Musk 12

hey yall, I’ve been on a mission to establish a seasonal and functional perfume collection. Thanks to the many options for samples at twisted lily and lucky scents ( and living across the street from Sephora) I’ve been able to compare and contrast a lot of perfumes. I am currently looking for a staple Musk perfume that I can wear to enhance my spiritual practice, do yoga, and to layer like a Moor Princess (musk, oud, and perfume of choice). So, I compared Musk 12, Musk Therapy, and I even threw Flowerbomb Dew in there... My first impression of Musk 12 was that it was screechy floral. But I realized I have not exposed my nose to Freesia and Lotus. So, I gave my nose time by wearing Musk 12 once and a while. I have the duo with Vanilla 28. I found myself layering it with Nemat Vanilla Musk (not vanilla 28 it drys down like blistex/carmex on my skin idk why). But I really wanted to appreciate Musk 12 as I believe Musk perfumes are like wardrobe basics/essentials. You gotta have at least one you love! So, anyways, I would alternate between Musk 12 and Flowerbomb Dew. I am still not sure if I like Flowerbomb (still expanding my nose ) but I was willing to explore Nectar and Dew. Comparing Dew to Musk 12 allowed me to see how the water note is “watering” down the original fragrance but in a pleasant way similar to Delina and Delina La Rosee. So revisiting them today (3/26; sunny 61 degrees) see that Dew and Musk 12 are completely different to the point I do not think it is redundant to have both of them. They are both florally but Musk 12 dry down is cozy and little bit like skin. Flowerbomb Dew has a sweet floral maybe even green dry down. So, I am still considering how I feel about Dew. So, when I compare Musk 12 to Musk Therapy (also today) I noticed how citrusy fizzy and earthy Musk Therapy is... it smells similar to Musk 12. Its giving Musk but its not ringing bright with florals which makes sense because Musk 12 is floral forward and does not have citrus in the listed notes. Musk therapy actually reminds me of a clean shaved man. It transports me to a memory of well groomed men. It does have a cologne vibe. I think it is truly unisex but it was not projecting and lasting long enough for me. I will save the rest of the sample for summer. They seem like variations of each other. Maybe Musk 12 is for her and Musk Therapy is for him. My final verdict is that I am willing to invest in the travel size of Musk 12 and make it my spring and summer musk. By the end of the summer season, I will buy a full bottle. This is beautiful. Highly recommend as a collection staple.

Gorgeous low key musk. Perfect middle road between sweet, clean, floral, woody, and warm. If you love soft scents, and just want to smell ~good~ without seeming to try, you need this. The hint of vanilla gives just a dash of sweet and the scent as a whole could never be overbearing. Lasts up to 6 hours on skin, but doesn’t project or leave a trail. Perhaps if you overspray like crazy you might get noticed as just smelling very nice, clean, & cozy. I’ve made some comparisons, since this is rated as “reminding” people of 3 of my most heavily used scents! - Clean Reserve “Skin:” Skin & Musk 12 are like sisters. CR Skin is much sweeter than this (and performs better), but I prefer Kayali Musk 12 since Skin can become very sugary if you overdo it. Musk 12 is a bit cleaner and quieter. I guess I might layer them to see if I can get a more sillage out of Musk 12! - Victoria’s Secret Dream Angels “Heavenly:” Heavenly & Musk 12 are like cousins. I immediately thought of the OG version of VS Heavenly when I sprayed Musk 12. I heard they’ve reformulated Heavenly throughout the years, but I still have half of an old bottle from 2015ish. It was my signature scent all through high school and college. Musk 12 is a little sweeter and woodier than Heavenly. They have a very similar vibe though: Effortless, inviting, like your clothes are clean but not tide/gain clean, maybe cleaned in the clouds by a vanilla musk fairy 😅 - Philosophy Pure Grace: Pure Grace & Musk 12 are like.. really good friends but not related 😂. I’m only mentioning this since it’s pulled some votes here on the comparison. Pure Grace is another “go-to” scent for me, but is quite different from Musk 12. Pure Grace is a lot more fresh, clean, soapy, citrusy & floral. Musk 12 is more of that warm cozy clean musk.

