The new sultry spring scents have pulse points racing

Musk is one of the most traditional and commonly used ingredients in perfume making today. It’s the basis of nearly every best-selling scent in history and gives a tactile dimension, a backbone to your fragrance, as well as offering longevity and sillage (aka. that ever-so-elusive scent trail). It’s now (thankfully) not being extracted from a musk deer, and instead it is being synthetically developed by the scientific fragrance companies like Givaudan, who are creating skin and eco-friendly versions of musk molecules.

Perfumer, Roja Dove explains: 'The musk ingredient sits in what is known as the "Animalic Facet" – this is a collection of materials (the main ones being ambergris, ambrette, castoreum, civet, and musk) that are at the very bottom of a perfume. What this means is that they are the deepest of base notes; the most long-lasting (on the skin – hence why it’s become known as a ‘skin scent’) and sensuous of all materials a perfumer could possibly use. The animal facet is like no other. The level of sensuality it displays, along with its tenacity, makes it incomparable.”

Let's not forget that musk also provides the wearer with their own sense of fragrance identity, as Olivier Polge, perfume-creator of the new musk-based scent, Les Exclusifs de Chanel 1957, says: 'I opted to work with musk, more specifically white musks. Their whiteness hides a great complexity: enveloping, they emit a more or less pronounced light and vary in their soft and sensual effects. 1957 is a skin scent that, more than others, is revealed fully on the unique chemistry of each person’s skin'. While American designer Narciso Rodriguez, (who has had a long and personal love affair with musk) agrees, stating, 'Musk has a timelessness and an olfactory depth that’s also very personal and intimate; it becomes one with the woman who wears it.'

All that’s left to say is read on to find your own ‘musk-have’ right here.

Chanel Les Exclusifs de Chanel, 1957, from £155

Not one, but eight white musk notes were used to make up this fragrance, combined with vanilla, coriander seed, and orange blossom to give this a seductive boost to skin.
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Pure Musc by Narciso Rodriguez, from £45

A heart and base of musk mingle with white florals and cashemeran for a sensuous finish. Wear it alone or layered with your existing scents to add some depth.
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Maison Francis Kurkdjian Gentle Fluidity at Selfridges, £150

Of the 49 ingredients that make up the Gentle Fluidity fragrances, it’s the gourmand-musk that pulls us in, with its beautiful powdery, fresh version of muskiness.
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Roja Dove Elixir, from £40

This is a beautiful new oriental style with plenty of bouquets to balance the base of musk, woods, and ambrette. According to Roja Dove, ‘This elixir exudes effortless sensuality – giving you the power to light up a room, to leave an impression, and to get what you want.' And who doesn’t want that?!
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