4.1 Le Musc & La Peau Pierre Guillaume 2016

Now this is a peculiar creamy musk. It is dressed up in somewhat masculine notes and leaves a clean sensual trail. I would describe it as milk infused with rosemary and cedarwood.

When sniffed up close, the musky character and its different qualities are to be found. Overall clean, close to milky soap with a moldy, cheesy side. Later on a bit dryer and minimally powdery. The burnt tonka note is very present and, together with the herbs, it adds a sharpness that offsets the creamy side.

In the 'white musk' topic where uniformity seems to be the standard, Pierre Guillaume's take clearly stands out both in quality and in creativity. Thanks HugoMontez for the recommendation.

Some days one doesn’t want to smell like perfume. Some days one doesn’t want to smell like bergamot, or vanilla, or tobacco, or some flowers, or leather, or a mixture of any of those, or really strongly much of anything at all. Some days one just wants to smell like a human body — perhaps like sexy skin magnified. That’s Le Musc & La Peau for me. It’s a white musk (and supposedly combines seven kinds of musk) that is just creamy and soft. Like coming out of a shower. Or putting on a clean white linen shirt. For me, on the right days, or to just be unadulteratedly musky and, as such, sexy, this is a darned good choice.

A note on comparing it Le Labo Another 13 - that might help explain Le Musc & La Peau better - since they are often spoken of as similar. I have both and both are mainstays, but I find them different. While both are unabashedly skin scents, Another 13 is more forceful, is more affirmatively of a scent with its peach and apple - in fact, at first it almost smells floral to me, although that dies down to more of a metallic or dirty musk. Another 13 has more a defined character as a perfume. Le Musc & La Peau is closer to simply musk, ambroxen and aldehyde — cleaner, simpler and more skin like. Very faintly underneath you can get an underlying whiff of the rosemary, cedar or tonka that it has but they are quiet and subtle. Altogether it’s quieter than (at least on me) than Another 13. More subtle, more of a fresh shower than - as with Another 13 — Iso-E over a slight white fruit dirtier sexiness. Another way to think of Le Musc & La Peau is to compare it to Histoires de Parfums 1740 Marquis de Sade — They stand at opposite extremes: if 1740 is raw animal sexuality, Le Musc & La Peau is quiet sensual intimacy.

The sillage on this is low but the longevity is not bad: at least 4-5 hours or so. But altogether quiet and most certainly not a monster scent in any way.

Finally, this is a fine base for any number of perfumes. It add a quiet musky undertone that is almost imperceptible but it is there. I prefer it to Molecule 01 or 02 for that purpose.

I received this sample from the official boutique in Paris, where I had a wonderful customer experience—highly recommend! The friendly staff mentioned that this is their best-selling fragrance and suggested I might enjoy it as an aromatics lover.

However, I have to admit I was a bit disappointed. I was hoping to pick up on the rosemary note, but instead, I only get a faint, clean musk. While it’s undeniably pleasant and easy on the nose, it feels too simple for my taste. I don’t see myself reaching for this beyond finishing the small sample.

Classical skin scents, it performs completely different onskin. At first extremely clean, comforting and gentle, it tends to lose the powdery component as time goes on and take on a milkier, dustier version of its own skin scent. Unfortunately, on my skin it sadly enhanced and sweetened the smell of sweat; the overall effect was not the best. I don't doubt that on the right skin it can render wonderfully

The ylang-ylang gives this a fruity undertone and, I have to say, I don't detect much more beyond that. Some pleasant musks, maybe.

I generally like soft perfumes, and am rather wary of overly strong projection, but I don't want softness to come at the expense of depth and nuance, either. So while there's nothing I dislike here per se, there's not enough I like, either.