Guerlain, Mitsouko, 37 ml. or 1.21 oz. Flacon, Parfum Extrait, Flacon Bouchon Coeur, 1919, 1960, Paris, France ..

The House of Guerlain is one of the oldest perfume houses in the world. It was founded in 1828 when Pierre-Francois Pascal Guerlain opened up his first perfume store on 42, Rue de Rivoli in Paris.

Pierre-Francois composed and manufactured custom perfumes with the help of his two sons, Aime & Gabriel. His unique approach was to personalize perfume for a specific person, place or event. Honore de Balzac commisioned his own eau de toilette during the writing of Cesar Birotteau, and the periodical La Sylphide, le Journal des Elegances, scented each issue with a different fragrance by Guerlain.

Guerlain catered to the high society of Paris, and obtained a very loyal following. The perfume house was so successful that Guerlain decided to open a flagship store at 15, Rue de la Paix in Paris in 1840. The house was at its peak in 1853 with it's fragrance Eau de Cologne Imperiale. This perfume gained Guerlain the prestigious title of His Majesty's Official Perfumer of France. This in turn led him to create perfumes for other royals such as Queen Victoria of England, the Empress Sissi of Austria, the Queen of Belgium and Queen Isabella of Spain as well as other crowned heads of royalty.

Pierre-Francois passed away in 1854 and his sons inherited the perfume house. Aime became the master perfumer, a tradition that would be upheld for the next master perfumer in lineage. Gabriel managed and further expanded the house.

Mitsouko was created by Jacques Guerlain in 1919. The creation of Mitsouko was inspired by the heroine of Claude Farrčre'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.

In 1919, Europe was fascinated by Japan and the culture of the Far East. This was the moment when Jacques Guerlain named his new fragrance Mitsouko. Mitsouko means "mystery" in Japanese and symbolises passionate and mysterious femininity. Guerlain's Mitsouko is the scent of golden autumn days, ripe peaches and burnished wood. Mitsouko is a mysterious fragrance, not allowing everyone to see its beauty. The opening is long, like a play of all beautiful notes. On the skin it sounds as if it starts from far away, without any allusion to its intensity and sensual side.

In this 1956 version of the perfume, the creamy peaches, spicy cinnamon, and cool moss are all there, and the perfume feels harmonious. The dark classical oakmoss that smells like ink stained woods and walnut shells gives the dusky impression of subtle woods, and patchouli. Inside the box is a custom's certificate showing 1956 as the date of entry into the US.

The composition of Mitsouko was revolutionary at the time, even though it updated and improved on the seminal formula of Francois Coty's Chypre. The innovative peach-skin note can be perceived at the heart of this beautiful Guerlain fragrance. Flanked by murky oakmoss and refreshing bergamot at each end thus composing a classic chypre chord, it adds spicy accents reminiscent of cinnamon and cloves.

Mitsouko also utilizes rose, neroli, a light-smelling orange blossom distillation product, woods, vetiver and patchouli for a short but succinct formula which balances itself between apothecary and pattiserie. The candied orange peel effect mollifies every herbal aspect, while the flowers are so subdued and well-blended as not to be discernible as such; if abstraction is elegance, then Mitsouko is very elegant indeed, without nevertheless losing its sensuality.

Top notes are Citruses, Neroli, Bergamot, and Rose
Heart notes are Lilac, Peach, Jasmine, and Ylang Ylang
Base notes are Spices, Amber, Clove, Cinnamon, Vetiver, Patchouli, and Oak Moss.

Offered here is a gorgeous 37 ml. flacon of this classic and much loved perfume. It is presented in the Baccarat style bottle and has the beautiful "Bouchon Coeur” or Heart-shaped stopper. This flacon is still sealed and has never been used. It is difficult to pinpoint the year of production, because it was produced before the advent of batch codes, but I feel it is probably from the 1960's.