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Moustache Rochas 1949 Eau de Toilette

8.0 / 10 60 Ratings

A popular perfume by Rochas for men, released in 1949. The scent is spicy-citrusy. The production was apparently discontinued.
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Main accords

Spicy

Citrus

Fresh

Green

Powdery

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Basil

Lavender

Bergamot

Lemon vervain Lemon

Lemon

Petitgrain

Heart Notes

Honey

Geranium

Jasmine

Rose

Carnation

Base Notes

Oakmoss

Amber

Musk

Cedar

Tonka bean Vanilla

Vanilla

Perfumers

Edmond Roudnitska, Thérèse Roudnitska

Ratings

Scent

8.060 Ratings

Longevity

7.145 Ratings

Sillage

6.340 Ratings

Bottle

6.242 Ratings

Submitted by DonVanVliet · last update on 07/21/2025.

Source-backed & verified

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Moustache Original 1949

Moustache Eau de Toilette Concentrée

Moustache Extra Strength

Moustache Extrait

Armani Privé - Oranger Alhambra

Scandal pour Homme Eau de Parfum

Reviews

11 in-depth fragrance descriptions

07/24/2012

jtd
484 Reviews

jtd

5

underestimated

Moustache is nominally a masculine citrus, floral chypre. It falls into the same category as Chanel Pour Monsieur, Monsieur de Givenchy and even its own sibling Eau Sauvage. But something about the twists of its construction leaves a crisp dryness akin to Guerlain’s Vetiver. Moustache’s lime and peppery carnation give an astringency similar in tone to Vetiver’s licoricy-vetiver dryness.

All of Moustache’s elements play off its central strong chypre base. The dryness has a scrubbed and starched quality that stands out brilliantly against growling animalic undertones. It’s as if Moustache’s affable eau de cologne-like gentleman’s chypre hides a bit of a snarl. Like an ongoing dare. What’s marvelous is that this tension lasts through the entirely of the scent’s evolution.

There are through-lines to many of Edmond Roudnitska’s pieces (Eau d’Hermes, Eau Sauvage, Diorella) but I find that Moustache, an early work by Roudnistka and his wife Therese, shares a particular quality with one of his last pieces, Mario Valentino’s Ocean Rain. They both have and underpinning of that beautifully flat scent of a new rain hitting dry earth.

07/12/2015

8Scent 2.5Longevity 5Sillage

Drseid
828 Reviews

Drseid

Helpful Review 1

The Roudnitska Spouses Team Up With A Winner...

*This is a review of vintage Moustache Eau de Cologne.

Moustache (vintage) opens with an aromatic lavender and basil spiked bergamot and lemon citrus starring tandem, with heavy musk laden oakmoss rising from the base in support. Moving to the early heart the basil folds into the remaining aromatic lavender which takes on a co-starring role alongside the powerful musky oakmoss with slightly dulled carnation floral support. During the late dry-down the the composition smooths out, as the herbal aspects vacate, leaving slightly powdery, relatively dry vanilla joining faint traces of underlying natural smelling cedar and the remnants of the heavily diminished but still detectable oakmoss through the finish. Projection is average and longevity is on the low side of average to slightly below average at about 6-7 hours on skin.

Moustache (vintage) goes right for the knockout punch on application, as the basil and musky oakmoss (similar smelling to the stuff used in the much later released Success by MCM) really pack a punch when coupled with the aromatic lavender and citrus. The composition really comes into its own though in the key mid-section, as the basil that is so aggressive at the open, literally melds into the lavender carnation and musky oakmoss perfectly. The effect is very old-school traditional (translation: superb) and rather sophisticated. If there is any relative weakness it would have to be the late dry-down, as compared to the powerful herb-spiked lavender and musky oakmoss assault, the gentle vanilla led finish seems a bit anti-climactic. That said, even the late dry-down is very skillfully handled by the great Roudnitskas. As an aside, I don't think it is any secret that I am a huge oakmoss fan and Moustache (vintage) definitely is loaded with tons of the stuff, enough to satisfy anyone who craves the ingredient. Quite frankly, while I have never smelled the current formulation, it is quite clear it could never include the ingredient at anywhere near similar levels (so good or bad, it definitely is going to smell quite different). The bottom line is the approximately $40 per 105ml bottle on the aftermarket Moustache (vintage) EdC may be a bit elusive to track down nowadays, but you are heavily rewarded with a tremendous "excellent" 4 star out of 5 rated Roudnitska husband and wife composition that will particularly appeal to old-school classical perfume lovers that crave oakmoss as much as I.

04/19/2013

9Scent 7.5Longevity 5Sillage

Yatagan
416 Reviews

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Yatagan

Top Review 40

Beauty and the Beast - or the Subconscious in Fragrances

Beauty and the Beast, a film by the French writer, artist, and director Jean Cocteau from 1946, is still worth watching today. It is considered one of the masterpieces of poetic cinema and is regarded as an early precursor to the so-called fantasy genre. Beauty and the Beast showcases the unfolding of good (the prince) in the seemingly evil (the beast).

Cocteau was considered a surrealist like Dali, who sought the unconscious, the subconscious, and the dreamlike beneath the surface of things. Thus, Beauty and the Beast can also be interpreted through a psychoanalytic lens and understood as a state of consciousness "above reality" (surrealism) or as an inner experience.

From the same decade, a particularly fertile artistic and philosophical era (just think of existentialism, Sartre, and Camus), comes the artfully composed fragrance "Moustache" by Rochas, created by Edmond and Theresa Roudnitska.

