Mitsouko was born in 1919 at Guerlain, composed by Jacques Guerlain, who took its name from the heroine of La Bataille, a novel by Claude Farrère. A fruity chypre, it pairs a synthetic peach with jasmine and May rose over a base of moss, patchouli, vetiver and spices. Thierry Wasser reworked it in 2013; the eau de parfum is sold in the 1912 “inverted heart” bottle.
Victoria Frolova and Ida Meister have loved it for years without hiding how demanding it is; Elena Vosnaki compares it to a great wine that takes time to appreciate, and Persolaise praises Thierry Wasser’s version, which he finds rejuvenated and sparkling.
Olfastory’s review
Victoria Frolova, Bois de Jasmin, May 2005
Rating Mitsouko five stars in 2005, the author sees it as Coty’s Chypre made elegant, with ripe peaches and burnished wood, which can be off-putting because of the bitterness of its moss. In 2013, she welcomed a new version that was rounder, warmer and harmonious once again.
Elena Vosnaki, Perfume Shrine, March 2011
The author describes a mysterious, balanced and sumptuous fragrance, more cerebral than seductive, which she compares to a great pinot noir, an acquired taste. She ranks the vintage extrait highest, finds the 2007 eau de parfum faithful to the original idea and the eau de toilette of the time thinner.
Persolaise, December 2014
The critic praises Thierry Wasser’s rework: Mitsouko seems to him to have emerged from the fountain of youth, still thoughtful, mature and hard to read, yet now full of sparkle. He finds its height restored, from bergamot to woods and mosses, based on a sample of extrait provided by the brand.
Ida Meister, ÇaFleureBon, January 2019
A devotee for more than fifty years, the author sees Mitsouko as a bête noire for some noses and a Holy Grail for others. Wasser’s version strikes her as a successful facelift, with a base that grows a little thin over time; she finds in it a hushed sensuality, never gloomy.