Skin Musk / Bonne Bell Skin Musk
Prince Matchabelli (1975)

I am very fond of this perfume oil (in vintage form) since I wore it all through high school. At the time it seemed like a dream-scent, warm, diffusive and just slightly musky. In fact, it was primarily a sandalwood scent with a layer of greenish musk threaded through it. It smelled cleanish and yet highly attractive, a 'your skin but better' fragrance that wafted gently and urgently through all my class periods and on into my boyfriend's '74 Barracuda. Smelling this scent takes me back to a very specific time and place, one in which I'm glad I no longer live, but filled with vivid and nostalgic memories, just the same.

I have so far had zero affinity for the musks that Barbara Herman reviews in her SCENT AND SUBVERSION. Coty's Wild Musk was a non-scent experience for me. Ashley/Houbigant's White Musk was an experience in weak floral with no discernible musk. Likewise, Bonne Bell's Skin Musk.

Yes, the musk is there with some vanilla, but so light, so transparent, as to again be practically a non-scent experience.

I love musk and have just ended a three year love affair with the ultimate - Lutens' Muscs Koublai Khan, so my nose can detect the scent and I do love it, it's just that in these three I can hardly make it out.

For the teen-aged market, it's just "ok."

What can I say? I like it. I agree it has something in common with Shalimar. It's a bit sweeter, but definitely not candy.

For the price, I'll take my spicy, vanilla musk fix in Skin Musk, any day.

What can I say? I love musk! This smell reminds me of people who are kind and warm hearted. It's like they have a secret and that secret is how they learned to be wonderful people! I suppose my past experiences with musks have always been with people that I liked or admired so it is hard for me to not love musk and this one as simple as it may be, it's just so cozy and animalic :)

I am surprised that they continue to sell this under Bonne Bell labeling. It really isn't like the original scent. Does anyone have an original bottle of the REAL Bonne Bell Skin Musk oil that they would part with? I used to get mine at Bartell Drug store and had to special order it. Something has changed in the fragrance, Less musk, lighter oil, something....Thanks!

I am not a fan of musk in any way. Most smell pungent, “gummy” (for lack of a better word), and anything but fresh. White musk is a rotted disaster. Skin Musk is the only musk I have found that acutely smells “clean”. Skin Musk has a bit of vanilla in it that gives a Shalimar-like bent to the dry down. I used to wear it in college. I tried some recently, and though it is the nicest musk I have smelled, it's just not for me.