White musk can be done a number of ways – deep and animalic, velvety and sensual, even powdery and nostalgic – but one of my favorite styles of musk is the clean, freshly showered variety. If you want to smell like fluffy cotton towels, still warm from the dryer or the hot Italian sun, white musk is the note for you. Transparent and pure, there is a softness to this note that prevents it from becoming too astringent or detergent-like. Here are my 8 picks in this category.
Teint de Neige by Lorenzo Villoresi is soapy and delicate, a cloud of musky baby powder on a velour puff. Its cool femininity renders it utterly ageless; it doesn’t lean too mature, despite the powder. Rather than iris-y, makeup powder, it’s a light, jasmine and rose scented powder that melds with skin upon impact. Launched back in 2000, this fragrance was inspired by the Belle Époque in France.
Fulton & Roark’s Cloudland is an ozonic scent that is reminiscent of summer rain. This is not a cold or harsh rain – this is warm, steamy rain that pours from the sky on an August night, a welcome drench for thirsty plants and sweating skin. A note of cashmeran makes this silky-smooth and a bit woody. Think of the bulging white clouds that gather before a storm, the petrichor that stings the air, the soft blanket you hide beneath as you watch the shower – this is what Cloudland smells like.
If you’re one to take “everything showers,” you know the sheer bliss that comes when everything is exfoliated, shaved, washed, conditioned, and towel-dried – it’s nothing short of a feat. Mizensir’s Poudre D’Or has the aromatic texture of a thick lotion, a slightly vanillic floral accord that opens with tiare and gently meanders into iris and jasmine. It reminds me of slipping into clean sheets on a Sunday night, skin still vaguely damp and freshly moisturized. It’s clean girl heaven.
Yin Transformation by The Harmonist is a honeyed yellow floral that strangely reminds me a bit of that classic milk and honey scent you’ll find in soaps sold at local markets, with added notes of orchid and mandarin orange. It also has an almond note, adding a subtle grounding earthiness that ties it back to its name. The drydown is all rose to me, delicate, young petals covered with dew. Meant to evoke the rhythms of water, it’s undeniably aquatic.
If you’re looking to smell sweet as well as clean, try the ultra-addictive Clean Reserve Skin. This smells like sun-warmed skin plus crystalized sugar. The combination may sound unique, but it’s positively divine. This fresh musk-warm skin-salted praline confection is cozy and sensual, while still maintaining a clean vibe. I’ve said before that if I could choose only one fragrance to smell like for the rest of my life, it would probably be this. Transcending seasons, occasions, and outfits, it’s comforting perfection.
Pear is one of my favorite notes in perfumery, and, when combined with white musk, sends me to fragrant heaven. Lotus Pear by The 7 Virtues is a breezy, slightly sweet, creamy burst of freshness that combines fruity and floral notes. It’s the sparkling giddiness of a sunny morning. This is a simple, straightforward scent, as honest as a spring day. I love it any time of year, as, to me, it’s happiness in a bottle.
For something a bit more aromatic, try the bubbling, slightly vegetal gem that is 16a Orchard by Aedes De Venustas. The ginger in here is snappy and smells drinkable, and the iris has that rooty, anchoring quality that silkens and smooths as it wears on skin. Dry, warm, and inexplicably familiar, it’s a quiet scent of relaxation, and was commissioned to celebrate the brand’s move to 16A Orchard Street on the Lower East Side.
One of the easiest to wear on this list, and my current obsession, is Tahara Vanilla Musk by Gulf Orchid. This is a study in contrasts: its lasting power is phenomenal, yet the scent itself is soft and airy; it smells ethereal and expensive, yet it costs less than $50; it bursts with powder, yet has a modern feel. This fragrance is, to me, the cleanest smelling on the list in the traditional sense; it captures that freshly laundered linen essence that I crave after smelling too many gourmands. The vanilla, though, softens the profile, so it never becomes too soapy. Subtle, clean, and sweet, it’s the most blind-buy safe of them all.
This article is part of a series about white musk in fragrance. Check out Intro to White Musk here.
