lundi 8 octobre 2012

Musc Tonkin by Marc-Antoine Corticchiato for Parfum d'Empire: Elegantly Indecent



Despite his slight, wiry frame, Marc-Antoine Corticchiato has something of the macho about him. After all, the man is Corsican, like Coty and Napoleon. He couldn’t make a shy, delicate fragrance if he tried. His brews are potent, emotionally charged, almost chewy with rich raw materials. With Musc Tonkin, his new, limited-edition extrait for Parfum d’Empire, he’s aimed for a contemporary reading of the mythical material that’ll be giving Muscs Koublaï Khan – the benchmark of musky skankiness – a good run for its money.

This time, Parfum d’Empire decided not to release any fragrance pyramid since zeroing in on notes might distract from the effect, and in fact this is a composition where no individual note stands out. It’s hard to know just how well it compares to the actual stuff – I’ve only smelled it a few times. Besides, MAC’s reading of it is personal, as any true perfumer’s would be. But if you use qualifiers – powdery, nutty, leathery, furry, manure-y, fatty, sexual – as a springboard, then Musc Tonkin ticks all the right boxes. This is a reinvention – to reprise a term used by Christopher Brosius – of what I once called the phantom of perfumery: a lost note that haunts it, and whose call different perfumers will hear and interpret in different ways.

It isn’t entirely impossible to tease out a white floral bouquet and balsams tempering the ink-black animalic-leathery notes. Some of the earlier mods were so feral they’d have given pause to even the staunchest skank aficionado. The final version is still suavely raunchy: a creamy, waxy, almost fatty blend with honeyed hues and a lick of salt. Musc Tonkin smells like the fur of some mythical creature fed on mulled fruit and candied resins: elegantly indecent.

Meanwhile, on to you: what’s your favorite musk?

The above photograph by Fabrice Leseigneur, who does all of Parfum d’Empire’s visuals, was part of the “Parfum d’Empire: Du Sacré à la Volupté” exhibition shown at the Lutetia hotel in Paris during the Rives de la Beauté for the launch of Musc Tonkin.


23 commentaires:

  1. When I first read about this release I was positively overexcited. Of course I have never smelled the real thing but I trust that MAC's interpretation is going to be unique as I have yet to find a Parfume d'Empire that I found uninspired and boring. The extrait concentration on the other hand worries me. Is it going to be too rude? Is it going to last forever? Is it gonna cost an arm and a leg? Questions, questions...

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  2. Kostas, worries, worries! Ok, so it's 50 ml for a recommended price of 120€. It's not the type of scent you spray-paint yourself with. As for rudeness, you know as well as I do that with musks, it's all in the nose/brain of the beholder.

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  3. I don't have any favorite perfumes that I'd identify as a musk perfume. MKK does nothing for me; I always feel like I'm not smelling a lot of it. Pd'E Cuir Ottoman is one of my favs, though, so I'm very interested to try MAC's interpretation of musk. ~~nozknoz

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  4. Favourite musk: Musc Nomade. I tried MKK this summer and while I didn't dislike it or find it overly dirty it just wasn't my thing.
    I will want to sample this one though. I like quite a few in this line, they are quite bold scents.
    Will they make this available in their excellent sample program?

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  5. Muscs play joyfully imho in the surrounding of sultry notes, such as in Musc Ravageur, which is absolutely a compromise between body awareness with all its beauties and faults, gourmand boho life and a strive for new bright and uplifting, sorta clean impressions in life. Very good, very French, very comforting both on feminine and masculine skins. Maurice Roucel is a star - a dreamer and an earthly creature in one.:)

    To add, white musks are wonderful, though imho not muscs in a full meaning of this word.

    P.S. STrangely, but an infusion of aslight boozy fruitiness into a classical Eastern mix of musc and woody notes are somewhat intriguing in Nez a Nez Bal Musc. Feminine, though gasping a bit.

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  6. Nozknoz, you must have anosmia to certain components of MKK if you can't smell it much: I've found that when I gave synthetic musks to smell to groups of people, there was always about a third that couldn't perceive a specific one. But Musc Tonkin has lots of other materials so I doubt you'd draw a blank!

