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Mitsouko Guerlain 1919 Extrait

9.0 / 10 243 Ratings

A popular perfume by Guerlain for women, released in 1919. The scent is chypreartig-spicy. The longevity is above-average. It is being marketed by LVMH.
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Main accords

Chypre

Spicy

Floral

Fruity

Green

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Bergamot

Citrus fruits Jasmine

Jasmine

Rose

Heart Notes

Peach

Ylang-ylang Lilac

Lilac

Base Notes

Oakmoss

Spices

Vetiver

Ambergris

Cinnamon

Perfumer

Jacques Guerlain

Ratings

Scent

9.0243 Ratings

Longevity

8.7214 Ratings

Sillage

7.8211 Ratings

Bottle

9.2213 Ratings

Value for money

7.679 Ratings

Submitted by Nibelung · last update on 11/10/2025.

Source-backed & verified

Interesting Facts

"Mitsouko" is translated as "mystery" by Guerlain and appears to be their transliteration of the japanese name "Mitsuko" which actually means "Child of Light". It is supposed to be inspired by the 1909 novel "La Bataille" by Claude Farrère in in which a Japanese woman falls in love with a British officer in the early 20th century. Mitsouko is a chypre, in which the scent molecule aldehyde C-14 (Persicol, 1,4-Undecanolid - chemically a lactone and not, as one might suspect by the name, an aldehyde) was used the first time. 1,4-Undecanolid is responsible for natural peach flavour and was synthetically produced for the use in Mitsouko. Thus, Mitsouko was a milestone in modern perfumery. Charlie Chaplin is supposed to have been a prominent user of Mitsouko. It is said it was his signature fragrance of which he kept several bottles in stock at home and in the studio. The fragrance was reformulated by Edouard Fléchier.

Variant of the fragrance concentration

This is a variant of the perfume Mitsouko (Eau de Parfum) by Guerlain, which differs in concentration.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Mitsouko Eau de Parfum

Mitsouko Eau de Toilette

Mitsouko Eau de Cologne

Diaghilev Parfum

Jubilation 25 Woman Eau de Parfum

L'Air du Temps Eau de Toilette

Reviews

13 in-depth fragrance descriptions

01/21/2025

10Scent 9Longevity 7Sillage

Elijahrb67
120 Reviews

Elijahrb67

1

Mitsouko at its finest

My love for Mitsouko is endless. I could write paragraphs exclaiming the pure joy I get whenever I smell this fragrance, and the extrait is the most worthy of these exclamations. I try not to over-compare current fragrances with their vintage counterparts, but I must say that this iteration of Mitsouko is 1:1 with the vintage versions I've smelled. The opening is iconic, a blend of ylang-ylang, rose and jasmine with just a touch of fruity sweetness, and a lactonic note from the peach that tops it all off in a glorious fashion. I find the opening of the extrait to be a bit less intense than with the EDP, and more well-rounded as well. The dry down is characteristically Mitsouko, leaning into it's classic spicy and mossy DNA that has marked the fragrance as a legend and a masterclass in the chypre genre. Worth noting is that this extrait is shockingly mossy given IFRA restrictions on oakmoss. Whether this is real oakmoss or not, I cannot say, but whatever it is, it is very true to the original formulas.

It's so refreshing to see that Guerlain has kept Mitsouko as true to it's original form as possible with this extrait version. Although the price is steep, I cannot recommend this iteration of Mitsouko enough, especially for chypre lovers. Mitsouko will likely remain my number one fragrance as long as I live, and this extrait is a testament to it's pure, unadulterated beauty. I'm so glad that I was able to add this to my collection, and further my love for this legendary fragrance.

02/13/2025

2Scent

celeblas
119 Reviews

celeblas

1

What's Old is Young Again

I enjoy smelling this. I don't want to wear it, and I'm not sure I would want to be too close with someone who was wearing it, but I wouldn't mind smelling it on someone a bit further away from me. There's a clarity and sharpness to it, not freshness because that's what Jicky does. The clarity of it is almost like alcohol, which might be the oakmoss. That isn't a favourite note of mine and I find for me it comes to dominate anything it's in (like Floris Sandalwood & Patchouli room scent for example). I much prefer the Parfum of this to the EDP.

