Valentino Noir Absolu Musc Essence

I am really trying to understand why all this hate with this one. I tried it some days ago. I really loved this one (and its Oud pair as well) , it leads more to a rose - tonka scent and according to Valentino it can be worn as a stand alone or combining it with other perfumes. It is quite strange how you can call a perfume "musc whatever" without containing any musc. Do they mean the aldehydes as musc? I still scratch my head to find out the solution of this enigma. I find it a bit overpriced though (150$ for 100ml), but I already see it in many discount online shops with 30-40% discount. I might get it one day. Don't be mislead by all the comments below, it worths a try. Follow my scent journey on instagram instagram.com/scentsexual *This review was written after several full wearings of the perfume and not just after smelling this on paper or on wrist.

A blind buy and a total LOVE! So I feel you absolutely must be a full fledged musk lover in order to wear this one. I am seeing some below mentioning they cannot smell the musk. I don't get it? I am getting smacked upside the head with musk. If you don't like musk well then your gonna hate it. So think back to Jovan musk but a more modern twist. This one does not quite have the vintage vibe of Jovan. But once again if you hate Jovan musk chances are your gonna hate this. For me I think it's stellar. And that bottle Holy Mother it's a beautiful bottle and potential self defense weapon.

I read all of the reviews, and cannot fathom how one might not get the strong yet clean (powdery) musk. Yes, I do get the comparisons with Le Labo, Kiehls and NR. There's one beloved fragrance that for me is very similar to Noir Absolu Musc Essence.... Nasomatto China White. For me, if one were to ask for a powdery musk that whispers rose, your best 3 options are this lovely Valentino, China White and Musc 25. I wonder if the aldehydes might be magnifying the powdery part of this beautiful composition. Love it!

Musc Essence is 100% a musk perfume. And it is heavenly! It's a thick, but polite musk, definitely along the lines of Arabian deer-styled black musk, with added touches of creamy Italian white leather musk. their fusion results in a slinky, slightly smokey silvery, musk. I don't smell any of the listed notes, but I do get hints of leather oil, black honey, and amber. Just wonderful. Despite how this sounds, it's never too heavy for any weather or occasion. It's one of the best musk perfumes I have smelled.

First of all, I'm mesmerized by the Valentino studded bottles. This black one is a masterpiece, which is evoking in me a dark, thick and balmy scent, but VNAME is nothing like that. It opens up with a pleasant blast of soapy aldehydes and slowly morphs into slightly sweet musky aroma. The overall vibe that I get from this is a "clean scent". If I were to get a full bottle, it would be probably mainly because of the stunning bottle, the fragrance itself it's just a like.

Let me just say: humid, hot weather need not apply. Not sure how this got any votes for summer. For me, this was absolutely horrid in summer - too soapy and kind of gross. I’m just now spraying it for the first time in winter and I’m in love. This is a sexy, classy musc. I smell expensive and sultry. Somehow the perfect mixture of masc and femme. I’m happy I tried it again because I was very displeased initially and was considering getting rid of it. Gorgeous!

Blind buy due to reviews and being a huge fan of Valentino fragrances. I must say, I am very impressed. I expected this to be similar to Jo Malone Velvet Rose and Oud but this has a very good mix of powder, roses and tonks bean. Although it says it has musky notes in, it is very subtle. And although marketed as a unisex fragrance, it tends to lean more on the feminine side but regardless, it is a great unisex perfume. Sillage and longevity is outstanding!

A soapy aldehyde which evolves into a powdery musky dry down. Not musk as in animalic, but musky. The juice is housed in a studded heavy black bottle which suggests a mysterious dark potion. I got a whiff of liquorice and that note prevails for the first hour or so, coiling itself around the soapiness. It’s not a dark fragrance at all, more of a resinous green floral. Enjoyable, I bought a 100 ml tester, I wouldn’t have paid full retail for it though.

Soapy, sweaty heliotrope, wet aldehydic musk. This one makes it obvious that we all have such different interpretations of scents. I haven't smelled the other "compare to's" but I can certainly tell this is a musk perfume. It layers well with all sorts of other perfumes, and to me freshens up very heavy perfumes. My two favourites to layer with are Gucci Guilty Black and Gucci by Gucci EDP.

