Musc Ravageur, by Maurice Roucel for Frederic Malle - a misnomer?

I'm slipping quietly back into the scented writing world with a review of a fan favorite, "new classic," Musc Ravageur. Because go big or go home, right?

The perfumer, Maurice Roucel
I love this shot. 

I rarely quote PR material in my reviews. It's flowery enough, usually, and oddly enough has nothing to do with the crucial question: "But Jen, how does it smell?"

However, this entire review pivots around my own question: Is this scent correctly named?

So rather than use my brain to come up with a new review concept, which seems like a hassle, I'll stick to my guns and quote the Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle copy for ya:

Launched in 2000, this composition was a turning point in the history of amber orientals. A sensual perfume, powerful yet perfectly controlled, dramatic and mysterious. Composed by Maurice Roucel as an “act of seduction and generosity”, Musc Ravageur is an uncompromising Oriental, which runs against current fads. Its explosive departure of bergamot, tangerine and cinnamon is set against a backdrop of vanilla, musk and amber. A sexy, turbulent perfume, in a word: ravageur.

Another quote, which is particularly lazy writing: 

ravageur

, euse  

    adj    devastating  

I don't speak French, but by my assessment -and astute leaps of intellect- this perfume is supposed to be a "devastating musk." 

The skeptic in me wants to know, is it really? Devastating is a pretty tall order. You'd better knock me to my damn knees weeping if you're using that word, know what I'm saying?

Let's talk about those notes. Bergamot? Check. Tangerine? Crisp and juicy. Cinnamon? Just a dash. Not really an explosive departure, but again I'm not falling for that PR crap. Also present but curiously missing from the description is lavender. Trust me, it's there. 

Carrying on: vanilla, musk, and amber? Check, check, check, but don't expect VANILLA, all up in yer face. Nope. Think whispers and hints. No mention of the clove, but it's there, too, as is tonka. There are woods in the base as well, including some sandalwood. Soft woods. Hazy. Soft and hazy amber woods.

The musk (ahem, "musc") is also soft. Not in volume, but in its nature. It's not pulling, tugging, and growling. 

Rather, it purrs. 

If this perfume is about sex, it's the aftermath of comfortable but delicious sex with a familiar lover, lying together afterwards reading or, limbs entangled, hitting Netflix. 

If you want steamy carnal knowledge, I suggest you look elsewhere.

In other words, "Musc Ravageur" is a misnomer, but probably sells better than "Musc Lazy Cuddles*."

Think: Amber Oud. 

Therefore: I loved it at first sniff.  

Result: Full Bottle Worthy. 

Family: Oriental. Firmly unisex. Projection is minimal, this is a skinscent; length of wear is long for me. I get top notes and base at the same time, with the basenotes developing, getting foggier and softer over time. Cost is in the expensive range, but worth every scent. As with all musk-heavy perfumes, your mileage may vary: we all perceive them differently. Many people find this "screechy" or "too animalic." They're wrong. 

What's your favorite cuddly scent? Do you have a particularly CARNAL scent you adore?

*I also refer to it as "fluffy kitten bellies" because it's just that cozy-furry-cuddly. 

I want to lick your... perfume? Kerosene's Unknown Pleasures (perfume review)

I love the name of this perfume by The House of Kerosene. "Unknown Pleasures". What does it mean? Anything you want it to mean! That's the beauty of it. OK, technically it's the title of a Joy Division album. But really, isn't everything what you make of it? ;)

You're walking down a cold street in Manchester, listening to Joy Division, sipping on a warm cup of London Fog. This fragrance opens up with the smooth sweetness of honey with Earl Grey tea, with a zing of lemon. It dries down to a cozy vanilla, soft tonka bean and waffle cone base, sure to make any gourmand lover smile.
Notes: Earl Grey tea, lemon, bergamot, honeycomb, tonka bean, caramel, vanilla and waffle cone.

Unknown Pleasures is Kerosene's first gourmand, and it's a stunner. And that's coming from someone who rarely enjoys gourmands unless their nutty and bready! This one is not. It's a delightfully straight-forward tasty treat that springs up brightly with lemon and a splash of tea and honey, then rides that lemon-honey wave for a bit before folding into a vanilla-waffle cone base.

Straight-forward does not mean boring, and this scent is certainly not dull. The lemon is bracing and invigorating but never falls in to furniture polish territory. It's fresh-squeezed and sparkling. The tea is subtle, at least on my skin, adding a slightly herbal counterpoint to the acidic cheeriness of the lemon. The honey is also soft, never urinous or "iffy". And then there's that delicious base! I was discussing recently with some friends whether we enjoyed the top notes, the heart notes, or the base notes of scent best. I am a base notes kinda gal. This scent is almost all top notes and base notes. It's lemon-tea gelato scooped high on top of a waffle cone, a combination of two distinct experiences that are meant to be together. The base lasts for hours and gets more cuddly as it goes.

