Visit to Paris

For someone who is a fan of perfume, Paris is probably the top destination; some might even argue that it is the spiritual home of perfume.

Some readers may be surprised that I haven't been to Paris on a perfume jaunt, considering it is only two and a half hours away from Kent, where I live, but for one reason or another, the last time I visited the City of Light was in 2005, almost ten years ago.

Anyway, my family and I spent a few days in Paris at the start of April, ostensibly to celebrate my wife and younger daughter's birthdays, both of which are in early April. I'm not going to go into any detail of our holiday, save to say that we were based not far from the Eiffel Tower, and did the usual touristy things that most visitors to Paris do, taking in a lot of the famous sights, including the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, Sacre Coeur and Mont Martre, Musee d'Orsay, etc, etc. We did a lot of walking too, strolling along the Seine, the Tuillerie Gardens, Ile Saint Louis and so forth.

As a perfume fan, there was no way that I was going to visit Paris without at least some perfume experiences, and I managed to slip away from the family twice to visit the flagship Guerlain store on the Champs Elysees and Serge Lutens at the Palais Royal.

Starting with Guerlain, it was a pleasing experience to be shown around the store. When I arrived they were conducting a skin clinic of some sort, and I thought they wouldn't let me in to that part of the store (there is a more bog standard sort of Guerlain shop right next door that you first enter) but a sweet lady took me upstairs to show me around. The decor is very impressive, and I loved seeing some of the rare bottles behind the glass, some dating back to the eighteen hundreds, which is rather impressive. The lady wouldn't let me take any photographs, which is a shame, although I can understand why, and she struggled to speak English, and my French was even worse, so most of our discussion was conducted with signals and slightly embarrassed exchanges! I'm glad I went, although I have to confess that I am not a Guerlain obsessive. The prices of some of the more exclusive perfumes are astronomical. I had my eye on Arsene Lupin but couldn't commit to buying a bottle.

My second visit was to Serge Lutens, in the Palais Royal complex on the other side of the Rue de Rivoli, close to the Louvre. One thing that surprised me was how big the courtyard and gardens are. I was expecting, for whatever reason, a tiny, dark cloister, shaded by trees, tucked away mysteriously, to be expected from a man like Lutens. In reality, it is not quite like that, but the area is a delight anyway, and quiet compared to the mania just across the road and elsewhere. The Lutens shop itself was small, dark and quite mysterious, painted black and kitted out in a lot of purple. When I first entered the store I was the only person there, and I struck up a conversation with a charming lady who spoke decent English, so we were able to talk about the perfumes at some length. You may have guessed it by now - yes, I did shell out 150 Euros for a bell jar of perfume! I feel guilty paying that sort of money for perfume, but my reasoning was that the bell jar is iconic (although overpriced really) and I don't know when next I will return to Paris, let along Serge Lutens, so I wanted to be able to say that I bought it from the Salon itself. I purchased Muscs Koublai Khan, my favourite musk perfume.

On the subject of MKK, I must say that I am surprised by how subdued it is dabbed on from the bell jar, which has no spray nozzle. I don't know if MKK has been reformulated, because it lacks some of that famous animalic kick it had from a few years ago in my opinion. When I got home I decanted some into a spray bottle and I must admit that it performed much better sprayed, and had more character, but still lacks a little something compared to years gone by. It is still a lovely perfume mind you.

I could have visited a lot more perfume places, but time was limited and I could desert my family for so long. I thoroughly enjoyed Paris itself, and don't regret my visits to Guerlain and Serge Lutens.

Scent of the day - Serge Lutens Muscs Kublai Khan

This is the way to start the week, with a knockout from Uncle Serge. I haven't worn MKK for some time now, but wearing it again today reminded me why this one is so good. Musk for the musk lover, in my opinion.

My dad and Muscs Kublai Khan

I don't know about you, but sometimes it is difficult seeing one's parents grow old. I say sometimes, because age is not something that should frighten us, and growing old gracefully and graciously is part of our humanity and collective wisdom. Without it, we would be poorer humans.

Still, it does hurt from time to time. Pictured left is a photo of my dad with my late mother (right) and the then girlfriend (left) of his best friend from school, Eric. My dad and Eric would remain friends for the next forty years, until he passed away sadly a couple of years ago. What I love about this photo are the expressions of vitality and hope in the faces of all three. My dad looks proud to have his future wife-to-be on his left side. Would he have known then that their marriage would stand the test of time, destined to spend the next four decades together, have three children, live, love, lose, and then be parted by death? I suppose so. Fundamentally we all know the ultimate destiny, our human frailty. But I think at this moment, the photo captures that immortality of youth, and rightly so.

