Musks. My nemeses, of sorts.
I have a hate/love relationship with musk fragrances. Always have. My collection has chypres, vintage, ambers & florals a plenty.
I have just three musks I wear regularly, SJP Lovely, Avon Soft Musk & JLo Glow. So I do like cheap musks!
I decided to remedy my lack of knowledge & challenged myself to educate my nose about musks. I’ve pulled together some musk samples & will wear one a day & record my thoughts.
Friday – a decant of Guerlain Eau de Lingerie from the first release. The spray has snapped & the perfume has evaporated but perseverance paid off & on applying there is…… nothing. Nada, niet, zip, zilch, zero! I snuffle around like truffle pig! Noooo….. I run to the bathroom to check if my nose is broken, it’s fine, Mysore Sandalwood soap still greets my nose with a wall of creamy loveliness. I conclude I’m anosmic to the opening. No need to panic though, 10 minutes in, a tiny pink rose pops up on my wrist & waves coyly at my nose shaking her tiny tutued tush at me. Over time this cheeky little fairy fills out. She grows a plump & cushiony embonpoint, pale & powdered with iris. Slowly she blooms further, her rounded hips below a neat waist developing a hip sway as she walks. With each step her femaleness becomes apparent, clean, health & very feminine, growing more present to my nose but to no one else. This lady is no burlesque, she doesn’t put on a show for anyone but the wearer. Lovely, but I feel I’m wearing someone else’s silk French knickers & matching bra from Rigby & Peller. I’m more a wearer of sensible cotton briefs from M&S.
Saturday – I woke up, fed Mr Jarvis Cockapoo, came back into the bedroom & wwoooaaahhh…. The room was fairly pulsing with the pretty, fleshy musk of Eau de Lingerie. Far better than the usual morning smell of the bedroom. That’s one heck of a trick Guerlain pulled off. A fragrance that gets bigger over time!
Saturday’s musk – Corpalium from Marlou. Having drained my sample of Marlou Poudrextase, I ordered the Marlou Discovery set. This morning I pulled out Corpalium. Whilst musk isn’t listed, ambrette is. Marlou focus on musks & the intimate & already having a crush on Poudrextase I was expecting good things from Corpalium. On spraying as best I could with carpal tunnel & arthritis I gave myself a bit of a dousing. I didn’t need to truffle hunt for this & got something akin to a curried skin. Not cumin & not sweaty but as if I’d been stood over a pan whilst tempering the more subtle spices for a rice dish. This effect continues with the addition of roasting hay. Pleasant & a different riff on musk. This stage made me call to mind a Persian beauty creating a subtle feast to be offered to an illustrious guest. It could be the opening lines from the Arabian Nights. I waited to see where it would take me. The reality is it left me stranded in the middle of nowhere. Just two hours in it was over. I checked if my nose was broken with the soap again, it is still working perfectly. To say I’m disappointed is an understatement. Those two hours were interesting, engaged my imagination, I want to know who those guests were, did they arrive on galloping Arabian horses? I wanted the book not a chapter.
Sunday – another Marlou sample. Today it’s Carnicure. Less of a dousing today, my hands were warmed up. Now we’re talking! Dirty indolic floral with something slightly sweet peeking out. Not sugary but reminiscent of an ancient tobacconist & sweet shop. Floor polished yet dusty, Parma Violets, cherry scented pipe tobacco & an underlying whiff of the serving lady’s underarm & scented face powder. This is really great stuff! I mean REALLY GREAT stuff! On it goes, the indolic opening fades away slowly, seamlessly, the serving lady comes closer, climbing the ladder & reaching up to the glass jar of sweets & tobacco, releasing the natural skin scent from her intimate places. She needs to bathe that evening, has worn the same blouse for two days & her skirt for a week. As she comes close her musk gets stronger, more feral, as if she would purr if stroked. Almost scary, definitely addictive. This musk/ animalic lasts hours, feline, female & fleshy, astounding & addictive yet lies close enough to be a personal pleasure.
Monday – a change of style today Jovan White Musk. This is from my bargain haul of last week & is new to me. From the get go this is not as complex as the previous musks above. Immediately it is white musk, almost opalescent. Up close this is the smell of children’s bodies after a day at the beach, warm innocent skin, tropical sun lotion, sea salty, happy & tired, wrapped in a freshly laundered, fluffy towel. Simple & linear, very easy to wear & cheap as chips. An exemplar white musk & cheaper than the recent rerelease of the Body Shop White Musk. The longevity of this is amazing. It’s still huffing 12hrs in. Really pleased I have this in a generous bottle of EdP.
Tuesday – back to the fabulous Marlou sample set. Ambilux. Woo hoo! Stable yard start & I love it! It immediately took me back to mucking out & grooming the horses & ponies. Excitedly anticipating the ride later. Straw, early morning stable & the soft smell of horse’s nose & breath. This opening makes me as happy as the child & teen I was. This opening is an absolute love from me. It develops wonderfully, sweetly spiced, heat from the dung pile, a bonfire burns nearby & the fragrant smoke perfumes the air. I’ve moved to the tack room & saddle soap the bridle & saddle. Polishing the ancient leather to a high sheen. The saddle itself is imbued with years of equine sweat. Finally, it’s time for riding. Whilst tacking up the horses & ponies shuffle, some whinny, some nicker, some search pockets for pony nut treats, velvet soft mouths caressing eager hands. We mount & trek through woodland, then open meadows where we gallop. Wind & smoke blow through manes & hair until both horse & rider are breathless & damp from exertion. The heat from the horses rises into the air. Perfuming the air with that wonderful healthy animal smell. Simply perfect. Of course, ymmv. Anyone who finds the smell of human & animal working in harmony, with all the smells that involves will likely find Ambilux challenging. Personally, this makes me serene & happy.
