Marcel Rochas, Moustache, 220 ml. or 7.5 oz. Flacon, Eau de Cologne, 1949, 1960, Paris, France ..

Rochas began as a French fashion house founded by Marcel Rochas in 1925. From 1925 until 1953, when the haute couture division closed its doors, Marcel Rochas dressed women in forward-thinking fashions that also celebrated traditional feminine silhouettes.

The company expanded its offerings to include fragrances, starting with a trio of perfumes, Avenue Matignon, Air Jeune and Audace, in 1934. The perfumes were taken off the market during World War II, but the company's most famous fragrance, the classic Femme, was launched in 1943 and remains a perennial best-seller.

Launched in 1949, Moustache was created by Edmond Roudnitska. The name was inspired by Van Dyck’s portrait of Charles 1st of England who boasted fine whiskers.  Moustache is about masculine distinction and the quintessence of seduction according to Rochas.

Moustache is a compelling aromatic fragrance for men. At the top are stimulating notes from Lemon Verbana, Lemon, Lavender, Petitgrain, Basil and Bergamot. The heart is filled with notes from Geranium, Honey, Carnation, Rose and Jasmine.

"Moustache has great lasting power and good sillage; on the days I wear it I can’t help reapplying it mid-day to re-experience the great opening and heart of the perfume. Don’t be shy when applying the fragrance; a generous dousing will bring out all the charms of Moustache. I think women will enjoy this fragrance too."

Smooth-cheeked chaps have been the norm for more than half a century now and facial hair on men in the western world is considered either intello-boho or "tough guy, three day stubble, ...!" But once upon a time when men fought in the Great War or assimilated la toilette in -perhaps less excruciatingly soignée .. the manner of Hercules Poirot and his own profuse moustaches, facial hair stood for distinction. Moustache by Rochas is a scent that could make you grow such a virtual moustache if you belong to the modern clique of smoothly-cheeked guys and actually feel proud enough to admit wearing such a funnily named perfume.

The house of Marcel Rochas issued Moustache as one of the select few fragrant specimens bearing the handiwork of that elusive .. but talented .. personality Thérèse Roudnitska, the wife of trismegistus Edmond .. who also had his skillful hand in this .. and the muse to her husband's Le Parfum de Thérèse. Thérèse, a student of l’Ecole de Chimie in Paris who gratuated in 1941, apprenticied at the De Laire company at the laboratories of which she met her future husband.

A romance blossomed, peppered with scented gifts: Edmond presented her with his eloquent composition It's You which he had composed for Elizabeth Arden. After romantic courtship they found Art et Parfum, a society dedicated to the art of perfumery in 1946. At the time Edmond Roudnitska was working with Rochas, having cemented both their fragrant notoriety with Femme, a masterpiece conceived in the most perilous and ravaged of occassions, Paris being occupied by the Nazis in 1944 and right when Edmond had his hands in more prosaic tasks, such as finding a sufficient butter-taste substitute. According to his son, Michel Roudnitska, who gives the date of issue of Moustache as 1948, while some guides claim 1949 as the launch) "Moustache foreshadows Roudnitska's philosophy of creation - clear, simple and restrained". I couldn't have said it more succinctly.

Offered here is a lovely almost 8 ounce flacon of the fabled Moustache .. It's lovely ..
There are three fabulous fragrances for men from Rochas .. Moustache .. 1948, Monsieur Rochas .. 1969, and Macassar .. 1980 ..