I can only imagine what life in France must’ve been like only a few years following the second world war when the original Moustache was perfumed, but there’s a small part of me that feels hopeful whenever I smell this scent - like things are looking up, or that a brighter dawn is just on the horizon - timeless beauty perhaps, or the cover of a fresh book that promises an exciting, yet comforting adventure. Whether or not that was Roudnitska’s original vision is beyond me, but I’m certain that everyone could use a bit more of that sentiment nowadays. Overall, despite its popular reputation as a lemony fragrance, Moustache edt is anything but. In fact, it’s predominantly a soft and gentlemanly lavender for most of its life, if not for the first half hour where nearly all of the magic happens. From the massive blast of honeyed lemon, to the strange funk, soft violet and beautiful lavender drydown, it’s quite a journey to take in such a short period of time; yet frankly an absolute joy to experience. Kind of like life. Style or nothing! What matters is cutting a fine figure, the famous beautiful drape of the clothes. Rochas invented the basque, designed the mermaid evening gown, liberated women’s bodies with his ¾ coats and square shoulders, and created the Bird dress inspired by the artists of his day. Timeless classics that the couturier reinvented for every season. In its density and indulgence, this Rochas reminds me of the above mentioned Guerlain classics and Tom Ford's "Noir". A little fruity by a really pleasant round, harmonious, almost creamy, unbitter mandarin, also floral with clear rose, which is beautifully waxy and also powdery framed by benzoin. Contrary to initial expectations, the sweetness of the fragrance is subtly restrained even in the base note with its patchouli and the vanilla-like scent of the benzoin it contains. Yes, "Moustache" certainly ends in several sweetish variants, but at no point does it seem overloaded with this sweetness, as the remaining cedar - even if only faintly perceptible - restrains it at all times. And in this way the scent remains without any further development before it finally leaves the skin after another 2-3 hours or so.

I have reached for Moustache EDP more than any other fragrance over these colder months even though I already have a trio of Ferragamo Uomo Signature, If there's one thing you can't blame "Moustache" for, it's probably its excellent pricing policy or the grandiose relationship between high-quality fragrance, bottle size and price.The price performance I find even more outstanding, usually you have to reformulate the BUNKERN, because Rochas as with the "Rochas Man" but like once. In the meantime, the fragrance is with me and I compare it with the actual original from 1949. Can that go well? Yes, I have (frighteningly) commented and also tested very little in the last year, because many newcomers simply don't give me anything except the feeling of repeatedly smelling something comparable, similar or even identical As far as the silage is concerned, the fragrance plays this strength out wonderfully, especially in the heart note and in the transition to the base. The pleasant woody note, combined with a slow onset of sweetness, ensures that one leaves a sufficient and perceptible, but never oppressive scent trail. Only the pepper in the top note might cause a short twitching of the nose for some, but for all the others it should be long gone because of its short presence. In the base note, and thus at the end of its life, "Moustache" becomes a very tight "skin-scent", so it is hardly noticeable except for the person wearing it and very close other people. What a 'grower' the EDP is! It's so impressive when a fragrance keeps enchanting you more and more as you get to know it through multiple wears. There is an amazing bright effervescence upon spraying that feels 'carbonated' yet doesn't smell like any particular beverage, not cola, root beer, Dr. Pepper...that I can recognize specifically but it is utterly addicting.

