Explore Musk Matching Fragrances

Musk is a base note scent widely used in the perfume industry, appreciated for its ability to give a fragrance both balance and a lingering depth. Musk takes its name from musk deer, which was where it was historically sourced. A similar musky odour is produced by civet species, like the African civet.

The molecules that give deer musk and civet musk their distinct odour – muscone and civetone – were first identified by the eminent chemist Dr Leopold Ruzicka (a joint winner of the 1939 Nobel prize for chemistry). Thanks to this pioneering research, most musk used in perfumery today is synthetic and based on muscone, civetone and similar synthetic musk compounds, which avoids the use of animal derived materials.

Musk has been used for hundreds of years in ancient medicine and aromatherapy. Musk oil is known to have several medicinal properties, including being antifungal, antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.

Used primarily as a Base Note