White Musk

[hypothermya]

First Impression

 

This smells very faint in the vial. Very light and gentle, and also slightly warm smelling. There's just the slightest hint of musk and body heat, but it also smells more innocent and very pale.

 

Wearing It

 

It's almost buttery on my skin, when wet. There's this sweet, buttery, almost vanilla quality to it -- but still musky, still slightly animalistic. The oil is actually thicker than some of the other single notes that I've tried, and it takes a while to dry... But once it dries, it smells lovely. Like a just barely sweet, almost butter/almost vanilla/almost pure moonlight sort of musk. This is *so* much better than The Body Shop's White Musk. I don't think I'll ever wear theirs ever again, so long as Black Phoenix still sells this stuff....

[Astarte]

First of all, the only single White Musk products I've known about are the The Body Shops, and theirs is a little sexless at times. So I thought why not try Beths white musk, after all it's one of my favourite notes.

 

Initially when put on it smells buttery and a little musky. Though after the notes settle, the musk blends with your skin and creates a glorious melange which settles delicately on your skin doing wonderful things.

 

The delicateness and lightness of this musk is unparalleled, and the end result is an elegant delicate musk which is a delight to test.

 

I'm very glad I bought a bottle of this.

[Eris]

Mmmm...really, really nice. This is very light and creamy. Almost like a floral vanilla. It's not quite innocent, but I can't really say it's a sexy musk either. It sort of walks the line. I guess you might say it's a teasing musk. Yeah, this musk is definitely a tease. Its volume and staying power aren't particularly strong on my skin, but I don't mind reapplying since the overall fragrance stays consistent--a rarity with my odd chemistry. It would figure that this has been discontinued.

[Ishtar]

This is the best white musk note I have ever smelled. Period.

 

It is smooth, gentle and creamy, without the spicy bite most musks from other companies have. Rather than being animalistic and all-out provocative, this white musk has class, restraint and elegance. My kind of seduction and I am, indeed, utterly seduced

[fragrantgrasse]

White Musk is gorgeous. It is a sheer, powdery, whisper soft scent that blends seamlessly into my skin - no sharp edges or animal quality to it.

 

So, nutz! It has been discontinued - BUT - I would add that any BPAL blends that have this lovely soft oil in it will easliy persuade me to buy a bottle!

 

[joseybird]

Very pale and soft--the olfactory equivalent of fine white gauz

 

This is very much a skin scent. It stays very close to the skin and mingles with one's natural odor. It's like your skin but better--cleaner, softer, and with the innocent sexiness of a virgin bride.

 

The most perfect musk EVER

[loveandprozak]

Hmm.. this is a very sweet soft scent.

 

I've tried several white and transparent musks, and this certainly is a lovely one. It's got a very definite sweet-vanilla character to it. There's some dark undertones, however -- honestly, I haven't smelled Black Opal, but this is very close to what I imagine it smelling like based on the reviews! (I could be 100 percent off, though.)

 

This really isn't the transparent musk that is in Buck Moon or Haunted. It's got a much darker vanilla quality to it. The closest thing that I can compare it to, off hand is Dream Esscents' White Musk since both have a vanilla note. While Dream Esscents has a light aquatic-vanilla quality to it, though, BPALs stays with a sweeter, darker and dusky vanilla. I also detect a suede note in BPALs, which aids in the dark feel of it.

 

Transparent musk, vanilla, and suede.

[Shollin]

First sniff: It’s so light and shimmery I can barely smell it. I might have guessed it was some kind of pale citrus if I hadn’t looked at the label.

 

Wearing: Oh, what a difference my skin makes! It’s still light and shimmery, but now has a fantastic presence. Like the Siberian musk I tried on earlier, I have a hard time distinguishing “what this smells like” from “damn, I smell good.”

 

The lighter musks really do seem to be perfect skin scents on me – I sometimes have issues with black musk, but I’m pretty sure every other kind I’ve tried has been truly swoonworthy. (Now I just gotta get my hands on the red musk SN…)

 

I’m wearing five different scents right now (see here for a rundown) and this is the one I can’t keep my nose away from. Man, this is good.

Edited February 4, 2006 by Shollin

[grrrlennyl]

at first: light, clear, and musky.

on: sweet and clean musk.

1 hour later: there's something almost gingery to this. is very fresh and light. wonderful.

2 hours later: amazing! soft, bright musk.

overall: i adore this. amazing stuff. i think it will be layering this a lot.

