Muskara Phero J

I've been mulling over buying this for myself and finally SPLURGED! I'm quite interested in perfumes and generally pretty articulate about how to situate one perfume against all others, however, I was drawn to this perfume because instead of triggering a flood of references/ingredients this scent seems to refer to nothing other than itself. It's the scent equivalent of a James Turrel piece -- effectively 'empty' and substance-less, but spatio-temporally endless. It can be experienced forever without ever 'getting it'. It has no resolution, no bottom, no beginning or end, no point of reference other than the wearer(/viewer). And highly democratic in a way--it's so stripped down of referential content that it's possible to land on virtually any interpretation. It's confounding but not intellectual at all. This scent is a place to meditate. It's unsurprising Julian Bedel's influences are Borges and Darwin. This scent is a vast blank slate--an olfactory aleph. It's ambiguous, isolated, and transitory, and somewhat reflective in it's form. It's definitely a white musk, but, as mentioned, doesn't recall any other musks. As I'm writing this it's the dead of winter so it's a little dry, smells simultaneously organic and chemical but definitely not 'tech'. Though, I recall wearing my sample in the summer and it was much more warm, a more mammalian than cyborg. It's wonderful. I don't like or dislike it but I do want to spend a lot of time with it and can't imagine it ever getting old. It will be good for layering with virtually anything. Personally I think it would layer well with something a little waxy, oily, salty, milky. Alternatively it would be wonderful to mix with virtually any family of scents. It's that vast.

Raw wool. Lactonic. Clean sweat. Skin. Corporal. NC-17. Somehow clean and simultaneously intensely erotic, more so than any animalic. Think of the smell of lover’s t-shirt - both comforting and sexual. Innocent and lustful. As for projection, arms length. Lasting power: I bought a small vial of this. I wore it on a trip to the Caribbean. I remember unpacking and trying the first spray in the bathroom. The bathroom later smelled of it for two days, a drop having spilled on the wooden shelf. With one spray on my chest, I smelled this constantly until night. To me, it is extremely potent. I even tried layering it -once with Dior Fahrenheit and once so the Diptyque Philosokos. Those poor eaux were no match. Hits the mark of being a non-scent scent. It is that, in that it is not perfume-y or fragrance like. Yet it is delicious. It is also complex. It can be a signature scent without you smelling like you wear perfume. It can be layered. Best money I ever spent on a fragrance, despite the expense. Absolutely sensual.

Barely scented musk that vaguely reminds me of an after-dinner mint. It's as though I've crushed a pillow mint all over my skin. It's not a common white musk that I've encountered before. Nor is it galaxolide, ambroxan, or iso-e super. Mysterious and pleasant, but I just don't want to pay $180 for a tiny bottle.

I agree with the others. Soft, sweet, and simple. I'm in love with the tranquility it brings.

This has become a favorite. A light fresh musk- bright, clean elegant, effevescent.

When I tried Phero J in Mouette, there was almost no scent. Other than a faint musky scent, it was pretty much just water. If I hadn't bought this directly from their store, I would have suspected it was a fake. But as soon as it was put on my skin, it started to smell minty. It's not a sharp peppermint scent, but a sweet and soft mint. Is this what my skin smells like? I am not sure. At least I don't use mint scented perfumes and it's not possible that it stays on my skin. But, it is a little strange that human skin, which is an animal, has the scent of mint. Hmm, but it's mint no matter how many times I try. On my husband's skin it smelled completely different. It was the same smell he gave off when he sweated. And honestly... I can't find it to smell good. But he himself thought it smelled good, and he seemed to think I had sprayed his wrist with some nice perfume. A truly strange and interesting perfume. Definitely good for layering. By putting PheroJ on first, it feels like the main perfume becomes a part of the skin rather than "putting it on my skin." I can't describe it well, but I feel like it works like an emulsifier that assimilates my skin with the perfume. By the way, vetiver? No, their website just says 'musk'.

I stopped by the NYC store because I seek new and different. This place has it. If you are bored silly by samples from a magazine, you need to make a visit to this place. I picked this because it was utterly different, subtle. It's not a challenging scent. I do not get vetiver, but I honestly can't name any particular note except the most subtle musk. I don't detect any deep, grounding notes, but this is for the wearer, and those who come very close. Does not announce itself, but comes to the wearer through movement: turning around, bending to pick up something, getting into the car. Very fresh and outdoor smell.

