Musc 25 Los Angeles

There's a prurient quasi-repulse response that this fragrance induced in me on the first few sprays, that response when you smell something so absonant that you're compelled to go after it again, despite-or-because-of how bad it is. To get a sense of what I mean, I invite fellow smokers to consider not the smell nor taste of your first cigarette, but the nausea induced in you by it, and how your neural map was altered to permit you another drag, and you began to compartmentalize the manifest protests of your gastrointestinal tract, lungs, throat, etc. in pursuit of the next high. Drugs are hazardous to your health (or in the case of Le Labo's exploitative (?) City Exclusives line, these prices are hazardous to your wallet), which is to say that teetotalers and financially responsible people alike ought to run for the hills and steer clear of the $350 fee, but for the rest of you: the aldehydes in the opening glister, fizz, and pop; the cleaner musks add a sensual body: these elements in sum produce the cloud-free, power washed, blue sky high that is, anecdotally, what most around me have smelled as I've worn Musc 25 in public or at work. Meanwhile, the animal element, which is closer to the chest: the patchouli, cedarwood, and vetiver make up the unwashed underbelly; the ambergris produces a warm and beating heart; and a viverrine note evokes piss -- capital-B-Blinding reality, when the high wears off and you're left with yourself, still confined to a body that bleeds and pisses and shits. The strength of the blend is in how arousing the contrast and interaction between the two poles of the fragrance is. And like any narcotic Musc 25 becomes less blinding (rapturous) with tolerance, in the sense that a) the opening urine note is not as potent on recent sprays, and b) I find myself craving the fragrance more and more throughout the day.

First and foremost, this is absolutely beautiful. The most heavenly musk, up there with White Suede by Tom Ford, Kiehls Musk & Musc Koublai Khan by Serge Lutens............HOWEVER! I hate being this guy because I'm never this guy BUT, the performance is absolutely atrocious on this. Atrocious is an understatement. $750 AUD for 100ml, I would expect it can at least give me noticeable presence for 5-6 hours and that would be generous for that price all things considering with most of Le Labo's performance these days. Not even 1 hour. gone after 1 hour. It wasn't my nose either. I asked everyone, my partner, co-workers, family and they couldn't detect it after 1 hour. I was expecting it to perform like a strong musky skin scent for most of the day in which I could of made it my signature work scent but not after its atrocious display or lack thereof. White Suede to compare is a 10 hour plus noticeable presence which I was basing my expectations and hopes from for Musc 25. September is approaching and Le Labos city exclusive's are being re-released, I am advising anyone interested in this lovely scent, not to part ways with their hard earnt cash on this one. Unfortunately you are wasting your money. You'll chew through your bottle like toilet spray. Many other musks will give you bang for your buck (as above aforementioned) that Musc 25 simply can not. Im looking at you Estee Lauder!!!!

I'm revisiting this after originally trying it 2 years ago and having an unpleasant experience with it initially in the high heat. This is a really fantastic musk that has a clean but eeeever so slightly dirty sexiness to it. The aldeydes make it very airy and although you are initially beguiled into thinking the performance isn't good, it gets stronger as it blooms and grows on skin. It also gets sweeter but never too sweet. I recommend being extremely cautious with this in high heat because it can get animalic in heat with sweat. I love musk and I try, buy, and wear a lot of them, and this is top notch. Yes it's great and I want a bottle, but $515 plus tax for a 100ml is madness. I just can't wrap my head around the price. Ultimately I ended up buying a discounted bottle because it's that damn good. My all time favorite white musk 🤍 Scent 10/10 Performance 7.8/10 (sneaky longevity and strength) P. S. I have Zoologist Musk Deer (excellent fragrance) but I find it very different than Musc 25. Kiels is great too, but it's much closer to Aldehyde 44. This absolutely blows away Tom Ford White Suede. P. S.S. My cat loves this stuff and tries to lick it from my skin 😺

I take back my earlier review. There is an itch that is scratched by this one that I don’t get with my other aldehydic musks unfortunately. I’m surprised to see so many people dislike it. After giving it a thorough wear test I found myself looking like a freak huffing my arm every 2 minutes and decided I might have to get a bottle.. so I did and I don’t regret it one bit. The way the masses feel about another 13 is how I feel about music 25. It’s simple and it just smells like ME except amped up. I actually took a couple weeks to decide if I wanted to shell out the coin for this but on a vacation where all I brought was a lovely Celine scent (Dans Paris - I like to try to make strong scent associations on vacay) I found myself CRAVING this to the point of almost phantom smelling it. I love it so much. I will work thru my 50 ml probably pretty easily and maybe next year I will upgrade myself!!

