You Dirty, Dirty Musk
posted Monday, 23 July 2007
Serge Lutens
Muscs Koublai Khan
Notes: civet, castoreum, costus roots, cumin, labdanum, Moroccan rose, ambergris, ambrette seeds, beeswax, vanilla, patchouli
I'm a wimpy musk gal. I like fresh, light, white musks that bear little or no resemblance to anything that might ooze out of an animal gland. I'm not a fan of dirty or sweaty smells. Animalic doesn't turn me on. Cumin makes me gag - especially if it's the scent of a sweaty and overweight Middle Eastern man encountered on a cross-country flight. (Luckily, he sat at the back of the plane, and I was close to the front, enduring only the occasional foul waft). I had heard that Muscs Koublai Khan was on the dirty side, but so many folks seemed to like it I figured I'd give it a shot. And it's dirty. Like sweaty crotch. But in a good way. Not sweaty like toiling in the hot sun for 10 hours as a goatherd. More like freshly washed and perfumed people who were about to go out on the town but were so overcome by lust for each other they instead fell into bed sweaty. There's cumin, and civet, and that strangely appropriate beaver-derived castoreum but there's also some rose. And an overall subtle vanillaic sweetness.
That's the drydown. Unfortunately, the opening is rank. My husband says it smells like his great-grandfather's house, a place full of ancient smelly furniture and old men's undergarments. Not to mention old men. The overall musk scent is present: sweet, strong, and a little cloying. Combined with the old man smell it's a bit overpowering.
Thank God for drydowns. Unfortunately for me, it takes a good 45 minutes to reach the non-disgusting part, where the vanilla creeps in and the crotch takes a bath. Eventually (several hours in) it's all about the sweet musk, sans additional animal notes. Actually, it's completely lovely. And, I suppose if I had a clothespin to wear on my nose for a while, worth the wait.
Muscs Koublai Khan
Notes: civet, castoreum, costus roots, cumin, labdanum, Moroccan rose, ambergris, ambrette seeds, beeswax, vanilla, patchouli
I'm a wimpy musk gal. I like fresh, light, white musks that bear little or no resemblance to anything that might ooze out of an animal gland. I'm not a fan of dirty or sweaty smells. Animalic doesn't turn me on. Cumin makes me gag - especially if it's the scent of a sweaty and overweight Middle Eastern man encountered on a cross-country flight. (Luckily, he sat at the back of the plane, and I was close to the front, enduring only the occasional foul waft). I had heard that Muscs Koublai Khan was on the dirty side, but so many folks seemed to like it I figured I'd give it a shot. And it's dirty. Like sweaty crotch. But in a good way. Not sweaty like toiling in the hot sun for 10 hours as a goatherd. More like freshly washed and perfumed people who were about to go out on the town but were so overcome by lust for each other they instead fell into bed sweaty. There's cumin, and civet, and that strangely appropriate beaver-derived castoreum but there's also some rose. And an overall subtle vanillaic sweetness. That's the drydown. Unfortunately, the opening is rank. My husband says it smells like his great-grandfather's house, a place full of ancient smelly furniture and old men's undergarments. Not to mention old men. The overall musk scent is present: sweet, strong, and a little cloying. Combined with the old man smell it's a bit overpowering. Thank God for drydowns. Unfortunately for me, it takes a good 45 minutes to reach the non-disgusting part, where the vanilla creeps in and the crotch takes a bath. Eventually (several hours in) it's all about the sweet musk, sans additional animal notes. Actually, it's completely lovely. And, I suppose if I had a clothespin to wear on my nose for a while, worth the wait.
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