The title of this post mentions Muscs Koublai Khan. What does this have to do with my dad? Well, nothing directly, but today I am wearing MKK and whenever I do, I almost always think of my dad, because he used to wear a musk perfume that smelled very similar to MKK. I know for sure that it wasn't, considering this was in the eighties and early nineties and I have to be honest, I don't know what it was. Still, the smell of my dad brings back a lot of memories. Of when he was younger and more vital. When I believed my parents were invincible and would always protect me. When our family was still together. When youth reigned supreme. When I believed in ever after. Which seems a bit contradictory, as MKK is hardly the perfume of innocence. Having said that, musk in this style smells very fleshy, of skin, and very carnal. The skin of humans in their prime, who have loved and lusted.

Today my dad may be in his seventies, with his frailties beginning to show, but I know that even though flesh may shrivel and bones weaken, his spirit remains young and true, and that is what counts. The fact that Muscs Koublai Khan can help me to believe this is part of what makes it such a brilliant perfume for me. 

Muscs Koublai Khan and other musks

Perfume notes (from Luck Scent) - vegetal musks, costus root, labdanum, grey amber, vanilla, patchouli, ambrette seed, moroccan rose)

This is a post mainly about Muscs Koublai Khan by Serge Lutens. I am a huge fan of this line anyway, but have only sampled very few of the non-export line, which are only  available in Paris. Ok, I'm only across the channel, but first, I don't travel to France very often, and second, I am not inclined to spend £100-plus on an untried bottle. Having said that, each year a non-export perfume is released to the rest of the world on a limited edition basis. This way I have managed to at least sample Chergui and Fumerie Turque. In December 2009 Muscs Koublai Khan was also released this way and I was extremely excited, as out of all the Serge Lutens line, this seems to be the one that generates the most discussion on forums (incidentally, I have read that the non-export release for 2010 is going to be Cuir Mauresque!). 


So what about the reviews? I must admit, I find a lot of reviews of MKK quite amusing. So many of them play on the Mongol Warrior association and use the concept of dirty musk to describe MKK as smelling of circuses, a man's unwashed privates, sweaty saddles and horses, dust rising up off the steppes, and so on. It was fascinating to read, if a bit fanciful, but I also know that I am quite tolerant of 'skanky' perfumes in general and I don't usually find musk a challenge; I'm not anosmic to musk, I smell it well enough, it just doesn't smell that dirty or animalic to me. Having said that, I do know there is a distinction between the so-called 'dirty' musks and the 'clean' musks, of which the latter are often referred to as laundry musks. The whole area of musks is very complex and I don't have the technical skills to go into any detail. If you want to read an in-depth review of musks, please refer to Helg's blog, Perfume Shrine, here


The opening of MKK is quite bright, with a brief burst of what seems like citrus and a rose note that is immediately obvious to my nose. The musk is evident from the start and it is clear that this is not a clean musk; it is dusty and reminiscent of fur, but clean fur. There is an element to the musk though that feels (more than smells for some reason) of the steam that is released by an iron in a laundry room. Its a slight tickle or buzz at the back of the nose, ever so slightly metallic or ionic, just beneath the florals. The musk does intensify and if I'm in a particularly imaginative mood, I can probably make some association with mongol warriors and sweaty horses, but honestly, I don't find this particularly animalic or dirty like so many do. In the heart the rose note subsides and the musk becomes a bit dustier and drier. That furriness is still evident, which does give it a slight animalic edge but not overly so. The rose is still there, but very subtle and in the background. In the dry down MKK has become fairly linear - its still dry, dusty, slightly furry, perhaps a little sweetened by the vanilla. I'm not able to detect any patchouli, but it must be there, lending a somewhat animalic vibe. I still get that slightly fuzzy, ironing/laundry buzz, like freshly pressed clothes, which I assume must be some sort of musk in the mix, but the effect is not laundry-clean.


So, is MKK worth the hype? I think so, but perhaps not in the way it comes across on the boards. It definitely is not a clean musk fragrance, but neither is it the skank-fest other people find it to be, at least not for me. Generalisations notwithstanding, I have read that women often find musks to be stronger and more animalic than men (perhaps we are just stinky bastards) and perhaps its no coincidence that a lot of the posts I've read that describe MKK in hard-core skank terms are by women. In any event, whichever way you look at it, MKK is a very well-crafted fragrance and is worthy of the attention it receives, perhaps just not in the way its often portrayed.


So what about some other musks? To be honest, I find the so-called dirty musks more interesting than the cleaner, laundry-type musks and the following are ones that might tickle your fancy:


Musc Ravageur by Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle - sultry, sweet, musky and loaded with sexual frisson, this is a musk for a night on the town, with a bit of naughty loving afterwards!


Musk Reinvention by CH I Hate Perfume - I haven't tried this personally but I have read that it is quite an intense musk, albeit somewhat linear.


Horny Little Devil by Smell Bent - this is quite a quirky one. Its a perfume oil, and is quite a insidious musk, striding the line between well behaved and ever so slightly kinky. An unusual twist is its mix of pepper and chocolate, the chocolate making this reminiscent of Musc Maori by Parfumerie Generale.


So, if any of you can think of some other musk perfumes that are dirty, skanky, sweaty, lusty, or whatever, please drop me a line and let me know!