Musk: from the musk deer's gland to synthetic white musks
Musk was originally a secretion of the male musk deer, animalic and woody once diluted. Almost all musk in today's perfumes is synthetic, with a cleaner, smoother, powdery scent.
Where does musk come from?
Natural musk comes from a gland in a pouch under the abdomen of the male musk deer, found from Tibet, Nepal and India to Siberia and Korea, says Wikipedia's article on musk. The pod is normally obtained by trapping and killing the animal, and international trade in natural musk is now controlled by CITES.
Chemistry took over. In 1888 Albert Baur obtained the first artificial musk by accident while trying to make a better form of TNT. Muscone, the macrocyclic ketone mostly responsible for the smell of deer musk, was isolated in 1906, and nearly all muscone used in perfumery today is synthetic.
What does musk smell like?
Natural musk smells pleasant only once heavily diluted, and is usually described as animalic, earthy and woody, sometimes as close to the smell of a baby's skin. Synthetic musks smell clean, smooth and sweet, without the faecal notes of animal musk, and are sometimes called white musk. The IFRA Fragrance Ingredient Glossary describes musk-like materials as powdery, sometimes warm and sweet, and stresses that they are not obtained from animals.
What does musk do in a perfume?
Musk is a base note and a fixative. Some base notes can still be detected more than twenty-four hours after application, particularly the animalic and musk notes, and synthetic musks give a neutral background to the heart. In the 16th century, Peau d'Espagne already combined musk and civet with rose and sandalwood. Musk belongs to the amber family, next to ambergris and Ambroxan.
What else should you know about musk?
- Musk ambrette, musk moskene and musk tibetene, three nitro musks, sit in Annex II, the list of prohibited substances, of the EU Cosmetics Regulation. IFRA standards also ban musk ambrette, citing photosensitisation and neurotoxicity.
- Some plants, such as ambrette seeds, produce musky macrocyclic lactones used as substitutes for animal musk.
- The Class on animal notes and their substitutes explains what the word musk means today.
Often paired with
Further reading
- Musk en.wikipedia.org
- Synthetic musk en.wikipedia.org
- Muscone en.wikipedia.org
- Musc (French Wikipedia) fr.wikipedia.org
- IFRA Fragrance Ingredient Glossary (April 2020 edition) ifrafragrance.org
- Note (perfumery) en.wikipedia.org
- Perfume en.wikipedia.org
- Peau d'Espagne en.wikipedia.org
- Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products, consolidated text of 1 May 2025 eur-lex.europa.eu
- The complete IFRA Standards, up to and including the 51th Amendment (January 2024) ifrafragrance.org
Musk in the feed
orla.citrusin Learning to Smell · Belfast ·
QuestionWhat makes a smell read as clean?
When I say something smells clean, what am I smelling? Is it the musk or the citrus?
ingrid_berlin Usually the musk, I think. Clean musk is quiet and close, like a room with good acoustics. I wear it since ten years.
aunty_valin History, Bottles & Houses · Liverpool ·
QuestionWere old perfumes all natural before chemistry?
I always thought the old scents my mother wore were all flowers, nothing made in a lab. Is that right?
carys.cardiff Not quite. The encyclopedia entry on Jicky says Guerlain released it in 1889, created by Aimé Guerlain, and that it was an early user of synthetic…
ingrid_berlinin Wearing Fragrance · Berlin ·
Scent diary
Orris that nobody notices, on purpose
I wear orris at the studio since two years and no colleague has ever said a word. Good. I want it like room tone: there only if you stop and listen. Who else wears scent mostly for themselves? /Ingrid
jess.in.philly Me, with musk. Though some days I wonder if I can even smell it, or if I'm just remembering it.
joon.yuzuin Giving Fragrance · Seattle ·
Scent diaryA spreadsheet of what my friends already wear
TL;DR: before buying anything, I logged what six friends already wear. Taken from scarves, coats and the odd hug, no names, no bottles: - two citrus, one of them with green tea - one rose, very soft - two woody, one of them smoky - one who smells of laundry…
ingrid_berlin Laundry is usually musk, see the musk page, from the deer's gland to clean white musks . I wear it since years, all bass, no treble.
bridie.hobartin Everyday Smells · Hobart ·
QuestionWhy sheets off the line smell different
First time this spring the sheets have gone back on the line, and they come in smelling of wind and cold sea air. The dryer ones smell of the washing liquid and not much else. Why the difference?
jess.in.philly I love the clean laundry smell so much I chase it in perfume. Is that the same thing as line-dried?
orla.citrusin Welcome to the Club · Belfast ·
QuestionDo I need to know anything before posting?
New here, from Belfast, where I count other people's money all day. Citrus and clean musk are what I reach for, and I couldn't tell you why. Do I need to learn anything before I start posting, or is it fine to just say what I smell?
harriet.hay Hello and welcome, orla.citrus. Just say what you smell, that's the whole club. When you want a map, the Class on the seven fragrance families puts…
In the Classes
Class no. 2 · 6 min read
The fragrance pyramid: top, heart and base notes explained
The fragrance pyramid sorts a perfume's materials by how fast they evaporate: top notes go first, heart notes carry the theme, base notes stay longest. You'll learn to read one, test it on a paper strip and spot what it leaves out.
Class no. 3 · 6 min read
Fragrance concentrations: from extrait to eau de Cologne
A fragrance's concentration is the share of perfume oil dissolved in alcohol: highest in an extrait, lowest in an eau de Cologne, with ranges that vary from one reference to the next. You'll learn what those names change for longevity and sillage, what they leave alone, and how to check it yourself on two blotter strips.
Class no. 10 · 7 min read
How to wear fragrance: where, how much, and why you stop smelling it
To wear fragrance well, spray it from a short distance onto clean skin or a fabric that won't mark, don't rub it in, and stop before your own nose asks for more. You'll learn where to put it, how much to use and why you stop noticing your own scent while everyone around you still can.