Musc Nomade by Annick Goutal, 2008

This is a sad, sad day. After a long day at work, I arrived at home to find a delivered package containing Musc Nomade and Ambre Fetiche. With a wagging tail I tore open the package and eagerly applied Musc Nomade to my wrist and started huffing away. Snort. Snort. WTF? Snort. Oh no. I am not able to smell parts of this composition. The musc note is incredibly faint and I think Im detecting ambrette, but otherwise only pale amber with a touch of chicken soup fades in and out. As such, I will refrain from rating Musc Nomade because, sob, I just cant smell it! Take my advice: do not blind buy Musc Nomade!!!! Next day edit: OK, this is completely perplexing, but now I think I can smell the composition. The musc is almost a texture, not a discernable note. Im finding the MN experience very subtle and almost spooky. Its like the ghost of someones flesh lingers in the air, but it is difficult to really describe what that flesh smells like; its sort of like a faded memory that keeps snuggling with you. This is hands down the creepiest review Ive written and Im going to stop typing now. Two days later: Yes, I can definately smell blackberry-musc accord, but the problem is that I need to dump half the bottle on my head to detect the whole composition. Final verdict: MN is a unique, comforting musc with an almost haunting beauty. It is, however, wimpy beyond belief.

Musk is a note that I am unfortunately anosmic to. Every now and then I capture wafts of it, but as soon as it appears, it's gone again. Musc Nomade, from what I have managed to smell, is a nice blend of musky woods and milk. It's more soothing than anything else. I would probably wear Musc Nomade as a bed-time scent, as it is something that would keep me feeling snuggly and warm. This fragrance isn't as spicy or as oriental as I expected it to be. Musc Nomade is the tamest of the four in the Les Orientalistes series, yet no less superior. Clean and pretty, there's a sense of sensuous silkiness that pleases me greatly. For those that hold Narciso Rodriguez in such high esteem, should experience musk at its very best as it is represented in this fragrance. I want to say animalic musk, however I refrain from doing so, because while it is sexy, it doesn't seem like the perfect remedy to rouse up the beast inside of us. For that fact alone, Musc Nomade is categorised by me as being a clean, white musk with a touch of woods. However you perceive this fragrance, you are sure to agree that this is a wonderful interpretation of musk, having a wonderful versatility to be worn by both men and women alike.

I always wonder about this one. Its made with a large serving of muscone, a musk with high molecular weight. Apparently the musks to which people are anosmic are these large ones. What does this smell like to them? To me its lovely. My take on MN is that it has the softness and rounded fruity sweetness of the non-threatening wing of musk fragrances, white musks, but also the complexity over time that the beastier musks have. This is more baby skin than rank armpit. There is a little of the waxy quality common to some musks, but the note that really fixes itself to the sweetness is the booziness. Booze and baby-skin. If thats not enough complexity, consider therapy. Once into the basenotes, MN wears close to the skin but also loses some sweetness, becoming a bit woody. MNs drydown has a long trajectory and traces of woody berry sweetness drift up to your nose 12 hours after applying it. I love that this has the happy-happy angles of the clean musks, but the complexity-without-skank of the heavier musks. I keep wedging MN between the two ends of the musk spectrum that Im positing, and I shouldnt. If anything, the center area that MN seems to occupy shows that moderation can be a smart and definitive choice and not just a compromise. A great scent for SoCal dry summer nights.

Annick Goutal Musc Nomade

Musc Nomade is one of four scents in the Les Orientalistes line created in 2008 by Isabelle Doyen and Camille Goutal. The inspiration for these scents was said to be the smells of the harem. Up until now while enjoying the other Les Oriantalistes I haven't been whisked away to my mental seraglio. Musc Nomade achieves the stated goal admirably. Musc is one of my favorite notes to see interpreteted by different perfumers and in Musc Nomade MMes. Doyen and Goutal choose to go for the less earthy musc and instead use a combination of three white muscs to add a layer of brightness to this. At the top, the first of the white muscs comes out and it is paired with the nutty note of almond. The almond adds a little sweetness to the airiness of the musc and gets this off to a sparkling start. The heart undergoes a shift as the musc changes and gains a little more depth along with a new partner, tonka, Once again it is a little sweet mixed with the musc and creating a nice accord. The base is also a mix of musc and sweet in the presence of Bombay wood which is the sweetness of papyrus. As this progresses the musc gets a little more pronounced and a little more power until the mix at the end feels very sensual. This is a beautiful light musc which feels light on my skin but yet has a subtle intensity that I enjoy all during its development. No musc is ever going to be completely clean but Musc Nomade has the quality of feeling exotic and a little erotic which fits a scent trying to evoke a harem.