Musc Outreblanc

Guerlain's Musc Outreblanc is a beautiful clean musk, a your-skin-but-better, clean-girl floral skin scent, which is to say that it sits close to the skin but instantly improves it. This is a very tender and delicate fragrance--it was sent to me in a very generously sized sample screw-top glass bottle by an extraordinarily kind Fragrantican--and it's perfectly lovely. I think it would be an ideal choice for people who work in environments where they are not supposed to wear fragrance--it's a good stealth fragrance insofar as you can wear it and feel clean and refined and elegant but only in your own tiny scent bubble. No one who isn't actively making out with you will be able to smell this, and if they do, they will just think you are a naturally sexy and beautiful-smelling person, not that you are wearing an expensive perfume (or any perfume at all, necessarily). It smells unisex--yes, there are florals, but they're florals that you can also find in many male-marketed perfumes. Here's an alternative possibility: I might just be anosmic to most of these musks. I suspect I am anosmic to many musks, so maybe this is a lot more obvious and "perfumey" than it seems to me. I must interact with my cat Labadie, who tends to respond favorably to my muskier frags. Update: Wearing (much) more liberally, I ask myself what this reminds me of, and it hits me: White Linen. But White Linen sticks around a lot longer because of the hefty dose of aldehydes. Here the whiter-than-white (outreblanc) musks seem creamier and more lactonic, less like crisp fabric and more like the kind of scent in a very subtle lotion that you might slather on a billionaire's baby. I think I might be anosmic to many of these musks, whereas no one on Earth is anosmic to White Linen. Just as it is difficult to describe the precise smell of aldehydes, it's difficult to describe the smell of certain musks--it's more like an intensification of a soapy-clean skin smell, more like the sensation of cleanness than a clean thing in itself. I read that we are exposed to so many musks from detergents and other household products--musks so persistent that they are not removed from our clothes when we wash them but are in fact dispersed into the environment, where they will allegedly linger for ages--that we have become sort of immune to them, in a way, and maybe that has happened to me, to some extent, because as much as I adore this perfume, with its exquisite heavy bottle and its undeniable air of supreme luxury, I really cannot smell it long enough to justify its cost. I do think it is ideal for a "your-skin-but-better" sort of fragrance lover. I would be so very, very bummed if I had spent hundreds of dollars for this, but I love having my little travel bottle from the kind Fragrantican, and I look forward to finding out who, if any, of my friends can discern this on skin after an hour.

Guerlain Does White Musk I get it, I get all the moans and groans about this fragrance. It's a white musk. We've all been there & done that. White musks are all over the place and are a dime a dozen. And at certain price thresholds it's so hard to justify the cost vs what is in the bottle. But what it smells like, Oh, this is so lovely indeed. It's a white musk done with a careful and delicate hand. It does not remind me of laundry detergent per se, it reminds me of clean fresh washed white linens on a line on a spring day in the hills, when the air is cool but the sun is warming up the day. It smells like the fragrance bubble that sits around a person who just bathed in a perfectly white bathroom with the window open, flowers on the shelf, and lots of white cotton towels. It's an idealized version of "clean" without being heavy handed about it. Practically speaking it's a lot of solidly compacted powder of white musk -- like the way a compact smells -- that is the base and structure of this perfume. On the top there is a bit of orange blossom, in the middle it warms up with ambrette, iris, and rose...all threaded through the solid block of compact powder. The dry down is a bit woodier, with a hint of sandalwood. This does not read "amber" to me at all. The nice this about this white musk is the way the individual notes will rise out of all that compacted musk powder--little projections of iris, rose, sandalwood, and orange blossom wrapped in clean bubbles of ambrette. I like wearing this a lot in the same way that I like wearing Prada Infusion d'Iris or Serge Lutens Clair de Musc. It makes me feel well put together, it will smell great if it's 90 degrees and humid or 20 degrees with a brittle wind. I appreciate Iris in any fragrance and this has a decent amount of it. I think this would have been better received if it was put in their regular line of scents and charged a more reasonable amount for it. I think that for $350 a bottle or whatever they are charging Musc Outreblanc will come off as a bit underwhelming. If you are spending that amount of cash on a scent you need to be VERY blown away by it (well for us regular folks, anyway.) It's a white musk and it's been done before. That said, if one REALLY loves the scent, it has very good performance and lasting power-- you only need 2 or 3 sprays to be good for most of the day. If you did shell out the money for a FB you'd have a very versatile fragrance that will probably last you years because you won't need to use that much. Price matters, you know. I have a bottle of Elizabeth Arden White Tea that I paid about $25 for, and I like it well enough. Musc Outreblanc is much better than the Elizabeth Arden, but $25 compared to $350 most people will just take the $25 perfume instead and call it a day.