Kayali Musk 12 is musky and powdery. But not dense powder. Like a clean powder that's soft and balanced with white musk, dewy florals, and a little vanilla. I actually smell loads of really dewy watery florals, freesia and possibly lotus, like in Phlur Missing Person which is more fresh, molecular, less sweet, and something I'm more anosmic to. Musk 12 isn't as molecular but I can imagine a tiny bit is in here. This is a really true to name cleanly warm musk, that is perfect for when you want to smell like yourself. It is also the perfect work scent, especially in healthcare settings. I can't imagine this offending most people. For more comparisons, I think Clean Reserve Skin is a sweet skin musk but less dewy with more of a salty-sweet clash, creating a bathroom cleaner effect that was too much for me eventually. Phlur Soft Spot is heavily suedey vanilla with only a touch of dewy florals. Still Musk 12 is better for me since the sweetness is more subtle, maintaining the clean aspect. I'll save you time and suggest you buy the 100 mL from jump. Not sure how, but my 50 mL is already half way done and I've only sprayed about 4 sprays once or twice a day. Been using this everyday for work and I'm delighted every time I get a whiff in my personal space. It lasts on me a good 4 hours but I suggest testing Musk 12 first since it seems many are anosmic, including Mona herself as she stated. Before repurchasing though, I want to try the new Kayali Freedom Musks first. In case I prefer one of them over this as they all have that brand signature freesia, amber vanilla musk, and sandalwood combo.

I bought a decant of this from a decant shop without thinking much about it. At first sniff, I noticed how comforting it is. It's definitely in the same category as White Musk from The Body Shop but this is somehow smoother and softer. It's not as powdery as White Musk. I can smell the freesia and lotus in there, which makes it airy and a rather fresh. The musk is soft and it reminded me of the musk in Signature by Mont Blanc. It's not heavy or sharp, just very smooth and almost smells like sweet skin (?). I think the vanilla rounded up everything perfectly. This is the type of perfume that you can never say you oversprayed because it's very soft. It HAS to be oversprayed to have presence lol. I don't know, somehow this scent reminds me of a mother or a wife. Not that it smells mature or anything. It just gives this womanly, feminine, calming and comforting essence. I really like this. I just wish it lasts longer. For me, as a person working in an air-conditioned building in South-East Asia, this barely lasted past 4 hours. I really want to get something similar to this but I can't get over the beautiful combination of freesia and lotus, it makes me want to go find more freesia or lotus prominent perfumes. 😞

This is sooo good. I love musky perfumes and this one is very well balanced. But of course, as always, it does not last. For me max 2 hours. Still would purchase a new bottle when I finish the current one. I have not found anything similar yet. Clean Reserve Skin comes close but leans more masculine and I don't like that. And Prada Candy Kiss was too soapy for my taste (It's tough to be so picky)! Musk 12 is very upbeat, clean, warm white musk, soft floral and powdery in the dry down. Some mention it smell synthetic to them but I don't get any of that thankfully. I get that synthetic cheap smell with Vanilla 28. Musk 12 is perfect for spring and summer and is very feminine. I just wish it would last longer but for that price I don't mind to reapply this one over and over again. Update: Why do they always discontinue my favorite fragrances? Please bring this back. There is nothing like this. I have tried so many plain musk perfumes and even Jovan White Musk (which was still too masculine for my taste) does not give what Musk 12 gives. Good things come to those who wait. I am waiting and waiting...