In the contemporary context my mind goes immediately to "grandmother" when I smell this. But I can see how, through a diﬀerent lens of a diﬀerent era, this is entirely young and fresh, and masculine and feminine, all depending on the context. It's far too easy to dismiss this when you first wear it because practically every cheap drugstore and mail order perfume for the last 100 years has inherited something from this. If only I could smell this in a world where it were new.

07/21/2024

6.5Scent 9Longevity 8Sillage

SwabGames
86 Reviews

SwabGames

1

The first Guerlain scent that I didn't really like

The scent is, of course, feminine, but here you can recognize the characteristic style of the Guerlain company - making women's fragrances not quite typical. At the beginning there is jasmine with lemon. The beginning of the fragrance feels very balanced and pleasant due to the fact that Jacques Guerlain was not afraid to add and bring forward lemon, and not a very sour one at that. In the middle, which gradually began to sound, peach and ylang began to sound. The aroma is, of course, unusual, and on all levels, but for me the middle did not seem very pleasant, especially after the start. And the heart was replaced by moss and vetiver. The aroma became unusual again, this time in a good way. This set of scents is usually used in men's perfumery, and they sound harsher there, but Jacques Guerlain was able to make moss and vetiver more delicate, soft, and sometimes sweet. As for me, the aroma is ambiguous, and I was shocked that for the first time I did not like something in a Guerlain tel years scent.

10/22/2017

8.5Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

loewenherz
919 Reviews

Translated · Show original

loewenherz

Top Review 50

Iki

There are quite a few terms in Japanese that do not translate well into other - especially non-Asian - languages. (In contrast, many German and other European words can only be paraphrased in these languages; for example, although the feeling exists everywhere, the term 'Schadenfreude' is unique to us.) Many of these poorly translatable words stem from Japanese aesthetics and - closely related to this - philosophy. One of the classical ideals of this aesthetic is 'Iki'.

'Iki' essentially refers to the habitus of being 'sophisticated yet not overindulgent - innocent yet not naive' and means 'having experienced life, having tasted both its bitterness and its sweetness.' Iki is the result of personal maturity and development, uniting qualities such as cultivated urbanity, refinement, and esprit, worldly wisdom, and sensual pleasure, as well as a coquettish yet tasteful aura of sensitivity. Iki cannot be bought or learned; it must be earned.

Certainly, one could find Iki in many - especially the older and classic - fragrances from the house of Guerlain. Yet none embodies it quite like this one - Mitsouko - which not only shares a Japanese reference in its name. For more than any other, Mitsouko combines all that I have attempted to summarize as 'Iki' in the previous paragraph - sensitivity and mature cultivation, along with the self-assurance that comes from the knowledge of this cultivation and maturity. Mitsouko is almost a way of life.

Even more than the more popular Eau de Parfum, the Extrait condenses the feminine delicacy of an orchard in the dim twilight with the cognac-colored nobility of ripe fruits and spices, which seem so familiar that one almost forgets their originally exotic origins. Mitsouko is the archetype of the French Chypre - confidently serene and cosmopolitan-urban - and undoubtedly meant to be worn only by a woman who radiates all these qualities with the same nonchalant naturalness even without it.

Conclusion: a, perhaps 'the' titan within the Guerlain portfolio. And 'Iki' through and through.

08/12/2017

10Scent 8Longevity 8Sillage

Baptiste
16 Reviews

Translated · Show original

Baptiste

Top Review 60

Why Shouldn't a Woman Have an Affair?

