White Musk

This is the scent of high school. I was gifted the body lotion and shower gel – my school would end around lunchtime in a hot and humid country. I’d come home, shower. This reminds me of new beginnings at that time of life when you’re young and ready to conquer everything, full of energy, optimistic, happy. It’s the smell of being freshly showered and ready, to take on the world. I never owned the Fragrance back then. Every now and then as an adult I go into the store and spray it, and am taken back in time. My next shopping trip, I will definitely buy the EDP for myself – I can see myself showering myself in this fragrance early morning when I want to feel energetic and remember that positive outlook are used to have as a teenager. In terms of the fragrance being watered down – I can’t comment to that since I never owned the fragrance itself. But it definitely reminds me of the shower gel. On my skin, this is just like soap – the Aldehydes are extremely prominent, The musk is not too buttery. To my nose, it smells like shower gel. I can’t imagine it offending anyone, you could wear this in almost any situation, and even in extremely crowded places. I don’t think it’s particularly crowd pleasing though, I asked my husband what he thought and he wasn’t impressed. My kids weren’t overly impressed either. It’s not particularly “me” either, other than having that shower fresh Vibe – which is why I haven’t purchased it till yet, they really are amazing fragrances out there that are worth owning. But I will own and use it due to nostalgia :)

A boyfriend purchased a tiny bottle of this oil for me, when we were at a Body Shoppe store in New York city almost 12 years ago, on a hot June afternoon after we had been walking around Manhattan. All because I had smelled this wonderful scent on a female passerby earlier and had asked her what she was wearing. That bottle - tiny, 1.5 inches tall, clear glass, vanilla colored oil, black carved cap, black art nouveau label and graphic sticker on the front - still sits on my vanity and still smells utterly "New York 2003" to me and probably will forever. :) Fragrant enough to detect on someone else, clearly; slightly bohemian, but chic - I could see this being some fabulous East Coast Moneyed socialite's secret weapon fragrance. Somehow earthy, transportive, beckoning, restrained, and dignified all in one, and though it is a musk, it stands well on its own; not one I'd blend with another fragrance (like PDC Skin Musk, another favorite, which wears fabulous alone but deepens and heightens many a fellow fragrance). However, I may read an amazing review about such blending by a fellow Fragrantican, in which case, I reserve the right to change my mind ;) This fragrance speaks to me mostly of summer evenings, emerging from steamy showers with freshly scrubbed, clean, tan skin; upswept hair on damp necks with loose tendrils, and strappy black dresses, silver and sandals. Sexy, heady, and fun.

So I’ve been using this on and off since the 90s, and wanted to write another review on this, based on the reformulation. The Body Shop is giving the removal of seedlac, which is not a Vegan ingredient, as the reason for the reformulation. But I believe it was because of the removal of the fixatives Lilial & Lyral, due to new EU perfume regulations around 5 years ago, that caused the scent change. However, I have a late 90s White Musk EDT, a 2018 perfume oil, and a 2024 body mist, and the late 90s EDT and 2024 body mist smell most like each other. The 2018 perfume oil is actually the odd man out, with a sharper opening. I actually think they did a good job getting this, and the vanilla, closer to how they smelled in the 90s The 2018 Body Shop White Musk smells closer to Body Fantasies White Musk, with a slightly sharper opening than the 90s & 2024 versions. Fresh & Pretty White Musk, also owned by Parfums de Coeur like Body Fantasies, also smells similar to the 90s Body Shop White Musk. The opening isn’t as “sharp” as the Body Fantasies & 2018 Body Shop White Musk. I have all of these, and have been comparing. As far as longevity, I sprayed the Body Shop 2024 body mist on my wrists last night, and could still smell it in the morning. I actually can with all of these. Maybe it’s not quite as long lasting as the 2018 oil, but it’s really not bad.

This review is for EDT - White Musk The Body Shop. This summer I tried Body Fantasies White Musk first. Though it is a nice and clean musk, it is very harsh at first 10 minutes ut then fades away quickly. Following the reviews here, I decided to try TBS White Musk this time. I purchased a 30 ml bottle of EDT, the very new minimalistic bottle. It looks genderless but gives a clean feeling and the cap is very cute. I found TBS White Musk well blended but very light. Does not stay on skin but somehow sticks on clothes. I can feel the scent all day after a few spritz. There is a looong list of notes but all I can smell is a clean musk. I found it better than Jovan Musk which I could not use previously because of some stinky notes. Hard to explain but Jovan Musk did not stay clean on my skin. TBS White Musk does. It relaxes me and lifts my mood. It is good for everyday use, for work, for a weekend outside; but for sure it wont work for a night out, not that strong. The bottle is genderless as I mentioned, and the scent itself can be determined as unisex as well. Anyone confident can carry this perfectly I think. Some may find it more on the female side but this scent is something beyond a perfume, it is like a tattoo, something which happens to be a part of you. I love it.

My most returned to scent and the first fragrance I ever owned. I visited The Body Shop, finally trying the latest formula. I was pleasantly surprised. I only tried the oil and EDT so far as I couldn't find the EDP in store! I've purchased the latest edt, body lotion, shower gel and body spray. 🖤🖤🖤 Hey, editing to ask a question. Have any of you tried the new EDP? I went to the store to test it and they had no tester. The staff member said there's no difference anymore between the versions, that they are just in order of STRENGTH only. Oil being strongest. I've purchased a mini roll on of the oil to use before bed. But I was wondering if this is true? They really changed the EDP so much that it's just simply a stronger variant of the EDT nowadays? Or was this staff member ill-informed (or nose-dead)? Edit to say, the hell did the do to the ingredients in the shower gel? It used to contain honey and stuff, now it contains nothing good at all, I'm not touching the stuff...