With Moustache, not everything is as it seems. Contrary to other equally legitimate analyses of this fragrance, I do not see it as a subtle representative of its style, but rather as loud, hard, and masculine, albeit under a fine, seemingly harmless surface, as if the game of Beauty and the Beast had reversed: Beneath the fine weave of lavender and lemon lies the beast, the tough guy who can break free, who is not entirely trustworthy, and who grows a wild mustache, even though he makes every conceivable effort to represent the gentleman. The composition could also be interpreted as an image of latent male aggression beneath the exterior of the tamed good boy.

Whatever the case may be. The scent development of this men's perfume is more interesting than that of many others, certainly more exciting than most one-dimensional men's fragrances of the newer generation, which do not know any development and remain in the androgynous larval stage, without stretching their wings to boldly seek freedom.

1949 was a time when men were apparently perceived differently than today. I wouldn't dare claim that this was better. As a man, I would not want to swap places with my male counterparts from that time.

Equally unappealing to me is the fragrance trend of the androgynous, probably initiated by CK One, which, although groundbreaking as the first representative of its kind, then became the template for countless imitators that only differed marginally from one another.

Anyone looking for a bright, fresh summer fragrance these days that is not as androgynous as CK One and its descendants might find what they are looking for in Moustache. After the citrus-fresh opening, which quickly blends with lavender tones, one soon perceives floral accents that initially suggest a direction that could make the fragrance wearable for women. However, the perception suddenly and without warning shifts: The subconscious breaks through and speaks robustly, raw, and loudly to you, the wearer. This impression is evoked by the strong herbal scent (basil), which does not let go, grabs hold, and clings to your skin. The gentleman becomes a guy, a beast, whose hair grows, as the name of the fragrance suggests.

That my impression is not entirely unfounded can be somewhat evidenced by the list of owners of this fragrance: Not a single woman seems to have it in her closet. Brave women may step forward.

The robust-herbaceous accent then remains dominant for a long time, ensuring that the fragrance presents not only its fresh, hesperidic note but also a fougère accent.
The base remains mysteriously green until the end - with moss and woods. I cannot definitively identify any further notes; one might imagine many things, and the subconscious may still play some tricks on the wearer of this fragrance.

I also find the color design of the liquid very beautiful, an aspect that I usually pay little attention to. Here, however, the liquid shimmers in tones that shift between yellow and green, visually anticipating the olfactory development from citrus to herbal notes.

Moustache remains a fragrance that, despite its lovely notes (lemon, flowers), can also be beastly and bitter (herbs, spices), symbolizing the development from the lovable to the hard and bitter in the language of scent, thus becoming a metaphor for inner experience in the form of a fragrance.

05/19/2015

8Scent 7.5Longevity 5Sillage

Taurus
1172 Reviews

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Taurus

Top Review 19

The Fragrant Moustache Brush

Moustache is for me a charmingly cheeky and frivolous men's fragrance from days gone by, which undergoes an interesting development.
At first, it seems very disoriented, untamed, almost chaotic with all the tumultuous impressions that could almost make your hair stand on end.

Only gradually do the fragrance notes come into order, but especially lavender and lemon shrub make our moustache rather dry and slightly bitter as well as somewhat sticky, before the floral ingredients of the heart note, including a touch of honey, bring more smoothness.
While Moustache is particularly characterized by lemon, it is not dominated by it. It is far too complex for that, and especially in the base note, the soft elegant nuances emerge thanks to musk and the distinctive oak moss. I can't quite pinpoint vanilla and tonka bean, but perhaps they also work more subtly.
In any case, our moustache appears quite well-groomed and cultivated here with a very slight barbershop touch, yet absolutely gentlemanlike.

Thus, Moustache brings both serious and seductive elements into play, suitable for daytime business as well as evening visits to the club - at least in the summer months. However, I have been wondering the whole time what kind of moustache should be olfactorily symbolized: the classic twirled moustache, the creative Dali moustache, the fine thin Clark Gable moustache, or the bushy handlebar? Pornstaches like Burt Reynolds or Tom Selleck would be rather excluded - which doesn't mean that their wearers wouldn't have the right to wear this fragrance.

To return to the lemon theme: there are indeed countless fragrances like hairs on a yeti, but Moustache still feels unique - I can't think of a direct comparison at first glance, even though it seemingly took inspiration from Pour Monsieur by Chanel, Eau Sauvage by Dior (a feat by the same perfumer), or Eau pour Homme by Armani.

04/28/2011

9Scent 7.5Longevity

Turandot
840 Reviews

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Turandot

Top Review 13

Can it be done without a mustache?

Admittedly, a mustache is no longer a symbol of masculine elegance today. But who knew in 1949 that this fragrance would still make hearts race today?

It starts off rather subtly and traditionally with a green-spicy top note, where a beautiful bitter lavender touch quickly makes one forget the well-known bergamot. It's initially summery light, nonchalant, and yet distinctly masculine.

And then it reveals itself, the fragrance stick great-uncle. Because now the scent becomes even more beautiful, not in that certain way that makes you want to kneel or faint, but I could imagine it as a noble elegant companion at an art opening, a city stroll, a business launch, or an official yet casual event. It could even be a few years younger than the aforementioned ancestor.

The fragrance remains bright, then becomes just a tiny bit soapy, but really just a tiny bit. Perhaps "clean" or "proper" would even be more fitting. The honey is really only recognizable if you know it's there, and I believe it serves here merely as the connecting link between the rather feminine floral notes that prevent everything from becoming too pronounced, and the earthy yet soft oak moss, as these nuances flow very skillfully and seamlessly into one another. Now Moustache truly comes into its own. And with the now noticeably more sensual base, one could let the formal meeting conclude in a much more private manner.

Rochas was once just "upper" mainstream, comparable to, for example, Gucci or Givenchy. Why is it that perfumers today cannot or do not want to follow in the footsteps of their supposed role models and carry on the legacy of an Edmond Roudnitska?

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