Sienna Musk by Sonoma Scent Studio: fragrance review

If like me you find yourself sighing with contentment at the first crisp days of autumn seeing the leaves turn into fiery rusty shades as if passionately burning from within, then you know of the inner exaltation one feels from the intense and clear clarion to action that spices signal. The new Sienna Musk by Sonoma Scent Studio is warm and spicy like you're waking up in a retreat in the mountains on a glorious sunny yet pleasantly cool morning and dynamic as if the world seems full of possibilities: the dies is yet to carpe and the credula postero is extending to far beyond. Recalling the homonymous limonite clay used for producing oil paint pigments, Sienna Musk invites us into an impressionistic painting of luminous yellows and golden browns shot through with the fiery timbre of reddish hues.
Sometimes there is indeed a psychological effect in fragrance and it is acting in an Ayuverdic manner: bringing a lift, taking us into a better place, stirring energy levels and gently pushing our bottom out of the door to get things accomplished. Or perhaps it has a special psychoacoustic resonance: you almost hear the spirited energy in certain fragrances and differentiate them by their approaching vibrations.

Sienna Musk is just like that. Built to be a warm scent that envelops you in the first crisp days of autumn but also well into winter, it recalls culinary spices in a wooden kitchen table ready for the picking and woods that look radiantly red under the rays of the afternoon sun and fill you with optimism and the indulgunt feeling of savouring every day to the maximum. The perfumer, Laurie Erickson, divulges: "I wanted this fragrance to be a cozy, gently gourmand scent featuring warm spices and woods. I added soft mandarin because it works well with the spices and because mandarin and clementine are my favorite citrus oils. One of my main goals with this type of scent is to achieve the right balance of sweetness, which is difficult because that balance varies greatly from person to person. Sienna Musk opens with a burst of sweet spices and mandarin, and then the creamy woods and musks emerge".

Although the notes might remind you of her previous Bois Épicés Légère this fragrance is less sweet and has softer woods and more musk, going for a soft-focus effect. The blending of the spice notes is wonderful in that they are clearly identifiable, yet they also fuse into each other, creating harmony. Ginger is not too pronounced and therefore the scent melds on my finicky skin with no sour undertones. Nutmeg, the dried kernel of Myristica fragrancs also included in the new Secret Obsession, is a wonderful spice full of its own timbre; paired with cardamom their unison gives a slight Middle-Eastern flavour to an essentially New World harmony. Mandarin essential oil (just one member of the varied citrus family and their nuanced scents)is a fresh, uplifting top to middle note which perfumers can extend the longevity of by combining it with other carefully selected oils. It works great with spices, as evidenced here: sunning them, making them open up. The backdrop of smoothness provided by a blend of synthesized musks gives a clean, downy-soft feeling that lasts comfortingly very long extending it into carpe noctem. Sienna Musk makes me physically happy and gives me a much needed boost during these frantically busy days and I am putting a bottle of it on my wishlist as we speak.

Sonoma Scent Studio Sienna Musk is available in 15ml/0.5oz or 30ml/10z Eau de Parfum (great size options low on the commitment) and samples are also sold online.

Notes for Sienna Musk: mandarin, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, clove, musk, cedar, cypress, sandalwood.

Other recent launches from Sonoma Scent Studio include Wood Violet and Vintage Rose and Laurie intimated that she is working to perfect Gardenia Musk before holiday time (Gardenia Musk will be a demure gardenia for those scared of the loud note: a feminine floral musk with jasmine, soft and creamy gardenia, green notes, subtle peach, silky skin musks, and light cedar).

Available at Sonoma Scent Studio online

Pic of red tree courtesy of hollis.nh.us, bottle via Sonoma Scent Studio.

Mystery of Musk: Verdigris (Belly Flowers perfumes),Tallulah B (Jane Cate)

Reflecting upon the musk fragrance samples I have received (a couple still missing in action) for the Mystery of Musk project, I am reminded of how the mind works and what associations and -sometimes received- expectations we place upon things. The Mystery of Musk began as an innovative project in which natural perfumers tried to render a viable, sustainable animalic musk through non-animal (musk deer) sources. As we had announced, this was an across the globe project challenging us into coming with terms with different interpretations of what each of us holds as "the standard" of what musk should smell like. Some of them deviated from the path; fledging full compositions which gained independence and "indie-pendance".
What I mean by that: Most of the time, one cannot forget that they're smelling artisanal perfumes produced along a specific set of parameters, although they accomplish some of the aesthetic criteria we've come to expect. But in the arena of musk specifically, there are unexpected twists and turns to be taken and today we're tackling two of them. To cut a long story short, two musky versions which are not particularly...musky. But they have other things to recommend them, should you find yourself interested.

Jane Cate of A Wing and a Prayer Perfumes was inspired for her Tallulah B by classical Hollywood glamour and specifically the bon vivante Tallulah Banckhead who liked to proclaim she was "as pure as the driven slush". With role models like this... Still for Tallulah B the perfumer went for a subtle, botanical vibe which feels like a daguerréotype: the focus is not verisimilitude, but rather an impression of a person or object. The scent feels indeed like a woody floral, a delicate one with the trail of ambrette pods. Much like Connie Porter in Lifeboat (1944) by Alfred Hitchcock, it seems like it laughs in the face of heavy, seductive type musk recalibrating our perception of it, proposing a fragrance that utilizes the note in a roundabout way, underscoring subtly the soft florals (child-like linden blossom, a tincture of muguet...is that really possible? Would it produce a spectre of the little bells?). Cynical like Porter? Not really. More like a different take from someone who admits "I don't usually blend with musk".

Disclaimer & correction: Jane Cate has issued two versions of Tallulah B, recalling the first one (hereby reviewed) in favour of Tallulah B2 which is muskier, meeting the requirements of the project. Since I haven't received the 2nd version yet, I limited myself to the first (sorry for the confusion), but will amend when having sampled the second one. Watch this space!
Wing and Prayer Perfumes appear on the official site and on Etsy.


Verdigris by BellyFlowers Perfumes says it all by its name, a paronomasia uniting "ambergris" and "verdant" but also evoking the patina on copper or bronze metalware, the greenish tinge that the French called "vert-de-Grèce" (Greek green) when referring to the specific colour in painting. Probably inspired by both those references as well as the lush tropical feel of the Florida state where the perfumer Elise Pearlstine is stationed, which would be conductive to not only copper oxidizing into copper acetate but to inhibitions also, Verdigris is presented as "musky and green, rich and sexy".
Green, the scent certainly is, mating green accents of lavender, clary sage and violet absolutes, folded by a heart of powdery soft opoponax absolute. In the base, the muskiness is achieved through the synergy of ambergris tincture and labdanum absolute (the latter is clearly detectable). The opening has the herbal aroma that herbalists would prescribe for a case of rebalancing, while the progression veers into an earthier palette with the deep, hypnotic lappings of labdanum. Compared to sweeter and more body-conscious renditions, we're dealing here with a fragrance that doesn't aim to provide a heavy-lidded, khol-eyed musk and this is quite apparent: Whether it was the intended goal, I leave it to the perfumer, but something tells me that it was.
Belly Flowers Perfumes are accessible here.

