Reviews of Musk (1995)
by Lorenzo Villoresi

A big rose, another big rose, and then some light laundry detergentesque musk. Far too feminine of a floral for a man to consider wearing. There's some vanilla sweetening the rose here, thus it is not the natural, dry rose of Acqua di Parma, but rather a rose potpourri.

In one word : GHASTLY.

As unfortunate as it does sound, this is the only Villoresi scent I truly detest. Unbelievably synthetic from the get-go, It almost chokes me in a vice grip of very intensely done powdery accords, which otherwise would've been enjoyable had then been less synthetic. A complete synth bomb from top to bottom.

Lorenzo Villoresi Musk opens with a sharp, aldehydic/synthetic, powdery floral blend with a heart of deep, dark, rose. To me, it's like a powdery floral, Oriental "Sherbet" done in a very old fashioned way(No. 88 and Penhaligons come to mind). The florals portrays a color in deep violets...i still can't shake the oriental sherbet association. as if it's some sort of refreshing elixir made to seduce. The opening accords are indeed very uplifting and strong, kinda sets the tone up for what’s to follow. I'm typically attracted to powdery scents and this is what this scent has to offer in it's mid notes! glorious powdery notes begins to spread it's wings by mid notes with hints of spices and touch of rosewood. Throughout these progressions, this scent never comes of as a woody scent. Floral elements with a exotic touch of spices and woody notes. The powdery notes carry with it, musky undertones wafting to the surface as white smoke. it stays a little musty and powdery towards base evoking a residue like powdery musk note
LV musk is not a everyday wear kinds...it's a kind (imho) which would suit deep colored silk shirts, the one's typically worn to lounge/tech parties. This, also happens to be a perfect e.g. of a Unisex scent. would smell glorious/suave on a lady.

I got a decant of this about three years ago. I used it very moderately, and after two years when there was still plenty of it left, the juice had turned completely off. I stored it properly, off course, but still it had destroyed to totally unusable. It smelled absolutely awful in the end. *shivers*

This has never happened to me with any other fragrance.

I just thought this was worth sharing. I`m not saying it has a unnecessary tendency to turn off that quickly, but my advice is that you probably should use your bottle as soon as possible.

The scent itself is a nice, subtle animalic musk.

If you enjoy powdery rose scents and remove the word 'Musk' from the mix, you may really enjoy this fragrance. It is definitely an ultra-feminine floral and a good one. For those who have dreamed of owning Crown Perfumery's Marechale Original, this is a somewhat cheapened distant relative. The rose component dressed in rich cardamom and galbanum receives a sparkling from something I can't identify. On the drydown, the most lovely powder emerges from soft samdal and musk.

The house of Lorenzo Villoresi has really created a beautifully romantic and aristocratic 18th Century feel with Musk, a time of heavy brocades and velvets, powdered gloves, and gardens of deeply scented roses.

I had problems understanding this at first until I realized that I was getting a lot more wood and oakmoss than I was getting musk – I’ve got to stop believing these names. To my nose, the musk sort of skirts around the other notes, especially the sandalwood, oakmoss, rose, and geranium – and of those, especially the geranium. It’s only later that the musk comes into its own and joins the rosy / powdery heart. The dominance of the geranium / rose of the middle gives the fragrance an old fashioned feeling, and I’m not sure the musk has anything to do with that. Not only do I view the heart accord as old fashioned, but I experience it as quite feminine, and I think that’s caused by the musk. It’s a well-done fragrance. It’s refined with possibly an even tighter, more effective construction than many of the other Villoresi’s. And it has the same three-dimensional visual-olfactory effect that I’ve admired in several of the other LV’s. (Some day I’m going to pursue the reason why I actually visualize the olfactory construction of these LV fragrances.) But with LV Musk I can’t find the love: possibly because I am not a huge fan of musks?

This is my sixth Villoresi scent and I find it to elegant, subtle and sophisticated as I have found all of his scents. This one is relatively simple with only ten named ingredients from the Villoresi house page:

Top: Galbanum, Cardamom, Bergamot
Middle: Geranium, Rose
Base: Musk, Sandalwood, Oakmoss, Rosewood, Vanilla

For me it opens with a marvelous mix of rose and galbanum, which eventually drys down to an amber and vanilla mix. It is a very light musk, not at all heavy such as the Egyptian Musk Caswell uses in its Elixir No. 1, and is therefore not sensual. But it is a perfectly decent musk and for every day wear it is recommended.

