The Body Shop Black Musk Review
I decided to purchase the Body Shop Black Musk Eau de Parfum for myself during a recent after Christmas sale haul. As a lover of The Body Shop’s Red Musk I was really hoping for a unique, complex blend from Black Musk.
Here’s what I thought!
The Black Shop Black Musk comes a perfume, toilette, or perfume oil formula. Since I have little success with The Body Shop’s toilette formula (my skin swallows it up and the sillage is very poor on my body chemistry) I decided to spend the extra money and indulge in the perfume.
This comes housed in a very elegant black understated bottle with a simple purple label. The box for Red Musk was a little more elegant but both fragrances have a very nice presentation.
I’d love to tell you this was as unique as Red Musk but it isn’t. I have many, many fragrances and I can’t quite put my finger on what this smells like. It’s a very generic fragrance, pretty, but generic in the fact it has been done somewhere, somehow before. Perhaps in some celebrity fragrance I’ve tried in the past or currently own?
I think fragrances like w.musingsofamuse.com/2015/01/feeling-quite-curious-smoky-poppy.html” target=”_blank”>Smoky Poppy and Red Musk put The Body Shop in more of a niche element. Black Musk has a certain complexity but it’s also a fragrance that might give you a moment of deja vu. My taste in fragrance is as eclectic as my taste in music or even in my fandoms. It varies and it is broad and filled with many diverse perfumes that I love. This means I might just love all over Calgon Hawaiian Ginger but also have a very, very special collection of all the Guerlain Elixir fragrances. I’m explaining this to you because I feel like Black Musk is my Hawaiian Ginger. It’s lovely, it’s pretty, but it isn’t unique nor special.
On that note, let’s get down to how this smells.
Don’t let the name full you, this isn’t so very dark, it’s actually quite fruity and quite sweet. First spritz envelopes you in an overwhelmingly syrupy sweetness. I can’t honestly smell any one note here but I just get a heavy sweet syrup. Still wet on my skin it every so slowly releases a tart pear note and as it dries and sets further pink pepper plays a very prominent role in this act. I think within 30 minutes the fragrance full sets and a very gorgeous black vanilla envelopes the fragrance with hints of musk combining with the sweetness to add touches of warmth. It still remains very, very, very sweet on my skin but I think the vanilla and musks give it a more sensual feel. If you close your eyes you can smell just the lightest touch of licorice in the background. I had a brief flash of it smelling like Royal Apothic Noble Carnation but the thought was fleeting.
Edit: After writing this post it came to me what Black Musk reminds me of! It’s almost identical to Love by Sofia Vergara! Black Musk wears way longer though. Sofia’s done two fragrances the first one which is named after her was incredible but it had really short wear and the second one, Love, which I never felt was as unique the original, wore just as short a time. So if you liked Love, you should try Black Musk as it does smell very, very much the same and has a longer wear!
The throw and linger is very good on this formula. I wouldn’t say it lasted me all day but I did get a good six hours in before it showed signs fading. For the Body Shop that’s pretty good as typically their fragrances tend to get sucked up by my body chemistry!
If you like fragrances like Flower Bomb I think that The Body Shop Black Musk will be something you enjoy. It’s very sweet but it also has a sophisticated sexy feel to it. I don’t think it is as special as Red Musk or Smoky Poppy but don’t let that stop you from sniffing or even purchasing it as it is quite delightful!
The Body Shop Black Musk is available now in stores and online at www.thebodyshop-usa.com.
Smelled it?
Do share your thoughts!