Both fragrances have average tenacity, which means they perform pretty well for all-naturals compositions, considering.

Please refer to this list for the other participating sites on the Mystery of Musk project.

Photo of Tallulah Bankhead via Film Noir Photos blog and of verdirgis design of rbanches on black scalloped ring via Miss Fickle Media Com blog.

Il Profumo Musc Bleu: fragrance review

Among "white musk" fragrances which are reminiscent of clean laundry off the line, Musc Bleu by Il Profumo is among the best, eschewing the metallic screechiness present in other white musks and possessing a baby soft silkiness making it extremely popular, like an wide-eyed, amiable ingénue at a Vienesse ball would be. If it weren't for that latter element, Joan Crawford might be scrubbing her fingernails with the stuff, in a fit of cleanliness ritualistic mania after a wire hanger episode. But you see, Musc Bleu is softly voiced, not harsh. Ever. Childlike in its softness, yet cool. It's almost "ice-princess" like, yet with a hint of sensuality, like Estella in Alfonso Cuarón's version of Great Expectations. But not much, beyond a naughty kiss.

Musc Bleu was created by the Italian brand Il Profumo and the perfumer Silvana Casoli in 2004. There is a European feel about it, no doubt, as it avoids the mall associations and the dense, heavy feel of most musks found there, as well as the pervading, cut-through-the-air sharpeness some of them in the "white musk" camp possess (aimed at cutting through the mall smells of cinnamon rolls and candied popcorn emanating from the multiramas).
The tradition of Eau de Cologne underscored with musk for its lasting power is ingrained in the Mediterranean basin and people react well to those undefinable base notes, so it doesn't surprise me that this is an Italian product.
Personally, I have little use for such an opaline musk, unless I had been stranded on a deserted island on which the givens of civilization were severely compromised and I needed to create distractions that would fool me into believing I'm in less hardship than I would really be in. Nevertheless, I cannot deny its wearability and "easy", polished feel which accounts for its tremendous appeal to those hankering after "clean" smells reminiscent of dryer sheets, yet without any allegiance to "drugstore musks". Or those who are in favour of "scent layering", a process in which one sprays a "base" fragrance underneath a second one which is more nuanced and in a different style. Musc Bleu would be the perfect canvas, exactly because it's so pliable to just about any other material coupled with it. Again, not my thing, but I can see how others would like it a lot.

The scent of Musc Bleu doesn't reveal floral facets ~beyond a hint of ylang ylang and the "scrubbed" aldehyde that stands as cyclamen~ like most "white musks" do (refer to our article on types of musk). Instead it has a delicate powdery and soapy feel which is girlish, comfortable and dicreet. It oscillates between a tonic freshness and cozy warmth, which bridges the gap that several musk fragrances create, veering as they do to either one or the other direction. It wouldn't be out of place in the office or the seat right beside at the underground and it fits well in the evenings as well, if you're after an innofensive smell which will be detected only when you hug someone. In fact, I bet several people might be anosmic to it, due to its lightness. Musk anosmia is a phenomenon common with people, as musks are just about the maximum size of molecules a nose can handle, so perfumers routinely use a couple of different musky ingredients (please refer to our article) to combat that. Still, there are people who have an "umbrella effect" anosmia. For those, something else might break through. For the rest, it is a light musk, don't expect anything potent.
Even though Musc Bleu seems light and vanishing into skin in about an hour, it doesn't disappear. It becomes a "skin scent" (a scent that feels like your own skin) with a very satisfactory lasting power if you lean closer. The concentration is described as "parfum" by the company (denoting concentrated essences), but it reads as a lasting Eau de Parfum to me. There is a pronounced reminiscence with Musc Blanc by Les Bains du Marais, another clean musk which doesn't read as "metallic", yet the latter is a little more expensive and to my experience a little less lasting.

Two versions are available by Il Profumo, Musc Bleu and Musc Bleu Absolu Osmo. Between the two, the Absolu is richer, fuller with a silkier feel to my nose, probably due to the abcence of alcohol in the formula. Please note the latter doesn't come in a spray, but as a splash or dab on. Available at Luckyscent and First in Fragrance and also as of this minute, at a nice discount, on Amazon on this link.

Notes for Il Profumo Musc Bleu:
Neroli, black geranium, ylang-ylang, cyclamen, musk, oakmoss, woods, white sandalwood.

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: The Musk Series (ingredients & cultural history), Scented Musketeers: Musk fragrances reviews.

Photo La Ribambelle by anonymous.

The Mystery of Musk: Revolutionary Joint Project in Animalic Notes

Do you miss a little skank in your life? Do you often wonder how does real musk smell or would like to find beautiful alternative fragrances to your cheap or oil favourites? It is my honour to announce to our readers that under the kind invitation of the Natural Perfumers' Guild I am organising an exciting and truly pioneering new project, called The Mystery of Musk. The project took the form of inviting several worthy perfumers who dabble in naturals on occasion of the 4th anniversary of the Guild to come up with that most elusive element of them all: a real-smelling animalic musk base for perfumery! Musk is possibly the number one subject of interest among those who love all kinds of perfume, both natural and synthetic. Musk fascinates! Many perfumistas realize that natural perfumers don’t use synthetic musks and civets and such, but that they search for alternatives that give the same effect. The Yahoo Natural Perfumery Group, the Basenotes forum contributors and a pleiad of prominent bloggers will be evaluating the fragrances thus produced in a few weeks. Best of all, each and every one of these musk perfumes will be optioned for a bottle giveaway through the participating venues, just for you! (one bottle giveaway for each blogger, one for Basenotes and one for the Yahoo Natural Perfumery Group, so you will have several opportunities to enter to win). Considering these are very costly creations to begin with due to the high prices of the essential oils, absolutes and essences used, I know you will appreciate this unique chance. The giveaways and reviews will roll out at the beginning of July. And in preparation of that, the Musk Series on The Perfume Shrine will be enriched with more musk reviews and relevant commentary for your enjoyment!


So without further ado, may I present you the participating perfumers.

Participating Perfumers for The Mystery of Musk project:

Adam Gottschalk – Lord’s Jester

Alexandra Balahoutis – Strange Invisible Perfumes

Alfredo Dupetit – BioScent by dupetit

Ambrosia Jones – Perfume by Nature

Anya McCoy – Anya’s Garden Perfumes

Charna Ethier – Providence Perfumes

Dawn Spencer Hurwitz – DSH Perfumes

Elise Pearlstine – Tambela Perfumes

Jane Cate – A Wing and a Prayer Perfumes

JoAnne Bassette – JoAnne Bassett Perfumes

Lisa Fong – Artemisia Perfume

Nicholas Jennings – Sharini Parfums Naturels

The evaluators members at the Yahoo Natural Perfumery Group as well as those from the Basenotes forum are announced on the respective venues. The president of the Natural Perfumers' Guild, Anya McCoy, will keep you abreast of the details.
The participating blogs will be: Bittergrace Notes, Ca Fleure Bon, First Nerve, Grain de Musc, Indie Perfumes, I Smell Therefore I Am, the Non Blonde, Olfactarama, Olfactory Rescue Service, and of course the Perfume Shrine.

