Male Nude, Arms Upstretched

[Penance]

Dark musk, linen, and red chypre.

Origin:

5mL from the Lab.

Preconceived notions:

I immediately had to order a bottle of Male Nude even though I'm not entirely sure exactly what it's going to smell like. I'm finding that I really enjoy dark musk and I generally like the Lab's linen note. The questionable factor here is going to be the "red chypre," which I'm not quite sure about. Chypre-based scents can go wrong on me because of the floral and citrus, although I love moss and musks.

First sniff:

Very chypre..y? I know, that's not a word, but I'm making it one. I get a very cologne-type vibe from this that I associate with chypre-based scents. It reminds me a bit of Dracul in that it has the same sort of oddly musky, mossy, citrusy, powdery thing going on.

Wet on skin:

Basically the same as in the bottle. It's hard for me to describe exactly what Male Nude smells like, except to say that it's (all at the same time) mossy, powdery musky, dry and papery. It reminds me a little bit of The Wild Men of Jezirat Al Tennyn and a bit of Dracul. Unfortunately, neither one really works all that well on me and both ended up finding new homes when I owned them.

Dry down:

Still smells like the lovechild of Wild Men and Dracul on me. I wouldn't call this chypre "red," personally, but that's probably because I have strong color/scent associations in my head that don't necessarily reflect the actual notes (which I'm unsure of in this case). To me, if Male Nude had a color, it would be a lichen-like grey-green with hints of brown. Totally unhelpful, I'm sure, but I feel like I need to say what color it smells like since I don't think it smells red.

Basically, Male Nude smells like...well, a chypre blend. It's mossy and musky with an almost mint-like smell to it underneath (like Dracul does to my nose).

The bottom line:

This is just too cologne-like for me. I'm learning that chypre scents are misses more often than hits for me, but it doesn't stop me from trying them. This one's moving on to a new home with someone who loves it.

[strahlend]

I like this scent a lot. It reminds me of Illustrated Woman and Haunted - the dark musk is very pronounced. If you like that, and I do, then this is a must sniff. I smell just a little whiff of linen in the background which gives this scent an interesting (but minimal and brief) counterpoint. I understand that chypre is a blend of citrus, musk and floral, but I'm not sure how the red factors in or how that blend contributes to this scent as a whole. There is an oakmossy element that comes out after a few minutes of wear, but I don't get any sense of citrus or floral. A bit further into the drydown process the oakmoss steps up and holds its own with the dark musk and together they're giving me the feeling of an elegant, vintage perfume.

[ljaylh]

This one had me at dark musk and linen.. the red chypre was a little worrisome but I figured it was worth a try. Often there's a bright citrus tone to chypre that doesn't agree with my skin, but I thought that this one being a 'red' chypre it may lean more towards the moss/woods rather than the citrus.. and it kind of does, but there's a slightly sharp nose-tickling aspect to this blend that I can only attribute to the chypre since neither dark musk nor linen ever smells like that on me.

 

When first applied, there definitely is a cologne-ish vibe to the fragrance.. it's almost a floral kind of smell, like violets, which is probably from the chypre. After about 10 minutes the musk comes out more and then it starts to get interesting.. much darker, and the cologne side is toning down. After about 20 minutes, there's a smell of fresh sheets that have just come off the washing line on a sunny day - so, hello linen! At this point I'm liking Male Nude a lot more, now that the chypre has settled down.

 

I think that Male Nude is at its best after about half an hour on my skin - by that stage, it's warmed up nicely and the dark musk is very present. The linen is still there, but it's subtle, and there's a nice woodsy kinda feel to the fragrance. After that, the musk went a little powdery and the violet-like floral smell came back, so I dunno - it seems Male Nude is a bit schizophrenic on my skin. But overall, this is a very nice blend - sophisticated and worldly feeling - musky but with a clean, fresh edge.

 

 

edited for bad typing!

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Edited February 27, 2011 by sunshinedaisybliss

[Iceblink]

More people need to try this, because IT SMELLS FANTASTIC. I've really been into chypres lately and love the cologney feel of this one. The musk is deep and heavy. The linen is light and keeps this from being too overbearing. It's GOOD. It actually reminds me a lot of a less sweet Snake Oil! I want to smell this with about a year's aging on it because it's going to be even better with time.

[countessmouse]

Totally masculine and OMG what a throw! Most scents just give me a whiff here and there throughout the day of how nice I smell, but this one sort of slaps you in the face with it. Not that I'm complaining.

 

Musk, clean sheets, and just a hint of citrus. Going to try this one on the BF tomorrow!

[Blood onmy hands]

I was intrigued by the linen in this, as I've been more into clean/laundry scents lately, but Male Nude is mostly intense masculine musk and hints of citrus (lemony?) on my skin. The musk just smells like cheap, heavily applied men's cologne to me. Something in the drydown is slightly powdery and a bit sour. Too heavy and too sharply musky.

[Aldercy]

Decidedly manly, but honestly delicious. Why don't I have a man on whom to slather this?

 

Highly musky, bittersweetly resinous, woodsy... but there is a bit of mossy citrus and stiff white linen in there lightening things up. It's an unusual, rich, warm, layered scent. I don't really think I can wear it often or in large quantities because it has considerable throw (it's lovely, but does really does come off as "traditionally" masculine to me), but I'd like to have it around to sniff every once in awhile.

[Invidiana]

Alas this is way too cologney for me. That said, however, it is something I imagine to be total sex on a guy. It's not really a "red" scent though the fact that it is dominated by a red chypre gives it a little more warmth than your typical greenish type of chypre. I also like the boyfriend's-tshirt-feel of the linen element, and then the musk to add a nice hit of masculine sensuality. I'm going to keep my decant around and see if I have any success with a male specimen.

