Mure et Musc Extreme

Song: Rasputina Children's Reform Center The words "Fruity, Musky, Sweet, Sour, Fresh" make this scent sound candylike or juvenile. It's not. For the sake of being nitpicky, I shall opine that "musky, fruity, woodsy, fresh, warm spicy" are better adjectives for Mure et Musc Extreme. This is a country meadow horseback ride on a glossy Chestnut mare under the bright autumn clear skies. The air is cool and crisp as the sun dapples across the changing leaves, but your body is warm from activity. You smell the dried fallen leaves overlaying pine needles, and immediately you catch wind of something like a fruity dry wine, discovering there's a huge overgrown blackberry thicket along the edge of the clearing. Intrigued, you dismount to try one of its last fruit, but your tongue quickly tells you these berries are not for eating. Your horse judges your naivete with a snort and leisurely trots off back to the stables, without you of course. For everyone able to laugh at themselves while enjoying what the world has to offer. For those looking to play, Mure et Musc Extreme lends its quirky yet suave charm most beautifully to rose dominant scents. Also pairs well with Cashmere Mist to create the ultimate clean 90s Pier 1 bath beads nostalgia, Light Blue to create an amazing woody zest, Britney Spears Fantasy to create a sensation of eating fresh whipped cream with pine jam topping as you trek through the dark, magical strawberry woodlands. Of course MeME combined with anything and everything Narciso Rodriguez will give birth to the musk of your dreams.

Another rather simple perfume I'd call a masterpiece. It's a high level of mastery to make such a divine composition with so little ingredients. Basically, the name of the perfume pretty much says it all. While the original has a few more notes, the extreme version is mainly focused on the two mentioned on the bottle - blackberry and musk. There is a bit of an opening with some faint citrus, but the main thing comes very soon. For the biggest part, fragrant pyramid can be summed as a mixture of white musk, ripe blackberry and some other fruits I cannot discern(maybe red currant?). Compared to the original, the fruits are amped-up here, especially blackberry, while the muskiness makes this scent totally clean and inoffensive. Like pretty much all the time with this brand, there is little to no projection, but this thing actually lasts for a solid six hours on my skin. I find this perfume more suitable for women - I would be delighted if I felt it on a female skin, I'm sure - but this can be worn by a man who likes fruity notes and overall clean vibe this scent gives. It is quite versatile, but I feel like its full beauty comes in spring and summer. I said this in another review, and I'll say it again - sometimes, simpler is better. 9/10

This perfume has two faces: A menthol, camphor, benzoin like scent makes a big 30 minute entrance. It stays in the spotlight for about 4 hours, slowly fading away, allowing the berries who have been accompanying the performance to take over. Musk finally steps up on stage with the berries and together they sing the audience to sleep. (By that I mean it's a berry & musk skin scent. For about another 4 hours.) Sexy allegory: Nerdy nurse with analgesic muscle and joint pain cream turns into discrete sweet minx. Personally: I use Tea Tree shampoo twice a week or so, it smells like medicated back rub too. Mure et Musc Extreme is a perfect pairing in this instance! ____________________________________ EDIT: Nov-2-2012 I've had the chance to really get to know this scent over the months since my original review. In the benzoin opening I mentioned (after the first 30 minutes), there is what seems to be a green white flower, I assume it's the petit grain, kinda smells like a lily. It's there for the whole life of this fragrance.

I don’t like the opening note, I guess it’s fruit, but is very sour and too green. Then a lot of musk. I had high hopes for this from the description but it’s not sweet and juicy smelling as I had hoped. I’m glad I tried a sample first as I won’t be buying a full size. Update - well I guess I have to eat humble pie and admit I was a bit hasty in my initial review. The more I sample this, the more I like it. It is very simple in style, but it’s beautifully blended and I have become rather fond of it. In fact if I could find a decent size bottle for a reasonable price, I would buy it, but thus far all the prices I’ve seen are very high. I want to add that the longevity of this is excellent. Just a small amount on clothes can still be smelt the next day.

So so so beautiful. This is a fairytale-woods scent to me. Dark berries, musk, clean but not in a department store kind of way. Mossy, musky drydown. The citrus gives it a pine sort of feeling without the astringent quality. The berries don’t smell like they’re in a fruit bowl/cocktail like many fruity perfumes do, they smell like you encountered them in the woods. It is unique; the low sillage actually works in its favor here, giving it a mysterious quality that’s very addictive. Longevity is definitely poor on skin; but surprisingly this scent lasts for weeks on clothes. And it smells like outdoor air. To increase longevity on skin, I discovered there’s a body lotion/shower gel of the same scent on their website to use as a base.