Animal Instinct: How Musk Scents Smell

The most common, unusual, sensual and warm. The best perfume fixative and aphrodisiac is musk. An animalic base note reveals other accords of the fragrance and combines them into a beautiful composition.

Initially, musk is a secret produced by the glands of a male musk deer. Filled with a thick, reddish-brown secretion, the musky gland is a powerful pheromone that attracts female caborgi. Some scientists believe that the scent of musk vaguely resembles testosterone.

The first mention of musk dates back to the 6th century - then, in the East, the Caliphs of Baghdad began to use an unusual ingredient in perfumery. Musk was even added to plaster when decorating the walls of mosques - heating in the sun from the paint emanated a magical aroma.

The famous Arab philosopher and scientist Al-Kindi used musk for recipes for aromatic mixtures - for many centuries the ingredient was one of the most expensive goods sent from the East to Europe. Arab healers used musk in healing and Ayurvedic practices, cured heart diseases, mental disorders and prepared a variety of medicines.

It was rumored that the Marquise de Pompadour won the love of King Louis XV precisely because of the musk that she rubbed into her temples and wrists. Catherine II preferred an attractive aroma, and the legendary masculine strength of Grigory Rasputin is associated with the constant use of musk in dosage form.

At the end of the 19th century, "animal musk" was used less and less because of the high price, and in 1979 the caborga was recognized as an endangered species. Animals live in the mountain forests of India, Pakistan, Tibet, China, Siberia and Mongolia, some species are listed in the Red Book. In many countries, there is a cap on the annual musk withdrawal from caborgas, but the black market continues to sell natural musk.

The price of an expensive ingredient reaches $ 45,000 per kilogram, which requires about 160 deer to obtain.

There are ways to extract the secretion from the gland without killing the animal, but, unfortunately, they are rarely used.

In 1888, the first synthesized musk was created. Scientist Albert Bauer experimented with TNT explosives and, while trying to create the most effective form of TNT, drew attention to the pleasant aroma reigning in the laboratory. It is this variant of musk that has left its mark in such legendary fragrances as Chanel No. 5 and Lair du Temps by Nina Ricci. Thus, the first synthetic musk appeared, which was soon banned due to instability and potential toxicity.

In nature, there are plants whose olfactory characteristics are similar to those of musky - the garden angelica Angelica archangelica, the musky flower Mimulus moschatus and ambrette seeds. They produce macrocyclic lactones with a musky aroma and a fixative function. Macrocyclic musks are almost imperceptible in compositions, so perfumers mix and use different musks to create the perfect scent.

Musk is not only a synthesized ingredient made from plants and the secret of the caborgi deer. The animalistic note includes civet, castoreum (beaver stream), sexual secretion of muskrat, musk duck, musk turtle, musk beetle and some types of crocodiles. The most popular ingredient most often found in “every day” perfume compositions is white musk, which got its name not for its shade, but for its fresher and more delicate aroma.

White Gold, Ormonde Jayne

Molecule of Green Foliage - Pink Pepper - Mandarin - Bergamot - Clary Sage - Jasmine Absolute - Clove Flower Absolute - Orris - Orchid - Freesia - Madagascar Vanilla - Ambrette Seed Absolute - Cashmeran - White Musk - Ambergris - Moss - Tonka Beans - Labopaxon Vetiver - Cedar

Cedrat Boise, Mancera

Bergamot - Sicilian lemon - Black currant - Spice - Fruit notes - Water jasmine - Patchouli leaf - Sandalwood - Cedar - Leather - Moss - White musk - Vanilla

Gabrielle, Chanel

Mandarin - Grapefruit - Blackcurrant - Tuberose - Ylang-ylang - Jasmine - Orange blossom - Pear - Pink pepper - Lily of the valley - Sandalwood - Musk - Cashmeran - Iris