[zankoku_zen]

Dark musk and male cologne. The musk is reminiscent to the musk in WILF - dirty, sexy, dark. The chypre has faint tinges to the green chypre in Pollution. More warmth than just a chypre. I find the balance on this scent to be just right.

 

Definitely TEH SEX on the right guy.

[Dark Alice]

This is kind of perfumey and kind of awesome. I don't know what the hell a chypre is...but it smells damn good. I need a partial of this...Stat!

[DifferentDances]

Decant!

 

Imp: Dark, herby musk, a hint of something airy and clean. (The linen?)

 

Wet: Wow, this is a dark colored oil. The herbal quality gives way to a sweeter, airier scent. Reminiscent of the back corners of herb shobs.

 

Drydown: Oh mmmmm......sexy, slightly sweet musk. Slight acrid quality to it, but damn if I don't want to cuddle up with someone who's wearing this.

 

Dry: Muskier, but still sweet and sexy. Mmmm...

 

My rating: 4/5

 

Would I purchase this? Eeeeh. I love the way this smells, but I'd never wear it. This is what I would want a guy to wear for a snuggle session.

[Rianna]

I'll admit, I had to look up what "red chypre" means. I fail at perfume.

 

Sniff: Mostly musk and a soft note that definitely says "linen." Linen makes me happy. Just the tiniest hint of citrus over the top. Citrus tends to go all "rotten fruit" on me, so we'll see how that plays out.

 

On skin - wet: Pretty much same as sniff. Citrus is fading, yessssss!

 

On skin - dry: Warm, earthy musk that lingers for hours. No noticeable citrus, at least on me. Not too powdery. Definitely on the masculine side, but it wears well on this musk-loving woman! I bet it'll be good on the DH too.

 

Overall: Male Nude, Arms Upstretched is classic and versatile. It's a good comfort scent that can also dress up well.

[crebbsgirl]

I love this. Lots of yummy musk and a hint of linen. I can really barely detect a hint of citrus, but I have to really be sniffing for it. This does skew a little masculine, but I quite like it on me anyway. I think this will probably be a bottle purchase.

[surlygurl]

This update shall henceforth be know as "The Update when Red Musk Played Well with Surlygurl". Yes, I'm assuming that the "red" in red chyphre is red musk, due to the coloration of the oil and the, um, red musk smell .

 

Fresh on, it does have that Snake Oil vibe of red & dark musks. It's this dark reddish glowing scent that soon goes to powder. But very sexy powder. I don't really get linen, citrus, or anything else that's supposed to be part of the blend or chypre. It's all about musks. And that's ok. I'll definitely keep the decant (it'll be stunning aged!) but see no need for a bottle.

[milo]

Well, hello Panther Moon, nice to see you again!! Yes, this is very similar to PM on me, though more chyprey and smoother, if that could be possible, as PM is as smooth and dark as they come. Another notable difference is that this fades a bit quicker, and PM pretty much lasts all day on me. I do get the Wilf similarity as well, and at first thought that it was more similar to him in the wet phase. I'm beginning to find that dark/black/indigo musk is AMAZING on me, and I'm picking up variations (The Velvets, Panther Moon, Wilf), and love them all. This blend is incredible and those that missed out on PM or need more of the Panther love may want to try this. I will be getting a bottle, as I only have one of PM.

[midnight_aeval]

Something in this is absolutely wonderful - guessing dark musk because I'm a huge fan of Haunted, but there is a sort of 'tang' to the scent that reminds me of that evil smell that radiates when red musk hits my skin and is not in the 'right' proportions (like: Mme Moriarty, The Soldier).

 

It's dirty and clean all at the same time. It has a cozy feel to it, and, yes, would be amazing on a man I do think. For me, I'm too on the fence about it. Would that sourness age out of it? Possibly.... Eeeeh can't decide if I need a bottle!

[bluerose]

This blend needs more love. These are simple notes that turn out perfect. It's amazing.

 

In the bottle, I could smell the dark musk, linen, and red chypre. It smelled a bit on the strong side, but on the skin? Dark musk and red chypre blend to form something that smells like tempered red musk on me. Mmmmm.... red musk and linen. It's what I wanted Red Lace to smell like. So very naughty.

[filigree_shadow]

This is very BPALy. You smell this, you think Yep, that's BPAL. That's what I thought when I put it on, and then I looked at all the previous reviews that mention how it reminds them of another one, so I think I'm not the only one.

 

To me it smells sort of like Fenris Wolf, Scherezade, and linen. Plus kind of a little bit of powder. I guess that's because it smells like a dark musky hazy red musk sort of scent with something soft in it (that must be the linen). The musk definitely smells like red musk plus another kind of musk -- it doesn't smell as loud or as obvious as red musk usually does.

 

I like this, but I feel like I already have some similar scents.

[redderz]

I am absolutely in love with this scent. I'm a fan of linen anyway, but this is such a gorgeous comfort scent for me.

 

Wet: It's very sharp and musky. I'm not sure what musk it is, but dark musk to me says either black or brown, maybe? As it's drying it goes very mossy and almost like dirt on me, but not in a bad way. Just like warm soil in the sun.

 

Dry: After being on my skin for a few hours, the dirt disappears and it turns almost vanilla, but not a foody kind of vanilla. It's tinged with a hint of linen and it's just beautiful!

[bheansidhe]

I have just acquired an aged imp of this blend.

 

It smells like ALL of the amazing viscous sweet dark musky bits of Snake Oil, without the notes that sulk and turn sour on my skin.

 

Win!