It was September 1, 1932. Fritzi Massary sat in front of the makeup mirror in her dressing room at the Berlin Metropol Theater, the dull light bulbs illuminating her fifty-year-old but fine face. She was excited; it was the premiere night of "A Woman Who Knows What She Wants." Nervously, she fiddled with the hem of her skirt and adjusted it. "You'll see," Oscar had emphasized again and again, "the people will love you and this operetta! Trust me!" This didn't really calm her down. At least now, as so often, she was overtaken by the dreaded stage fright, which seemed to melt away any confidence. A deep breath, a silent prayer, a sigh, and off she went. She reached for the glass of champagne, drank it in one gulp, took Mitsouko from the makeup table, tilted her chin slightly into the light of the bulbs, and dabbed a fine drop on either side of her neck, which had been eagerly kissed by burning lips the night before. "What was his name again?" she thought, but she had forgotten his name. "Come on, Fritzi!" she said aloud to herself, stood up, spun around once on her axis, and pushed open the dressing room door. Just at the right moment, as the music began, she ascended the steps to the stage and stepped into the spotlight...

Fritzi's life in Berlin was glamorous. Since 1904, she had been performing at the Metropol Theater in Berlin Mitte, shining in numerous operettas and admired by just as many admirers as admirers. She didn't care what people said about her. She was already too famous for that. Even though she saw herself as very hardworking, disciplined, and, deep down in her heart, bourgeois, she nonetheless stood for a modern image of women in the emerging 20th century that was intelligent, self-assured, but also passionate. For both men and women, she embodied on stage the attractive, open-minded woman who still valued a certain traditional femininity. When Jacques Guerlain created Mitsouko in 1919, he likely had exactly this type of woman in mind. If not, the fragrance itself may have contributed to women becoming more aware of themselves and beginning to encroach into men's spheres of life.
What could fit Mitsouko better than the famous, slightly frivolous operetta hit by Massary from the premiere night "Why Shouldn't a Woman Have an Affair?":

"What society talks about
between lunch and dinner,
in the afternoon at 5 o'clock?
About Madame X and Madame U,
it's best not to listen to people at all."

Mitsouko Extrait starts confidently. Jasmine, a hint of bergamot, and a whispered rose create a floral-fresh opening. The peach is already making its way quickly, while the spices and oakmoss from the base quickly provide the unmistakably fascinating "moldy" undertone. The heart of peach, lilac, and ylang-ylang deepens the fragrance, making it sensual, slightly slippery, and interesting. Here, Mitsouko remains fruity-floral-spicy-dark for several hours, leaving a mysterious aura that provides plenty of conversation material about the fascinating woman at the neighboring table during the 5 o'clock gathering.

"Do you know Mrs. Y, the beautiful, slender blonde?
Do you know what they say about her?
She has a man, she has a friend,
and an uncle who means very well with her.
Yes, then she has a lion hunter
and also a jazz band N*.
Goodness, the consumption!"

But every rumor holds a little truth. And so, the greatest truth of Mitsouko lies in its base. Oakmoss, spices, amber, vetiver, and cinnamon wrap themselves around its wearer in a balsamic, slightly sweet, and powdery flattering way. Mysterious, tempting, sensual. Not frivolous, but as self-assured as the top note, regardless of how the whole chatter at the neighboring table affects one's reputation. Whether she is with him, he with her, she with her, or he with him. All variations are familiar to Mitsouko, making it irresistible.

"They say about her, they gossip,
she's also a bit different!"

And so, Massary also convinced on that evening of September 1, 1932, as a woman who knows what she wants. And just as Massary is for the audience, Mitsouko is made for women and men who know what they want. Those who engage with Mitsouko will experience a passion that is strong, deep, and long-lasting. And those who enter into an affair with Mitsouko need not fear gossip. Or do they?

"Why shouldn't a woman have an affair?
If she's pretty, they'll say:
Well, she must have one, it would be silly!
And if people are already talking and she doesn't have one.
Well, then it's much better if she has one!
Why shouldn't a woman have an affair?
Can you tell me why?"

(*In the original song, the N-word for African Americans is used)

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