Essential Parfums The Musc (Photo/Digital Effects: Despina Veneti)©
At the time I wrote the introductory review of Essential Parfums for ÇaFleureBon, Essential Parfums The Musc hadn’t yet emerged as my personal favorite of the brand’s collection. Equally delightful with its fragrant “siblings”, but in a less straightforward, much more esoteric way, the scent won me over completely after consistently wearing it for a few days, impressing me with its brilliantly understated composition and great performance.
Géraldine Archambault of Essential Parfums (Ida and Michelyn spent some time with Géraldine at Esxence 2019) & Calice Becker of Givaudan (Photos courtesy of Essential Parfums)©
Under the inspired creative direction of the brand’s founder Géraldine Archambault, Master Perfumer Calice Becker created a fragrance of modern elegance and sophistication that resembles – in her own words – “a cloud of enveloping and comforting musk”, using some of Givaudan’s finest offerings in terms of raw materials.
“Healthy body” (Photo by Martin Munkácsi for Harper’s Bazaar, 1935)©
Essential Parfums The Musc opens with a very fresh, zesty Laotian red ginger that’s moderately spicy, but impressively energetic. The French lavandin grosso (a hybrid of true lavender/lavandula angustifolia and spike lavender/lavandula latifolia) is blended in such a way that makes the ingredient seem much less camphoraceous than usual, emphasizing on its calming, herbal properties. An abstract, minimalistic floral heart is slowly emerging, airy and graceful. The fine santalum album from Australia (of the Indian sandalwood variety) supplies sweet creaminess and soft woodiness, while two different musks from Givaudan’s exclusive portfolio of captives are used – Nirvanolide and Serenolide. As indicated by their names, these two molecules provide ethereal, white, clean but complex musky tones, offering at the same time depth and long-lastingness to the fragrance.
Veruschka (Photographed in 1966 by Franco Rubartelli)©
For me, however, the real catalyst of Essential Parfums The Musc is none other than the beautiful Laotian beeswax, which shapes and accents all the other raw materials with its unique aromatic properties. Carrying the olfactory memory of the flowers it was made from, this organic beeswax highlights the floral aspects of the composition, while giving them a whole new dimension with its hints of wax and pollen. At the same time, the beeswax’s synergy with the sandalwood creates a captivating honeyed smoothness, while its interaction with the musks gives Essential Parfums The Musc its comforting, highly enjoyable lactonic and sweet hay nuances, in addition to further enhancing the fragrance’s depth and performance.
Uma Thurman (Photographed in 1996 by Richard Avedon)©
Let it be noted that Essential Parfums The Musc is – admirably – de facto promoting the brand’s ecological ethos and sense of social responsibility: except for the musks, every other main ingredient of the fragrance is natural; furthermore, the beeswax and red ginger oil are products of Givaudan’s partnership with local populations in Laos, where these two raw materials are sourced in a sustainable manner, as part of the Swiss company’s “Innovative Naturals” program. Even beyond fair trade, this program includes technical assistance and education for village communities, helping them to diversify, and at the same time finances the construction and staffing of a secondary school. In the same vein, the santalum album (a top-quality sandalwood oil of the highly sought-after Indian variety) is also a product of sustainable sourcing, providing Aboriginal communities of Western Australia with a steady income, as well as active protection of their land (Indian sandalwood plantations were established in Australia some 20 years ago, and harvesting is strictly controlled by the government).
Amber Valletta (Photographed by Peter Lindbergh for Harper’s Bazaar, 1993)©
At once soft and vigorous, Essential Parfums The Musc is as profoundly pleasurable, as it is deeply moving; I found that the fragrance evoked a wide range of memories and emotions, from warm maternal hugs to sensual embraces. More than touching or caressing my skin, it got right under it.
Notes: Red Ginger, Beeswax, Lavender, Sandalwood, Musk.
Disclaimer: I’d like to thank Géraldine Archambault of Essential Parfums for my bottle of Essential Parfums The Musc. The opinions are my own.
– Despina Veneti, Senior Editor
Essential Parfums The Musc (Photo/Digital Effects: Despina Veneti)©
Thanks to the generosity of Essential Parfums, we have a draw for a 100ml bottle of Essential Parfums The Musc for one registered reader in the USA or EU. You must register here or your comment will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what you enjoyed most about Despina’s review, if you have a favorite Essential Parfums fragrance, and where you live. Draw closes 8/15/2019
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