Stay tuned for all the exciting new features!
Related reading on Perfume Shrine: The Musk Series


Pic copyrighted by the Natural Perfumers' Guild, reproduced with permission.

Annick Goutal Musc Nomade: fragrance review & draw

It wouldn't be an overstatement to claim that Musc Nomade By Annick Goutal is an exceptional piece of perfumery and among musk fragrances it really stands apart, poised between the crossroads of animalic and clean, defined by neither, or -better yet- interpreting both qualities in equal measure to the point you forget about classifications and just revel in its chiaroscuro sensuality. If pressed, I'd say it's a "vegetal musk". And it is.


Musc Nomade (2008) is the fourth addition in the Les Orientalistes line which was introduced with Ambre Fétiche, Myrrhe Ardent and Encens Flamboyant. The inspiration of the scents was said to be the smells of the harem and perfumer Isabelle Doyen masterfully wove in sensuous, denser whiffs in the familiar fabric of gauze that runs through the Goutal brand, thus marrying two antithetical elements: opulence and transparency. Annick Goutal was already enchanted by the sophistication of musc devotees, the Qatar Princesses, who bathed their bodies and hair in a divine blend of musk powder and rose essence, and fragranced their rooms by burning oud wood. She dreamed of capturing the aphrodisiac effect of this material reputed to stir the senses and hold men captivated... Camille Goutal, the next in line after Annick's passing, decided to do an ecological musk and with the help of Isabelle Doyen they defied convention in that they produced a vibrant, lightly "animalic" musk without the use of animal-derived products.

To do that Isabelle Doyen employed Muscone, a very refined -and costly- ingredient which is the odorous principle of natural deer musk, married with the natural macrocyclic musks (see relevant article) present in angelica root (containing 12-methyl-13-tridecanolide and Exaltolide) and ambrette seeds. The artistry lies in manipulating raw materials which are difficult to handle: Angelica root essence is musty, with a note of bitters and the liquid emulsifies in alcohol dilution making the mixture cloudy like a glass of pastis. Nevertheless, Doyen managed to bypass all these problems and the juice is perfectly clear with an aromatic top note that singes the nose hairs most delightfully the way a good gin does, to unfold later on a dirty, pleasantly "skanky" ambience that recalls the smooth fur of Muscs Kublai Khan by Lutens and the cozy sex-on-the-haystack feel of L'Air de Rien by Miller Harris.

Smelling Musc Nomade you're left with the impression that it is topless; in both senses of the word: It feels natural, bien dans sa peau, quite nude, and at the same time like it misses those frills routinely put in to jolt the customer into paying attention. On the contrary, Musc Nomade insinuates like a murmur in the ear late at night or minimalist tunes on harmonics-series instruments. The rosiness (reminiscent of the Lutens floralcy in his own musk oeuvre) is an illusion rendered through the facets of Bombay wood, furling and unfurling thanks to a herbal-sweet note like patchouli. Musc Nomade is individual and defies any familiarity one has of drugstore musks, eschewing the sweet vanilla and sandalwood warmth for the "dirtiness" of labdanum, an almost animalic plant raw material, and for a woody backdrop that is very appealing and fit for both sexes. It can be layered effortlessly under the other Orientalistes scents in the collection or practically under any other fragrance.
Its individual character and unassuming sensuality put it in my top 5 choices for musk fragrances.

For our readers, a draw for a decant of Musc Nomade! Leave a comment to enter. Draw open till Sunday midnight.

Notes for Annick Goutal Musc Nomade:
Muscone, white musk stemming from angelica root and ambrette seed, tonka beans, labdanum, Bombay wood (a papyrus variety)

Musc Nomade circulates in Eau de Parfum concentration in two bottle designs (depicted) with exactly the same scent (same as with all the Orientalistes!): One is the feminine ribbed bottle, the other the sleek rectangular masculine one with gold accents. I personally find the somber lines of the masculine design with the lovely arabesque motifs in the labels more fitting this line of enigmatic scents.

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Annick Goutal news & reviews, Scented Musk-eteers: musk fragrances reviews




Clip from the film Il Ventre dell'Architetto by Peter Greenaway, Struggle for pleasure by Wim Mertens.

Frequent Questions: the differences between concentrations of Narciso Rodriguez For Her

Narciso Rodriguez most successful foray into fragrance so far has been his original Narciso For Her. We were discussing the other day while reviewing his new Essence how Narciso For Her became the kickstart of a whole new genre of modern fragrances that aim at the young-ish demographic yet do not smell of fruity cocktails or vanilla desserts and for that he should be applauded. However the range of this fragrance is rather confusing to say the least, as every product in it has some difference in smell and packaging. To elucidate matters and help readers along, I am hereby trying a breakdown of all the different versions in packaging with reviews and comparison on the Narciso brand fragrances themselves.

The original fragrance appeared first as Narciso Rodriguez For Her Eau de Toilette in a black austere bottle painted from the inside, so that there is a clearly discernible "edge" of clear glass at the bottle and the sides (this allows one to judge how much juice is left in the bottle too!). The lettering is in pink as is the box (where the letting is in black). I fell in love with this as soon as it hit the stores and I still cherish it. People of all walks of life loved it and there is a reason: It is soft, "clean" in the most sensuous sense of skin that has been bathed but is living its day along nevertheless; musky in the sense that it beckons you closer radiating harmonious warmth; and feminine all at once. Three days into faithfully wearing it, a compliment: "You smell very nice , like expensive soap! What is it?" Although I don't peg it as soapy, it gives an enigmatic vibe between just showered and sighing under a caress that won't remain at that for long. Its plaint nature makes it meld with one's personal smell ceasing to be something that floats above it and clinges on to clothing and bed-sheets in the most gracious manner.
The Eau de Toilette version is the most sillage-worthy (meaning it leaves a trail of scent behind when you wear it) and projects quite potently.
Interestingly, several people however have trouble smelling it properly due to specific "musk anosmia" (a common condition in which certain musks remain undetected from the nose, hence perfumers used a multitude in a single perfume so that the nose picks at least some). Others with less of a threshold for "living" smells report it is a bit "dirty" for their taste. As always in the subjective matters of fragrance opinions, your safest bet is trying it out before buying. Having said that it is terrifically well-made, even if I suspect it might be 100% synthetic, and a best-seller for all the right reasons!

The parfum concentration of Narciso For Her comes in a roll-on 10ml/0.33oz for the purse (depicted on the right), in clear glass with black painted on the inside. The scent is the same, although the volume and sillage are being a bit toned down as the fragrance is smeared on rather than sprayed, which produces a difference in evaporation of the molecules. The lasting power is very good, same as with the Eau de Toilette, although the same problem with musk anosmia surfaces again for several people.

As of 2012, the previous version of the purse roll-on has been discontinued and a new Narciso for Her extrait de parfum version is issued with a dabber style bottle with a black curvy cap, as depicted above.