[elspeth]

First impression was very light. It smelled wonderful!! And then it happened. When I put it on I became enraptured with it. It really is wonderful however since the chance of me finding more is rare I have to be really careful and not become too attached. It's lovely. Subtle and strong at the same time.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 5/5

Summarised in a word or two: Musk!

 

In the imp: Very white indeed!

 

On skin, wet: Very, very white. It reminds me of something very fuzzy, and I'll second that it smells a suede-y vibe. And, of course, musky!

 

On skin, dry: Vanilla-y without any trace of vanilla. Warm, soft, fuzzy white musk. I tend to like most white musk scents, but this is easily my favourite.

 

Conclusion/Notes: If I could, I'd buy a bottle (or two, or three) with my next order. As it is... I might start paying attention when it comes up on Ebay.

[edenssixthday]

Single Note: White Musk - It didn’t smell like much on me. It was light, very subtle, and faded within minutes. It was the final bit of evidence that I needed that white musk shows up on me about as strong as water does. I swapped it away and have never missed it.

[Blood onmy hands]

White Musk, when it's good on me, has a sort of chilly, clean, vanilla-ish quality to it. When it's bad, it smells sharp and reminds me of hairspray.

 

I was surprised that this singlenote actually has a warmer, buttery vanilla smell to it. It's still clean, airy, and rather faint, but sweeter and not as icy as the other white musk notes that I've sampled (and enjoyed) from other companies.

 

I'm used to white musk being a good skin scent, clinging close and not having a ton of throw... but this one is especially light on me. It only lasts for about 15 minutes before I cannot smell anything at all.

 

Very pretty, but I like the white musk singlenotes that I've found from a few other companies a bit more.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Light faint musk

 

On Skin: This is so clean and pretty wow! When I think of musk I almost always envision dark and sultry. This is far from it! It’s a light white feel, almost cold and crisp. It’s very very faint though, I have to deeply inhale to get a feel for it which is sad because I love it. If only it was about 10 times stronger. It is very sweet and I get a vanilla note from it as well. Very much a nice skin musk, staying close and belnding with my chemistry very well. It is so pretty, I’d love to have a bottle of this because I would have to slather it on quite often for my sniffing tastes. Very very light throw and short wearlength.

[yeahbutnobut]

White Musk

 

In the imp: beautiful, clear, gentle white musk!

Wet on skin: such a stunning, soft white musk. This is so nice…

Dry on skin: ohhh, this is so beautiful. It's white musk, pure and simple. But possibly the best white musk ever! Surprisingly complex for a single note (as is to be expected of musk) this scent is fresh and white, a pure, clean scent with a hint of powder, a subtle, almost vanilla/sugar like sweetness and a gorgeous skin scent all mixed into one. I am impressed.

After a while: this doesn't change much, it stays as gorgeous as ever, a soft powdery white scent which smells so comforting, so pleasant, but despite it's softness, has a lot of throw. It sweetens so nicely over the hours, almost like there's a little smidge of creamy vanilla hidden in there. It ends on a very clean finish, not as sweet as before, but a delightful clean skin scent. on me, it sticks around for ages!

Verdict: this is another reason why, along with many others, wish for the impossible…a re-release of single notes. This white musk is one of the finest white musks out there, and that's no exaggeration. Subtle, soft, pure, white, gentle, sweet, clean, creamy, with a delightful skin scent twist, this is a wonderful single note which has enough complexity to wear alone and has a lot of presence and throw despite it's gentleness. A beautiful, well crafted musk note which I would love to get more of!

Emoticon rating:

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

i was gifted with a partial (albeit one of the really tall vials) of this awhile back... and have worn it sparingly a few times since....

and decanted all but a couple of drops out for a swap a few days ago.

 

this isn't any other White Musk you've ever tried. if you know Jovan and the Body Shop, you still don't know this one.

i'm not sure i get the creamy/vanilla note others have described, but i do know there's something warm (without being spicy) in this...

and the only reason i parted with it... is because i know i can't get more. so it needs to be shared.

the best thing i could probably add.... is that this is musk without the 70's musk scent that we all have, somewhere, a memory of. or without the 80's screaming musk scents. this is a clean musk, if there is such a thing, and of all the SN's that i've tried, sniffed on someone else or read about... i think this is the one i most wish would come back.

[smallvoice]

I had high hopes for this one, and I have been longing to try it since I discovered that this is a note that really smells amazing on me. My high hopes were not disappointed. If anything, they were exceeded. I could die over how beautiful this smells. It is clean and light, gossamer and ethereal. I don't get any sense of butter and I can possibly imagine a hint of vanilla, but it is mostly just that clean, white musk that lays so softly on my skin and smells stunning. It is magical.

