Kiehls Musk

[nthny]

Though I've owned it for a year and a half, this has always been one I've just worn on the spur of the moment and never really gotten to know it over a series of days. This weekend I went on vacation and only brought this (and Un Jardin for those moments I needed a breath of fresh air) and I really got to know it. This is NOT a clean scent and it's actually quite complex to my nose. There is something animal in this, and I get that somewhat urine note I smell in Patou's Joy (is it Joy that is more animalic?) on a bed of dark lipstick red roses. There's something lusciously discordant about it, and if you squint your eyes and imagine, this does have a bit of gritty humanness to it. The notes are listed on the Kiehl's website. Anyway, just writing this for all those like me who think/thought it's a tame little thing... it's got some punch, seriously sensual, and, well, it's pretty funky! I played in the orchestra pit of La Boheme this weekend and throughout the 3 hour opera Kiehl's kept rising up to give me little hints of itself the whole time.

Kiehl's writes: "Our musk oil comprises a synthetic musk ingredient (and always has!). The scent is inspired by a “musky” extract derived from a miniature antler-less deer which originates deep in the Himalayan mountains. Moschus moschiferus is a relatively harmless animal weighing just twenty-five pounds and standing twenty inches in height. The scent pod of the male musk deer has been sought after for centuries and its aroma is considered one of the most popular scents throughout history, dating back to ancient Roman, Persian, and Chinese cultures."

Comments very welcome

[Indie_Guy]

Kiehl's Musk is a filthy musk scent, but I love it. I don't wear it, but I appreciate it.

Maybe this scent deserves a little more mystique than it gets. If it had more of a daring, evocative name than Kiehl's Musk, who knows? Its kind of funny because I think of Richard Kiehl who was the caveman in the MST3K spoofed classic "Eegah!"... And there is something a bit caveman about it.

Well, not really caveman I guess-- but still dirty. I smell Kiehls and I picture the early 20th century. Guys and gals. Roaring 20's. Something like that.

I also get that dark rose note, which is nice. I really wish I could pull of Keihl's musk or any musk for that matter, but I think it takes a certain "something" to pull off.

[jdnba]

i get a clean dirtiness though like clean sweat....after a few hours i get an orange floral sweat thing going and it smells like second skin....i love this shit, im working on my second bottle and have a third waiting in the wings.

[mikeperez23]

Great comments - don't you just love it when you can really concentrate and give one scent your full attention to 'get' all of its nuances.

I, however, cannot smell Kieh'ls Musk. I apply it and (like Tom Ford for Men) it is gone in about 30 seconds.

A friend of mine (a woman) loves this stuff though and says that the man she marries will definitely wear this.

[Sugandaraja]

I, however, cannot smell Kieh'ls Musk. I apply it and (like Tom Ford for Men) it is gone in about 30 seconds.

I remember reading a while ago - I'll try to find some sources later tonight - that musk-smelling chemicals are right on the borderline of chemical too big to smell, and many people can't smell some of them. I think it might be interesting to do a large scale test of the various "musk" chemicals to see how common this kind of anosmia is.

[Indie_Guy]

I find Kiehl's to be very smellable to me. However I know for a fact that I have a very hard time smelling some musks. I have several in my perfumers organ-- I cannot smell galaxolide at all. I could hold the bottle directly under my nose, and smell nothing at all. It's frustrating because I've invited houseguests to try to sniff my galaxolide bottle and about 20 people had no problems smelling it-- whereas me and one of my brothers were anosmic to it (though my other brother could smell it fine). Also I have trouble smelling ethylene brassylate and exaltolide musks. I CAN smell cashmeran, though it's not strictly a musk in the sense that the others are. I can smell musk ketone, though I try not to use it because of environmental concerns.

Fortunately I'm able to detect the effects of these musks when they are blended with other ingredients.

But yeah, musk anosmia pisses me off. It feels like a handicap when it comes to perfumery.

[seattlelight]

I cannot smell Narciso Rodriquez musk oil - open the bottle and sniff and ---nothing.

It's interesting because I don't care for musk scents - perhaps my musk smelling handicap is why I don't enjoy them? Perhaps I'm not smelling what's really there?