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cleolinda · 1 year

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What IS musk?

What does real musk smell like?

Musk imparts a unique and distinct scent that is subtle yet extremely powerful and has no other analogs. The scent of musks is often compared with earthy and woodsy smells with a powdery yet almost quiet [similarity] to a baby’s skin. The sweet yet strong scent of musk is usually used as a base note in perfumes. In essence, musk is magical and inexpressible in words. (Niche Natural Perfume)

(The appeal of this description does explain a story I heard about Empress Josephine soaking the walls of her rooms in musk perfume, partly so that it would just haunt the shit out of Napoleon; I can't remember where I first read this, but apparently you can still smell faint traces of it today, wherever this was—Château de Malmaison?)

IFRA-compliant fragrances can't use animal musk today, as I understand it, but I have seen vintage or allegedly ethical musk components sold for very high prices. For the most part, natural animal musk is replaced by (per Sylvaine Delacourte's site) synthetic laboratory musks; the indole notes of jasmine (an indolic compound called skatole is a major component of, uh, fecal matter); vegetable musks such as ambrette seeds (aka musk mallow, aka annual hibiscus); and plant-based components "with slightly 'dirty' notes such as cumin, costus, cistus labdanum, sage, atlas cedar, hyssop, osmanthus, leather notes, etc."

But of all the articles I looked at, Goutal Paris (you may be familiar with Annick Goutal fragrances) gave me the approachable summary I wanted:

Since the 1970s and 1980s, this term ["musk"] refers to a set of synthetic molecules used today in perfumes and cosmetics. Perfumers use about fifteen of them, two of which are of natural origin: ambrettolide, which comes from the seed of hibiscus, and exaltolide, which is found in angelica.

Contrary to the smell of animal musk, which is heavier and more full-bodied, the term "white musk" evokes the scent of clean laundry, comfort and well-being.

It's the word "contrary" that I wanted SOMEONE to use, because learning that detergent is full of musk feels a lot like being soapily gaslighted. "You know, clean, like musk!" NO! I DON'T! I ASSOCIATE THE WORD MUSK WITH ANIMALS AND HEAVY PERFUME YOU WANT TO WASH OFF AND scent descriptions IN ROMANCE NOVELS AND POLITE EUPHEMISMS FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T SHOWERED A WHOLE LOT!

Over at the Experimental Perfume Club: Due to the history of musk, most people believe musks to be big and strong scents that would be comparable to heavy and dark notes such as leather, but the musks of perfumery are in fact exactly the contrary!

YES! YOU GET IT! The EPC goes on, very helpfully, to describe four of the major synthetic musks: Galaxolide, Habanolide, Ambrettolide, and Ethylene Brassylate, the latter of which is "slightly sweeter with hints of vanilla, woods and spices [and] great for intensifying other sweet and floral ingredients." You may remember the latter three from the leaked sort-of formula for Not A Perfume; Ethylene Brassylate sounds like a strong contender for at least part of the Nemat Vanilla Musk I wear a lot.

Point being, there was a sea change in meaning when synthetic white musks came onto the scene. I'm still not sure how we got from "musk" to "this kind of smells a little musky around the edges so we call it musk" to "legit laundry," but then, I am on the spectrum and I have realized that I can be crushingly literal at times. So we have synthetics meant to smell like actual civet (like Firmenich's civettone, "a cornerstone to civet reconstitution") or castoreum (like Givco's synthetic replacement), and then there are the White Musks™ that no one's pretending ever got near an animal:

The History of White Musk: The Body Shop and Far Beyond

The popular Tide detergent, launched in 1947, has defined "the smell of clean in North America", as perfumer Rafael Trujillo put it at a conference about it recently. It is an example of the detergents which have shaped our perception of how clean clothes, and therefore how laundry, how cleanliness itself, smells. Moving from the initial rosy scent to musk in the 1960s with an addition of lily of the valley further on, it was a crucial step in the complex history of "clean."

(Some Fragrantica articles may require [free] registration. For more about the history of Tide, they have an article talking about its current "a citrus and fruity combination, blended with a tuberose and violet complex," a combination I never would have guessed.)

Back to their history of white musk:

Galaxolide, in particular, an International Fragrances & Flavours synthetic "clean" musk molecule with staggering popularity in the industry in both fine fragrance and functional [e.g. laundry] products, gives a clean, but also musky flowery-woody odour with a sweet, powdery nuance which is prized for its olfactory potency. You might know it very well indeed from the best-selling and trend-setting creation of Sophia Grojsman for Lancome, Trésor. The fragrance's message was not in the apricoty rose in its heart, but the megadose of Galaxolide in the base; its cosmetics aura code-named “feminine cleavage” while in production is what makes it “mesh.” No wonder it lasted for eons on the skin.