This 2018 recreation of Moustache Original 1949 is indeed a musty lemon citrus opening that by description is accurate but doesn't really explain the experience. It was the third wear that I felt the magic, the lemon citrus opening was surprisingly alluring and I kept adding sprays over a few hours to fully experience it from the top again, and again. It settles into a comfy patchouli, moss, and musk base which is nice as well. As the top musty brightness settles down this could work in the office but I don't plan on doing so. It's a great around the house/yard classic citrus for me and I plan to reach for it plenty over the spring and summer particularly. As I already wrote in my statement, the heart note - to my mind - is very similar to the heart note of Givenchy's "Gentlemen Only" from 2013, both of which are made mostly of cedar, but have completely different accompanying fabrics around them. While Givenchy's vetiver gives the fragrance a rather pungent wood note, the rose used in "Moustache" makes it rounder and softer. It's as if you were smelling the same piece of wood, but with "Moustache" you smell it from a greater distance, which makes the impression less oppressive but more coherent. The scent of cedar is still part of the base note for a while, but the heart note leaves the skin after about 1.5 - 2 hours. The peoples of Europe still suspected each other and one was still far away from the European Coal and Steel Community or even a European Union. In the beginning Rochas was Mr Marcel Rochas. “Every current event is an excuse for me to create,” he once said. The woman, the era, the intuition… were all just right. An eye kept on a fast-changing world to accelerate the movement. This was the almost obsessional quest of the man who freed fashion from convention in the early 20th century, transforming it into a lesson in radiance and beauty for the next 30 years.Thanks to the rather moderate sweetness of this fragrance and the generally rather reserved projection (the topic "spraying over" is not considered here), "Moustache" can be used wonderfully in leisure time, as well as in the office or similar locations. It can also be used in different seasons (which I don't believe in anyway - you will never complain about a good scent because of the weather). If at all applies: the warmer, the less sprays should be used because of the sweetness.

At the age of only 23, Marcel Rochas opened his couture house on Place Beauvau in Paris in 1925, before moving to Rue Matignon in 1931. The couturier brought the fresh breath of youth to haute couture. He built the wardrobe of the emancipated Parisian woman in the post-war years, whilst also creating perfumes that reflected a love affair with elegance and freedom. Looking at the review score this should be 100% positive currently since the only neutrals are due to to simply being confused between the retro-citrus EDT which this isn't and it deserves to be reviewed on it's own merits. Of course this is not really possible, because Moustache from 1949 was also reworked several times, tamed (the original version is said to have been more animalistic than the variant in the angular matt bottle with the unambiguous dark yellow liquid): there is no real reference. In addition, even the last version of Moustache available on the market has usually been on the lid for several years, which means that an ageing process with scent can no longer be ruled out. This also seems to be the case with my moustache water from the early 2000s. Nevertheless, a comparison with caution and limited validity is possible in my opinion. The fragrance must certainly be placed in the context of 1949, when Thérèsa and Edmond Roudnitska created the original fragrance. As far as I know in Grasse. The biggest noticeable difference between this and any incarnation of Moustache is the almost complete absence of any lime note, which before was sorta just implied by the interplay of civet and oakmoss with the sour natural bergamot being used up top with the lemon. Now, we see vacuum-distilled bergamot essence in place of full unfiltered bergamot oil, mixed with something that produces a candied sort of lemon effect you see in fragrances like Mancera Cedrat Boise (2011), telling me the days of sharp citrus chypres old heads love are truly dead if this lemon drop is the best that can be done for the opening of Moustache. Yet, there is hope, because the star player of the heart, being that dry lavender and geranium tandem which so defined many a mid-century masculine is mostly intact here. Gone however are any flanking floral support notes, including rose and jasmine indoles, meaning that rotting fruit vibe which defined many a Roudnitska work is missing here. In their place, a vacuous filler of various ionones and acetates leaving the impression of violet leaf and orange blossom emerge, lending a slight sweet roundness the benzoin of the old Moustache used to provide. Finally, the payoff arrives, and you get an IFRA-approved oakmoss chypre base, with real oakmoss (albeit a sliver), labdanum, some patchouli, and a modicum of civetone. The skin scent is the best part, lasting about six hours and smelling dapper, good for spring and summer casual use. This is something I think vintage lovers will enjoy if they like stuff such as Eau de Rochas Homme (1993), and it can serve in all the same instances as well.So who is "Moustache" the right scent for? In any case, you shouldn't expect a loud market crier who also casts a spell over the environment with his uniqueness. Even a fragrance that covers most of the Having been a devout fan of the much hyped edp (which is more of a rosey benzoin tea scent), I felt like I had to get this one to complete the set, if not to experience another one of Roudnitska’s creations. Opening with a good pinch of pink pepper, the fragrance does not convey the tangerine as prominently and sweetly as Chanel's "Allure Homme Sport Eau Extrême", but I think I can at least imagine that it tames and tames the scent of pepper a little. Other scents, which also carry the pink pepper in the top note, seem much stronger to me. All in all, the top note lasts only a few minutes, but then merges relatively unnoticed into the heart note and should therefore not disturb anyone.