Russian Musk
Areej le Doré (2018)

Probably my favorite musk centric fragrance I have tried. The huge opening is loaded with citrus and musk, amazing stuff, very impressive ingredients. One of the best from this house.

This is a truly incredible fragrance that is alive, vibrant, and enthralling. Its ingredients go beyond what we experience on a normal basis in perfumery, and smell more like magical extracts pulled directly from the energetic life source of nature itself. Russian Musk is really something to behold, and one of of the most impressive, jaw dropping and creative fragrances I've smelled since some of the earlier Slumberhouse releases. I really enjoyed this one. Here's my review:

Deep, natural, sharp, astringent green notes enveloped in an intense, animalic musk that grows increasingly cozy and warm as the fragrance evolves through its many stages. This fragrance is a journey through nature and the rugged outdoor wilderness. It's opening is largely green and musky, but it has several significant transitions which bring it into a much woodier dimension of smoky oud and a deep, fragrant sandalwood. As it evolves it becomes warmer and more alluring. Hints of chocolate appear sporadically. A dark roasted tonka shows up in the base and reels it all in, giving Russian Musk something a toasted caramelic conclusion. The composition is complex and dynamic, with significant depth and dimension, and nothing seems fixed or static, as it is always changing and exhibiting unique little twists and turns. And it smells good! I think that's really important to note here. You can wear this comfortably and it smells like a nice, outdoorsy, green woodsy fragrance. Sometimes when you get into this level of "niche" the fragrances themselves, while natural and comprised of high qualitiy ingredients, smell downright nasty. Russian Musk smells good. Even at its muskiest its approachable, and once the musk warms up and settles in, it wears like a cozy blanket. Overall, this fragrance is interesting, compelling, and high performing. I have no complaints about it whatsoever and enjoy it immensely. Without a doubt it's the best fragrance I've smelled in at least two years. While it's discontinued, hard to find, and becoming increasingly expensive, it's absolutely worth tracking down. Final rating: 9.5/10.

The first thing you notice... is musk. Glorious beautiful full flavored musk. It hits with a lemon/bergamot combo reminiscent of the juice from a lemon/lime snowcone. The lemon marries to the pine early, and play together beautifully. Strong profile. If I bury my nose in I get just a small tinge of clove in the back. It smells better than this, and is more complex than this, but to get a feel for it, this could be described as a musky lemon pine scent. About 2 hours in I smelled a hint of smoke. It feels like it evolves in the intensities of the notes, while none disappear completely.

Genre: Oriental/Chypre

I've said elsewhere that I enjoy Russian Adam's fragrances more for their exquisite content than for their composition, per se, and Russian Musk is no exception. In terms of structure, there is nothing here that strikes me as especially novel or intriguing. Indeed, the style seems so determinedly retro to me that I might not be able to distinguish Russian Musk amidst a lineup of vintage early 20th century orientals preserved in good condition.

Given what goes into this stuff, that still leaves plenty to enjoy. Russian Adam's art seems to me less in combining than extracting superb materials, and I enjoy his work to the degree that the compositions do not get in the way of their contents. Russian Musk is a dense, complex fragrance, but not so much so that the ingredients are muted or muddled in their expression. I have a sense that this is what a solid, if “ordinary” fragrance might have smelled like in the days when things like natural deer musk, floral extracts, and real ambergris were the common currency of perfumery. I'll never know, but I'll enjoy Russian Musk when I'm in the mood for nostalgia.

Fantastic and very extended drydown, by the way…

My comparison to this stuff, I choose PG L'Ombre Fauve.

This gorgeous stuff dries down to a Mammalian Animalic
similiar.

Where the PG suggests, this stuff shouts out loud.

Where the PG turns to the cleanliness, this stuff heads down the path of the soiled.

They both purr.

The PG like a coiff-ed domestic.

This stuff is like a shaggy Siberian (Amur).

This, is....the Stuff.