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  7. Austenfan, no idea about the sample program, but of course I couldn't agree more: the Parfum d'Empire are bold, vibrant compositions.

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  8. Ника, I love your definition of Musc Ravageur and Maurice Roucel. I believe he's one of the few who can imprint a very strong style even in mainstream compositions.
    I've never smelled Bal à Musk -- in fact I can't say I've ever really tested the Nez à Nez line. But you've made me want to wear Musc Ravageur again!

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  9. I do not have to think a lot before saying that Muscs Koublai Khan is the definitive musk for me. If there is one thing that annoys me about it is how perfectly balanced it is. It is almost a contradiction to the connotations of the name. It is one of those scents that feel like wearing a garment.

    A distant second is Les Nereides Fleur Poudrée de Musc. Completely different but so quirky and so musky. This is the one I reach for when I want a musky punch in the face.

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  10. Memoryofscent, in what must be one of my very first comments on Bois de Jasmin I believe I compared MKK to Ingres "Turkish Baths", with rose acting as the figure of the "Baigneuse de Valpinçon" to bring balance to the composition, a simile I drew from Kenneth Clarke's "The Nude"... Guess that means I would tend to agree with what you say!

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  11. I always think I'm going to hate musks but am often pleasantly surprised to find quite a bit to love. I was stunned to like Musc Rav as much as I do. And I think I might also like MKK quite a bit, though I haven't given it much shrift.

    This........Musc Tonkin.... your review actually had me breathing a bit hard! LOL! I would really like to try this, figuring I might as well go big, right?

    And I do love the Corsicans!

    xoxo

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  12. Musette, I suppose there's musk and musk, right? I'm none too keen on the school of Galaxolide (Kiehl's etc). Musc Ravageur and MKK I've worn a lot, I love Musc Nomade though it came after my perfume habit had exploded so got less wear. And I think my sample of Musc Tonkin will get pulled out: it's very sensual.

    I don't know Corsica enough, but I sure do love the work of the two Corsican perfumers I know, MAC and Mathilde Laurent!

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  13. Oh this is ringing my bells! Do you know if it is to be on general release in the places where they already sell Pd'E? If so I can hang around Liberty (like that would be a hardship). My favourite musk/s......love MKK. Neither of these are strictly speaking musks but have what I want in a musk scent (if that makes sense) - L'Air de Rien and Absolue pour le Soir (which I have regretfully decided might be a bit too much for tonight's office party.) Hugs to you Denyse! Nicola

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  14. Nicola, sweetie! Not sure about the availability of Musc Tonkin (to my knowledge this is the first limited edition for Parfum d'Empire). Guess they might know at Liberty's?
    Thanks for reminding me of L'Air de Rien -- remember the huge buzz that caused in the blogosphere when it came out? I loved it. I burned through two candles, and will now go off in search of the bottle. Must be somewhere in the archives!

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  15. This perfume is hitting all the right notes for me. Musk, leather, tuberose, labdanum. It has me seriously contemplating my first ever blind buy. I'm not even sure how I will get my hands on a bottle here in Canada, lol. Denyse, you have such a way with words. Elegantly indecent, love that. My favourite musk is MKK it makes my heart race every time I smell it. I also like Musc Nomade for a softer mood. I have a full bottle of Musc Ravageur and I don't get much musk from it at all on my skin.

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  16. Melou, waving to a fellow Canadian! No idea who stocks Parfum d'Empire in Canada, and I know how tricky shipping perfume there can be... So frustrating! Well, at least you've got the three you mentioned to play with: I'd say, along with Musc Tonkin, that they're my favorites as well.

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  17. I find it strange that I can actually name a musk perfume I like (and wear!) as for years I thought that was one note that I just couldn't stand. Turns out in the hands of a great perfumer anything is possible - so mine is MdO Musk.

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  18. Ines, thanks for mentioning Mona di Orio's musk, it's a beautiful composition.

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  19. Musc Nomade, MKK and L'Air de Rien would be my favorites... this one sounds lovely though!

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  20. I want to know where to buy this amazing perfume.
    Paula

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  21. Paula, the best way to find out would be to consult the Parfum d'Empire website or to write to them.

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