𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐡𝐲𝐩𝐫𝐞

The core peach profile of Mitosuko prevailed in most of its life span, from 1919 to the late 90s until IFRA poked the maestros.

The below-mentioned batches lie within the span of the early 1950s until the late 80s, including Pure Parfum, Parfum de toilette, Cologne, and EDT.

Commonalities in profile from 50s-90s which is orthogonal to today's formulations:
Juicy pulpy, almost dried fruit-like peach, governed by sticky benzoin as the backbone, the entire hyper-realistic peach tone along with the warm bed of sticky amber accord is nothing like what we get in the post-IFRA banned formulations. The dried fruity tones remind me of the darker bone dry berries.
The 1953 Pure Parfum shares the roundest boundary with an amped-up civet and amber accords in the base.

PDT, EDT, and Cologne share a very similar structure, with one being the stronger counterpart to the other. Both are big on the zingy aspect up top, which quickly fades away to an earthy oakmoss bed and hints of civet and an inky vetiver undertone. The pre-80s parfum being my most adored among all iterations, any pre-1990s form of Mitsouko lives up to the throne category.

Formulations since 2006 till present:
With increasing synthetic substitutes used, the entire profile changed. Theirry Wasser had to plough through experiments on getting to the right synthesised aromatics in order to counterbalance the lost naturals. Veramoss or Evernyl took over since then until today, alongside various other shifts.

Main profile changes:
There exists a dry, hay-like quality to the 2016 EDP and 2021 Parfum I have, perhaps owing to the veramoss used. Relative to the vintages, an inferior synthetic (in a bad way) woody nuisance lies beneath the 2011–2022 batches. The soft benzoin warmth is missing, along with the pulpy peach that defines Mitsouko, at least in my book. The first reformulation after IFRA showed a sharp decline in quality, but Wasser's craftsmanship later polished it with the current batches(>2016). Yet, a completely orthogonal set of profiles to the basis(vintages).

It's remarkable to ponder the multitude of perfumers and their creations this composition has inspired. A true revolutionaire in classical chypres, it remains the finest chypre even after a century. It's a testament to the pioneering genius of perfumery's genre-defining creator, Jacques Guerlain, a legacy no one can surpass.
This might be the only perfume that nailed each of their concentrations with perfect coherency(until 2005).  The parfum to cologne range produced until the early '90s is a coveted find. A pre-80s parfum under $220 for 15ml or more is a good deal, considering today's inflated industry of artisanals and niches.