H2Eau Musk Noir

When I bought Clean’s H2Eau discovery set, this was the fragrance I was the most skeptical of, as I don’t like patchouli, vanilla, or amber (yes, amber. The notes listed here on Fragrantica are incorrect). I tend towards fruity-floral fragrances, as I live in the tropics and almost anything else is too heavy for this climate. When I did a preliminary sniff of all the bottles in the set though, this is the one that caught my attention. It’s warm and musky, but in a soft, comforting way that works for winter here (it’s 80 degrees in February). This collection does leave a sticky, tacky feel on the skin, but I haven’t experienced any clothes staining. I haven’t sprayed directly on fabric so I don’t know if that would cause staining, but I haven’t had any issues with skin-to-clothing transfer. The other issue I’ve been having with this line is they all go through a transitional period where they smell... off. Initial application smells great, dry down is lovely, but in between there’s a temporary period where it goes kinda ick. It isn’t as noticeable with this one and I’m not quite sure how to explain how it smells with Musk Noir, but with a couple of the more floral ones there’s a decaying flower/fruit smell. I suspect it’s some sort of reaction that results as part of the water-based, non-alcohol formulation this line uses. Speaking of florals, this one leans feminine when first applied due to the floral top notes, but the dry down is much more unisex. Actual notes as listed on Clean’s website: Top: Lily, Violet, Musk Mid: Musk, Vanilla, Amber Dry: Sandalwood, Patchouli, Musk There’s NO citrus in this.

Love love LOVE this scent. Some people say that a few notes are overpowering, but on my body chemistry this scent is only a bit more than subtle, no where near over-powering, and so pleasant on the skin, it smells like skin, but deeper, a smooth yet dark scent, I think the term "Noir" in the name fits almost perfect, I really could imagine a gruff detective in a Noir film or a dashing femme fatale wearing this scent, my only real issue with it, since it is alcohol free, it sticks to the skin slightly, and I do like to put it on my wrist and neck, so it feels a little sticky for a time, but it's a small price to pay to smell so mysterious, so eerie, like I hold a thousand secrets that will die with me. Quite irresistible. Will definitely be buying the full bottle. 9.5/10.

This is the best and most versatile fragrance Clean has ever released. I am absolutely in love with this. My favorite fragrance category has always been powdery sweet iris or violet scents so I am biased but it's still amazing. It's sweet with our being gourmand and it's noticeable without being too heavy. I would say this is a more nighttime scent but it's perfect for the daytime as well. It's definitely one of those "your skin but better scents" so it's perfect for warm weather but there's also something very comforting about it making it a great choice for cold weather as well. The violet, musk, and vanilla are definitely the most prominent notes and they are blended beautifully. Considering making this my new signature scent. 10/10 absolutely love this.

I'm very surprised at the notes. I get straight up aldehydic civet from this (hence the name I'm guessing?) and bought a travel spray on impulse at Sephora because it was a total love at first sniff. Personally, most of what I get is musk with maybe a little violet giving it that powdery (some might say "pissy") aspect. I don't get citrus or orange blossom/neroli (phew) or patchouli (thank god). I absolutely love this and it will be a getting a lot of wear in the coming weeks/months (it's more suited for cooler days/nights). I have never fallen in love with anything this brand had done but man, this is super good. Lasts a good few hours on my skin which is surprising considering most of what I tested from Clean only lasts 2-3 hours. Pleasantly surprised!

If you like 7 virtues cherry ambition, you will love this too. Cherry ambition is one of my fav perfumes especially in thr fall and winter or on a rainy day and musk noir smells almost exactly except the dry down on mysk noir remains more on the sweet side and im actually not sure why I smell cherry in this but im glad. Cherry ambition dry down turns kind of like an antique book store where u smell the pages..it is so beautiful. Clean reserve is my favorite perfume brand and I have blind purchased most of their perfumes just because I just know they are such beautiful musky clean scents and I have not been let down by clean reserve. They all sit very close to your skin and so does musk noir and thats what I love. Imo this is more feminine than masculine.