24/08 at 2:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by highdudgeon View Post

I gather Jicky is less sweet that M. Is it more or much more floral?

Mitsouko is much more floral than Jicky.
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post #15 of 30
4/24/08 at 3:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by highdudgeon View Post

My wife wears Shalimar from time to time and I love it. I love it on her. The thing is, my mother ALSO wears Shalimar (let's not go there; they both have good taste!) and I grew up around the scent of Shalimar and Chanel No. 5. Because of that, really, I just couldn't do Shalimar. Maybe around the house, though, for kicks. Why not. Tonight!

From what I've read and now seen in this post it seems like Jicky really might be a good, if pricey in EDP, "new" fragrance for me to try.

There is also Shalimar Light - which is nice for warmer weather.
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post #16 of 30
4/24/08 at 3:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pluran View Post

You'll never know until you have an ounce of each and wear them for awhile.

Try Mitsouko EDP/Parfum. For Jicky, I prefer the less creamy, more effervescent EDT.

You should be trying Vol de Nuit as well.

I agree
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post #17 of 30
4/24/08 at 4:01pm
I've got no problem wearing either, but then again, I also wear tuberose scents.

To my nose, Mitsouko is actually the tougher and drier of the two scents. That's probably the big chypre base talking to me. I agree with many others that Jicky is absolutely unisex. I mean, if Kouros is OK for men, than why not Jicky? Both, after all, are built on civet-seasoned fougere bases.
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post #18 of 30
4/25/08 at 11:40am
I love Jicky Parfum de Toilette most in the summer heat und I have absolutely no fear it could come across as a scent marketed for women. Actually I find it quite masculine, much more masculine than Mitsouko EdT IMHO. With Mitsouko I have a hard time, I bought a full bottle but I'm not able to wear it to the office or in public. But I agree it's probably not as feminine as I constantly keep telling myself ....

As far as I know even Sean Connery has worn or still wears Jicky and that fact always makes me reach for Jicky in a confident way.
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post #19 of 30
4/25/08 at 11:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dr.creed View Post

With Mitsouko I have a hard time, I bought a full bottle but I'm not able to wear it to the office or in public. But I agree it's probably not as feminine as I constantly keep telling myself.

I agree that Mitsouko should never enter the workplace - on a man or a woman. It don't find it too feminine, I just find it too specific. There is no mistaking Mitsouko for anything else. It's up there with Black Aoud, Melograno and Kouros.
That said, I think Mitsouko is one of the all time greats and should have a shrine built to it.
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post #20 of 30
4/25/08 at 1:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dr.creed View Post

With Mitsouko I have a hard time, I bought a full bottle but I'm not able to wear it to the office or in public. But I agree it's probably not as feminine as I constantly keep telling myself ....

I agree, Mitsouko is somehow difficult. Why? 'The best perfume ever made' according to Luca Turin, yet so difficult to wear. I don't wear it often, but still I got myself both EdC, EdT and parfum in vintage editions. I can't put a gender on it, really, it's just a scary scent. Yes, it actually scares me. Lurid, dark, fleshy, but also joyful and powdery.

Perhaps, finally, Mitsouko IS a woman. While Shalimar, Jicky and Vol de Nuit feels like something I can identify with (as a man), Mitsouko feels like 'the opposite sex'. Not in that 'oh-no-it's-too-girly-for-me', but in the grown-up 'gosh-this-is-a-full-blooded-woman-and-women-scares-me-to-death-which-is-why-I-never-really-married-one' kind of way. I guess that's why I don't wear Mitsouko that often...
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post #21 of 30
4/25/08 at 2:11pm
Some week ago me and my girlfriend were at a theme party. We were back in the twenties! All guests had really cared for their clothes and looks. A lot of long pearl necklaces and black feathers, dramatic make up and so on...

My girlfriend was wearing Tabac Blond and I had spritzed on some Mitsouko. This was my first wearing of Mitsouko and felt completely comfortable with it. It is very dry and much more unisex than most of todays flowery/sweet men´s fragrances... To me Jicky is a bit more feminine than Mitsouko but still completely unisex.

Unfortunately nobody at the party recognized our perfumes.
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post #22 of 30
4/26/08 at 11:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Guerlain View Post

...., Mitsouko feels like 'the opposite sex'. Not in that 'oh-no-it's-too-girly-for-me', but in the grown-up 'gosh-this-is-a-full-blooded-woman-and-women-scares-me-to-death-which-is-why-I-never-really-married-one' kind of way.

