Then some in-house people refused to mess with the formula and walked out, at which point Guerlain brought in the great Edouard Fléchier to fix the problem. He appears to have worked on it for a couple of years. Two days ago I got the new stuff, and it gives me great pleasure to report that Fléchier has done the impossible.
— Luca Turin likes the newly reformulated Guerlain Mitsouko. Read more in NZZ Folio.
"Roberto Cavalli Envisions Jennifer Lopez Wearing His ‘Aggressive’ Scent" article at People http://t.co/PcfLZSCW Stella McCartney in conversation with Alexandra Shulman (video, talks about new scent L.I.L.Y) http://t.co/VAKYigvK "French parfumier Guerlain on trial over 'race slurs'" article at Telegraph http://t.co/lVDxoZMi Vote for NST's Mood Board on FB and win a Zoya Nail Polish collection! http://t.co/MXHMN7I3
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Hello from a longtime reader and first-time commenter!
Just wanted to say: In addition to his many virtues as a “nose,” d*mn, Luca Turin can write. D*MN! To wit (forgive the long quote):
“The place where you find the most resin acids is the rosin used by violinists to give friction to the bow. Allergies can be added to their long list of sufferings among which neck abrasions, poor posture, wearing ill-fitting black clothes and having to play Alban Berg’s Concerto. Much smaller amounts of resin acids are contained in perfume. But now that most real dangers (cholera, Russian tanks) are gone, EU politicians have found that several small fears can propel careers as nicely as one big one, and have been regulating all the horrible chemicals in our lives.”
Robin, you share so much beauty and wisdom with us. Thank you in particular for pointing us towards Mr. Turin's writing. (P.S. I happen to love the Berg violin concerto and happen not to love some of Mr. Turin's favorite juices, but no matter – genius is genius and must be acknowledged.)
I would have felt a lot more reassured by this before the let down of the Chanel Exlusifs compared to his assessment of them. To be honest, I can scarcely imagine a bread note in this context.
It is a great piece, and cracked up at the “cholera, Russian tanks” part. I would have been perfectly happy to keep taking my chances with real oakmoss!
Well, I don't always love the things that LT loves, but if he says Mitsouko is still worthy of being Mitsouko, I'm guessing he is right — especially given how harsh he has been about Guerlain in the past. But will be interested to see what gets posted on the boards when it is out in general release — although guessing it is going to be hard now to know which version you're buying (?)
I've been thinking about this a bit more and I can't help feeling that success would have been if they were indistinguishable. But that's not what he's saying…
Nope, but guessing that is impossible. I am sort of resigned to the fact that eventually *nothing* is going to smell like it used to.
Is oakmoss banned in the US? If not, will the version of Mitsouko sold in the US be the original formulation?
As I understand it (and admittedly I only pay minor attention to these issues) oakmoss is not banned anywhere, and Guerlain could have continued to use real oakmoss so long as they put an allergen warning on the box in the EU. In the US, I don't think they had to do anything at all, although how long that will continue to be true is anybody's guess.
Under the newer IFRA recommendations (not the ones that originally led to the reformulation of Mitsouko), using real oakmoss might entail additional burdens, but you'll have to look around elsewhere (IFRA has lots of info on their website) to find out what those are.
And you'll have to write to Guerlain to be sure, but would be VERY surprised if they went to the expense of maintaining 2 versions. The fact is that fragrances are reformulated on a continual basis and the vast majority of the time, the consumer isn't even aware of it. Mitsouko only became an issue because Luca Turin publicized it.
True, Oak Moss is not banned, nor is it restricted in the US. In perfumery, there are two distinct Oak Moss Absolutes, One is a brown oak moss and the other green. Both are used in fragrance. But, and this is a big but. The amounts used are in such dilution it would be rare that it would cause acute dermal reactions. For example, I dilute Oak Moss down to a 10% solution, and rarely use more than 1% of that solution in a formula, that is at the highest concentration (parfume extrait) 35% aromatics.. Oak Moss is very potent. a little goes a long way. and combined with other like minded notes (as it usually is) the idea that Oak Moss is unsafe, just doesn't play out in the real world.
What does play out, is the cold hard fact, that Chemical companies now make a variety of synthetic Mosses, They are much cheaper than the real thing. Perfumeries are reformulating all the time. Not to make their product better, by replacing natural ( allergen) ingredients with synthetic, but to create a less costly product. The more they cheapen a formula, the more money they make. Using a chemical instead of real oak moss not only cuts costs, but also eliminates the tincture, dilution and straining of the real mosses. As is also true with other natural elements. Most are not used at full strength, and need a lot of prep work. On a large scale, this takes time and moeny. That is eliminated completely when the synthetic alternative is used.
The only way this will change, is when the buying public stops buying, and demands a better product for the money they spend.
Nothing gets a companies attention more than lost revenues. If you don't see it yet in perfumery or personal care items, take a look at the food industry. Every big producer is scrambling to get on the “Organic” bandwagon. They were smart. They didn't try to ban organic foods like the perfume iindustry is trying to ban natural aromatics. They joined in and started growing organics. They want their piece of the pie, and they know how to get it.
Hopefully, as more and more people demand better fragrance and personal care items, and or question the practices in the industry, the Industry will re-evaluate their position.
ZZ
Thanks for the very informative comment!