The bottle that is black on the outside, same design as the Eau de Toilette, without clear glass edging however, in a pour bottle, is the Narciso Musc for Her version. The lettering is again in pink, reading Musc for Her. Beware the confusion as this is a completely different scent: this is pure Egyptian musc lacking the floral tone (orange blossom) and alcoholic sharpness of the Eau de Toilette as well as the patchouli-woods base. The scent is the softest, most erotic thing one could wish for in the "clean" lightly powdery musks genre and although it is based on Abdoul Karim's Egyptian Musk oil that Caroline Besette Kennedy ~who was the friend and muse after which Narciso Rodriguez created his fragrance~ was buying off the streets of Manhattan, it smells very upscale. One of the missions of any perfume board worth its salt is to find decent alternatives to popular scents which are either hard to get or too expensive (and this one is at 150 euros retail for 50ml/1.7oz, but oh, so worth it!). Although Body Time Egyptian Musc and Auric Blends Egyptian Goddess have been proposed as substitutes for perfumistas on a shoe-string budget, I am reporting that none of those rather fabric-softener musks comes really close. There is something unutterable in Musk for Her which makes it enigmatically alluring like nothing else on the market today: not too sweet, not too sharp, not too laundry-like, it traipses along the way of familiarity and supple mystery which is the sign of any product worth making one's own. It is a gift to make to those who come really close to you to savour the nectar.
Narciso Musk for Her has an oily texture based on silicone to be used on pulse points or all over quite liberally because it is a light enough scent. As it becomes one with skin and does not project as much as the Eau de Toilette does, one solution would be to wear it on hair ends to extend its sillage-radius, a trick used with very good results.
As this is notoriously the product with the most complaints about not being able to smell it from numerous people it is highly adviseable to try it out before buying. Also, as silicone-based products might go "bad" (ie.losing their scent in this case) over time, one would be advised not to stockpile.
Edit to add: As of 2011, this is discontinued, nowhere to be found, making it a rare collectible. 


The pink bottle with black lettering in a black box with pink lettering (the mirror image of the original, therefore) came more than a year after the initial products above and is Narciso Rodriguez For Her Eau de Parfum concentration. It has a slightly tweaked formula, resulting in a different scent. Its rose/peach-flesh top note is quite pronounced, veering it into more fruity chypre avenues than a woody musk, which didn't exist in the original Eau de Toilette. Less people seem anosmic to this version as the more floral elements take center stage.

Limited editions: There is a limited edition For Her bottle numbered and signed by the designer that circulated a few years ago. Also a bottle with little sparkly stars for the holidays of 2005 and a new home candle in a black minimalist tin. The white bottles are limited editions from 2006 and 2008 respectively to commemorate the scent's success. All those variations have the exact same delicious scent as the Eau de Toilette and are aimed at bottle collectors mostly.

There are also ancillary body products: a body lotion tagged Narciso Her Scented Body Defining Lotion (not very potent in the smell department)in a pink bottle with black label, a shower gel in a black and peach bottle and a squat pot of Narciso Her Body Cream in a black glass pot(better fare this one on lasting scent than the lotion). Additionally there is a Narciso Powder Brush with the product incorporated in the device, a Narciso spray deodorant and a Narciso Hair Mist in a 30ml/1oz spray bottle which is weaker than the Eau de Toilette but eerily reminiscent of its mysterious aura.

Narciso for Her had received praise even from the difficult mr.Turin on his blog on 27/11/05, when he noticed that despite not a great deal of innovation it sure smells wonderful. He later wrote in Perfumes, the Guide: "But give Narciso to someone you like and stand at attention as she sweeps past. You then realise that some fragrances, like gravitation, reliably generate an attractive force that day in and day out, without fuss or explanation, though theories abound".
Excellently said!

Notes for the Narciso For Her edt: Honey Flower, Solar Musk, Orange Blossom, Osmanthus, Amberlyn, Vanilla, Tactile Musk, Tactile Woods, Vetiver.
Notes for the Narciso For Her edp: Pink Chypre, Pink Floral, Voluptuous Woods, Soft Amber, Sheer Chypre, Flower Honey, Tactile Woods, Amber Light.

Perfumeurs : Christine Nagel and Francis Kurkdjian (Quest).

Available through major department stores.

LIMITED EDITIONS/VARIATIONS IN THE NARCISO RODRIGUEZ "FOR HER" LINE


The two versions of Her and Him in "the Musk Collection" are limited editions from 2009 in shiny bottles. The packaging is black with a coloured inlay on the bottom citing "Musk Collection, Eau de Parfum Intense".
Narciso Rodriguez for Her limited edition Musk introduces musk in the central role, along with notes of ylang-ylang, jasmine and orange blossom.  
Narciso Rodriguez for Him limited edition Musk, will fuse musk with essences of iris and red berries.
Available both in 50ml Eau de Parfum Intense.

Narciso Rodriguez For Her Iridescent is a limited edition launched in April 2010. Perfumer Francis Kurkdjian made it as soft as silk, while the liquid contains tiny sparkling particles. Personally I haven't noticed any sparkling effect on either skin, hair or clothe, but it looks pretty on my vanity.

The scent is similar to the pink EDP. For Her Iridescent contains fragrant notes of honey flower, orange blossom, osmanthus, amber, musk, woody notes, vetiver and vanilla.

It is available as a limited editions of 50ml and 100 ml of Eau de Parfum.

Narciso Rodriguez for Her in Color Eau de Parfum was launched in 2011 and is bottled in a fuschia bottle and pink box.  Available in 100ml.

Top notes are rose and peach; middle note is amber; base notes are musk, sandalwood and patchouli.

It's very close to the original EDP but with a peachier warm note in the floralcy of the core.

Narciso Rodriguez For Her Eau de Toilette and Eau de Parfum Delicate Limited Edition is launching for 2012. The bottles are recognisable by the lilac-tinge to the packaging and the "delicate" on the box (pictured above).
The fragrance is somewhat changed compared to the original NR For Her and features notes of vetiver, musk, african orange flower, amber, coriander, vanille, bergamot and black fig.
Available as eau de toilette in 125ml/4.2oz bottles of light purple and a matching box.

Pics via ebay & punmiris

Twin Peaks: Perfect Veil, Nude Musk and Opal

Sometimes the perfume lover is jaded after being entrapped into the midst of deep and meaningful perfumes which sing the praises of king Solomon and his court. Sometimes I just want to put on something that is cuddly and soft and doesn't smell like perfume as much, more like the perfected emanation of a gorgeous body pulsating with vigour and sensuality. This is especially sympatico to the hot summer weather of a southern region, when rich harmonies might risk wilting and becoming suffocating.
For those instances, I turn to light, clean musks. I intend to devote more time to musk and musky fragrances in general soon, but today's selection highlights that imperceptible aura that I described above perfectly.

