Maybe I'm the dumbest bear in the forest, but if Mitouko has been reformulated to remove oakmoss, due to legal concerns, why would they continue to show it as a fragrance note on their official website? I did notice that Parure and Vol de Nuit now list "forest" notes whatever that's suppose to be.

IFRA states " Oak moss extracts (e.g. absolute, resinoid, concrete, etc.) obtained from Evernia prunastri should not be used such that the level in consumer products exceeds 0.1%."

http://www.ifraorg.org/GuideLines.asp

It can still be used, just in very low concentration.

Lists of notes generally include synthetic and natural components, and don't distinguish between the two. So, they are listing oakmoss because it has synthetic oakmoss.

Well, that is for new perfumes. I thought older fragrances were grandfathered in without having to reformulate, you know, like emmission standards on old cars. I know Guerlain was working on reformulations, though.

I have both real and synthetic oakmosses. The real deal is very deep dark and gorgeous. The synthetic version which is from Givaudian is similiar to the real thing but nuttier. It's more cost effective to use the synthetic Givaudian version I'm sure. Reason why they still state it on the Guerlain site.

I thought there was no synthetic oakmoss!

Yep there is.


Here's where you can buy some too!
http://store.perfumersapprentice.com/bl-0030.html

When you say "synthetic" is that like a "lab created" oakmoss, which has the same chemical properties like a "lab created" diamond, or is it just a substitute like faux suede to real suede or vinyl is to leather? I guess my question lies in the fact that if it's "lab reproduced" oakmoss, wouldn't it be just as harmful (or not) as natural oakmoss? Or does the culprit lie in trace elements in the natural stuff?

I'm no biochemist here.
But I'm sure this lab-created version of oakmoss is to evoke the same properties as the real oakmoss. I wouldn't say it was better than the real thing. It's just different and has this nutty background note to it that real oakmoss doesn't have. But it's similiar but so exact as one would hope for. It's pleasant smelling and if you can't use real oakmoss, it's a reasonable substitute. I prefer the real oakmoss any day anyway.

As for it being anymore dangerous than the original, your guess is good as mine. I can't say here if it is or if it is not.

I'm pretty sure I sniffed the reformulated Mitsouko this past weekend. I was in Canada at an amazing little perfume store, and the Mitsouko was in new packaging that I hadn't seen before. (The tester was also a square bottle, but that might just have been the tester. No idea if the regular bottle shape has changed.)

My one-year-old boxes of Mitsouko list lots of ingredients, including tree moss and other "allergens." This new box listed fragrance, alcohol, and water. That's it.

I sprayed it on my arm and waited. My impression: it's recognizably Mitsouko, but it lacks a certain softness and richness. I don't know how else to explain it. This was the EDT.

It left me sad.

Headspace oakmoss or slow site programmers?

Twitchly, if the 'new' box only lists fragrance, alcohol and water, then it must be quite an old box and bottle - pre the EU legal requirement to list certain allergens on the box. Probably rather more than 4 years old. It cannot be new.

The only other possibility is that it is a version that is manufactured outside of France or the EU, and designed to be sold only outside the EU. I don't think Guerlain has ever done this, although I believe Chanel do. The country of origin will be on the box.

http://store.perfumersapprentice.com/bl-0030.html
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Interesting site. They have a Mitsouko "kit":

http://store.perfumersapprentice.com/mitso-kit.html

Twitchly, I think Nutmeg is correct. Those square tester bottles have been issued since around 2000 or 2002 when LVMH took full control. Prior to that, LVMH had owned a 48% interest for about 8 years or less. It was LVMH's cash that funded the beautiful limited editions of Liu in 1994, followed the original Champs Elysees in a turtle bottle, Vega and Djedi all in Baccarat crystal. Then, when LVMH took full control, cost-cutting measures started, repackaging started, etc, etc. Some repackaging was done back in 1997, but more followed. Anyway, I have square testers bottles that list just three ingredients. These were followed about a year to two years ago with a much longer list of ingredients. You have the good stuff! My new tester of Vol de Nuit extrait makes me cry. It is so different from the one that just listed three ingredients. Count your blessings. This same practice also goes for other companies. IF you want the original Paloma Picasso, you need to find it with three ingredients listed. There are brief periods in some markets that stickers were added that actually listed oakmoss and treemoss. Then when the real print got on the box, they had been reformuated.