Musk

Musk is a scent highly prized by today's noses. It conveys something sensual, animalic and exhilarating. Originally, musk came from an animal, the musk deer. The latter lives mainly in Tibet and Siberia. During its rutting period, the musk deer releases an atypical odor, a musk odor. In its pure state, musk is a genuinely very strong odor that gives off animalic, woody, and also fecal tonalities. To extract this material from the musk deer, the animal had to be killed. Today, this practice is prohibited and musk is recreated identically in the laboratory.

The scent of musk

From its discovery, the woody and animalic odor of musk delighted men's fragrances, giving them the virile character they had lacked until then. It was in 1926 that Lavoslav Ruzicka found the perfect synthetic replica of the odor of animal musk. Musk offers woody, warm, enveloping, sensual and soft notes. Three types of musk are distinguished, namely nitro-musks (which include musk ketone) which give off a powdery, floral and slightly animalic odor. These were widely used by perfumers, but they are currently banned under French legislation. There are also polycyclic musks, which offer more floral, slightly fruity, and powdery tonalities. This variety of musk is increasingly criticized because of its environmental impact. Finally, there are macrocyclic musks, which are considered the most harmless musks.

Musk and its association in perfumery with the different olfactory families

Sweet, warm and animalic, musk has become almost indispensable to oriental compositions, where it gives off sensual tonalities. It is thus found in a masculine oriental composition, A*Men by Thierry Mugler, where white musks are placed as a base note, alongside tonka bean and coffee. It is also found in feminine oriental compositions such as L by Lolita Lempicka. White musks are also found within woody compositions such as Allure Homme Sport by Chanel, where the musks sit as a base note alongside vetiver and tonka bean. Musk is also found in floral compositions such as 1881 en Fleurs by Cerruti or A Scent by Issey Miyake Soleil de Néroli, by Issey Miyake, a green-floral. Musk is also found in citrus fragrances such as Acqua Allegoria Teazzura by Guerlain.

Now reproduced synthetically, musk holds a prime place in niche perfumery. It is highly prized for its sensual, even sexual, odor, but also for the warm and enveloping tonalities it gives off. Musk pairs with every olfactory family, bringing to each its atypical odor.