Muscs Koublaï Khän (1998)
by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

Serge Lutens Musc Kublai Khan

Notes: civet, castoreum, costus roots, cumin, labdanum, Moroccan rose, ambergris, ambrette seeds, beeswax, vanilla and patchouli (from nstperfume.com)

Musc Kublai Khan starts as an animalic one-two-three punch, rife with large doses of civet, castoreum and indolic floral notes. The opening is incredibly intoxicating: the civet lends a fecal edge verging on sweet; the leathery castoreum smells of rootbeer and bitter plant tonics; and the indolic notes balance the first two with a vanillic "wet cardboard" quality which adds some dimension and uniformity to the opening accord. I suspect there is also some honey or blackcurrant bud, as there is a slight urinous edge as well. Sadly, this amazing animalic orchestra begins to fade very quickly, allowing the honey/blackcurrant bud note take on a piercing quality. I presume this is the "dirty underwear" accord many people seem to find in MKK. The much maligned cumin comes out a bit later in the middle development as MKK rounds out and starts to smell slightly more leathery and skin-like. I must say, so far MKK ALMOST holds up to the skankiest vintage fragrances I have tried such as Jean Desprez Bal a Versailles extrait or Dana Tabu. Actually, I find MKK to be considerably cleaner smelling than those great classics. This is reinforced by the fact that, to my nose, the base is a soapy white musk blended with a vanilla-prominent amber. Generally speaking, the older formulae I have tried seem to have warmth and character which MKK lacks. Still, MKK is an extremely well-composed, smooth oriental which carries forth an established tradition using modern ingredients--one could do a whole lot worse. Highly recommended.

In MKK I smell a sweet, almost creamy, and quite powdery accord with a slightly fecal background of musk, castoreum, and civet. The effect is a little like an elephant hidden behind lace curtains, and much more innocent than naughty. I find it about average in strength, totally linear, and very pleasant to wear, if not quite inspiring enough to make it worth a trek to Paris.

Of course, given that musk anosmia is quite common, I might just not be smelling what others are.

Well...I'm glad that so many seem to love this, but Muscs Koublai Khan is the first fragrance that I've had to scrub off. The fecal note in this is just too strong for me to tolerate. I am not a musk fan, though, so this is definitely worth trying out!

I find this really a rather friendly, soft, slightly fecal musk. Not scarily skanky, not powerful. Perfectly "meh", which is not what I was hoping for.

Hey, what happened to my last review? Was it deleted in cyberspace due to references of Tarzan and Jane doing the wild thing while wearing MKK in their jungle treehouse?

( I hope I didn't suggest Cheeta for a menage a trois )

Say, has anyone thus far mentioned that this is a 'dirty' musk which comes off as animalistic, sexy and sweaty?

I'm not a fan of the BN adored SL, but this is the exception.

Well, as the philosopher said:
You can take man out of the jungle, but you cannot take the jungle out of man.
5 stars.

For those who have tried Kiehls Original Musk EDT, this notorious Serge Lutens fragrance will hardly be a revelation. The two are very similar in their barnyard nature, with Muscs Koublai Khan ultimately morphing into the slighly creamier, sweeter, smoother, and more complex version. It goes through several scene changes in its evolution. Starting out, I get a sharp blast of something that could resemble baby diaper/Fluffy's litterbox. This is not disgusting, just sharp and interesting. After a minute or so, the scent dries down into a rubbery, slightly medicinal band-aid. And then further on becomes a creamy hay/straw smell, which, if I wanted to be imaginative, I might say would resemble a Mongol encampment at night as the womenfolk prepare fresh, creamy, sweetened goat's milk. Musk itself is a background player here.

I need some time with this one. This scent is not disgusting to me at all, but I have had a long relationship with Kiehl's Musk EDT, which took much of the edge off of MKK for me. For someone not familiar with Kiehls EDT, this scent could indeed be...distubing, due to the slightly fecal, barnyard nature that is the hallmark of the "animalic musk." A very interesting scent. The creamy sweetness of the drydown may even turn this into a comfort scent for me.