Another winner from Lorezon Villoresi! I couldn't get over how beautiful and clean this scent is. I put it on my husband and found it amazingly powdery due to the oak moss, musk and sandalwood. I tried it on me and it was just a beautiful. It is the essence of romance and beauty.

The opening notes are upfligting with a rose, geranium and galbanum accord that is very warm and feels like old world fragrance magic. The initial impression is of Czech and Speake's No. 88. - Light. However, the C&S never leaves the rose patchouli note while the ruin of the LV Musk for me is the extremely sweet powdery drydown. It leaves the rose note behind and goes totally sweetness and amber. It is cloying and I really can not wear it. I don't know if its just my body chemistry or what, but whenever I encounter this combination of sandalwood, amber plus the powdery tonkan musk I become sort of allergic and can not wear it. Its sweet, strong, powdery - not really feminine - just not right for me at all. I suppose it could be worn at really light concentrations and the sweet powder would be less bother - but then its just the wrong smell. Oh well.

This is a "darling" scent, sweet, powdery, floral and very pretty. So gents, ignore the unisex appellation and just give it to your "darling" but buy the magnificcent LV Uomo for yourself.

Thumbs up for females, down for guys leads to a neutral overall.

Joe

At last! A Villoresi scent that I actually like. And I like this one a lot! I really don't consider it a true musk scent since the scent doesn't evolve around that one note at all. I consider this more of a floral oriental scent with a powdery drydown. To me, it's a borderline feminine scent in the same vein as SL Datura Noir but it's so good that I can't resist it. I have a hard time pinning down the notes since it's masterfully blended. It's just one of those scents that smell great. I must have a bottle of this wonderful juice now!

Greatly similar to SMN's Musk, only Villoresi's is stronger, lasts longer, and develops more. It's that semi-powdery, slightly sweet, almost dusty "musk" that I'm guessing comes from plants, as opposed to the musk I remember smelling as a child, stuff my dad and grandfather had lying around for hunting purposes (the MKK variety of muskiness). Maybe this dusty musky quality is created or augmented by the galbanum. Rose yes, but the base is more masculine than feminine in my opinion, and the rose here doesn't bother me in the least. Something about the scent also feels cold and stony, which gives it a cerebral, logical, and calculating feel. I always have this vision of myself as a hitman when I wear this, despite the notes that would suggest this should be a warm, comforting scent. Musk is a great scent, but potent, and I find, hard to wear, so go gently with that sprayer.

This stays powdery rose on me and it is my comfort scent at night. This could be a let down for people who buy it unsniffed because it is really not a musk scent.It reminds me of the top-note of Sweet Oriental Dream by Montale.

Oh Renato (see below)...I wonder what happened? This is far and away my favorite of the Villoresi line and one of the best musk scents I own. The lavender and rose work wonders here and the sandalwood adds just the right touch in the base. A masterpeice.

A very good scent. Starts out with a strong floral scent that is not overpoweringly sweet because of the creamy musk base. The scent fades into a warm inviting scent that is a must have. The best part is that it is lasting. 2 very very small daps on my wrist lasted over 6 hours noticeably.

I love LV Musk! This is the only Lorenzo Villoresi scent that I like. It’s not terribly musky, but rather, I find it to be a powdery rose fragrance with musk accents. It’s the only Villoresi scent that’s well balanced, and in my opinion, well made. I will agree with Paul, that this is a fragrance of balance. Oh Mr. Villoresi, how very French of you!

Completely different take on this perhaps the most classic note of them all. In Lorenzo's rendition we get a sweet, slightly powdery musk with a lovely, mellow rose heart. Like many Villoresis it is quite creamy and the woody base makes it very safe for masculine wear, although there is nothing overtly feminine about the fragrance at all. Musk is in my honest opinion one of LV`s finest and a great example (just like his colonia) of the way he flawlessly has updated many of the darlings of the perfumery-world.

It's a pretty basic musky scent, which isn't all that long lasting on me. It just seems too simple for me. Feel free to e-mail me and tell me what I've missed.
Renato

Wow! It starts off with a rose note at the top that is incredibly strong. Like all Viloresi's on me, this one takes a bit to set. When the rose subsides though, this scent is pure brilliance. It's very creamy and woody and not a musk in the sense I've grown accustomed to. The musk is tempered by the woods considerably and while present is not the dominant note. The scent is a portrait of balance as no note really overpowers the whole thing as the sandalwood and amber mix nicely with the Musk. This fragrance demands more than one testing and is truly a work of art.

While there are some distinct similarities between LV Musk and Santa Maria Novella Musk it clearly is superior in its longevity and, in my opinion, quality of ingredients. The LV signature is all over this fragrance.