Guerlain Musc Outreblanc... A Vanilla Lover’s Unexpected Love Affair with Musk! I am not a musk person. Or at least I didn’t think I was. My fragrance comfort zone has always been warm, enveloping vanilla scents. Some of my absolute favorites from this house are Guerlain Vanilla Planifolia 21, Guerlain Angelique Noire, Tobacco Honey, and Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille. Those are the fragrances that feel like “home” to me. So when I was at the boutique at the Waldorf and several people insisted that Guerlain Musc Outreblanc was phenomenal, I was skeptical. Musk and I historically don’t get along because I often find musks cold, sterile, or a little too “laundry detergent.” Still, curiosity won and I purchased the large bottle. At first, I didn’t think I wanted to reach for it. And yet... I kept reaching for it. Throughout the day I would catch little soft wafts of myself and think, what smells so beautiful? It’s delicate but addictive. The real magic happens in the dry down. What begins as a clean, airy musk slowly warms into something incredibly soft and comforting.It’s not cold the way people often describe musk.It becomes warm, skin like, and quietly luxurious. Another moment that really sold me...in the evening I walked back into the room where I had sprayed it earlier in the day. The scent was still lingering in the air. soft, elegant, and calming. It genuinely made me happy. What makes this fragrance special is that it doesn’t smell “expensive” in an obvious, flashy way. Instead, it smells perfectly composed. The ingredients feel seamless, like they’ve been blended with incredible precision. Everyone raves about Initio Musk Therapy, and I do own and enjoy it. But Musc Outreblanc feels like a completely different level of sophistication. Where Musk Therapy is modern and bright, this feels refined, almost old world. It gives me a kind of classic New York luxury vibe and is understated, polished, and timeless. For someone who thought she only loved vanilla, this fragrance has been a beautiful surprise. Sometimes the scents you think aren’t for you end up being the ones you fall in love with.

It's really too bad that I go nose-blind to these musks so quickly, because this perfume is absolutely amazing, and the longevity on fabric is absolutely INSANE. I know this because I dribbled some Musc Outreblanc on a handkerchief (I have a small travel bottle that doesn't have an atomizer--it was a generous gift from a Fragrantican, and I treasure it) four days ago, put the handkerchief in an apron pocket, and then forgot about it until this afternoon when I put on the apron and asked myself, "What the HELL is that beautiful iris smell? What the hell even IS that?" I was doing laundry at the time and harbored the brief hope that my Tide laundry detergent was giving Guerlain suddenly, but no, I quickly realized that it was the handkerchief onto which I had dribbled some Musc Outreblanc. It's a pity that I can't appreciate it more when it's on my skin; I don't think it disappears, and I'm sure it could be perceived by anyone who got close enough to me, certainly by my geriatric choxie, who likely hates all perfumes, musky or otherwise, but I wear perfume mostly for myself, and I don't really want to wear a perfume that doesn't give me a reliable scent bubble that I can perceive myself throughout the wear of the perfume. But I love this so much, and I love being surprised by these delirious iris whiffs of pure clean floral luxury, so I think I'm going to make it my handkerchief perfume. It smells like the world's most extravagant laundry detergent, made for the world's richest and most richly indulged baby. I like to carry this scent around to distract myself from the stench of the world. Musc Outreblanc, whiter than white, beyond white, au delà de blanc, the sublime blankness of end paper, a white for the end of time.