A very good musk from Valentino. Sensual and animatic but not too dirty, not a pure laundry white musk either. Well balanced and very sexy. If you enjoy Kiehl’s original musk, you should try this modern rendition

This is so beautiful! The drydown on this is the best moment... Definitely has a lot of musks hence the name. The musk scent really melts with your skin to become sensual and elegant

A beautiful Arabian style musk with a clean European edge

Great perfume Best use for night occasions and dates

Wow this is beautiful & sophisticated. In a rather retro way though. It kind of reminds me of a cross between Chanel No 5, with the soapy aldehydic floral, and the original black Narciso Rodriguez for Her with the large woody orange blossom sitting in the middle of it. The topnotes are soapy - aldehydic, with the rose and heliotrope fighting for dominance. The heliotrope is an interesting addition to the rose bouquet, but it fades while the rose gets stronger. A musky - woody orange blossom sits in the middle, and it dries down to a bed of roses and orange blossom over a cedarwood musk. I think that two sprays of this would go really well with a little black dress. I don't think this is for everyone as this is rather grown up and a bit soapy/aldehydic for a bit which may turn people off. Still -- nicely done, I think this is rather sexy once it dries down a bit.

A true musk fragrance. It immediately starts with the typical soft musky smell, accompanied by a mild but noticeable rosey stink reminiscent of the old fragrances from the 70s & 80s. This stinkiness made me think there was a civet or other animalic note here. As it dries down, the stinkiness fades almost completely leaving a clean & soapy musk scent. They called it "Musc" Essence but there is no musk notes yet it smells like a stereotypical musk fragrance. The notes here are deceiving. The black bottle is deceiving, too. This is a clean, soft, soapy musk with a slight stink. Not a rich, woody, dark, or strong scent that the all black bottle with the gold plate suggest. Honestly, not the musk fragrance I hope it'd be but it's a decent one nonetheless. Mature/Winter wear. "Like"

This, to my nose is a cross between White Musk by the Body Shop and Original Musk by Kiehl's. It's more Body Shop than Kiehl's for sure which for myself is a downer. I love Original Musk and like White Musk. As far as this fragrance it's a floral musk, although there is no actual musk listed in the notes. Overall this is a like and would be ok as a base for layering fragrances over the top. A try before you buy IMO.

I think its floral and mostly feminine. I didn't smell any musk and detected some similarities to gray flannel. It has moderate to high longevity and sillage. despite the price, its not for me, but the smell is not annoying or loud and I understand that some people may like it a lot. به نظرم بیشتر حالت گلی و زنانه داره. بویی نزدیک به اون گلهای سفید و زرد تابستونی که شبها بوشون بلند میشه. من هم بوی مشک احساس نکردم، به نظرم یه مقداری تو نت میانه شبیه عطر معروف گری فلانل هست. موندگاری و پخش متوسط به بالا. در کل بوی ملایم و دوستانه داره. با در نظر گرفتن قیمت ، برای من ارزش چندانی نداره، ولی ممکنه افرادی دوستش داشته باشن.

Where's the noir? There's nothing dark here. Nothing powdery either. Just loads of soap. Feels incomplete, like a men's cologne still in progress. It's also light with barely any silage. I thought maybe this might be one of those fragrances that works better in warm weather, but after reading the comment below about how bad this smells in warm weather I don't even think I want to try it. Even though I got this at a discount, I still think I paid too much for what it is. Just not worth it. Honestly, any number of inexpensive musk scents smell and perform much better than this. Save your money and buy B&B, Body Fantasies, Jovan, Skin, or any other number of musk scents. At least you'll get your money's worth with them. I also think it stinks that they don't add a real cap instead of that plastic thing that winds up making the bottle look cheap. Why bother going to all the trouble to make a nice bottle if you are not going to complete it with a nice cap? I just don't get it.

I could see someone enjoying this if they have a niche taste in grandma-like fragrances. It’s pretty off-putting to me, and I unfortunately can’t say I enjoy this fragrance at any point. The opening is sharp and smells very interesting, and the dry down is slightly more tolerable and more aligned with modern musk scents, but I’m still not a fan. Moreover, it lasts FOREVER. A deathly combo of rose and tonka will stay on your skin for a long time so buckle up or scrub it off. I tried many times over a year to layer it with other scents to try to make it work, and it just doesn’t. Oh well.

I blind bought it because I am a huge fan of Valentino's fragrances. One of my best of all time is Valentino Uomo Intense and I consider it masculine (not even unisex). This one is very nice scent with great longevity an sillage but.... it is clearly a female scent.