A very clean, white musk that really goes well with anything in any situation. Very inoffensive and pleasant to the nose. I see some reviews mentioning they get a slight fecal, semen or even pissy vibe. To me, this smells absolutely elegant and clean, though I can see how differently it can play out from skin to skin. If you can get a sample of this, its definitely worth a try. I wouldnt recommend getting a bottle of this at retail price, because I did and it was dumb as hell. On the bright side, this thing smells like an angel's powdered ass so i didnt do that bad. 10/10 edit: score changed to 8/10 due to absurd retail pricing at 550usd for 100ml Edit: 3 years later I love this fragrance even more. I can now detect the slight animalic musk in this fragrance and it goes so well with the florals creating a balanced comforting scent. Lasts super long on skin and clothes

Pure magic. The softest, loveliest musk dry down of all time. Truly angelic. At first it has a bit of almost a piss note (aldehydes?), but wow it’s worth those couple of strange minutes. After buying this a year ago it quickly became my signature. I think it shines in cooler weather but I wear it year round. This fragrance turned me on to musk sents but of the many I have smelled, nothing comes close to Musc 25 for me. I do not agree than Kiel's original musk is similar at all. Grateful to live in LA, I repurchased the full size after going through the 30ml. I used to have Aldehyde 44 and while I suppose they are similar in that they are “clean” scents I didn’t care for A44 at all, especially the dry down. Musc 25 is so special- try it if you can. I always receive complements and it’s my boyfriend and best friend’s favorite scents on me.

Musc 25 Los Angeles by Le Labo is pure, crystal clear, unadulterated, glowing white light! The most opulent musc I have ever smelled! I bought a couple of samples last year when they release the city exclusives for just one month and I loved Musc 25 right away, but the price tag *faints* was so absurd I just could not bring myself to purchase it. 4 months later I was still obsessing over how much I loved this fragrance and was chastising myself for not just shelling out the cash to buy it. Well lo and behold I waited 11 long months holding my breath and pinching my pennies to buy a bottle of this. I got a brand spanking new 100ml bottle for a whopping discount from some kind stranger on ebay (Thank You!) and I literally could not be happier! It’s very rare that I update my top 5 favorites but Musc 25 made the cut! I am in heaven!

This is Le Labo’s Los Angeles city fragrance, and it perfectly captures the vibe of LA to me. Sexy, clean, polished, a little dirty, a little sordid, a little animalistic. You can wear it during the day and just smell clean and fresh, but it’s the kind of scent that makes you want to peel the clothes off someone and get a lot closer. I don’t get Chanel No. 5 from this at all. It may be my skin chemistry, but Chanel No. 5 is super powdery and has always had a sharp note on me (the only way I can describe it is as the Chanel note that seems to run through all their fragrances - maybe the bergamot?) and I am very averse to it. Musc 25 has been one of my all time favorite fragrances, its clean like looking at the ocean and freshly washed sheets with a wildness to it that feels like bare skin and an animal that’s just a little feral.

I've tried more niche musks than I can count, and this is my Mount Rushmore of white musks. It's like having an sweet little angel on your shoulder – but this little thing also has a dirty mind. If you make the mistake of wearing this in the heat, you WILL regret it, because it has the same energy as deer musk, but less pissy. My bottle is older and I've heard it's been reformulated, which is a bummer if true. If you're a connoisseur of dirty musks, and want something ethical without an actual deer involved, you should try this. Its airy before diving into a thick fatty lather of dirty soap. My favorite "white" musk of all time 🙌 ××××××××××××××××××× Scent 100/100 Performance 85/100 ××××××××××××××××××× P.S. my bottle is older, haven't tested newer batches

I picked this up at LAX. The price at LAX is 10% cheaper than in a Le Labo store - $464 for 100ml plus tax unless you are travelling international (the staff said they do get stock of 50ml and 30ml, but they were out when I was there). This scent is so beautiful and soft and clean and creamy and light. Nothing overpowering or cloying to those around me; I personally never want my scents to nose rape those in my vicinity - I want them just strong enough to give people whispers of scent. I know plenty of men wear and love this scent, but I personally find it very feminine. I never want to be without this beauty in my collection. If I could improve one thing, I wish this had better longevity. By the end of a work day, the scent is barely detectable.