Gotta love holiday sales; finally scored a few travel sizes after they’d been sold out for like everrrr. Must say I’m VERY pleasantly surprised! A beautiful musk that remains very clean smelling from start to finish. Much like Prada Candy Kiss and D&G Pour Femme, this beauty is perfect for days you just want to smell nice without overthinking it. I’m equally impressed with longevity, especially since I find most Kayali frags don’t last long enough usually. I sprayed my wrists and my sweater before bed and could still smell it several hours after waking. More so on my sweater, but hey that’s better than most. I get a very clean, creamy musk with a nice blend of florals and a hint of earthiness. It’s basically everything I hoped Candy Kiss would be; super clean white musk with the perfect blend of florals, vanilla and sandlewood that actually lasts. And I don’t detect the Vanilla 28 DNA which is actually nice. Don’t get me wrong I like that one, but I feel like every single Kayali scent has that particular smell. This is a definite love for me!

Wrote a positive review over a year ago, and writing another postive review now; the dates reflect how long I've enjoyed this for :) This is my signature scent. It's so easy to reach for, because it smells great, but isn't overwhelming (it isn't "too much" of anything; not too sweet, not too musky, just right). My mother-in-law actually recently complimented it! A subtle, warm, enveloping, cozy sweetness, balanced by clean white musks. There's a fluffy, almost marshmallow quality to it as well. Extremely underrated by fragheads, who always want more more more. If you're like me, a casual fragrance enthusiast, who loves gourmands, but realises it's not practical to wear them every day (and can find them headache inducing occasionally), this could be the perfect signature scent for you, like it was for me, or simply something to reach for when you want to feel cozy, but don't want to reach for a gourmand.

It does look like this is discontinued, but just wanted to point out that Sephora is having a sale (maybe for Labor Day weekend) on the double-sided travel rollerball of the Musk 12 and Vanilla 28. They are $20.25, down from $27 so I ordered one last night. Not too bad as both of those are great in my book! I don't do much layering, but Musk 12 is lovely for adding a little something to fragrances in my collection that don't last, project or just don't go all the way for me for other reasons. I love it as a supplement. (And on its own too.) Anyway, Sephora has a few of the early Kayalis on sale right now so check it out! Not sure if it's just for the holiday weekend or if the entire line is starting to trim down. (I'm noticing it also looks like they may be phasing out the little jewel-like mini bottles in favor of the oblong travel sprays and/or rollerballs... :(

🧼🍬 Somehow both clean and sweet, which is exactly how I want to smell every day! Omg, every time I wear this I just love it and want it to be my signature/everyday scent. I've been looking for my an everyday scent with vanilla and sandalwood since discovering I really like those notes. I've also watched lots of youtubers talk about what scents they actually wear the most, and "clean musks" like pure musc came up a lot. I actually really like pure musc, it does smell clean and seems easy to wear. But don't see myself reaching for it because it's got no sweetness, and I like to smell a bit sweet. Musk 12 somehow smells both clean and sweet and it's just perfect for me! My partner says it smells like baked goods, but I think it just smells like my clean skin but sweeter.

I just bought the Kayali Sample pack from Sephora and the Kayali Musk 12 is easily the best fragrance in the selection of 8 scents. I have since ordered the Musk 12 in the travel spray and I am eagerly awaiting it's arrival. I can't stop trying to smell myself. LOL! That is to say, when I move around, I can smell this deliciousness emanating from me. It has the most gorgeous, delicate, powdery, musky, woody fragrance. The musk is just perfect. Not overpowering. Every note is evenly balanced. I can picture walking through a crowd of people and having a few heads turn as they smell this intoxicating scent when I walk by them. I think I should have just purchased the biggest bottle! LOL!

i accidentally discovered this (blind bought a mini-fragrance bundle through mercari) and i am OBSESSED! kayali musk a simple/inoffensive beautiful floral-musk fragrance. is it anything unique? probably not. but to me, this is special. i've tried many skin-musk fragrances and this one has got to be my favorite. i loved it sooo much, i had to get myself a full sized bottle-- and this sh*t was not cheap btw *sigh*. i've also noticed the kayali musk from mercari (used) has more silage and staying power compared to my new full sized bottle. just like kayali's vanilla, this one needs time to macerate! huge difference!!

