Musc Keiko Mecheri 2004

Musk - this fragrance ingredient is legendary. Originally derived from the glandular secretion of the rare musk deer, it later also involved other animals. Even some plants with musk-like scents were utilized. Musk was and is synonymous with a daring, erotic, and mysterious fragrance, and with this expectation, customers still approach a perfume when musk is indicated in the pyramid.

Most of the artificially produced musk notes, however, have nothing wild-animalistic left in them, and I wonder how such a development could have occurred. Since the glandular secretion of the musk deer is hardly available today, no one really knows how musk should actually smell - not even me. Perhaps a chemical relationship in many musk variants justifies the designation as such, but olfactorily, most seem to have strayed far from their animal origin.

Perfumes with a declared musk base often disappoint with fluffy-soft, creamy, often soapy, and sometimes powdery notes. We would then have arrived at the eroticism of childhood. Only a few declared musk perfumes retain an animalistic character: Musc by Keiko Mecheri is one of them.

Instead of creamy-soft notes, this musk has been interpreted in a dark, vibrating direction, which is likely due to amber. Other than that, there is nothing more, but also nothing less than what the name Musc promises. This musk is dark, erotic, exciting. People will surely turn around for the wearer of this perfume. Of course, €130 for a simple perfume without notable complexity is a lot of money. Additionally, this 75 ml bottle has also been quite stretched. Here, one is allowed and must spray generously to achieve a noticeable effect. Moreover, the longevity is not particularly great. After about two hours, the beautiful animalistic accord gives way somewhat to the soft, creamy notes that we know from most perfumes with declared musk.

Musc is a unisex fragrance, exceptionally sexy for both genders. Of course - whatever one may want to do with this scent - men must finish up a bit faster than women, as the drydown into the creamy-soft belongs to men definitely after a shower!

I had dismissed the perfumes of the Keiko Mecheri brand as pure "women's stuff" after one or two tests. That I now own this Musc is thanks to my boredom and a young, dedicated saleswoman at KaDeWe. I noticed in our conversation that she herself favored this scent among the Keiko Mecheri perfumes. And usually, saleswomen do not offer such things to a male customer. So I took my time - you get a good coffee at KaDeWe - and explored this musk. On the other arm, I had Keiko Mecheri's Oliban - one of those loud, eccentric, and far-fetched perfumes that niche brands seek to outdo each other in originality. Amid loud tourists and after-work stress, the question arose: Do we really need all this?

So back to the simple, but excellently made things, and Musc by Keiko Mecheri is one of them!