Fragrance note
Musk Perfumes
A musk perfume is a fragrance in which musk sets the tone – soft, warm, close to the skin and, depending on the composition, clean, powdery or sensually animalic. Today the note comes almost entirely from synthetic musks that recreate the famous molecule muscone and its relatives.
More about Musk Perfumes
Knowledge
How the note behaves
Clean & powdery
White musk with iris, aldehydes or cotton flower. Like freshly washed skin – ideal for the office and every day.
Floral & sensual
Musk with rose, jasmine or peony. Soft, romantic and close to the skin.
Warm & animalic
Musk with amber, vanilla, leather or oud. Deep and enveloping, for evenings and cold days.
Curious factThe first synthetic musk was an accident from an explosives lab: in 1888 the chemist Albert Baur was looking for a more effective form of TNT – and found a substance that smelled of musk instead.
Knowledge to share
Myth or truth?
Statement 1
Today, musk comes from the musk deer.
Myth. Modern perfumery uses synthetic musks almost exclusively; trade in natural musk is controlled under the CITES convention.
Statement 2
The word musk originally meant ‘testicle’.
True. Via the Persian ‘mushk’ it goes back to the Sanskrit ‘muṣka’ – the musk deer’s scent gland was thought to resemble one.
Statement 3
The first synthetic musk was found while working on explosives.
True. Albert Baur stumbled upon it in 1888 while researching a more effective form of TNT.
Your result
DISCOVER MUSK PERFUMESFrequently asked questions
Are animals still used for musk perfumes?
In modern perfumery, practically never. Almost all musk notes are now made synthetically, complemented by plant-based materials such as ambrette seed. Trade in natural musk is controlled under the CITES convention.
What does ‘white musk’ mean?
White musk is not a raw material in its own right but a name for clean, soft synthetic musk notes. They recall fresh laundry and warm skin and feel delicate rather than animalic.
Why does musk smell different on every skin?
Musks are large, heavy molecules that evaporate slowly and interact closely with the skin, so the impression depends a great deal on your own skin chemistry. It is best to test it on your own skin: with every bottle from 30 ml, we include a 2 ml sample of the same fragrance.
2 ml samplewith every bottle from 30 ml
Free shippingto Austria and Germany from €200
Boutique Bregenzevery fragrance to try
