Kiehl's Original Musk fragrance notes
Where to buy Kiehl's Original Musk by Kiehl'sLatest Reviews of Kiehl's Original Musk Show Kiehl's, either by accident or maybe by design assuming the brand had that much foresight, brings this sexy and inviting semi-bohemian musk style into focus without any real animal components, using new replacers like Shangralide and tonquitone (both IFF materials, and Kiehl's is from New York City just like IFF), plus a host of soapy floral notes to counter-balance. Houbigant via Parfums Parquet (their drugstore division at the time) would attempt something like this when they overhauled Monsieur Houbigant (1967) into Monsieur Musk (1972) with a similar application of soapy florals and animalic musks counterbalanced with some white fluff, although that exercise was marketed strictly to men, had civet and carnation because of it, and wasn't ambery or spicy. Kiehl's seeks to be as gender neutral as the conventions of the 1960's likely allowed at the time, adding some amber, tonka, and patchouli to the melange of neroli, rose, ylang, orris, and muguet up top, before giving way to its fur blanket of tonquitone and similar materials, alongside an easy-to-miss clean white musk filler. The skank is there in just the right amount to definitely smell like the hair of the dog that bit you, but all the mid-century soap tones and muted ambery warmth make Kiehl's delectably approachable too, for the adventurous. Performance is very long, and Kiehl's is especially good in the cold, but likely a nightmare in any sort of humidity or heat. Kiehl's is still considered unisex today, and tends to be looked at as a cheap thrill for seekers of animal delights among the online perfume community spaces. Ultimately, most flower children of the late 60's weren't quite ready for Kiehl's offering if they weren't into the straight-from-Egypt stuff found in head shops, so the much-cleaner Alyssa Ashley Musk (1967), which excises all the animalics in favor of creamy white musk and soap, became the real mainstream winner, since it was essentially a mainstreaming of what Kiehl's had been trying to do. This musk did get quite the reputation for being a taboo animal bomb among US buyers, and for those who hadn't wandered into French perfumery to sniff the soiled bedsheets of Lanvin, Rochas, or Desprez, I suppose that could be true. Oddly enough, Jovan ended up sitting somewhere in the middle with its own tonquitone-powered musk reverse-engineered from some head shop specimen, having the amber and the fur-rug muskiness of Kiehl's, without the between-the-legs indoles or huge doses of soap. This more-to-the-point musk got dosed with mint and lavender for men, and then became a huge hit among dive bar sleezeballs across the country for the next 20 years or so. Kiehl's, daring to be more animal and true-to-source than all the rest, plus arguably more-complex and better made, would remain a notorious inspirational figure lurking in the shadows, and can still be found today, only if you ask a salesperson for a bottle. Obviously, this one is still marketed as a "if you know, you know" kind of thing outside of when displays get trotted out around the holidays. Thumbs up I don't know this for certain, but what I pick up seems to be Tonquitone and/or Shangralide, both produced by IFF, bases that imitate natural deer musk. Perhaps there is also Muscenone from Firmenich, which is an animalic, diffusive musk that has since replaced the now highly restricted musk ketone. This may even have some Animalis from Synarome; a sensuous, costus-like animalic base famously used in YSL Kouros. Original Musk is not, however, a skank monster: all the elements are blended in such a way so that is a careful treading the line between clean and dirty, with it settling smooth and silt-fine powdery, with lived-in sheet loveliness in its dry down. One of the best bangs for your buck, Original Musk is a certified classic. A nice soft scent that waffles between very clean and very dirty in a most enchanting way. Not easily classified as a work scent or a date scent, it's a nice casual scent perfect for just hanging around. Becoming a fast favorite. None of the notes are hitting me to make it seem masculine or feminine. Nicely balanced. Starting to feel to me like a must own for Basenoters. Sillage is just about non-existent and the longevity is 1-2 hours before it settles into it's warm base of patchouli and soft musk. It's my everyday, safe scent. Errr, I mean my everyday non-scent. The opening is musky for sure but not as harsh as the EDT. The oil starts to soften quickly, becoming warm with honey and powdery sweet with plenty of rose. A bit feminine because of the rose but the overall scent is still animalic and musky. The late drydown is very soft, slightly sweet and plenty agreeable and not that musky. I only get light projection but very good longevity. Should be nice for when someone gets close. Show all 102 Reviews of Kiehl's Original Musk by Kiehl's |
