Mouchoir de Monsieur Guerlain 1904

Guerlain's Mouchoir Pour Monsieur comes from the time shortly after the turn of the 20th century and seems to me like the forerunner of the great Habit Rouge EdT from the 60s.

The prelude is a subdued citric note. In the course of time, the fragrance develops into a powdery, animalistic one. Whereby also this is very dimmed. So you could say that the idea for Habit Rouge had already been realized in the Mouchoir, but not yet expressively implemented. However, the difference in expressiveness between handkerchief (Mouchoir) and tailcoat (Habit) is very clear. In the Habit Rouge the prelude of bitter orange is violent, in the Mouchoir the bergamot (?) is only discreetly audible. Even the animalistic-powdery heart note is only dimly silent here and virulently agitated there.

I don't like the dimmed ones at the mouchoir. I much prefer the loud expression of the Habit Rouge. With Mouchoir, you always have to go into yourself to be aware of the characteristics. A perfume should already radiate and draw attention to itself. To be found by the seeker is not enough for a perfume. It may also be the overstimulation of our time, which requires strong signals. But that's the way it is.

Furthermore, with the mouchoir, I have the impression from the top note onwards that a certain cacophony prevails. The components do not seem to fit together properly. This shortcoming goes right through to heart trouble. This may be due to the fact that in 120 years the taste has changed somewhat. But especially the heart note I would describe as grey. That's the association that evokes the animalistic, dimmed, something disharmonic. When I close my eyes, I see a horse stable in front of me at Habit, and a woodshed in a garden at Mouchoir.

All in all, I advise against buying. If you want a classic, complex, expressive powdery-animal scent of complex French perfumery, you should go for Habit Rouge. In it has found to perfection what in the Mouchoir de Monsieur only exists in the idea. Time has passed over the mouchoir. Guerlain should rest in peace