I enjoy musc fragrances in general and this is one of my favourites. I tried it out on a tester and initially gagged at what smelt like an ambroxan bomb assaulting my nose. Walked away from the counter with the test strip in hand thinking this was a hard pass. However after a few minutes I smelt the test strip again and it had settled into what I would describe as a beautiful milky floral scent. I do not get musc in the Narcisco Rodriguez kind of vibe, this is extremely clean and ethereal. Note that I do not generally enjoy lactonic scents and didn’t enjoy Blanche bete which goes too heavy on the milk for me. However this frag is done just right and exquisitely blended. I promptly returned to the counter and requested she spray me again but on skin. Hours after I got home I could still smell this fragrance and it is addictive. I bought a full bottle at duty free a few weeks later. I agree with other reviewers that you can become nose blind to this while wearing it, but others can still smell it. My nail tech told me I smelt amazing and wanted to know what fragrance I was wearing. I showed her the bottle on my phone and did mention it was a bit expensive. Next time I visited her I brought a mini vial for her to keep and use of the perfume given she said she liked it so much. Needless to say I now get excellent service at my nail salon, so this perfume has served me well... This is a milky, delicate floral and refined musc that smells like you are expensive and classy AF. Love it

I remember I smelt this when I was in Madrid last summer. I had walked into a luxury mall place that had all the high end fashion store and on the third floor, they had all the niche and private line fragrances. I was walking around smelling a few things and a sales representative from the Guerlain counter came up to me and we were chatting up. He asked me what scents I was into and I had mentioned that I like the smell of a soft feminine sweet oud. He made me smell Oud Nude and I fell in love with it (I will be buying it as a gift to myself one day). He then asked me if I was wearing any perfume and I proceeded to say that I was wearing Another 13 from Le Labo. He told me that if I enjoyed musc heavy fragrances that I would surely enjoy this one, he sprayed this on a paper strip, made me smell it, and I was sent to a whole different dimension. It was the cleanest, most soft, bright and alluring musc that I had ever smelt. I was so amazed by it, that I added it to my buy list right then and there, but forgot about it until now. This smells so special and inviting to me, that I can not buy it for myself at this time in my life, I’ll wait till I think i’m at my prime in life and then purchase it (sounds corny I know). For now, i’ll keep it on my list to buy in the near future. One of the best “clean” fragrances on the market !!!

This is a gorgeous, classy, very elegant scent. It absolutely is the color bright, sparkling white. I love scents that don't try too hard, and this one hits the mark. It's effortless but extremely refined. I imagine a woman with perfect blue jeans, white high heel sandals, and a crisp, button down white shirt wearing this perfume. It makes a statement, but in such a chic way. All-occasion, don't have to think about it kind of perfume. I had put the little sample card I sprayed this on next to my wallet, which absorbed the scent, and for days afterwards I'd get this magical, beautiful, feminine scent waft to my nose, and I realized it's this perfume. That's when I knew I had to have it. And by have it, I mean a tiny little sample that I bought on ebay, because the price is insane! I must say I wish the iris (or neroli?) was subbed for something gentler, because it has a sharpness in the opening that I don't like, but I'm willing to put up with it for the gorgeous, soft, extremely feminine dry down.

This delicate elusive little floral beauty is an enigma to me. I find that I go noseblind to it almost instantly when it's on my skin, so I have taken to dribbling some from my travel bottle to a clean handkerchief, which today I put in the pocket of my dress. When my husband came home from work and greeted me, he said, "Wow, that perfume you're wearing smells like pure soap!" I was confused because on my skin I'm wearing Green Sandalwood, a figgy sandalwood spalike kind of unisex scent, with maybe a touch of detergent musk in there for freshness but not what I'd call soapy per se. After thinking about it a little more, I pulled out the handkerchief and asked him to smell it, and sure enough, that was the clean detergent smell he was picking up from more than a foot away. I do love the iris note, which is pure Guerlain, but the musks mostly translate to my nose as a kind of inchoate creaminess, very much like Dove soap or a fancy shampoo for rich French babies.

