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I really hesitated to before committing to writing a review for Guerlain Mitsuoko because at this point in time…why bother? Hundreds and thousands of words have been dedicated to this timeless fragrance and what have I got to offer that’s new or different? What am I really adding to the conversation here, and how do I think about it that makes the scent feel mine when I wear it? The whole exercise felt a little pointless…but. But. There was something there. There was something in this musty classic that weirdly got me thinking of liches, those power-hungry necromancers that did some kind of dark ritual and jammed their soul into a phylactery (autocorrect wants me to use pterodactyl and I am so tempted) and who embraced the bittersweet pang of undeath eternity to become a husk of immortality. Mitsuoko evokes that damp mausoleum herbal mustiness, and when you’ve slid back the impossibly heavy stone door of an ancient crypt to peek inside its atmosphere thick with dust and humming with the quiet thrum of the beyond… there’s this peach there waiting for you, glowing eerily with a sickly light, just having performed its unholy Ceremony of Endless Night. Cobwebby oakmoss, aromatic and tannic, soft and sour, hangs heavy, like a mournful shroud. And maybe now you’re just trapped with it, forever. Wearing Mitsouko is to become a bit of an unearthly phantom yourself, flickering in and out of existence; to cheat oblivion, to linger at the edge of the world–and walk the veil between. Is that what people mean when they refer to this fragrance as “timeless”? It works for me.
This is not exactly the review yet but just information which is quite relevant. People seem to mix all the information what comes to these Guerlain’s classics and different concentrations, the launching years and all information here is not true. Mitsouko Eau de Parfum wasn’t launched on 1919, they only launched Eau de Toilette and Extrait de Parfum which is same as Parfum and Eau de Cologne. Eau de parfum as a term of concentration didn’t exist before 1990 and even if Mitsouko’s EDP doesn’t differ so much from EDT the case is different for example with Shalimar. Shalimar Eau de Parfum launched in 1990 is significantly different from Eau de Toilette and Parfum.
TRADITIONAL CHYPRES 🍁 Amouage Jubilation XXV 2007 There is missing some main elements of Chypre scent here but it performs very similarly like Chypre anyway. This is soft and Ambery, very refined. The warmest of these all. 🍁 Guerlain Mitsouko 1919 Mossy and earthy, new epd is a little bit sharp while my new extrait is soft and more round, polished. I used to layer them to get the best from both. This new epd is the most dry of these ones. An extrait version of Mitsouko, even if it’s the most recent one, is mesmerizing, rich and intoxicating blend. It’s very different than edp where the beautiful sweetness from Peach is very faint and a deep, mellow, mossy base is just earthy and very dry. Extrait is so amazing and evocative definitely one of the best Chypres. I highly recommend that one, there is a huge difference between those concentrations. 🍁 Rochas Femme 1944 A little bit more fruity than others, beautiful Plum, Peach and Apricot brings a gentle sweetness. Feels smoky/earthy after the opening but not for long time. Performs darker on my husband’s skin than on mine. 🍁 Roja Parfums Diaghilev 2010 Very strong and majestic dark blend, a challenging to wear for many. This one definitely needs the right kind of clothes, otherwise you look and smell totally ridiculous. Sharp and spicy, leathery and musky, the most masculine of these ones, actually there is nothing feminine in this. Thank you for reading and if you want to follow me on IG: @ninamariah_perfumes