Cleavage aside, you may know Galaxolide through fabric softeners, detergents, and dryer sheets, which is what Not A Perfume "read" like on me. However, the article notes, "Alas, according to the directives of the Environmental Working Group, Galaxolide accumulates in the body." So… let's make sure we use it in everything, for sure.

(Hit up Pinterest sometime for plenty of tips on musk-less DIY dryer balls.)

In terms of white musk "fine fragrances," the Fragrantica article touches on Jovan White Musk and the Body Shop's White Musk (the early standards); Emporio Armani's White For Her; Jennifer Lopez's Glow (or Louise Turner and Catherine Walsh's Glow, if it makes you feel better; perfumes are actually composed by somebody, and it's often not the name on the bottle); Serge Lutens' Clair de Musc, Montale's White Musk, Il Profvmo's Musc Bleu, Comptoir Sud Pacifique's Cristal de Musc, and Narciso Rodriguez For Her. That last one is our bridge to the topic of Egyptian musk, which is why I'm writing all this in the first place, but we'll get to that later. Sylvaine Delacourte has a collection of white musks; Tom Ford has a collection; even Demeter Fragrance, home of Dirt, Funeral Home, and Fuzzy Balls, has a collection. I have tried exactly none of these, but if I won the lottery, I would try decants of the Narciso Rodriguez, the Serge Lutens, and maybe the Jovan or Body Shop for historical purposes.

A further reading list (linkspam ahoy):

Fragrantica editors choose their Best In Show, Musk Edition (2019)

Perfume Shrine's extensive Musk Series of articles (has immediate NSFW art)

Musk in Islam: the esoteric way. “One cannot indeed talk about musk without talking about its religious aspect, for there is one thing certain: without Islam, musk would probably never have got as famous as it is now.” (Bear in mind how fundamental Islamic scientific developments were to perfumery as a whole.)

Musk Perfumes Haven't Been This Popular Since the '70s (2022)

15 Musky Perfumes We Just Can't Quit (updated 2022)

Galaxolide safety status on Wikipedia: People are realizing that it's not great for you!

The Danger of Musk Ketones in Perfumes ("Musk ketone can mimic natural hormones and replace them in the body" and it doesn't get better from there)

What IS safe? A Basenotes.net forum discussion

The only stand-alone musks I wear are Egyptian musk and vanilla musk, what would y’all recommend trying if I hit up some decant sites?

#what is musk #baby don't hurt me #perfume #perfume discussion #controversy!#text post #welcome to hell it's my blog #special interests #long post #linkspam

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danielprieto · 5 months

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¿Qué son las Feromonas en los perfumes?

¿Por qué ese líquido es verde? ¿Por qué le echan feromonas a los perfumes? ¿A qué huelen las feromonas? ¿Qué contienen? ¿En verdad son feromonas?

Cuando veo publicaciones de fabricantes de perfumes a base de aceite, casi siempre mencionan que le agregan feromonas a los perfumes. Si preguntamos opiniones acerca de feromonas o perfumes con feromonas, nos encontramos con muchos mitos y desinformación:

Algunas personas dicen que la feromonas son caras porque se tardan 10 años en destilar. Otros dicen que solo los perfumes originales contienen feromonas. Algunos hasta dicen que son sustancias afrodisíacas que se pueden usar en la cama.

¿Pero qué es todo esto? ¿Y si es verdad, por qué no se lo echan a todo?

Si buscamos productos comerciales que contengan feromonas y logramos encontrar la descripción de su contenido, nos damos cuenta que existen al menos seis componentes sintéticos relacionados con hormonas del cuerpo humano. Algunos inclusive son químicos que en 🇺🇲 tienen clasificación schedule III por su capacidad de generar dependencia:

Androstenol (encontrado en el sudor fresco)

Androstenone (esteroide) (sudor seco)

Androsterone (esteroide)

Androstadienone (encontrado en sudor de hombres)

Copulin (encontrado en líquido vaginal)

Exaltolide (si tiene olor, como a almizcle)

Estratetraenol (encontrado en orine de mujeres)

Y si no aparece el nombre de una hormona sintética en específico, simplemente se encuentra como: Pheromones.

También dicen que hay feromonas tanto para atraer a mujeres como para atraer a hombres. Pero si buscamos evidencia científica de que estas hormonas sintéticas tengan algún efecto en las personas, no encontramos nada. En animales sí, como abejas, plagas, cerdos... pero en humanos no.