Wednesday – Narciso Rodriguez Narciso Rouge. The musk that is a theme throughout all Narciso Rodriguez’s output has always caused me pain. It has always drilled through my sinuses into my frontal lobe causing it to throb for hours. I discover Narciso Rouge when it arrived as a sample with an online order. It had been waiting in my sample box until February when I pulled it out as part of the lucky dip Thunk It project that Portia from Australian Perfume Junkies & The Perfume Posse is doing on the Posse. On paper I found cosmetic roses & iris but they didn’t tell me a story, they are simply very present straight from the first spray. The typical NR musk creeps in but softened by creamy, indistinct white florals, vanilla & tonka. The cedar is more of a vessel holding the mix, rather than pencil shavings. This trots, still discernible over 6hrs after applying. I finally found an NR I enjoy! It doesn’t “speak” to me as the more complex fragrances I’ve tried this week have but I do like it very much.
Thursday – Marlou Poudrextase. I have drained one 2ml sample of this very quickly & I am in love with her. I find this to be both the most sensual & the cosiest of the musks I’ve worn this week. A pretty, gothic scent to match my pretty, goth sensibilities. Surprisingly quite linear, a simple formula that is complex on the nose. I am a fragrant voyeur as I watch this young woman at the peak of her feminine powers, applying pale, pale rice powder to her face, dresses in her black velvet & leather outfit, kept fresh by a dried rose sachet, she applies her dark rose/violet lipstick, crimps & back combs her bleach blonde hair, sprays it into place, adds a few spritzes of a vintage fragrance before she leaves to go to the underground club. I wait, impatient for her fragrant return. She arrives in the early hours, alone. She changes into the prim, slightly grubby, white high neck Victorian nightgown, throws her costume over a chair, half heartedly takes off her make up & rolls into bed. I watch her sleep, smell her sleep. Her fragrance, her rice powdered face both fade & become one with her own skin. The dried rose sachet has scented the room, the sheets, the bed. All these are her, her life as a scentscape.
It seems that musks are not my nemises after all, they are very much my friends. I plan to buy Poudrextase as soon as she is back in stock at Sainte Cellier. I hope this will be this coming Sunday when subscribers to their newsletter will be able to get a discount on purchases in celebration of the birth of Germaine Cellier.
I hope you have enjoyed the stories these fragrances have told me & apologies for the length of the piece.
Have you every tested a single genre for a week? What was your reaction?Do you enjoy musks?
All fragrances were paid for by me. Marlou samples were bought by me from Saintecellier.com which is in the UK but does ship to other countries. Their service is outstanding
All photos are mine
alitykescents 
Great post and writeup on each! Not sure I’ve gone a week testing the same note, however. I usually mix it up a bit. I enjoy musk scents. I like the cheapies too. The Body Shop White Musk for Men is a favourite. On the pricier side Fleur de Peau Diptyque for a clean musk, and something like Muscs Koublai Khan from Serge Lutens for more animalic. On a separate note, If you like the smell of horses have you tried Naomi Goodsir Corpus Equus? Bertrand Duchaufour is the perfumer, but it’s much more leather than musk.
I haven’t tried Corpus Equus but will now. Horses were an important part of my growing up. I still ride occasionally though no longer showjump. A simple ride out suits me these days
That’s great. Hope you like it when you get to sample.
Love your descriptions! Especially the one about horses. I grew up riding horses, too, and I love the smell of a horse, so warm and comforting. Not so comfy when they bucked me off onto my behind, but I love horses no matter how many times I fell off them. Musk is tough for me, too. I will try Narciso Rodriguez Narciso Rouge. It sounds like one I would enjoy. I couldn’t handle the earlier Narciso’s, the same sinus drilling you described happened to me, too, with earlier Narciso R’s.
I’ve been wearing some of the Chloe Atelier scents this week, jasminum sambac and Herba Mimosa. Just got the Magnolia Alba and it’s gorgeous; it actually smells like real magnolia blossoms. Bright and lovely.
I actually bought the NR Narciso Rouge EdT. It’s a bit more floral with LotV. Lovely & works for me but the EdP is the one I reviewed as it’s the more recognisable.
I need to pull my horns in on the buying front for a while. I will mark those Chloes to be explored.
So many perfumes, so little time
I DO like musk!! And have enjoyed that genre for many decades. I’m glad the Jovan was a good blind buy.
Thank you for the heads up on the Jovan. Have you tried the Marlous? If so what did you think?
No I haven’t but am now tempted 😉
You must if you can. If not drop me a line hear
Wonderful, vivid descriptions! I felt like I was being a voyeur too, while reading the scenes you conjured.
I enjoy musk but more the clean laundry variety – haven’t had much experience with the carnal, animalic kinds. As for wearing a single genre for a week, I did wear rose perfumes for two weeks straight last year in the first half of February. It was fun but I’m also usually somewhat relieved when these types of arbitrary exercises are over.
Thank you so much, I’m delighted you were immersed in the stories the fragrances told me.
I chose musks as I have struggled more with musk forward scents than any other single note.
I was tired at the end of the week. I’m not used to thinking so much anymore!
I hope it’s a positive experience of thinking hard, at least! Amber might be that challenging note for me, or patchouli. Maybe the ranges of those genres are too broad for me to generalize like that.
Musks are a pretty broad genre. Hence my challenge. I truly love Poudrextase & will be buying tomorrow or at least be pre-ordering. She is superb