Musc Ravageur (2000)
by Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle

Overall Musc Ravageur is a gourmand niche take on musk. The opening is a non-chalant expose of bergamot, citrus, and white flowers followed by a spicy, edible heart of carnation, cinnamon, vanilla, rubber, and possibly nutmeg. The base notes reveal a little bit of clean musk and surprisingly…more vanilla. Decent, but probably not worth the over $100 price tag.

Blame it on the numerous positive comments ranging from supportive to enthusiastic, I heard and read about Musc Ravageur, but I was so disappointed from the very beginning. I was expecting something more musky and exquisite and I just got a nice sweet scent instead. Perfumers sometimes, in their effort to create scents that stand out and actually make the difference, come up with interesting but strange and misleading blends, and I think this is the case for MR. Strange opening (sorry, no bergamot for me, just a sweet and oily lavender note) that leads to a loud cinnamon spice heart that gets better with time. Not great though. I can see the use of cinnamon as a way to innovate, give power and some longevity to the blend, only I am not sure it will please the majority of Musc lovers (they will have to search a lot in order to find a note that resembles to musc, at least at its usual form). The base is quite pleasant but fails to project its woody character. More feminine and definitely not sexy for me.

The heart of the scent is all creamy vanilla with a sprinkle of cinnamon, with a powdery feel that is reminiscent of opoponax. Perhaps that's why a reviewer recalls Guerlain's Shalimar. I find MUSC RAVAGEUR to be rather gourmand-esque if it isn't for the animalic, rather dirty note that I presume to be a deftly rendered musk. However it is notoriously elusive. And oddly enough, despite being a denser element the musk is more noticeable in the opening minutes but pulls a disappearing act thereafter. Musk lovers will no doubt find this disappointing but it is the fleeting nature of the musk that makes this more wearable. And if what I hear is true, the musky note retains a subtle presence in the sillage even if it seems odorless to the wearer. Just don't expect Musc Ravageur to be the sexy beast the name suggests when its charm is closer to that of a cute pussycat.

When I look for musk, I'm not looking for "nice" musk. Musk Ravaguer opens with a sweet warmth like candied fruits and creamy woods and stays this way throught. I don't get any notes that are remotely animalic, musky or sexual. Sillage is moderate. I guess I'm more of an MKK kind of girl. Now if you want to experience something really dirrrrrrrrrty, layer MKK with a little Onda (smile/wink).

UPDATE: I was so disappointed that it wasn't the dirty scent I was looking for that I failed to appreciate how pretty it actually is. At this point the weather is hot and I'm noticing things about it that weren't coming out as much in the cooler weather. Also the sillage is better in heat. While it's still not dirty and sexual in that MKK kind of way, it's a scent that's beautiful enough that people witll notice and for that I'm changing my rating to a thumbs up.

Mostly vanilla and cinnamon to my nose, over a fecal, yet somehow strangely sexually-attractive musk. It's not dirty per se, like Musk Koublai Kahn or Kiehl's Musk, but there's a strange fecal musk in the base that's leathery and magnetic. This stuff has a definite "wow" factor to it – it'll make you take a double (if not triple) sniff in a row - that is, granted you can smell the musk in it... To explain what I mean by that, I need to bring to light the fact that some people think this smells like cinnamon buns, and just cinnamon buns, while others say it smells like sex. This leaves me convinced that some people are anosmic to some of the many different kinds of musk in Musk Ravageur - and believe me, there's a lot. The musk is actually what makes this what it is - without it, this *would just be cinnamon buns. And so, no wonder people are sometimes underwhelmed by MR.

In terms of wearability, Musc Ravageur is a little more feminine than masculine, but definitely unisex IMO. I feel a little weird wearing this, as it's kind of like a leathery, dirty vanilla fragrance, but it's just so strange and intriguing that I can't help wanting to smell like it. It's definitely not conventional. I'm still torn on whether I love it because it smells great or because the musk in the base is so strange and compelling, but either way, Musc Ravageur is a terrific creation that's incredibly enjoyable.

9/10

MR is a pretty dynamic, spicy, vanillic scent over a soft touch of agarwood and musk. it comes across as a creamy vanilla and cinnamon based scent with nice touch of woody notes than musk..not sure what was the idea/concept behind it..but it sure smells sexy.