Got a sample of this from luckyscent out of sheer curiosity. Definitely one of the strangest fragrances I’ve ever tried... it is extremely intimate, like barely perceptible but still there... it reminds me of the smell of fresh sweat... slightly sweet, dusty, and warm. It’s a musk, but I’d say it’s like what an isolated pheromone smells like... which I think might be the point. I don’t think I’m a big fan of it on its own- it’s not unpleasant, it’s just too simple for my personal needs/desires... but I have a sneaking suspicion that it might be great for using as a base for other scents. I’m going to try it with Cactus Azul from Fueguia 1833 and Another 13 by Le Labo, but to be honest I’m not sure I’ll be able to perceive it even with another intimate and similar fragrance. Definitely a fragrance you want to sample before buying. Edit: I’ve been wearing this for a few days and have played with layering it so I have some new notes. My suspicions were correct. It’s absolutely phenomenal for layering... and now I can actually fully pick out and understand this fragrance. It is extremely bodily... like the smell of warm skin and sweat... when you layer it under fragrances it gives them an automatic boost in warmth almost the same way a fragrance becomes after it’s warmed up on your skin for a few hours but more instantaneously... it’s very strange. I’ve layered it with Cactus Azul, Quilombo, Another 13, and Arizona Bloom and it added an extra dimension to each fragrance that actually works very well. It’s very peculiar. If you get this fragrance do not overlook its layering potential.

I'm almost anosmic to this. It reminds me of galaxolide smell. I can only smell galaxolide for the first 2-3 minutes (still very faint smell) then it disappears completely. This one I can smell for about an hour or even two but it's sooooooo faint it's almost non-existent. Air movement helps but mostly it just sits on skin without any projection. Pity. It's fairly pleasant ( a little sweet and fresh) but I barely there. So... don't blind buy this for sure, make an effort to test first.

This smells like almost nothing by itself, but as a layering scent this is liquid gold. Almost every scent I tested smelled better on top of this (especially lighter gourmands that typically feel a bit thin): deeper, warmer, richer. If you sample this, please experiment with layering other scents on top. I think that's where the magic is in this one.

My initial review is....is this the "The Emperor's Nose".?. To be fair, this is a sample decant from unknown supplier, so may be past date or not well sealed, though even with evaporation don't think it would have cause this...emptiness. What I got was a blast of ETOH (Vodka?) that lept out, and left behind H20 and a slight smell of something green a long long way off. Maybe THIS is what outer spaces smells like. This is the only sent from this house I have had this experience with, many of their scents are lovely limited-ingredient masterpieces. I'll save and try again on a warmer day.

I smell nothing. Just nothing, air.. Whaaat

I literally cannot believe that people are getting all of these impressions of various facets of this fragrance and have so much to say. It’s so imperceptible that I can barely smell the lightest whisper of something, and even that is hard to define. This is fragrance for people who don’t like fragrance, they can pretend they’re wearing something. Underwhelming to say the least. 0 stars.

Smells like a Muscone. Ridiculous. It can't even be called creation.

For a collector, it's always good to have a musk fragrance in your arsenal. Fragrances styled in this manner are always tough to critique when complexity isn't the strong suit. This is a lucid and somewhat powdery experience that's meant to pamper and aggrandize your body chemistry. This pretentiously advanced pheromone attractant is all too familiar in terms of lethargy. This scent is most enjoyable when you're actively moving about. In all my "active" glory, I thought this was on the boring side of reasonable. A total shoulder shrug. $187 for a 30ml!? Don't be a clown, use your PennyWise.

This perfume smells slightly like pickles and urine on me. Enough that I won't be buying it. On another part of my arm, where it's warmer, I can smell more of the musks. On the Lucky Scent website, it says "musks from the pheromone family" so I don't know the actual notes/ingredients in here. It does say this is something you can layer with because it's very light. It lasts for hours, but I think it would be better layered. At $187 for 30 ml, (and aside from the first problems mentioned) I don't want something that has to be layered with something else.

Stepping out of the shower with a towel on your head and thinking “I’m going to lay in bed only to rest my eyes for 5 min” but you fall into a deep sleep; still damp and fresh, you sweat slightly and wake up feeling great. This is what this smells like. Super skin musk. Layering this as the reviews suggest is omg!

Since I am anosmic to eso e super (the only note listed is vetiver), I can only smell ambrette musk in very low quantities. Remind me of the folktale The Emperor's New Clothes.

my favorite perfume as someone who "doesn't like perfumes". it brings out the lactonic and patchouli notes on my skin that people say resemble my natural BO.

This musk fragrance contains Aloesia deserticola, a desert tree native to the Andes Mountains. Pleasant scent on the skin, weak on clothing.