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.

I applied it an hour ago thinking, wow this smells like hairspray, but then sat down to draw. As I was drawing, I kept thinking, what is that wonderful smell I keep getting a whiff of? It's the dry-down! Excellently clean but dark, like water in the shade. I can see how it comes off as chemical for some, but it's a pleasant chemical that smells quite fresh.

It's like smelling your wet hair after showering in an open-air village shower with your mom's shampoo, like blowing soap bubbles on a hot summer day. Incredibly nostalgic and lovely. The formula, however, is quite sticky and unpleasant, but I still bought it because I loved the scent so much.

This is such a clean creamy fragrance. I love this one when I want to feel effortless and put together.

This is gorgeous! I really disliked the first spray test when I received it, but I had it sit for 2 weeks and I get it now! This is like a musky cotton candy. The violets are prominent and the sandalwood reads as sweet, sticky cinnamon rolls. It's a gorgeous scent. Really sweet, musky, and floral.

At first this gives the vibe of a nicer gift shop (I guessed cedar and rose, but that must be the sandalwood and violet). Within a half hour it sours a little on me. But then it mellows in the drydown. With moderate longevity and sillage, this is one of the best in the H2Eau line.

To me it smells like a musky clean soap. I don't hate it!

The scent of this is so undetectable that I applied it several times just to get an idea of what it smells like. I don't smell any musk which is what I was looking for and it's literally like wearing H2O because it pretty much is a scentless perfume, very disappointing

A delectable scent, interesting, the depth is pleasing. I should've liked this more based on the scent notes, but it wasn't memorable.

For the price, it is just too boring, has a decent smell, but lack depth :( Sandalwood and orange blossom are the most noticable

I got it in a discovery set. The fragrance on me is very musk heavy, not really my thing.

I really wanted to like this because in theory it checks all my boxes (minus patchouli), but I've found that whenever I try a Clean fragrance with a patchouli note it overpowers EVERYTHING. So I end up hating it... way too sharp, way too persistent. I wish this existed without patchouli because before it smothered the rest of the notes, I did like this!

It smelled good on the little paper but when I sprayed it onto my skin it reminded me too much of a cleaning spray :/

The combination of violet and patchouli dates scent in a way that I don't enjoy. Gave it to my younger brother

This honestly smells like windex to me and left a sticky residue on my skin.

I'm not sure what is suppposed to be 'noir' about Clean Reserve's Musk Noir scent. Musk Noir is mostly a light, yet solidly soapy, synthetic musk, opening with a sharp note of citrus. Mandarin is listed on the pyramid, but the actual sensation is drier, more suggestive of grapefruit. A powdery violet and a base of woody vanilla are also present. Both of those notes also rest at the drier end of their variation. As with most of Clean Reserve's aqua-tinted H2Eau line, Musk Noir is light in both intensity and concentration, falling somewhere close to an EDT or EDC in strength. The array of unrelated light scents in the H2Eau line is similar in concept to that of the Eaux de Chanel line, ...though of course, the naming conventions, marketing strategy, and price points are quite different. Clean Reserve's sample tubes are also constructed in a way unusual enough to deserve mention. Instead of being either anopen dab vial or a tube capped with a spray nozzle, the tubes in the H2Eau collection come with a perforated shaker top enclosed under a removable lid. This requiring the fragrance to be forcibly shaken out onto the skin or card. It's an odd choice for application, ...but not entirely ineffective. The resulting tubes somewhat resemble miniature aspergilla.

For starters I don’t think the listed notes are correct, big one is a lack of amber and I get zero orange. Anyway, wasn’t expecting to like this one that much, I think the water based thing is kind of a gimmick, but it actually grew a lot on me, I mostly get sandalwood, vanilla, white musk, amber, and patchouli. There’s also a big of fresh almost aquatic floral notes that make it a really nice summer scent, it’s not super unique but I really like fresher take on amber scents and it’s good for when you wanna have something without wasting a more expensive scent, also inoffensive if that’s a concern. Overall it’s a lot better than I expected

The base of this is very musk-heavy, but the musk stays relatively close to the skin. The notes radiating out is almost like a cherry-cherryblossom note. There is no cherry in this, but I really don't understand how patchouli, orange and violet create this smell. To me, in reads as cherry both on paper strips and on my skin. A pretty interesting smell, although the fragrance smells a bit weird where the musk and "cherry" meet. The water-based formula is sticky on my skin, but if it's healthier than the regular perfume formulas, I'm fine with that

Be warned - this line of H2EAU fragrances stains clothing like a spill of vegetable oil. It is not alcohol based so when you apply, make sure to not let it touch fabrics. Also, it gets gummy / sticky. This line is great in concept but disappointing in execution. Sigh.

doesn't smell all that unique when you spray it at first. but the dry down is divine. smells like skin with a subtle hint of sweetness that lingers. it's quite nice