Fragrance Review: GUERLAIN – MOUCHOIR DE MONSIEUR

When one starts reaching back into the boundless history of a House like Guerlain, you can easily lose yourself in the legend and fantasy... more than 700 perfumes have been recorded to the house's credit, but several you will find have been in production for more than 100 years! One such scent  – Mouchoir de Monsieur – was in fact the House's very first commercial masculine, released to the well-heeled of Parisian society in 1904... and its still available today!

Mouchoir de Monsieur (Monsieur's Handkerchief)  was produced at a time when the Parisian well-to-do used to perfume their pocket squares... they would in turn be held over the nose and mouth to mask the stench of unwashed street-urchins, the slums and littered streets of the day. Mouchoir de Monsieur is an oriental fragrance for men comprised of traditional notes of bergamot, lavender, verbena, jasmine and rose, over richer facets of patchouli, cinnamon, amber, vanilla and mosses. It has become iconic for its curious blend which dances between clean and bright, and somewhat musky and carnal. Mouchoir de Monsieur has been heralded as the “male version” of Guerlain's highly-revered Jicky – a scent that was created the same year as Gustave Eiffel revealed his famous monument that towered over the capital: 1889.

A somewhat sensual twist on the eaux de colognes of yesteryear, Mouchoir de Monsieur doesn't disappoint with its timeless elegance and “right kind” of mustiness.