Musky notes in perfumery
Coralie Frébourg
Soft, powdery, enveloping, with a little “clean skin” touch: musks are everywhere. You'll find them in almost every perfume, whether labeled feminine, masculine or genderless. But do you know where they come from, and why perfumery can't do without them?
What is a musky note?
Musks are notes often associated with cotton: soft, enveloping and very cozy. They give depth to a perfume and play an essential technical role: they are excellent fixatives and diffusers, improving longevity and sillage.
Although present in almost every perfume, musks are not one of the six original olfactory families defined by the French Society of Perfumers (SFP): floral, citrus, woody, oriental, fougère and chypre. They are rather a facet.
A bit of history: from musk deer to synthesis
Musks have gone through two major eras:
- Natural musks, used for centuries. Poor animals such as the musk deer were killed for their scent glands. What for? To cover body odors, at a time when hygiene was (really) lacking.
- Synthetic musks, which appeared at the end of the 19th century. They made it possible to recreate this smell without harming animals, and to invent new nuances.
To learn more about materials of animal origin, read our guide to animalic notes.
The 4 families of musks
- Natural (deer musk): now banned.
- Nitro musks (musk ambrette, musk xylene, musk tibetene…): banned or heavily restricted, because of phototoxicity and stability issues.
- Polycyclic musks (Tonalide, Galaxolide, Fixolide…): allowed and inexpensive, but poorly biodegradable.
- Macrocyclic and linear musks (Muscone, Exaltolide, Habanolide, Ambrettolide, Musk T, Globalide…): allowed, and some cost more than natural materials (Muscone: around €480/kg).
At Versatile, we only use macrocyclic musks in our perfumes.
What do musks smell like?
Soft, powdery, cottony, sometimes fruity (blackberry) or ambery. They are always base notes: they reveal themselves after a few hours and stay on the skin until the very end.
A little quirk: many people are partially anosmic to certain musks. They can't smell them, or no longer can. It's one of the reasons why you sometimes stop smelling your own perfume.
Key raw materials
- Musk T: fresh, floral, blackberry
- Muscenone: floral, woody, powdery
- Muscone: soft, powdery, floral
- Habanolide: fresh, blackberry, woody
- Galaxolide: blackberry, powdery, soft floral
- Helvetolide: fresh, floral, red berries
- Exaltolide: blackberry, ambery, almondy
- Ambrettolide: iris-like, blackberry, leather
- Tonalide: earthy, cereal, blackberry
- Globalide: soft, powdery, clean
- Cashmeran: earthy, fruity, cedar
Iconic perfumes
- Mûre et Musc, L'Artisan Parfumeur (1978), Jean-François Laporte: musky floral
- White Musk, The Body Shop (1981): musky floral
- Bvlgari pour Homme, Bvlgari (1996), Jacques Cavallier: woody floral musky
- Flower, Kenzo (2000), Alberto Morillas: musky floral
- Musc Ravageur, Frederic Malle (2000), Maurice Roucel: ambery animalic musky
- Cologne, Mugler (2001), Alberto Morillas: citrus aromatic musky
This list is not exhaustive: there are many beautiful launches, some iconic, others more commercial.
Where to find musky notes at Versatile?
We don't sort our perfumes by family, but our descriptions don't lie: the musky facet hides in Dimanche Flemme (milky, almondy, vanilla, musk), in the sunny neroli of Sea, Sud & Sun and in the strange, addictive La Foncedalle. And on skin, alcohol-free, our roll-on Extraits de parfum play the intimate-bubble card to the full.
FAQ
Are musks of animal origin?
Not anymore. Natural animal musks are banned: the ones found in perfumes are synthetic molecules.
Why is there musk in almost every perfume?
Because musks are excellent fixatives: they slow down the evaporation of other notes and improve the longevity and sillage of the perfume.
Why can't I smell the musk in my perfume?
Large musk molecules aren't perceived by everyone, and the nose quickly gets used to a smell it meets every day. Don't worry: other people smell it just fine.