"The concept behind this scent was to recreate the smell of clean, naked skin ... only better" and this is as good a definition of a skin-scent as any. The words belong to the ad copy for the cult favourite of celebrities, Perfect Veil by Creative Scentualization, a company founded by Sarah Horowitz-Thran. {Perhaps the most interesting part is that she custom-makes fragrances for clients, with her perfumer Marlene Stang. Prices range from $350 to $1,000. Call (888) 799-2060} How fragrances become the stuff of cult celebrity fandom is a matter which is rather complicated: there has to be some effective infiltration to the celebrity's PR or some word of mouth from another celebrity (that seems to work a lot more than you'd think!) or gifts to said person which prove welcome and thus sanctioned to be publicized and so on and so forth.
For what is worth, Perfect Veil is perfectly all right, with or without the famous entourage of young desirables who favour it. Its citrus piquancy at the beginning keeps it from becoming suffocatingly powdery or too sweet and the effect is not too much like laundry, which is always a risk when working with synthetic musks in the family of Galaxolide and such. The pairing of citrus and vanilla, after all, has the illustrious ancenstry of Shalimar, an impression that is gloriously modernised in the delicately powedery muskiness of Shalimar Light. But where the Shalimar fragrances wink seductively under heavily shadowed eyes and eventually grab you by the collar, these cleaner ones merely slip the spaghetti strap of an ivory microfiber teddy letting you the initiative.

Notes of Perfect Veil according to Luckyscent: lemon, bergamot, musk, vanilla and sandalwood.

For something that is composed by ingredients that do not run too expensive I find that Perfect Veil is on a par with two excellent alternatives, in line with this feature's mission: Nude Musk by Ava Luxe and Opal by Sonoma Scent Studio.

Ava Serena Franco of Ava Luxe is another artisanal perfumer with a stellar reputation of excellent customer service who has devoted lots of her time in creating different twists on musks among a diverse portfolio that includes the wonderful leathery Madame X. Her Nude Musk manages to be just perfect, almost a deadringer for Perfect Veil and yet endearing in its own right. Nude Musk is described as: "A clean and sexy skin musk with notes of sandalwood, bergamot, light musk, and vanilla. Light and slightly powdery. Long lasting". The description is stop-on and the powderiness is especially pleasant, like the most sensual talcum powder you have applied on your skin before gliding into freshly pressed cotton sheets of high thread-count.

Another beautiful skinscent in the musks family is Opal by Sonoma Scent Studio , a company run by perfumer Laurie Erickson in California. Laurie, no stranger to these pages, has been working on lots of interesting musky twists with an edge, some of which will be soon featured on Perfume Shrine, so I am just whetting your appetite today!
Opal in Eau de Parfum has amazing lasting power that will surround you with delicate whiffs of the smell of being desired all day long. A little sweetness is induced through the vanilla touch, never too much and the whole does not become soapy-like. I find it a little less powdery than Nude Musk, very pleasant and quite sensual. I can definitely see why it is a best-seller for Sonoma Scent Studio and I can't blame anyone for liking it. Like its gem-like name, it's silky soft, illuminated as if from within, caressing and smelling like the warm skin of a loved one. Upon testing it I received the most delicious compliments on how wonderful I smelled, not how nice my perfume was. And that's the whole difference with those fragrances: they're supposed to enhance your own presence instead of standing alone as a piece of artwork. Opal never wears you, you wear it!
It also comes in a concentrated perfume oil made with a natural pure fractionated coconut oil base; no alcohol, silicones, water, emulsifiers, sunscreen additives or colorants added. The fractionated coconut oil is light and non sticky, has no odour of its own, but a long shelf life, dries quickly, and is a light moisturizer on its own.

Notes for Opal: delicate musk, vanilla, ambrette, bergamot and sandalwood.

These are all playful and uncomplicated scents for when you want to let your hair down and enjoy being who you are. Don't burden them with pretentious ambitions and you will be having a wonderful time in a cheek-to-cheek slow dance with them.

Pic of 1920s bathing suit courtesy of Wikipedia

Frederic Malle Musc Ravageur: fragrance review

Torrid opulence...When perfumer Maurice Roucel was developing Musc Ravageur (2000) for Les Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle, a young woman belonging to the creative team wore the powerful, dramatic "demo" of the fragrance to brave the afternoon commute home as part of testing. As she was sitting beside an elderly gentleman, she recounts she noticed him twitch his nose in puzzlement and vague alarm. Given that the team was trying to develop a feral animalic oriental (the name means " ravaging/devastating musk", clearly a politically-incorrect type of erotic discourse) which would trump current fads, it was clear they had succeeded!

The raunchy reputation

 Roucel had envisioned Musc Ravageur to communicate both "seduction and generosity". It was based on a fragrance formula he had developed in 1998, but which was deemed too racy to launch by most companies. Yet Roucel considered it one of his best works.
One more attuned to the American culture could claim this oriental would perfectly encapsulate those women which on US soil are called "skanks". Gallic civility probably restrained Roucel from voicing that thought. Yet, "skanky" doesn't necessarily denote negativity: A hint of vulgarity is often the element that puts the final brushstroke on a picture of beauty. Don't most vintage classics include such a note amidst all the refinement? Isn't a falling, slightly greasy tendril of hair or a little smudge of the eyeliner a promise of things unravelling later on? Isn't a small hole on the stockings an invitation to tear them apart? And isn't a slap begging to be chased with a kiss?
People react to it with either swooning indulgence or utter disgust and it's fun to see it never plays out the way one expects.

Demi Moore was shopping at Barney's some time ago observed by sales associates with loose mouths, whereupon she asked to try the Malle line. Upon being presented with Musc Ravageur she stopped the guy saying "Oh no, I don't like musk". After being shown the entire line, she was again presented with the infamous Musc without being told the name: "You saved the best for last" she murmured, her wrists stuck to her nose. [source] George Clooney and Pierce Brosnan have also fallen under the scent's charm (not on Demi, necessarily, we presume), so...India Knight, the British writer at any rate calls it "the olfactory equivalent of lucky pants". I defer to her experience of prose.

The incongruity: Scent vs. Name

In Musc Ravageur the explosive departure of bergamot, tangerine and cinnamon is set against a backdrop of vanilla, musk and amber. No flowers, just a refined skin scent. Yet contrary to name, Musc Ravageur isn't really about musk! On the contrary, there's a little synthetic musk and quite a bit of castoreum and civet in it (both of synthetic origin). And the reason I am including it in a section devoted to musks is mainly due to nomenclature and readers' expectation. If you have been fearing (or loving, like myself) the reputation of Muscs Kublai Khan and Christopher Brosius I Hate Perfume Musk Reinvented, you will be puzzled indeed by this one, recalling as it does the base of such classic orientals as Shalimar or even less classical, like Teatro alla Scala by Krizia.

Preceded as it is by its reputation as a best-selling fragrance in the Malle line, we're left with an incongruity: Is the audience buying fragrance from one of the quintessential niche lines really into feral mojo or are they searching for something else? Smelling Musc Ravageur on skin one cannot but form an opinion towards the latter. Musc Ravageur, just like the big paws of its creator, is more of a naughty & voracious home cat with a furry tongue giving you a bath, rather than a wild tiger in the jungle shredding its prey in pieces. A very sensual amber -rather than musk, compare with Kiehl's Original Musk oil for instance- is hiding in the core of the fragrance.
A characteristic and fairly dramatic citrus-spice top note is immediately perceptible (I detect mandarin, clove, cinnamon and possibly some lavender as well), which recalls the Gallified "oriental" mould in the most classical manner, and a silky vanilla dry down which isn't really sweet, but interplaying between warm & cool. In fact this drydown is structured by woods which offer the spine of the perfume: cedar, sandalwood and the warm gaiac wood. The artistry lies in having the amber-castoreum basenotes perform like a Chinese gymnast: all over the place, but with an elasticity that creates the illusion of weightlessness!

