Mûre et Musc (1978)
by L'Artisan Parfumeur

The opening of Mure et Musc blew me away with its illusion of tart, slightly unripe blackberries. To me it is not the scent of blackberry jam or a fruit dessert but the scent of the actual blackberries hanging on the vine; even ripe sweet blackberries don't smell jammy before they're picked. The associations with my childhood summers were nearly overhwhelming for a few seconds.

The musk is not soapy at all on my skin but slightly warm. I do get the impression of sunny warmth but no citrus per se. This fragrance seems to love my skin and I love it right back!

3rd November, 2011.

I don't understand this perfume at all. It's sour and strange on me.

23rd April, 2010.

Sometimes less truly is more. Mûre et Musc is an exercise in minimalism, and to my nose quite a successful one. Berries and musk, maybe a little fresh citrus on top, and that's it. Light and unobtrusive, without being dull or familiar. On the sweet side for me, but certainly wearable, and would no doubt be lovely on a woman. Stays close to the skin and lasts moderately well -- certainly long enough for daytime wear.

13rd December, 2009.

Did they reformulate this? A friend's aunt used to wear this back in the 80's... the "jam" smell seemed to be more balanced with the white musk back then, and the scent seemed... deeper? Richer? Maybe it's my memory playing tricks on me, but the last time I smelled Mure et Musc at the L'artisan shop, it smelled more like overripe fruit than jam. It made me think of a perfumey version of Lip Smackers lip gloss (my 70's roots are showing!)

If you're looking for a clean fruit/warm combo in a scent with a bit of sophistication, give Jo Malone's Pomegranate Noir a go, and give this one a miss.

6th October, 2009.

L'Artisan Mure et Musc

Notes: wild blackberry, musk, citrus (from luckyscent.com)

Mure et Musc goes on as a juicy citrus with an herbal backbone, and some salty, soapy musk notes. I can't say I smell any blackberry to speak of, although there is a non-distinct "fruity" note which is mostly eclipsed by the soapy white musk. I must be honest, with apologies to lovers of this fragrance, this is worse than mediocre. The soapy musk takes over very quickly, and is not even as good as low-end fragrance oils I have tried. After only a few minutes, the citrus smells cheaper than household cleaning products which use natural orange oil. If it were a strong and long-lived scent, Mure et Musc would be a scrubber.

23rd August, 2009.

I'm a huge fan of L'Artisan, but this is one fragrance that fails completely to work with my body chemistry. I'm actually jealous of the reviewers who talk about the jammy quality of the berries here, because on me, they're completely absent. I get a slightly (unpleasantly) soapy light musk that lasts for less than an hour... and that's it. There's no dry-down, no development, no sillage at all. I'm hoping for more fruit from the Extreme version.

5th July, 2009.