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Musc des Sables Les Indémodables 2018

7.9 / 10 133 Ratings

A popular perfume by Les Indémodables for women and men, released in 2018. The scent is spicy-powdery. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Spicy

Powdery

Sweet

Creamy

Resinous

Fragrance Notes

Orris absolute

Bitter almond Musk

Musk

Indonesian patchouli

Siam benzoin

Venezuelan tonka bean absolute

Cardamom

Italian green mandarin orange

Ambergris

Cinnamon

Perfumer

Antoine Lie

Ratings

Scent

7.9133 Ratings

Longevity

7.9104 Ratings

Sillage

7.0103 Ratings

Bottle

7.589 Ratings

Value for money

6.662 Ratings

Submitted by SirLancelot, last update on 11/17/2025.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

D600

Animalique

Musc Infini

Dior Homme Intense (2011)

Teint de Neige Eau de Toilette

Blv Notte pour Homme

Reviews

9 in-depth fragrance descriptions

08/26/2022

6Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

Kurai
388 Reviews

Kurai

Helpful Review 5

Benzoin powder

The other day, I barely recovered from the anxiety attack induced by "Musc Ravageur | Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle" . What an unsettling experience. And now, with Musc des Sables, I get immediate flashbacks. While they are far from identical, they do seem to come from the same vanilla-musk planet.

Musc des Sables is a lot less of a wild ride, though. With a high-quality orris and benzoin instead of vanilla, the experience stays gentle. The whole has a balsamic-powdery texture. Bits of patchouli add a green-brown shade, but the overall color palette stays rather pale.

Before we get into the drydown, I have totally lost interest. In this benzoin-powder state with vague hints of ambergris and patchouli, the similarities with Malle's Musc have pretty much gone. And it is not a bad scent, it is just umm.. Yawn.. Anyway, I hope this vanilla-musk thing is not going to be a trend.

11/13/2024

9.5Scent 8Longevity 6Sillage

Ninamariah
296 Reviews

Ninamariah

3

Gentle, versatile and super easy balsamic Musk

I have been wearing this one a lot hoping that I can get something more out of it than what I wrote in a statement. This is anyway quite simple composition and it doesn't change if I'm for example in the different mood or if the weather is different, even the warmth of my skin doesn't make a significant difference which is the most surprising for me. That certain "stability" makes this scent utterly easy choice to wear it. It doesn't have any clearly feminine nor masculine characteristics either so it's very versatile and crowd pleasing scent if thinking that it's so natural. I mean people who are not used to natural perfumes can feel them heavy or challenging. Despite of that all my opinion changed and into a different direction.

Musk here is easy and gentle. I love it when it has that naughty, dirty side or even when it's very animalic but this is not. I wrote in the statement that it's sultry and passionate but the more I'm used to the scent the more innocent it is and the lust has disappeared. I think my statement is more accurate for someone who has never smelled natural or animalic Musk or doesn't like at all these kind of scents but still, this is easy. Maybe too easy for me. My rating still remains the same since the quality is so special.

Everything in this scent is gentle and so harmonious. Cinnamon is not at all how you imagine it, it's barely noticeable like is Cardamom. Patchouli is not earthy, it only brings a woody touch to the scent. The sweetness is only from Benzoin, it's very subdued, a little bit Vanilla like but different from the sugary sweetness. The balsamic aroma pairs perfectly with Musk. I don't find any creaminess here but a light nutty aroma instead. Powdery texture which Orris creates is not totally dry.

There is nothing pungent, awkward or irritating about this scent. Everything is blended seamlessly, beautifully and skilfully. This is the style of Les Indemodables and exactly that style makes them so popular among the houses where natural and high-quality materials are used.

My statement just to compare how my overall feeling has changed between 4th-10th wearings:
"Powdery, resinous Musc w/ sensuality and class. Not animalic and dirty yet sultry, passionate. The scent of an innocent lust (if possible)."

04/17/2023

9.5Scent 9Longevity 8Sillage

BamBamNYC
33 Reviews

BamBamNYC

2

Chocolatey powdery iris

Being in the US, I couldn’t easily smell Dior Homme Intense; the places I typically order samples from don’t have DHI in stock. When I first tried Musc Des Sables, I thought “Oh! This must be what DHI smells like, but with better ingredients!” It fit the description of chocolatey makeup-bag iris, minus the lipstick. The patchouli note feels perfectly chosen for this composition—not too earthy, not too aromatic. The iris lends a dry yet creamy texture to the chocolatey patchouli.

Many months later, I walked by a FragNet store (didn’t know they have brick and mortar stores!) and found DHI on the shelf. Of course, I had to try this much-hyped classic. I was sorely disappointed; DHI smelled thin, nowhere as good as Musc Des Sables. I knew then that I have to get a bottle of Musc Des Sables.

While Les Indomedables has many other high-quality and interesting creations, this one feels like the best possible in its genre.

04/26/2025

10Scent 7Longevity 5Sillage

Chrysoptera
105 Reviews

Chrysoptera

2

The loveliest musk

Musc des Sables is a simply beautiful musk. I detect a little orange, cinnamon, bitter almond, and patchouli over a beautiful creamy powdery musk with a whisper of salt. This house employs natural ingredients, but there is no natural musk listed among the ingredients, although there is a little natural ambergris, which conveys a mild saltiness. This fragrance reminds me a little of my first ever perfumes, Love's Baby Soft and Jovan Musk, both of which were gifts from my godmother. I don't think I've smelled either of those since the 1990s, but I loved them once. Musc des Sables may be the luxe full grown sexy version, and I'm absolutely here for it. The combination of musk and saltiness makes it feel just a little naughty (and let me be clear, I'm here for it), but that said, it's not at all raunchy, but delicate, and really easy to wear.

11/23/2022

Saturnalis
39 Reviews

Saturnalis

3

powdery orris patchouli

i swear the orris used here reminds me of what's used in iris des champs by houbigant - it's not really the kind i'm looking for as it reminds me more of scented tissues than the facets i usually look for in the note. the mid stages are probably my favourite, where the patchouli comes forth and brings a feeling of earthy chocolatey-ness, surrounded by a halo of the aforementioned orris and supported by a deeper, salty ambergris and a hint of spice. unfortunately for me the benzoin / cinnamon in the base, combined with the ambergris, kind of overwhelms everything else with a powdery note that, after a while, triggers an unpleasant scratchy sensation in my nose. unfortunate.

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