Very cheap perfume in a very fancy bottle. Definitely there is no Musk here and it smells very disgusting

dark-x is right... there is no musc here. Only a combination of heliotrope and aldehydes (in my opinion)

I love Valentino Donna and I like all the notes mentioned here except aldehydes but I hated this perfume so much that I couldn't wait to scrub it off my hand. and unfortunately it refuses to go away!! I can't detect any heliotrope, tonka or orange flower. on me it's all about rose, aldehydes and woody notes and an unpleasant musk. it's a very soapy-rosy scent but not a clean one. it's rose reminds me of workshop's Tea Rose but added woody and soapy notes ruins this oje for me. reminds me of vintage feminine fragrances. something soapy, powdery, musky, rosy and I usually like powdery scent, even musky ones(for example I love Narciso Rodriguez for her edt) but this one is a huge no for me وای که چقد بدم اومد از این عطر. هیچ ربطی به ولنتینو دونا نداره. آلدئید، رز و نتهای چوبی غالبن و یه چیزی شبیه مشک، منتها مشک ناخوشایند. شبیه عطرهای زنونه قدیمیه. عطرهای صابونی، پودری، رزی منتها بااینکه بشدت صابونیه، اما حس تمیزی نداره.رزش شبیه رز عطر تی رز هست اما اضافه شدن روایح چوبی و صابونی باعث شدن خیلی بدتر شه. من معمولا از عطرهای پودری خوشم میاد، از یسری مشکی ها و رزیها هم خوشم میاد اما این یه دیسلایک تمام عیاره واسم

Right out the gate this starts as a hard no for me. Overwhelmingly musky powdery with a sharp, soapy floral (aldehydes and heliotrope). Powdery and sharp may seem like an oxymoron, but it’s so in your face initially, and that combo is the musk I’d assume. Though not my style, as it settles the soapy aspect is smooth and pretty, very feminine, and finds a warmer, sweeter smell after an hour or so (tonka orange blossom and slight hint of rose). Still a no for me, but it is beautiful. Edit: I moved outside into the sun (it’s not hot, slightly chilly) and I kept catching wafts of gorgeous rose. I may have to retest EditEdit: Warmer weather, initial powder burst, but this time the middle and dry down are sooo much prettier! I get honey as the tonka and orange blossom melts into my skin... definitely worth trying again. And again haha

Here aldehydes and heliotrope are a bomb to my nose, I've to say that I am not a fan of aldehydes. This perfume reminds me a lot when I was litle girl and went to my aunts' house, it is the same aroma that I remember in those houses. I am 48 years old, I am not a girl, so I am talking about fragrances from the 75-80s . There is no musk or dust here, at least I can't pick it up, I don't know if in different climates it will be able to take a turn, I don't detect tonka bean either. For me right now it's aldehydes and a slight rose in the background. I'll save it and maybe give it a try later, in a few months ...

actually yes .. there is alot of musk in here but i don’t know guys which musk you are looking for?! ofcurs it’s not a deer musk!! and you should know the types of musk before you judge perfumes .. god!! this kind of musk is synthetic and it’s usually used as fixative in perfumes and it has a nice smell such as the one they used in baccarat 54 of FK and it overdosed by the way which makes this perfume nice but not good.. my dears you should try all musk types such as : 1- original musk 2- white musk 3- perfumery musk 4- deer musk (it has alot of different types and smell) 5- plants musk . . thank you

AND FInally, here you are! As it is mentioned above this fragrance is wonderful for layering, it has no similarities with its sisters Valentino Donna/ Uomo noir absolu, nothing dark here, it is somehow soapy, I have no idea why is it called musc! There is no musk here, but a lovely mix between powdery, roses and Tonka Bean notes, I can smell also the orange blossom back there, it is a hit for me, love it! I don’t find it unisex at all, it is more on the feminine side. Nice aldehydic fragrance!

Ok, I'm probably the only one that thinks this, but it smells similar to Encens Mythique by Guerlain, at least on my skin. Both scents primarily smell like aldehydes and rose, though Guerlain's perfumes is more complex than this and dirtier with the ambergris note.

Well... whoever says that there is no musk here, let me highlight to you that it’s a quite loyal resemblance of natural kastroori musk from the famous Himalayan deer.

Where's the musc? Looks nice nevertheless tho.