The shopping part: What and Where

The scent is presented in Eau de Parfum classic alcoholic version (which is a characteristic spicy ambery oriental) and in the Huile A Tout Faire oil version (a smooth clear oil for use on pulse points, hair or all over after the bath). The latter in my opinion is a lot smoother, rounder, with less of a spicy-lavender note on top, and extremely erotic, much more so than the somewhat "loud" spray. Both are fit for both sexes, amplifying what you naturally got. There is also a body products line available, including shower wash and body lotion, over which I still prefer the oil.

Musc Ravageur by F.Malle is available from the online boutique Editions de Parfums, at the eponymous Boutiques (see our article for the Parisian ones and the new one on Madison Ave.) and at Barney's.

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Scented Musketeers (musks reviews), The Musk Series: ingredients, classification, cultural associations

Painting Seated Nude by Jacob Collins, via acores.canalblog.com.
Clip from the Andrei Zulawski film L'important c'est d'aimer with Romy Schneider.

Mystery of Musk: Sensual Embrace by JoAnne Bassett, Drifting Sparks by Artemisia Natural Perfume reviews

I smelled a lot of fragrances made of all naturals for the Mystery of Musk project. Some went for carnality (see Kewda), some opted for sensuality (see Eau Natural), others were firmly into gourmand territory (Craving anyone?) and others still were bacchic (Graines de Paradis and Dionysus). Sensual Embrace by JoAnne Bassett was a surprise: Uncitrusy citrus on top (mandarin and clementine have a mellower, sweeter aspect than what we usually associate with tangy tart citrus, i.e. bergamot and lemon), almost aqueous progression, a hint of violet and rose of all things and then less suprisingly tobacco muskiness; honeyed and smooth, baby, yeah, let's get into that groovy feeling! Not exactly what we have come to associate musk per se (or at least what most people conditioned into drugstore musks have come to expect), yet very animalistically and pleasantly so (jasmine pairs incredibly well with musky smells, its indoles enhanced). Sensual Embrace is a proper perfume rather than a plain musk "accord" for sure, like a diaphanous and creamy-retro scent for dilettanti. The only drawback is its lasting power is rather short.
Joanne Bassett's site can be found on this link.


Difting Sparks was composed by Lisa Fong and if your idea of musk is close to powdery rose and honey (or if you like Lorenzo Villoresi's take on his Musk, to make things simper), then it's a must try! Mastic gum for instance gives that hazy, fluffy, and at once oleaginous feel that could be close to a rose-musk. The rose here is resting atop polished woods, like a parqueted floor in an old appartment: aristocratic, classy, inviting, warm. Ambergris provides the right touch, someplace between an object and human flesh. The intriguing ingredient of motia attar I learned is jasmine sambac from India co-distilled in sandalwood, producing a soft note without the heaviness of traditional full-on jasmine ~curiously enough. Makes your mouth water at the thought of those two delicious essences coupled...Still, very well blended, so you can't pinpoint it as such, you just feel the creaminess and the depth.
I found that the overall smoothness, almost linear (after the first three minutes), assured progression and the good manners of this perfume managed to please me, even if a muskier or more animalistic composition was at the back of my mind initially. I can't see Lisa having too much trouble selling this one!

The notes for Drifting Sparks are mastic absolute, beeswax absolute, rose otto, bois rose and cedarwood for the top; rose absolute, orange blossom absolute, jasmine sambac absolute, and essential oil of the blossoms of the nyctanthes aboritistus tree, from India for the heart; ambergris, agarwood, angelica root, ambrette seed absolute, black current absolute, motia attar, sandalwood and siam wood for the base.
Lisa Fong resides in Oakland, California and her Artemisia Natural Perfume site can be reached here.

Please visit the rest of the participating blogs and fora on the Mystery of Musk project following the links provided.

Pic via img3.visualizeus.com

M.Micallef Royal Muska: fragrance review

Royal Muská is a relative newcomer in the game of musk fragrances, being issued by niche brand M.Micallef in as recently as 2008, yet it has gained something of a cult status already, thanks to its cloudy soft, warmish personality, with a gentle sheen like mother-of-pearl and a ray or two of the sun hidden in there.

Fragrantica describes it as "the fragrance of tanned skin, of hot days and sultry nights" and classifies it under "fruity floral". How can a musk be tropical, you ask? Well, with the suffusion of salicylates, molecules naturally present in ylang ylang essence, of which perfumer Martine Micallef made ample use. The effect is like a delectable whiff of baked skin, almost amber-ed over with a hint of Ambre Solaire suntan lotion, but only a little. It's also rather soapy (rosy aldehydic), especially when smelled at an arm's length rather than up close, yet without any harsh alcaline edges or lily-of-the-valley "clean" vibe. Yes, it's a clean, white musk, but not quite. The best way I could describe it is "hazy", puffy-pillowy and honeyed sweetish, a real skin-scent.
Then again you might heed Katie Puckrick's warning if you're averse to musks in general, who says "on paper it seems like the kind of thing I'd dig. But I don't. It bugs me. Seems a little rank, like the inside of my friend from 6th grade’s not-very-clean house". In fragrance parlance, this is often associated with "mature" scents and I guess it is, somewhat, although it certainly lacks the complexity of old blends which incorporated musk as a supporting actor rather than the protagonist.

Royal Muská comes as an Eau de Parfum and is usually referred to as Royal Muska, the accent omitted in oversimplification, so don't get alarmed if you find it with either spelling online. More feminine than unisex, although theoretically it could be carried by both sexes. And caveat emptor regarding possible musk anosmia just like with Musc Bleu by Il Profumo applies here as well. The rectangular bottle is impressive and luxurious, even better looking than the round Micallef ones.

Notes for M.Micallef Royal Muská:
Ylang ylang, rose, white musks, precious woods, fruit notes, crystal musk and benzoin.

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: The Musk Series (ingredients & cultural history), Scented Musketeers: Musk fragrances reviews.


Photo from the Greek film Mantalena, 1960, starring Aliki Vougiouklaki and Dimitris Papamichael.

Bruno Acampora Musc Gold: fragrance review

It's not a tentative preview but a well established ritual, but Musc Gold perfume oil by Italian niche brand Bruno Acampora always makes it seem like it's the very first, one's no-virgin-anymore time.

via

The particularly incongruent, yet oddly beguiling mushroom note that is at the heart of the original Musc is still subtly present (herbaceous, earthy patchouli), but patters out very quickly in order to give the bitterish salty semblance of naked skin which sweetens the more it stays on.

It makes me think of the words of E.E Cummings "in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me, or which I cannot touch because they're too near."