"Mammals (excluding humans) along with reptiles and amphibians have a tissue that can detect pheromones —it’s called the vomeronasal organ (VNO)."

"But there’s still no hard evidence that humans have pheromones. Pheromones do exist in other products targeted at animals like dogs and cats. But there’s more evidence to support these formulas."

"No hay evidencia científica que respalde ni demuestre que las feromonas sintéticas realmente funcionen o que las feromonas humanas se puedan detectar por el olfato."

¿Entonces por qué las venden?

Porque hay una creencia de que aplicar esto en el cuerpo genera algún tipo de atracción sexual. Y esa creencia quizás tenga relación con la idea de que el uso de perfumes se asocia con una mejora en la autoestima y la confianza de quien los usa.

Pero más allá de esta creencia, las feromonas simplemente se tratan de un aceite incoloro que contiene unas moléculas que no huelen a nada, de hecho, si tiene olor o color es porque se lo agregaron.

No te dejes engañar. Cuestiona todo. No le eches cosas de más a tu perfume o a tu cuerpo.

Contenido de un perfume a base de aceite:

Aceite o esencia: lo que contiene las moléculas químicas que hacen la composición del aroma. Se usa 1/3 del total de fragancia a elaborar.

Alcohol extra neutro: ayuda a que las moléculas de la fragancia se dispersen en el aire que te rodea. Se usa una proporción de casi 2/3.

Perpetual o fijador. Compensa la volatilidad del alcohol. Se usan algunas gotas de un gotero. No importa la cantidad de gotas. No aporta olor.

Glicerina: humectante de la piel. Es opcional. No aporta olor.

Feromonas: es opcional. Es un aceite incoloro e inoloro. Solo hace más aceitoso el perfume.

#feromonas #post #personal #perfumes

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odoroussavourssweet · 5 years

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Aromachemicals Part 1

I got myself the Beginner Aromachemical Kit from the Perfumer’s Apprentice so I could learn the smells of the common aromachemicals. The opened box exudes a sweetish, rather sickening aroma that’s been hanging around my house for weeks. I may have to throw these out once I’ve sniffed them thoroughly. Anyway, here’s A-E.

Ambrettolide

Opening: damn near odorless. Maybe a slight, soft sweetness? Eventually it goes mildly musky, like sweat on a mostly-clean, well-laundered girl. The far drydown is subtly fruity.

Ambroxan

Opens brown, boozy, bitter, and slightly tinny. With a macho, sweaty aura around it, which rapidly grows to predominate. The scent of bro. I kind of love it?

Auralva

Unlike the other aromachemicals, which are clear liquids, Auralva is a sticky yellow syrup. This is a bold orange blossom with a hint of grapeyness and maybe a bit of musky haze.

Benzyl Acetate

Exceptionally pure and painfully intense. A “floral”, hospital-clean, juicy, bright-white scent. Never. fucking. goes. away. This is the culprit that’s been lingering in the house.

Citral

The scent of lemon Pledge.

Citronellal

Yep, citronella candles, or lemon peel, or etrog. Sharp and fresh.

Cyclamen Aldehyde

Brown, like damp garden dirt. With a metallic-”floral” aftertaste. Actually, quite a bit like the smell of autoclaved dirt.

Dihydro Eugenol

Clove, except sort of dirtier. Enjoyable. Gets darker and darker all the time.

Dihydro Myrcenol

A marvelously solemn, austere, nostalgic herbal-green-gray scent. Is it tea tree oil it reminds me of?

Dimethyl Octenone

Yummy, glowing pink grapefruit.

Dimethyl Benzyl Carbinyl Acetate

Smells like a goat.

Ebanol

Sweet, warm, woody, like a paneled auditorium; a “sandalwood” molecule.

Ethyl Linalool

Sharp, soapy, herbal. It’s a “bergamot” molecule and once I saw that it clicked into place -- yep, that’s Earl Gray. Kind of overwhelmingly sharp.

Ethyl Maltol

Famously smells like cotton candy. Also a little like fruit flavor. Very, very pink.

Ethylene Brassylate

Too faint for me to form much impression.

Exaltolide

A clear syrup, on the verge of crystallizing out of solution. Smells, I swear to god, clean. Makes me think of airplanes. Dries to become mildly sweet, plus an aura of painful sharpness. May also be a culprit in “perfuming” the house.

#aromachemicals #olfactory #fragrance #perfume

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