The Muse Zarkoperfume 2020

When I first read the descriptions of "The Muse," I was immediately taken with it.

I can imagine that, as so often, early impressions play a role. I have always loved the smells of textile cleaning, hot pressing, freshly ironed, or air-dried laundry. And even though I personally prefer to use a liquid natural detergent, I still enjoy sticking my nose into a conventional laundry detergent box whenever I get the chance.

I believe that if someone doesn't like these smells and doesn't have a certain fondness for "artificial" scents, they won't be happy with "The Muse."
In my case, the hope for a concentrated dose of positive childhood memories activated my blind-buy finger.

Here are my impressions:
Right off the bat, it wasn't love at first sniff.
As mentioned in several descriptions, "The Muse" starts off very intensely strong and piercing, as if one has stuck their nose a bit too deep into the laundry detergent box. Everything rushes at me at once: the hot pressing, the textile cleaning, the detergent. The air-dried laundry, if present, is completely overshadowed by the other components.
As also mentioned in a statement, I would generally assess "The Muse" less as a perfume and more as a scent.

Once the initial intense wave of smell has passed, I initially perceive "The Muse" as exclusively fresh-synthetic. For me, there are no flowers, no fruit, no powder, and no (oud) wood detectable. Only late in the base does a typically subtle woody note emerge, as one might find in other purely synthetic fragrances.

So far, I find nothing comparable in the fragrance world. I see no similarity to scents like the Prada Infusions or various "relatives." The only connecting factor might be the "clean bear component," which has been implemented here in a completely different way. Perhaps "Blanche" by Byredo is somewhat similar regarding the laundry detergent note. However, it lacks this comprehensive "processed laundry note."

My associations with "The Muse" are glaringly bright, radiant, but also familiar and cozy.

After thoroughly engaging with the scent over the past few days, I have now found the right dosage for myself. And it is extremely delicate. It works best when I spray it into the air and walk through the fragrance mist. This way, I avoid the initially piercing synthetic load, and the scent can soon unfold.
If I use too much, and in this case, even a simple full spray directly on my skin is too much, the scent remains extremely tightly packed, and I smell nothing but a piercing synthetic note. At best, I then get the impression of laundry detergent. In our household, as mentioned, we use a liquid odorless organic detergent because I don't like it when my clothes smell like detergent. So it would be completely counterproductive for me to consciously spray this laundry detergent scent on myself.

In the optimal dosage and unfolding, I can now perceive the announced "extreme clean musk" with a hint of hot pressing quite well. Now and then, a laundry detergent note still wafts around my nose, but it is so delicate that it can easily transform into the fresh laundry association. Sprayed so subtly, the scent is now enjoyable. So all's well that ends well.

I believe that "The Muse" comes into its own better in warmth or even heat (for the hot pressing effect ;-) .

And I can also imagine that it layers quite well. I will experiment further, and perhaps there will be a follow-up on that.

Addendum 23.5.2020: I have since layered it with many other fragrances and must say that it has always worked really well. Depending on the direction, either a nice portion of clean musk is added, or a scent gains more radiance or even soft edges and corners.