Musc – Pure Essence

I am not at all a musk-freak, but a lovely knowledgeable friend sent this to me, told me it was iconic and that I definitely HAD to smell it. And although I was quite fearful of the words "mushroom" "vintage" "damp" "patchouli" "cloves"etc... I absolutely LOVE it! It is timeless. Elegant. Beautiful. The cleanest smell I have ever had the pleasure of smelling. If somebody asked me to describe it, I would say that it smells like the most luxurious cashmere throw on a cold, cold day. Comforting. Warm. Gorgeous!and it's seriously addictive too, so beware. Yes, the price is high, but the juice is STRONG. a dab is really all you need, so a bottle will last you forever. Also, it is extremely blendable, I have layered it with some of my favourite scents and it always works beautifully. The quality is totally off-the-charts insane- I can even smell it after a shower! Totally unisex, it would be an amazing gift for any perfume enthusiast and an absolute must-have I think... and get the oil if you can, I heard it's completely different/the best version from all the other variations! 10/10!

The part most people don't like about this is my favourite part, the opening with the dirt/fungus smell. To me it's naturally sweet dirt with beautiful clean musk, not shrill the way I can find a lot of clean musks to be. I would have bought myself a full bottle and lived in it but I find when it starts to dry down the "dirt" factor goes away and I'm left with a rather masculine musk, at least it does this on my skin, not sure if others find that. I stays on the manly side for a good 3 hours or so then dries down more and become more unisex/feminine as it seems to get a bit sweeter (but is by no means sugary sweet, a natural sweetness is the best I can describe it) and I love this phase too and it last for about 3-4 hours. If the masculine phase didn't last so long this one would be mine, and I still consider it just because I love the opening and dry down that much.

This perfume oil is definitely not your standard white musk. It has an odd, mushroom-y odor to begin with, and reminds me of the smell of the rotting wood-chip mulch that I spread on the garden after the pile has been sitting around all winter and has various sorts of fungi growing in it. It also has pronounced woody notes, like fresh-cut lumber from an aged tree. After about 15 minutes the sillage gets up to speed and is quite strong. Yes, it’s musk, but a mellow, spicy, earthy, woody musk instead of a skanky one. It doesn’t change a lot, but the fungal notes do subside a bit, leaving a uniquely earthy-smelling musk that lasts for 6-8 hours. I tend to like musks anyway, and I especially like this one for its unique qualities. If someone gave me a decent amount of the stuff, I’d wear it frequently. I’m debating whether it should go on my “get a decant someday” list.

Like many of you, I too discovered Acampora’s Musc through Katie Puckrik. Indeed, as she attests, this potion is magical, sexy, magically sexy. At first dab/spray, it’s all musky, loamy, earthy—yes, mushrooms (!!!) on a forest’s floor. But wait—this must contain some eye of newt and/or toe of frog—it’s as if a witch has conjured this liquid to life! As Musc takes form during its wear, you find yourself no longer in the wooded forest depths, but emerging into a clearing: gleaming brightness, the scent of a musky, herbal soap. A truly beloved, but beguiling, fragrant journey.

Ok, this one tears my heart and brain apart. It's a equally love and hate feeling. I hate animalistic scents that has musk and patchouli stand out like this one, but this one have the softness and sweetness that I love. Its sexy and addictive. At first sniff, it's a medicinal animalistic scent that remind me of the traditional Chinese herb store. The scent get softer quickly and stay that way the whole time. Its like morphine, bad and addictive.

If you've smelled Thundra by Profvmvm (another excellent albeit expensive italian line), then you've experienced this scent. In a nutshell, this is a gamey, meaty musk-patchouli combo, when I smell it I think of a homeless guy that you can tell, if he showered and shaved, he'd be kind of attractive. I like it a lot.

I am hooked on this, I crave smelling it all the time. It opens with an earthy, mushroom note. I can understand if not everyone would get along with this part but I want even more. Then slowly warms into a round sweet musk, lightly animalic but not overpowering. Wears close to the skin. Sexy. Lasts all night.

The scent of making love to your partner and basking in the afterglow. Musc is stunner that melts and becomes a part of you. 24 plus hour performance. Wear it with a scarf and you'll enjoy the scent for months. Lovers of musk, patchouli, and clove should not miss this.

Beautiful, musky, and earthy fragrance. It wears close to the skin, but it smells so good! It also layers with other fragrances really well, adding that extra "oomph". Expensive but highly recommended!

Slighly spicy powdery, floral with earthy undertones. Is a beautiful, elegant musky perfume. Musc has become my favorite musk! I have the pure essence, on me is.... long lasting with soft sillage!

Best musk money can buy, expensive but will last forever, plus it's an oil perfum so just use few drops on the cork lid. Amazing stuff!