Whoooow, these are the words

I tried to put it right, you showed me the way.
It's the grace of women,
the kind of that makes me swoon.
Not in a sexual way at all,
it's the barrier - the barrier
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post #23 of 30
4/27/08 at 12:52am
Hehe - I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way about Mitsouko...

Quote:
Originally Posted by dr.creed View Post

Whoooow, these are the words

I tried to put it right, you showed me the way.
It's the grace of women,
the kind of that makes me swoon.
Not in a sexual way at all,
it's the barrier - the barrier
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post #24 of 30
5/28/08 at 5:55pm
I smelled them both today in Nordstrom's and ohmygod are they good! Men, women, babies, inanimate objects, all should wear them. I don't really get peaches out of Mitsuoko, as others have also mentioned. A fabulous chypre that illuminates all of the other chypres that I have smelled before it, but which came after it. And Jicky! Light, lavender, innocent, clean, Provencal, but also sexy, animal, musky.
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post #25 of 30
5/28/08 at 6:52pm
My Aunt has worn Mitsouko and Shalimar for close to 50 years. I would never want to smell like her. In contrast, she had never even heard of Creed until I mentioned it to her. Which scent is overplayed now?
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post #26 of 30
5/28/08 at 9:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by samplermike View Post

My Aunt has worn Mitsouko and Shalimar for close to 50 years. I would never want to smell like her. In contrast, she had never even heard of Creed until I mentioned it to her. Which scent is overplayed now?

Who in this thread has suggested that Creed is overplayed? In fact, who in this thread has mentioned Creed at all?
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post #27 of 30
5/28/08 at 10:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Advocate View Post

Who in this thread has suggested that Creed is overplayed? In fact, who in this thread has mentioned Creed at all?

Indeed!

This isn't a Creed thread and turning it into one, or attempts to, really aren't going to work, gentlemen. I need to ask everyone to avoid responses to off-topic posts to it and avoid initiating off-topic tangents in the first place.

Thanks very much for the help and regard in this.

For my part I used to dislike Mitsuoko but I wore a spray on the wrist for an afternoon, and whoa, it kicked my mind into gear. I love the stuff, but get some of what I guess is the peach. That part doesn't float my boat, but it didn't last either, and the part of it that did was like a cleft, a rift, within the great scent that seemed to make the sides of the scent that I liked into amazing cliffs. These cliffs wouldn't stand out if it weren't for the flaw of the problem fruit note, but with each whiff of the stuff on my wrist I wanted those dark heavy ancient thick cliffs to stand out further and hoped for growing chypre clouds to grow as drydown came.

I'll need to get a bottle so that I can find out how the landscape ends.

Jicky and I are great friends. Sometimes I like the edt, and sometimes I like the pdt. Their twins and most of the time I can't tell which of them was the mightier of them while in the womb.
--Chris
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post #28 of 30
5/28/08 at 11:45pm
I have read many reactions towards Kicky. The two times in my life that I got to smell it, it was awesome and to this day I don't know why I haven't ordered a bottle. I suppose I smelled the EDT because it was in a black tin can something akin to the Montale bottles. I never smelled the EDP in the fancier bottle. I really liked what I smelled and I look forward to test it again. If I have the same reaction, it will come home with me! I am also surprised, unless I overlooked it, that no one has mentioned Sean Connery and his open love affair with this beauty.
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post #29 of 30
5/29/08 at 12:47am
The black tin cans are the EdT, yes - it's the tester bottles for the big gold 'sucriers' (btw, I love those 'sucriers' - so god-damn nostalgic). I could imagine you'd like the PdT too - although it's a reformulation-bastard made for Christmas 1987. It's even more resinous than the parfum and have a sort of liquoricy smell. Very nice!

Mitsouko... I only have the old formulation of it, and it practically smells like pure, bitter oakmoss mixed with some strange bitter-sweet, fleshy-fat-powdery peach-odour. It's so strange a fragrance that I wonder how they made women wear it - but then again, it's said to have been made for the new self-confident garçonnes of Paris - even Guerlain themselves call it 'slightly androgynous'. It's like Djedi - not traditionally 'pleasant', but bitter and uncompromising. I really admire this epoch for giving way to such - to say the least - creative perfumes.

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post #30 of 30
5/29/08 at 1:16am
I don't have a problem wearing Mitsouko at all - I don't think it's that sweet and is certainly waayyy less sweet than the Pierre Cardin I'm wearing at the moment (yes I know, I keep going on about it, it's a retro rediscovery and I love it).

I think Mitsouko is one of the most versatile fragrances out there tbh.
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