I am wearing this and I find it as amazing as I did last year, which hardly happens with the perfumes I own. Last year, it was surpringly my most worn perfume, as I flew through two decants until I committed to the 200 ml bottle. I appreciate so many perfumes, but this is one of those that I cannot stop reaching for, out of the hundreds or thousands that I smelled throughout the years. I usually get bored of perfumes or rotate the style of perfume I prefer, but Musc outreblanc has been consistently one of my favourites, top 5 to be precise. To me, it is Delphine Jelk’s most brilliant creation and one of the best muscs on the market. And once you get used to it and recognise the scent, you will notice how beautifully it projects and it lasts well into the next day. The white on white associations are spot on and it is the epitome of luxury and art. I absolutely love Guerlain’s vanillas and orientals, but this fuels my artistic drive and my soul.

First time I tried it I couldn’t even smell it. I was absolutely neutral in my opinion. I didn’t smell anything off-putting like people say in other comments. So, after a month or so I gave the tester another go and same happened in the beginning: it opened fresh, clean, airy and then pooof! Disappeared... until like 1 hour in. I started getting a soft breeze, a cashmere scarf on your shoulders, while you walk by the sea all salty and warm. It has a beautiful powdery but somehow fresh airiness to it at the same time. Such a chameleon scent. I don’t know what to do but this goes in my wishlist! I believe skin chemistry plays a huge role here and there might be periods I wouldn’t like it on me too. Same happened with Fleur De Peau from Diptyque which smelled horrendous on me first time around and then the second time it made a 180 and turned into a gorgeous warm, clean bubble. I mention it because this one does the same!

Today I received a decant of Musc Outreblanc Guerlain as a gift from a very sweet fragrance friend. My initial thoughts are that the opening isn't very similar at all to L'Heure Blanche Guerlain, but quickly upon drydown they begin to show resemblance, quite close. It's a beautiful milky, hazy, metallic clean blend of musks. It's a little less watery than LHB, and has a little more texture. They aren't listed, but I feel like there is a bit of sesame in there (is that Ambrette?) and some saltiness as well. This one feels slightly drier and woodier. I'd say it's classically more unisex than LHB as well, although I'd still say leans on the feminine side if one subscribes to those classifications. Regarding sillage, I never had an issue with sillage or longevity with LHB. My hubs says this one is a little more powerful than its predecessor. I plan on saving up for this one for a special occasion.

Tried this a few years ago and remembered not being wowed by it. Trying this again, now that I have tried and own quite a few musk fragrances, this is one of the smoothest and most beautifully done. Not soapy at all. This is not the kind of fragrance that is meant to be loud (for those complaning of strength). I get wafts of it for hours with just a few sprays. For those saying that this is overpriced, keep in mind that real ambrette is a very expensive raw material, and I can smell it very prominently here. Most musk fragrances use the synthetic kind (Ambrettolide). The only other fragrance I know where I can smell real ambrette is Kilian's Rolling In Love, also Le Labo's Ambrette 9 but they tried to amp it up with so much aromachemicals I go noseblind to that one. Ambrette is one of my favorite notes and I am afraid I have to put this in my want list...

Whenever I put this on, I think it is so delicate, so beautiful and refined, that I wish everything smelled like this, like sublimated soap and flowers, and then something about the musks kick in, and I go noseblind to it almost instantly. I know it's me (I'm the problem, it's me) and not the perfume because I can smell Musc Outreblanc on fabric or paper for days and days. Even though I know this perfume must be discernible to other people, it's not much fun for meeeeeee if I can't wear it, so I guess it's probably just as well. I'm not tempted to buy a full bottle when my travel-size mini runs out, but I will feel sad that I can't smell it anymore. Sometimes I like to smell the cap just for a little olfactory getaway. I think it smells the way a laundry room must smell in a luxury hotel.