I love this on me. I love it on my kids. And it's 100% "unisex" - if my husband would let me spray things on him, he'd get doused with this. I will grab it frequently year-round, but I think a hot summer day will be extra-perfect for Unknown Pleasures. And rainy days. And snowy days. And sunny days... OK: all of them! Now, if you excuse me, I'm off to sniff my arm for awhile...

Disclaimer: I'm friends with the perfumer, John Pegg.
I'd like the perfume anyway, even if someone else made it. ;)
Sample via the perfumer

I recommend buying Unknown Pleasures via MiN New York. $140

Perfume Review: Angel (Thierry Mugler)

This weekend, I worked at a huge event at a DC-area mall. It was packed and I felt like I was standing at a conveyer belt doing makeup! But as busy as it was, it was a blast. The women I worked with (coworkers and clients) were lovely. Except...

Except for the woman who worked for the department store in some aspect, the one who kept walking past dragging a huge cloud of Thierry Mugler's infamous Angel in her wake.

                                                    It was exactly like this...                                       via

Angel. Infamy! It's strong. Intense. Rich. Distinctive. Polarizing. Easily overdone.

via

Each time this woman walked by she nearly choked me. You're reading the words - maybe even nodding in understanding. But I don't know you really get it. Let me flesh out this scene a bit more, make it more clear. When you stand in a cosmetics department for 8 hours, you lose all ability to discern scent. You no longer smell your own perfume, even snuffling your wrist. The wall of perfume, the women and men milling about in their own fragrances... It's immediate olfactory shut-down.

The fact that I could smell that woman's Angel in such a setting and to such an extent...Damn! That's a testament to the power of the stuff. And I didn't just smell it - I could nearly taste it. It literally stuck in my nostrils and stayed with me for over a half an hour after leaving!

Ok, so we've talked about Angel's power. *Shudder*

What does it smell like? No, really, I'm kind of joking now. Just about everyone and their mother know what Angel smells like. Well, maybe my Mother doesn't (Hi, Mom!). For her, let's briefly discuss...

                                                Not a fan.                              via

The list of notes shows the insanity: melon, coconut, mandarin orange, cassia, jasmine, bergamot, cotton candy, honey, apricot, blackberry, plum, orchid, peach, jasmine, lily-of-the-valley, red berries,rose, tonka bean, amber and vanilla, patchouli, musk, vanilla, dark chocolate and caramel.

Bizarre, right? But somehow, it works. It works! And it's the scent that launched a thousand ships, too. Angel opened wide the genre of gourmand fragrance: foody scents, perfumes that smell like dessert or confections.

On me, Angel is a pleasant chocolate patchouli. (One hundred and fifty thousand notes, and that's all I get: chocolate patchouli!?)

I love it, though, I really do, but grab my sample rarely. I have to a moment to consider why that is, huh? In part, I think I don't want to smell like anyone else. (Imagine if TWO of us wore it this weekend?) Also, it such a polarizing scent (many people loathe it 1) - do I want to offend? Of course not! And then there's the power. As someone who was a teen in the 80's, I live in fear of overwhelming throw and stifling sillage.

So I wear it at home from time to time. Just a drop! And I revel in the chocolate patchouli for awhile.
Like most overly rich confections Angel is a treat best enjoyed in small amounts only now and again.

House: Thierry Mugler
Fragrance: Angel
Perfumer: Olivier Cresp & Yves Chirin
Released: 1992
Notes: melon, coconut, mandarin orange, cassia, jasmine, bergamot, cotton candy, honey, apricot, blackberry, plum, orchid, peach, jasmine, lily-of-the-valley, red berries,rose, tonka bean, amber and vanilla, patchouli, musk, vanilla, dark chocolate and caramel
Sample: I can't even recall where it came from (ages ago).

Final Word: Sweet in small doses.

Here's an Angel many of us can agree on!

[1] Got some free time? Peruse the Basenotes, Makeup Alley, and Fragrantica reviews of Angel. What a riot! Example: Fragrantica's ADAMbergris says "This is surely (Madam) Satan's signature scent..." Meanwhile, MUA's ipatieva says "...My friend tried it too and she smelled like a homeless person with wet dog." My favorite, though, is autumn89 on Basenotes: "It smells like diabetes would if it had a smell."



Tell me: do you Angel? And were you a Buffy fan? Team Spike or Team Angel?
(While I can appreciate Angel, I was firmly on Team Spike!)