learning about skank

I went sniffing around Shinjuku, trying stuff that I have seen referred to as skanky here. So I went to the Serge Lutens section and made a blotter of Musc Kublai Khan. (I don't do a skin test with stuff I don' know). Well, that stuff stinks! It is not revolting, but if I met someone wearing it, I might wonder if they needed to take a shower. As I walked down the street, I took another sniff of the blotter---I had to laugh at the audacity of a perfumer to create something like this. Maybe someone who had such an elegant persona that people would immediately know the aroma was due to frag and not BO could wear this. Do people actually wear this in public? I know this sounds really negative, but I do think it is interesting. I kept checking the blotter, and it never developed much in the way of anything more positive for me. It also reminded me of my earliest memories of perfume--something nearly this musky that was popular among women in the 1950s. Can't remember what it was...

I heard there was skank in No. 5, so I got a blotter of that. The SA said the development would bring an even stronger note of 'jasmine.' If there is anything skanky about this, it is done in a way that enhances the rich floral impression. Then, I realized that a lot of Guerlains have this rich undertone that is a bit earthy. In fact, I think I am becoming a Guerlainneur, or whatever lovers of everything Guerlain are called. Habit Rouge and Heritage both have this quality. The Aqua Pampelune also has it. I also went to the LeLabo section and tried the vanille and poivre, which both use a skanky note very effectively as a kind of boost or enrichment. The LeLabo oud only smelled like band-aids, nothing fecal, animalic, or even the rich spicy floral hum of Japanese incense containing agarwood. Maybe a skin test might reveal more...

So my conclusion is: skank by itself can be hard to take, but used to boost other notes without dominating, I like it very much.

Thanks, Bigsly! I have noticed some frags bring a wide range of perceptions, based on looking around various reviews.

I suspect people who wear SL MKK might layer it with more nose friendly stuff. I have wondered what Fille en Aiguilles might be like layered with a rather pure musk (I have nothing very musky on hand). I have read good things about Kiehl's musk, I may investigate that.

Thanks for all the interesting comments. I thought that MKK must be near the limit, but the Guardian article linked by mysticknot mentioned several that must be even further out there.

I had a bottle of Kouros many years ago. I didn't know anything about it, but I didn't like it much, not because of animalic smells, but because it smelled like plastic or chemicals. I am intrigued by M7, but a quick search suggests that it is very rare in Tokyo.