One of the best clean white musks on the market, absolute perfection scent wise. I simply could not find better, actually, but I do have some honorable mentions, like Xerjoff Apollonia, Zara Livre Blanc, Ella K Musk K and BDK 312 Saint Honoré. I can relate to the images of white marble and pure white, because this scent is like a minimalist sculpture in a scent form. A total love, but I still find the prices exaggerated. Edit: this does perform very well both on skin and clothes and it projects. I think the first couple of wears I was anosmic to it, but the more I wear it, the more I recognize it, which is precisely how I hoped it would go. It is a milky, clean, airy, abstract beauty of a scent, in its category and I am still absolutely obsessed. A perfect summer fragance.

I didn’t want to love this... truly. My first wearing, I came in from a critical standpoint, convinced it was just hype and branding and I was ready to find the downfall. Then I put it on after a shower. Game over. The scent trail had my man literally stopping to say, “wow, you smell amazing.” On clean, fresh skin this fragrance shines — it creates this ethereal bubble of magic around you. The softest lactonic note wraps you in comfort like a hug, and the sparkling neroli adds this effervescent lift that feels almost otherworldly. It’s quiet luxury. It’s the definition of a skin scent done with masterful blending. Calming, elegant, addictive. Do I want a full bottle now? Yes, absolutely. Did I want this? Nooooooo.

The initial opening of this fragrance is a soft scent with notes of Musk and Neroli. The scent then settles a bit but the Neroli just comes off my skin with perfection. Transitioning to the Heart, the Neroli settles down and I am getting additional florals notes in the scent profile. There is definitely some sweet Orange Blossom and Rose. At dry down, the fragrance has settled down as a floral and musky scent which is elegant and sensual. The projection of this fragrance is OK creating a scent bubble of about 2 feet for 2+ hours. The sillage is also OK with a scent trail of 2+ feet for over 2 hours. Longevity on my skin is about 6 to 7 hours with the fragrance becoming a skin scent at about hour 3.

I’ve only sampled this once in the Guerlain boutique in Paris and it was august. It surprised me with one of the cleanest smells ever, due to the ambrette. It was one of those perfumes that perfectly render the smell of fresh air. I did not expect it, but it was my favourite that day, together with Cruel Gardenia. I thought I would prefer the heavier ones, such as Cuir Beluga or Tonka Imperiale. Maybe it was the right weather for it, but I felt that even though it is not the usual loud fragrance, it is very good quality. Is the full price justified though? Debatable, as the Guerlain perfumes are getting more and more expensive under LVMH, which is in itself a problem for the house fans.

Wow, this is pretty! Smelled it because I saw that some people thought it smelled like Clean Reserve Skin, and I’d say that they’re definitely related but not twins. Siblings or cousins, perhaps. I love reserve skin, but this definitely a more refined version of it. Still sweet, but significantly less so. Exceptionally clean smelling, not unlike detergent (especially in the beginning) but very fancy and smooth detergent, not harsh at all. Only gets smoother and sweeter as it dries down, never like candy though. Like sweet flowers? Can’t stop sniffing my arm & it even survived my shower earlier!

On paper I should hate this. I hate Iris. However, this is the softest most ethereal clean scent. I used to love Jlo Glow (years ago) because it was clean and soapy. This is so much more adult, grown woman, beautiful. I feel elegant and not teenie bopper. I wear this and I feel like an elegant French woman in a beautiful country cottage, with clean water and fresh air. The clean laundry scent is so elevated and it’s so perfect. The scent is so beautiful and it’s perfection. I love this. It’s beautiful and is so elevated from everything. It is full bottle worthy for me and now I must have it.

If someone would have told me that this freshie would be and stay in my top 5 of all time, I would have called that person crazy. I am usually a lover of exotic ambers and French perfumery, I guess. However, this feels otherworldly beautiful, everytime I wear it is a revelation and I praise Ms Jelk and Guerlain for creating it. I love and own many and most of the creations of Guerlain, but this one is the biggest love, it appears. It just speaks to my heart, I find it artistic, ethereal, a true jewel, probably a diamond or at least a modern facetted white marble sculpture. 10/10 for me.