Originally when I smelled this in store I immediately got the floral / powdery notes and did not like it. The associate working suggested that I spray it on and walk around for a bit before deciding. I was on the fence to begin with because of the price and the fact that it was only sold in the full size bottle, but I sprayed it on and gave it some time to settle. I was amazed at how this scent dried on my skin. I ended up getting the full size bottle and am very happy with it. I don't get complements on a lot of the fragrances I wear, but this one gets complements almost every time. It is strong enough to last the day and also projects well without being overpowering. I honestly have never smelled anything else like it.

So so beautiful. It’s the most amazing musk based scent in my collection. The price point is absurd but it lasts and lasts by creating a soft scent cloud around you. This could be my new signature scent!! It’s not as cold as Clair de musc. The patchouli gives it a slightly sweeter creamier undertone. Also this does have a civet undertone that is hiding behind all the cleanliness. It's kind of like Another 13. Feels light and airy but creates an atmosphere around the wearer for days!! On clothing, I've gotten whiffs of it a WEEK later and still radiates from a distance. This is an extrait concentration of 30%, so despite its price at least you are getting a Parfum.

I think this is one of those I can't stop thinking about. I am constantly smelling my wrist and shirt when I wear this. It's an indescribable skin scent that is just phenomenal. It layers so nicely too... especially with ANOTHER 13. This combo is like an Ambroxyde / Musk masterpiece. It also layers nicely with Fleur D'Oranger which I personally think smells like MUSC 25 or ANOTHER 13 with heavy orange notes. I agree it is extremely overpriced, like way too overpriced, but it is nice that refills are 20% off. I ended up buying it because I just couldn't stop thinking about it. It's unlike anything else out there & it's one of my all-time favorites!

Fruity aldehydic topnote at first, like lychee, and then a powdery musk that I have a complicated relationship with. At times seems really generic (see the "baby powder"/"nothing special" comments), but to me it's also something that can't quite be replicated. I haven't smelled any other fragrance like it. I end up wearing it just because I want to smell it again, it's hypnotic. Probably going to make my way down the "this perfume reminds me of" list, because I don't know if I want to do $385 for 50ml

Simple and minimalist but of the highest order. It's a 24 hour commitment and easily top 5 worthy of all time imo and it's my fav Le Labo. When God folds his laundry in heaven it would smell like Musc 25. Insanely gorgeous if you can stomach Le Labos asking price for something so simple and uber beast mode yet garners compliments galore. When I was testing this I used the test strip as an air freshener...it was so potent it lasted for a month....the damn test strip !

Opens plainly with green muscat. Dries into what you might be tempted to call "clean", but is really closer to "laundrylike". Like walking down the alleyway behind a laundromat and stepping into that warm current of air being exhausted from the tumble dryers -- humid, powdery, voyueristic, vaguely evocative of lingerie. Has a gentle heft and lingers at the back of the throat. At once comfortingly domestic and unexpectedly thrilling. A wet dream in fresh sheets.

Love this fragrance, top 3 from the house. I have not been able to find something that smells similar to this for a more affordable price so this is worth it for me. Smells absolutely fantastic. So clean and fresh, with a tinge of sweetness. This was love at first sniff: and I know this will sound weird but all I could imagine was a really cute girl. It is such a comforting smell and I love to wear this out or after my shower before bed.

The opening is clean and fresh. I wouldn't know this was a fragrance but just assume the person was very clean and nice smelling. The dry down is much more intriguing but again just smells like delicious clean skin. My husband and I actually share this one we love it on each other. It's probably the only scent in my collection that smells like 'oh that person just smells hot' but your brain doesn't pick up that it is intentional.

Clean, soapy aldehydic-musky scent. I don’t get the animalic kind of musk like some of the reviews stated here, instead it’s a soft & powdery musk scent that feels comforting to me. Unisex and perfect for daily wear. Kiehl’s Original Musk is skankier compared to Musc 25. I’d like to get a full bottle of this if this isn’t priced $300+ for a 50ml bottle.

Omg, this one changes from the skin so much. The initial spray smells super clean and fresh. As it hits the skin, the civet comes out giving it a 'naughty' pissy vibe. Eventually dries down to a clean white musk with woody ambroxan feel that lingers for days. There's something quite suede like that is reminiscent of Santal 33's drydown.