I can attest that this perfume gets better with age. I have an original bottle from 2018 and the juice is pretty strong. Definitely don’t need to spray much and it lasts for 8+ hrs. And I’m a chronic oversprayer so that’s saying something! The scent needs no layering in my opinion. I just bought a new bottle so I understand what people are saying about longevity and simplicity, but I can assure you this will mature beautifully. As crushed as I was when Musk 12 was no longer available is as giddy as I was when it came back. The only Kayali that I find interesting enough to buy. Twice.

UPDATE: 6/22/23 I can’t stop wearing this and in my opinion, it performs better in the heat. I have quite a little collection going but I swear, I can not wear anything else without this. Im so hooked. I love this musk... I have been wearing Myth by Ellis Brooklyn and that is a favorite of mine. The difference with Kayali is a very cool almost minty opening note. This is a great vegan and cruelty free musky option. Both of the perfumes I love and normally I never buy a musk much less a powdery musk. Neither of them last very long but are both a joy to spray.

I am so glad they brought this back!! I've been saving the last little bit of my bottle I bought back in 2023, and when I saw they revived it, I instantly repurchased. I am a sucker for a good musk, and I think kayali did so well with this. Such a deliciously clean and smooth fragrance. It layers wonderfully, and unlike what others say, I find it to be very long lasting on my skin. Perhaps part of that is due to how long I've had the fragrance, but I have always felt this way. I would say this is definitely not a safe blind buy, but certainly worth trying!!

What a beautiful and delicate musk based perfume. I have nearly all the Kayali’s in travel spray format and this is so refreshing, as most of the others are very spicy and exotic. This is a nice one for everyday clean girl vibes, and perfect to layer over some of the stronger Kayali’s to tone them down when you’re not wanting beast mode. It also has some fresh and gentle floral notes that don’t take over. I see how some people are reminded of Prada Candy Kiss - has the same delicate but noticeable and long lasting sweet musky floral aspects 🥰🥰🥰

ive owned a rollerball of this for quite awhile, and i wrote it off as a boring and not lasting very long. i revisited it recently and just...wow. need a full bottle asap. a “your skin but better” scent thats not musty like some musks can tend to smell like, nor does it have a squeaky clean soapish feel that some “basic” fragrances can have. it smells like freshly washed damp skin with some sweetness/coziness/sugar to it. its beautiful! a perfect fragrance for layering, going to bed or if u wanna smell good while smelling like “nothing”

I have to agree with fellow reviewers. Amazing classy scent warm without being too sweet and the thing I love the most about it is that lotus note in the opening which stays throughout its lifespan. It's a perfect daytime scent for autumn/winter but it is very very weak. I have never ever sprayed as much perfume to go to my office just to have this sit close to the skin. I am hitting a love because it is gorgeous. However it should be illegal to charge that much for a perfume that weak.

If you find Missing Person by Phlur too powdery and floral, but find Clean Skin Reserve too gourmand- leaning, Musk 12 is the PERFECT middle-ground skin scent between the two. It's like they took Clean Skin Reserve and removed the praline, then added light, airy florals that are not overwhelming. This is really a beautiful fragrance that I honestly find to be one of if not the best balanced skin scents for my nose. Praying to the perfume gods that it is not actually discontinued

Such a beautiful and fluffy musk! I am picky with musks and this one is just perfect. It’s sweet but not too sweet. And it is very rounded and well blended, compared to many other musks which tend to be screechy. Also, it has such a lovely almost dragee like quality to it. I love spraying this before bed it literally makes me feel like I’m sleeping on a soft fluffy cloud and I feel so comfortable and cozy and clean ☁️🫧🌙✨ Ps. Try this with Kayali vanilla such a heavenly combo

This perfume is devine ! The scent profile is not the most unique thing in the world, you probably smelled this in a body lotion or a body care product, however Musk 12 is that type of scent but WAY BETTER ! Perfect blend of clean, musky, powdery and vannilery notes that is easy to put everyday without getting sick of it. It's a shame that Kayali has a problem restocking it :'( I hope they don't discontinue it because I can definitely see it as a perfume for life.