Kiehl's Original Musk

By Thomas

For a long time, I figured that musk was a practical joke that perfumers played on hapless consumers. This might come from all those bundled musk cologne gift sets I used to get at Christmas. I thought they were, well…ecch. They didn’t smell like trees or food or spices or anything I liked. They were just…there. Mneh.

Fast-forward some 30-odd years and I spot a bottle of Kiehl’s Original Musk at a TJ Maxx. I take a whiff and again, I am unmoved. I leave it there, despite the low, low price tagged on the bottle. That was, oh, three years ago at least.

Last month in Cancun I spotted a Kiehl’s store and immediately had a bad case of Want. I wanted Kiehl’s Musk, and like Veruca Salt, I wanted it Now! Sadly they didn’t have it, so I carried my deprived self back stateside, and made arrangements for a bottle to wing itself to my abode.

Long story short…no, too late. This is a long story already. So here I am with this big bottle of Kiehl’s musk and it’s different. Certainly is interesting in how it changes. My swap partner complained that it gets too skanky on her and I can certainly see how that would be possible.

The opening is orange blossoms, a strangely buzzy bergamot, and a rather unwashed vibe. It was outright repellant in the first few minutes – almost like bug spray. Not a good candidate for refreshing throughout the day…uh, if you do that sort of thing.

A good while later the buzzing dies down into the floral and animalic components. White flowers seem to dominate on me, and turn this somewhat indolic. Sometimes I think ‘costus’ which may also be in here, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. Echoes of Chanel No.5 with the rose/ylang, but a good deal more muted.

Later in the day we come to the musk and vanilla. Still a tad stinky (patchouli?). Finally the barbaric musky brute quiets down. Doesn’t last a long long time (barely makes the drive home), not much throw that I can discern, but pleasant nonetheless. I wore this for over a week straight, refreshing when I got home, and strangely I didn’t really long to wear anything different during this time.

Side note: while I was trying to understand this, I got the suggestion from John (from Cincinnati) that I pair Kiehl’s Musk with other scents – particularly sandalwood. Seems like a good idea, but it will have to wait a while, at least until the weather cools off and I can wear layers without suffocating my colleagues. I’ll give it a go and report back.

Year: 1963
Notes: Bergamot Nectar, Orange Blossom, Rose, Lily, Ylang Ylang, Neroli, Tonka Nut, White Patchouli, Musk