Muscs Koublaï Khän Serge Lutens 1998

Muscs Koublai Kahn is a legend for a reason. This is the best synthetic musk perfume to ever bestow the fragrance world. But there's more to this than just Musk (synthetic accord).

Quick reformulation tip/advice, THE CURRENT VERSION SMELLS IDENTICAL TO THE VINTAGE, please don't spend 500 USD on vintage bottles. I have a vintage bottle and tested the Gratte Ciel version side by side, blotter, skin, it smells identical. This one is my favorite Serge Lutens perfume ever and one of my favorite perfumes of all time, so trust me on this. Get yourself samples of all versions if you are skeptical, but of all Serge Lutens reformulations, MKK is probably the best preserved and close to the old vintage version. Don't feed the Fragcom trolls.

Back to the scent. To me, MKK showcases a very true-to-life synthetic Musk Accord. Sheldrake really did magic with this one. The musk is there but there's a lot more going on of course. There are many other animalic notes used here, civet, ambergris, castoreum, ambrette, and lots of cumin. So, as you can imagine, this is quite a dirty perfume. However, we are talking here about Sheldrake who has proved himself again and again, so he doesn't just throw in all the animalic notes hoping for the best. He balances out the dirty facets with very well-placed resins, that sweeten up the perfume, a hint of rose, a touch of honey. He depicts, in perfume form, the duality of the Kahn, a fierce warrior but at the same time a man of great wisdom and tenderness. The perfume behaves in a similar fashion, it's dirty and provocative, and it's in your face, but maintains a constant restraint, warmth, and gentle feel. It isn't as dirty and animalic as many have made it up to be, but of course, it depends on where you are in your fragrance journey. I find it incredibly sexy. Downright erotic.
A real legend, from a legendary house. The fact that Serge Lutens has kept this scent true to its original form and that they are still selling bottles when they could have discontinued or reformulated it in order to save money and move more, just shows why this house is still above most if not all niche houses out there.

To me, top 3 Musk perfumes ever, alongside EO 2 and Onthamara, those two using the natural stuff. This is just as good and evocative though. Hats off.