Musk
by Renée

Malle Musc Ravageur and Renee Musk Comparison

Left hand: Frederick Malle Musc Ravageur (Oil)
Right hand: Renee Musk

Musc Ravageur--It has been a really long time since I have smelled MR, and only now have I had access to the fragrance again. For some reason, I thought MR was closer to MKK, but now it doesn't seem that way. At the start, I smell sweet musk and spices. The musk is like other sweet synthetic musks I have smelled, and I actually don't think it is super special. What is more special is what is with the musk, in this case, I smell cinnamon, clove, and maybe some nutmeg. It is the pumpkin-pie 1-2-3 punch, trio of spices. I suppose if MR had a little bit of fruityness, it really could be a pumpkin pie fragrance rather than a musk, but I digress. It is either fading fast, or I am getting nose fatigue. I don't detect much progression--it is pretty much staying in the synthetic musk with spices space, although the edgyness of the spices is wearing off a bit, making it a bit smoother and very warm.

Renee Musk--For some reason I remembered that this one started with a sort of pee note, and thought it might be civet. Even in Scent Bar last week, I smelled the pee note briefly when the fragrance was first sprayed on the strip. Wearing it today, what is more apparent is the poop note (aka manure), as this so-called musk is actually very leathery. It has a castoreum-like scent which includes manure, leather, bandaid/antiseptic, etc. The musk is actually very subtle, and seems to be more of a carrier for the leather. This one is also developing very quickly. The castoreum is having its typical progression away from the horse stable and more toward the leather horse saddle. The musk is nearly undetectable at this point.

I must be very honest--after trying some synthetic musk notes in the note identification project, it is clear to me that the quality and concentration of the particular musk aromachemical is of paramount importance. The synthetic musks are mostly ho-hum, with hardly any depth or breadth, so I think they 1) rely heavily on other ingredients to make them shine and/or 2) end up being used as a base because they aid in marrying notes rather than being the star attraction.

As a result, my impressions of FMMR and RM are really not so good, because I think the musks are not so good. They lack the complexity and longevity needed to be the central note in a fragrance. And the other notes which are supposedly supporting the musks are becoming insipid--it is as though they have no base notes. On final analysis, I also have to disagree with statements that FMMR and RM are the same. They do smell *similar* when first applied, but they diverge rapidly.

If I had to pick between the two, it would be Musc Ravageur, because Renee Musk is really more of a leather scent, and I think it is better compared with other leathers rather than other musks. As a former Coty Wild Musk girl, neither of these satisfy me.

26th November, 2008.

WOW, this is a great scent, really pretty amazing! It is very similar to Musk ravageur but a lot more leather. Additionally, it has less cinnamon in it, however there is still some cinnamon and spice. I really dig this stuff; awesome!

25th November, 2008.