Further reading on Perfume Shrine:
Musk, the material: natural deer musk and synthetic musks
Skin scents: intimate and subtle 
The Musk Series: Part 1, a Cultural Perception of Musk
                             Part 2, Natural musk and everything you need to know on synthetics
                             Part 3, The Many Permutations of Musk Fragrances (musk "types")

Scented Musketeers: musk fragrance reviews for men & women 

Le Labo Musc 25: fragrance review

Musc 25 by niche outfit Le Labo reminds me of The Body Shops' White Musk, more than I'd care to admit for something super-exclusive (only Los Angelitos are privy to it) going for a matching pricey tag: The squeeky, almost white-snow reflective cap of citrusy-rosy aldehydes and the laundered scent of lily of the valley on top, underscored by the familiar sweet warmth of synthetic musks, creates an effect of radiant, well-meaning, inviting vibes all around, but with a slightly mysterious touch too. Le Labo advertises it as a "dirty, sexual, decadent" musk with "the devil itself" included; colour me utterly dumbfounded! Have they smelled Miller Harris (gorgeous) L'Air du Rien or the (ultra cuddly, ultra controversial) Muscs Koublaï Khan by Lutens? [If you don't know the first thing about the distinction between clean and dirty musks, refer to this link]. That's not to mean that Musc 25 is bad, because it's not, as long as one knows what to expect.

Musk is suich a misunderstood word anyway, since most people have never smelled natural deer musk to begin with.What IS "musky"? To many it means "heavy, dense, opressive", to others "oily & unwashed", to some it stands for what perfumery jargon categorises as "mossy", to others still it bears a "cheap" association through long familiarisation with drugstore musks. Perfume vocabulary is unchartered territory to the general audience. So many "musk" fragrances on the market (drugstore too) are mixes more than single note explorations as well. I guess the only way is for you to make things clearer for yourself is to check out our Scented Musketeers Series on musk perfumes and grab some samples to explore for yourself.

Le Labo Musc 25, created by perfumer Frank Völkl, is a likeable sweetish, refined and mostly "clean musk", yet without spike-in-the-head harshness, nor soapy smelling (Many white musks come off as "soapy"). It's billowy, soft (a little powdery), wide-eyed and rather fond of trashy novels kept under the bed. She (or he, but it's mostly a "she" vibe in attitude, if not in smell) gets them out and masturbates to them when the parents are away, playing Under the Bridge in the background, the melodious bass reverberating off the poster-collaged walls.
Apart from the best-selling White Musk referenced (the old, better version), Musc 25 also has some elements of Ava Luxe's Love's True Bluish Light; namely the vanillic sweetness and the slightly ozonic quality that provides an instant electrifying freshness. This kind of synthetic musks is what accounts for "the magic moment" upon opening the machine after using fabric softener and dryer sheets; a primary selling point for those products. Vetiver in small amounts pairs well with synth musks (witness its pairing with Galaxolide in Trésor, to which Musc 25 shares a peachy mini-facet), accounting for more than the sum of its parts.
The trail left by Le Labo's Musc 25 is lightly ambery and quite tenacious indeed; LA tanned legs, as my friend The Non Blonde puts it. My main objection is ~like with Clair de Musc by Lutens~ that there are refined musks in lower price points as well.

According to the official blurb:

"Musc 25 is Le Labo’s LA exclusive scent. Why you ask ? Because genderless angels have to be tempted into the smell of life. Musc 25 is white, angelic, very musky and aldehydic, and so intensely luminous that you will need to wear shades to approach it. Yet despite all this heavenly white, it’s core is somber, devilishly dark, so much so that it wakes up your inner demons that are anchored in sin and in animalic notes that are sensual, sexual, and decadent. Its altar is made of vetiver, ambergris, more musc, and more civet and of the devil itself. Enjoy the ride of L.A 25, oops, we meant Musc 25."

Apparently they also claim to have developed a synthetic named X that imitates the pheremone induced by smelling..drumroll..sperm! (Supposedly that creates an aphrodisiac effect; please forget for a second the horror of Sécrétions Magnifiques, no relation.) Something doesn't quite compute for me in that, not least because sperm has a bleachy, citrusy magnolia smelling segment in there by itself when fresh. In that regard the combination of citrusy sparkly aldehydes, ozonic touches and lily of the valley is more acurate than muscenone, vetiver, patchouli, civet or ambergris. I guess there is an integral sense of irony in the best jokes anyway.   

Le Labo Musc 25 has fragrance notes of: aldehydes, lily of the valley, rose absolute, vetiver, cedar, patchouli, ambergris, musc, and civet.



Le Labo Musc 25 is a Los Angeles exclusive retailing at $290 for 50ml, but only for the month of November it is globally available at Luckyscent and on the official Le Labo site.
The Los Angeles Le Labo boutique is at 8385 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, (323) 782-0411

Disclosure: I was sent a sample by the company for reviewing purposes. 

Mystery of Musk: Temple of Musk by SIP, Cravings by Ambrosia reviews

Two musk submissions by two very different artists: one by a rather well-known perfumer in her niche with ties to Hollywood, the other a small indie one hailing from the far away land of Australia. Result: I tend to prefer the latter and not without good reason.

Alexandra Balahoutis (head perfumer of a perfume lab in Los Angeles and owner of a retail store) first ignited my interest when I saw her ripped apart for the prose on her site of Strange Invisible Perfumes on a certain expert's now defunct blog back in 2005. You gotta question why someone is getting so much attention and that makes you wonder about the work produced, no? The prose was indeed less than satisfactory at the time and has now been removed from her site. Of course, even though her business seemed doomed at that point, after the perfume enthusiasts' siding with the expert on this, Alexandra has remained totally unscathed by a business point of view and goes on strong. Still, I never actually pursued to test her perfumes till this project came along, which I recognise is an error on my part. Pity that my first encounter with her Temple of Musk proved less than satisfactory.

First of all, it was among the last bunch of samples I got. It even managed to arrive a day later than something all the way from Australia! So tsk tsk tsk, I thought the project seemed a little rushed. I understand that SIP had other fish to fry and all, but hey. And smelling the strips and then on skin, I can see that it was a bit rushed, including the tiny quantity sent: A harshly medicinal musk with murky facets and vine-like nuances (possibly the stated myrtle could do that, it reads a little lemony though) which I couldn't pull apart, like a vice grip from which one cannot escape make heads or tails of. It's heavy and "catty" (blackcurrant buds?), but it's not the kind of "heavy" which we associate with opulent orientals or retro scents. It just sat there refusing to do anything... What can I say? I don't want to bash small indie perfumers and prefer to keep silent when I find something they produce subpar. I am making an exception today because I have heard many good things about her work from people whose opinions I respect. And hope her ~undoubtedly more carfully turned out~ Musc Botanique is exactly my cuppa...Someone has promised me to introduce me to her other perfumes, because Alexandra is clearly capable of so much more. I have absolutely no doubt it is so.

Craving by Ambrosia on the other hand proved rather delightful, if only tempting me to dive into a cookie jar of home-made biscotti to scoop darl chocolate ice-cream with! The name is of course delectable, by nature...
The perfumer, Ambrosia Jones, impressed me first of all with her professionalism. Although the scent sample took its while to arrive all the way from half the world over (a given), she was among the very very first to inform me of her intentions and send me info on the creative process. Kudos, Ambrosia, this is how business is contacted. Regarding the perfume itself, she explained: "It's got all the animalistic base notes you'd hope to find in a decent musk perfume, with middle notes of warm roasted hazelnuts, sweet caramel and dark sultry cocoa liquor. OK, so I'm a food head. I can remember someone asking me years ago wether I prefer Sex or Food...and I honestly couldn't say!My idea of a perfect afternoon involves lot's of sexy nakedness...pheromones and wild passion....with intervals of chocolate cake, roasted nuts and more......Hey, why not make it perfect and combine them both?!"