 

 

THANK YOU!

[supremegoddessofall]

Oh, now I love this! This is very "clean" smelling. Definitely a musk, but it's a clean musk that makes me think of things like spring and crisp freshly laundered white linens. Mmmm...

[ipb]

White musk is a very light musk... just a soft hint of musky goodness. I love layering with it and love my bottle greatly

[puck_nc]

Origin: Decant bought on LJ

 

Initial Thoughts: When I first plunged headlong into BPAL, I quickly learned that certain notes would amp in the worst way on me. Notes like patchouli, amber, myrrh, incense and musk. For a while I just avoided any scent with the word "musk" in it. I forget which scent I tried that had either white or pale musk in it that worked on me, but it led me to discover that the lighter spectrum of musk might behave on me with the right notes surrounding it. So, with the chance to try white musk alone, I was curious.

 

In the Vial: That is very pleasant. A light musk, a flirty note rather than an overpowering one. A crystalline clear musk.

 

Wet: So far so good. There is no huge amping of the scent, although I don't know if that's simply because there's no other notes for it to interfere with or because my skin plays nice with it. I get a slight creaminess and the tone becomes a little more sultry than it was in the vial.

 

Drydown: Interesting. It grows lighter and a bit less sexy. I can't pin down the very faint undertone that has developed...is it citrus? Is it floral? Whatever it is, it's fascinating. And then the musk gently reasserts itself.

 

Verdict: I could see myself wearing this alone, if I had more than a half-decant. But now I know for sure that white musk is a winner on me.

 

ETA: Since I put this one I've gone to a potluck where I prepped food and washed my hands numerous times, and slept the night through. I can still smell this lovely musk on my hand where I tested it. It has very little throw but tremendous staying power on me.

Edited August 23, 2008 by puck_nc

[zankoku_zen]

This is a very clean, light musk. In fact, I feel like there are almost 'lemon' overtones to it. It's very creamy, and light, and pretty as opposed to sexy.

[fairnymph]

Hmm. This reminds me of cheap teen perfumes, like designer knock-offs you'd buy at Hot Topic or this other store that I used to sometimes go into that sold like $5 trendy skirts made of cheap material.

 

Same, a little sweeter, a little cleaner (more cologney?) - overall more complex and pleasant, less 'cheap' smelling. Kind of reminds me of CK One, but way more musky. I don't know that I would have pegged this as a SN tesing blind, but this is indeed extremely musky. I get an almost metallic tang too, sort of on the 'finish' as one would say, that reminds me of Torture Queen.

 

This has amped quite a bit on me. It has strong throw to begin with, but I definitely feel like it has amped even more. It's gone almost a little sickly-sweet, and the cheap feeling has returned in full - it reminds me of Isaac the Living Skeleton, like the female version. It's lost some complexity, or else that cheap sweet musk aspect is just overwhelming the other nuances.

 

It doesn't morph beyond in the initial wet stage, but as I rather suspected - this is not really a scent for me. I've always been a bit iffy about it as a note in blends, though I can usually tolerate it or even enjoy it if it's not a major player. But as a SN I find it rather fetid, and frankly a little nauseating. I amp musks in general and this one is no exception. Strong throw and insane longevity.

[Invidiana]

I used to wear Body Shop white musk back in high school and loved it to death. One sniff of this and I've officially forgotten everything I know about that and any other white musk I've come across. Cheap teen perfume? I don't think so.

This is so simple in its complexity, so complex in its simplicity if that makes any sense. It starts off a bit more fresh and airy, reminiscent of the linen note in Antique Lace, and dries down more musky and warm with creamy vanilla undertones. I should mention that my skin chemistry does add a certain warm muskiness to most perfumes on the drydown, but it seems this is also a quality of this oil on its own. It has a certain reserved sensuality like a white silk shirt with just one button undone. There must be the tiniest bit of vanilla orchid or at least what comes off as such on me, giving it a slight bit of sweetness and those vanilla undertones I mentioned. Maybe it's something my skin turns to vanilla, who knows, though I see other reviewers have gotten similar results. Beth's white musk is just beyond all the others in every imaginable way, and I will treasure it for years to come.

Edited November 19, 2010 by Invidiana

[saralaughs]

Beautiful musk note. Warm and just a bit powdery; very pretty. Maybe a bit of amber in here? It's lightly incensey to me. I don't detect much of a floral note at all, if there is one.