Ingrid Bergman Photo
Jean Harlow Photo
Mitsouko was created by Jacques Guerlain in 1919. The creation of Mitsouko was inspired by the heroine of Claude Farrere’s novel ‘La bataille’, a story of an impossible love between Mitsouko, the wife of Japanese Admiral Togo, and a British officer. The story takes place in 1905, during the war between Russia and Japan. Both men went to war, and Mitsouko, hiding her feelings with dignity, waits for the outcome of the battle to discover which of the two men will come back to her and be her companion.
Mitsouko is one of the well known aromas of chypre olfactory group with cool top notes and oak moss in the base. But it also has a note of a juicy peach, which gives a clear and quite gourmand nuance. It features bergamot, peach, jasmine, may rose, spices (cinnamon), oak moss, vetiver and wood.
The Eau de Toilette is much sharper, while Eau de Perfume is warmer and nicer. The full richness of the composition, however, is revealed only in the perfume concentration.
Mitsouko eau de parfum, the Guerlain scent that is unique, original and must be sampled by everyone who enjoys fragrance.
My short review
I was so excited to get my hands on a small sample vial of Mitsouko EDP. The notes in this vintage fragrance sounded fascinating and I’m a big fan of chypres. On me it smells warm, herbal and a bit dirty. The peach in it is not sweet at all, but a dry, subtle peach. I like the oakmoss base but unfortunately, at least on me, it smells like my hair if I didn’t wash it for a week. That realization was sort of funny to me because just the week before I received my order I thought to myself “Hey, it’d be super interesting if someone made a perfume that smelled like unwashed hair!”. I like that scent (yeah, yeah, don’t judge!). Some scents (like Costus or Civet) come off that way.. but there isn’t any in this formulation. I guess it’s the spices or wood or just my skin that makes it smell this way. The fragrance didn’t ever settle on my skin, it sort of changed every hour.
This isn’t an easy fragrance to wear and it’s not for all occasions. It’s definitely not boring! but a fascinating fragrance. It lasts for hours (just with a dab behind each ear) and the projection is average.