To accomplish that she blended cocoa absolute (this stuff smells like real chocolate with an edge of human skin), real oud, two varieties of vetiver, hyraceum (harvested from a small animal cruelty-free and smelling intensely animalic), ambrette seed for that touch of vegetal muskiness and of course Australian sandalwood. The result smells like you're having an intimate dinner where the course is yourself and the drippings of caramelised chocolate are just the appetizer...You've been warned, this is sexy, comforting and tittilating stuff! She needn't have worried so much about the competition, her submission has been one of the best received ones!
Now, I'm more than psyched to try her Death by Chocolate. Perfume by Nature by Ambrosia can be found on this link.

Please visit the rest of the participating blogs and fora on the Mystery of Musk project following the links provided.

Photos by Paul Kiler on Mystery of Musk project.

Travel Memoirs: Arabian Rituals

Encountering other cultures is often revealing of prejudices of one own’s culture. And nowhere is this more apparent than upon glimpsing the fragrant rituals of the Middle East and in particular the Arab world. Immersed in the tradition of aromas, which were brought to Europe through the Crusades, soon opens a vista of a sensuous world. Fragrance is used to augment not only a person’s attraction but also to enhance food, living quarters and personal objects, to give a sense of moral purity and to unite members of a social group. Furthermore, in Islam scent is coupled to beliefs of evil spirits being associated to foul smells, while “the scented person is surrounded by angels”. Fragrance therefore takes on a deeply spiritual meaning, a matter of sanctity or sin, allying one with the forces of good and dispelling evil influences.

Arab people use aromatics in abundance and they revel in expensive materials when they can afford it, but they try to use what they can lay their hands on when they cannot. Women adhere to the motto: “We must use lots of smells”. But contrary to the beastly trail one imagines being left behind, that does not happen in public. An intimate approach is favored: within family and friends or among other women’s company.

In the United Arab Emirates specifically, highly prized are aloe wood (with a price to reflect it of upwards 250$ a pound), saffron, musk, rose, ambergris, jasmine, Arabian jasmine, narcissus, sandalwood, civet, and henna. Oil form is prefered due to its sensual nature and because oil holds fragrance better. Seeds and leaves are grinded into powder to enrich those oils. Arabian women are increasingly appreciating the convenience of Western-style spray fragrances, emulating the Western ideal, yet there is also the belief those smell a little less beautiful due to the intense alcoholic blast out of the sprayer.

Different aromatics are employed for different parts of the body. After a thorough bath, based on the principle that the application of fragrance on unwashed skin invites disease, the ritual begins. The purpose of perfuming is to revel in the scent. Rose, musk and saffron are favored for use all over, while hair benefits from sesame seed or walnut oil, fragranced with essences of ambergris or jasmine. Mkhammariyah is a red-hued mixture of aloe wood, saffron, rose, musk and civet that is put on ears for scenting as well as coloring. The armpits are scented with ambergris or sandalwood, the nostrils with aloe wood, the neck with ambergris, aloe wood, saffron, musk, narcissus and rose.

The rituals become even more elaborate for a wedding: the bride is washed, massaged, oiled and censed with various unguents and lotions. The bridal dress is soaked in water aromatized with rose-water, pepper, saffron and civet and then fumigated with ambergris and musk. A husband says after describing his wife’s scents on her person and her garments: “We men like all scents used but have a preference for musk, ambergris, aloe wood and saffron”*. Arabian men are also catered for: often with the same scents ~ rose, ambergris and particularly aloe wood. They are rubbed on ears, under nostrils, on the palms and smeared on the beard.

Clothes are censed with “fumigation”: washed, dried and then placed on a rack over a big incense burner purposely used for this process. The scent captured by the fabric remains perceptible even after washing, that dense the cloud of smoke is. Darker clothes (usually worn by women) are being censed with aloe wood, musk, ambergris, rose, Arabic gum and sugar, while white clothes (usually worn by men) are only censed with aloe wood for fear of staining.

You can watch the ritual here:



Olfactory pleasures come in gustatory form as well. Food is cooked slowly, with lid on, so as to preserve the aromas of fragrant materials used, resulting in mouth-watering Epicureanism. Spices are highly prized, especially anise, pepper, cinnamon, clove, garlic and ginger. Rose-water, orange-blossom water, cardamom and saffron are recipe ingredients in desserts. Cardamom is used in Arabic coffee and saffron in tea, while both saffron and cardamom oil are often added to milk. Frankincense smoke is sometimes used for drinking water, also useful for disinfecting it, which is arguably the origin of the now archaic tradition. A pot is filled with thick frankincense vapors, then water is poured over it and the lid put back on.

An invitation to an Arab house is occasion for reveling in olfactory pleasures as a means of tightening social ties. Good manners dictate to arrive pleasantly perfumed and to compliment the scents of the house and the food. The end of a meal is a chance to partake in fragrance sharing rituals, which intensifies the group’s sense of unity. A 19th century narration of the process goes thus: “A small square box […] is filled with charcoal or live embers of Ithel and on these are laid three or four small bits of sweet-scented wood. […] Everyone now takes in turn the burning vase, passes it under his beard…next lifts up one after another the corners of his head-gear or kerchief, to catch therein an abiding perfume.”* Currently Arab hostesses bring out fragrances for the guests to savor and put on themselves. The higher quality the scents are, the higher the praise for the hostess when passersby and friends smell the guests leaving from the place of invitation.

The pious aspect of fragrances in the Arab world is reflected in places of holiness and funeral rites.
Mosques are weekly incensed with frankincense for purification and it is an old tradition that musk had been used in the mortar to render a pleasant smell for years to come. I haven’t personally smelled it as such but the literature insists that it was so.
Funerals are held to be scented affairs. The body is washed with water scented with fragrant leaves and then smeared with camphor, sandalwood and saffron oil. On each side a censer, with Arabic gum and frankincense respectively, is placed, while the burial ground is also aromatized with aloe wood sticks sending their fragrant trails to the heavens. However it is interesting to note that although perfuming is lavished on the dead, for this occasion it is reserved for them only: the living do not use perfume as a mark of separation from the realm of the dead and as an external manifestation of mourning.

Recapitulating, it is fascinating to contemplate that fragrance takes on so many aesthetic and moral uses in a rich culture such as the Arabic one. Perhaps the West has still things to get taught.

References:
*1) A.Kanafani “Aesthetics and Ritual in the United Arab Emirates: the Anthropology of Food and Personal Adornment among Arabian Women”, American University of Beirut, 1983 pp.42-90
*2) W.G.Palgrave, “Narrative of a year’s journey through Central and Eastern Arabia”, Macmillan 1866, vol.2, p.26

Artwork "Two Lovers" from the 19th century, via the Hermitage museum. Clip originally uploaded by BBCWomeninBlack (from the homonymous documentary) and kindly sent to me by Kels.