I enjoyed the smell and the longevity of it :)

I really wonder, where the vanilla sweet is! It's an amazing blend of patchouli, amber, cloves, dry sandalwood, violets, and shades of woody animalic musk. I remember sniffing this blend back in Esxence 2016 when i meet the beautiful humble Lady Sonia Acompora at her booth, this fragrance was my favorite as she hand me the sample that i just opened today and it took me back in time when i first sniffed it, it is as perfect as it could be and it's not musk, it's the least musk it could be with doses of charm and sweet animalic. Was perfect and still as perfect as it could be!

This is a well known kind of expensive musk oil, so much better than Narciso Rodriguez and quite a weird one too. On first application on skin, when still wet, it strongly smells of fresh cut mushroom. Then it sets to an intriguing, powerful and lasting, yet soft musk with earthen undertones.

It starts out oily, thick, with a strong hint of sweet mold. Strong clean and vintage doses of sweet lavender, woven jasmine, violets and earthy and powdery patches. A musk with a natural flavor, a little spicy for laundry, feminine, rosy and retro 60s without ever being intrusive. It evolves into sweet, warm, delicate and yet creamy lipsticks. Far from my tastes as an atmosphere but easy to wear and with an intimate sillage which in this case is a winning weapon. The drydown is very long,soft and relaxing. Delicate.

This smells like someone has been eating a steady diet of onions and mushrooms for months and is trying to cover up their BO with a floral powder smelling deodorant. They didn't bother to wash first, just caked on some lady speed stick over the existing BO and kept sweating. There is also a hint of that death smell that old people get. I have no idea why someone would ever want to smell like this.

There is a 1970s shag carpet that saw a lot of partying in its days. It is now rolled up, sitting in a damp basement, slowly getting moldy. The odors of 10 solid years of perfumed, jello mold fueled dinner parties are now seeping out along with its new fungal scent. This odor is being bottled and sold as Musc. WHY, guys, WHY?

To me this is absolutely not unisex. It’s extremely masculine but in a sort of refined grandpa way. It’s not even a scent I would ever be attracted to on a man. It’s something an older man who thinks he’s “still got it” would wear.

I was overly excited to try this fragrance. I received a small sample of it and was shocked to detect such strong mushroom and wet earth notes. I had read a lot about it and couldn't quite grasp what that would smell like. But within a second of sniffing it, I had an "a ha!" moment and reveled in the magic of the damp, dirty, and mushroomy beauty. So I applied a generous amount to my pulse points and waited for the magic to happen and explore all the layers of the fragrance. To me, violet came through right along with the soil and mushroom vibe, taking a front seat after a while. I personally have a strong distaste for violet and felt put off by how much it reminded me of that baby cologne "Agua de Violetas." (not that many people will be familiar with that) That hung around my skin for a while and I felt it was a very sharp and incisive scent, not really soft or warm yet. But finally after an hour or so, it began to melt onto my skin and became a very complex and sexy musk. I am a fan of Kiehl's Musk and I think I would still prefer it over this but it was very fun to experiment with it. I will not purchase this fragrance even though it brought a lot of surprises for the next day or so. I woke up the next morning and turned over to another side of my bed and got such a delicious hit of something so intangible. I didn't even think it was me at first because it didn't resemble Musc at all, but I realized quickly that it had become such a natural skin scent, so so lovely. But in my opinion, it took way too long to get to that point. If I could try the Eau de Parfum instead of the oil, maybe I wouldn't have to grapple with the violet horrors as much.

Oh wow- this is different. It starts off earthy and, like many people said, mushroom. Not completely like the white button mushrooms, but like they are still in the ground or just being pulled out. Also more delicate mushrooms than the usual mushroom, but definitely earthy. After that, it’s quietly floral (you dont even notice, it’s really blended in) with a distinct spicy note that smells like cloves. This is the part that’s most interesting to me as it so reminds me of some kind of a body (clean and washed) but definitely a warm body, and definitely not PG body parts like the arms either... it’s that clean/nether co-existence that is so interesting about this one. Nothing like it out there! This is one perfume I’d be careful wearing around just any group of people. Without any context, scent or otherwise, they really might think you’re unwashed or something has decayed or musty around you. But, to some, it might smell like you just dropped in after a sun-drenched day at the beach and you just smell like a carefree goddess. I got this off of Luckyscent and they described going weak in the knees.... not really, because it’s not like Salome doing her dance. It’s more like a healthy looking suntanned actress on her day off at the beach. Unintended chic, healthy, not elegant. The danger and also advantage (depending on which situation above) is that this smells like it’s your own scent, not like perfume. I’m not in love, but I really like it. It’s most definitely unique, and most definitely musk. So, if you’re into having unique olfactory experiences and/or into musks, this is a must.