I read the 'previews" for this along time ago, I know this is on the high end of the high end of Niche and quite pricey, so when I encountered live & in person at the boutique yesterday...I had to go for maximum ...that's two sprays for me and I figured...perfect for a night out on the town for my birthday! Well, let me. Just to back-track for a minute, on paper...this is all cardamom pudding soft creamy spicy and alluring, with a capital "C!" , a spicy chai tea that felt so soothing and reminded me distinctly of the rice pudding with fresh cardamom pods and vanilla beans I made last week. So simple and yet so enticing...I dropped the other 10 possible new paramourous sample sticks and went back to spray this on my skin. I was deep into fragrance testing...maybe on my 20 fragrance of my big birthday fragrance sniffing extravaganza, when I hit the Nasomatto display table...I opted to just try this one from his line- leaving "Nuda" and "Narcotic Venus" for my next sniffing adventure. I quickly whiffed "Black Afgano" because...well, come on, the cap itself is enough to blow your mind and no one goes to New York City and doesn't visit Time Square, right?! AnyWho...back to "Silver Musk", on paper, was clean, spicy and I could barely detect the musk...the kind of musk that melts into your skin and becomes part of you with a delicious chai cardamom note on top. In my mind I was screaming "NO!" please don't tell me that of all the 50 or so Niche fragrances in this lovely, well stocked Boutique in Fremont, Seattle...you are about to fall for the most expensive, eccentric and exclusive line available...ugh...this is going to create marital discord, for sure! Well I decided I would wear Silver Musk last night for my dinner party and really give it a test run. OMG!WTF!HS! What a musky night I had...on my skin, the cardamom all but disappeared within two hours and turned into what I can only describe as the smell of a boyfriend I had in the early 90s who spent long hours in front of his computer and jogging and didn't always remember to shower, but it was so sexy because he was young and hot looking, but now on me...not so sexy. More like Funky, funky, funky! Not a totally unattractive smell, but definitely not a daytime office scent and I would caution any female to really wear this for a week in between the change of Spring and Summer before going for a Full bottle...it was quite tenacious! The sillage was moderate to low (thank goodness) otherwise...I would have been embarrassed to wear this in a restaurant or public space...it was like having a sweaty intimate experience in public...not a good idea, really. But the Longevity...a solid 8-10 hours... before I started scrubbing it with four different brands of soap and hot water. So, affirmative! Yes, I believe that if this is your HG scent, this is worth the large price tag for the 30 ml extract..it last forever! The Sales Rep at the boutique, begrudgingly gave me a sample, but she delicately insisted that I spray a bit of Serge Luten's "Nuit de Cellophane" on my other hand and a bit of L'Artisan's "Traversee du Bosphore" on the other as if she just knew I was going to regret slathering this powerhouse musk on myself in a couple of hours. Her final word were... Silver Musk, the Perfumer...he is quite eccentric and his creation will...haunt you. Indeed. I was haunted and frankly I came home and showered intensely at 2 am before I felt safe to get into my bed...Silver Musk scared the begeezus out of me!!! Approach with caution...this is NO silly flimsy Bollywood stuff!
