432 Dark Milk Musk

Dark Milk Musk is a blend that expands upon the profile of 431 Milk Musk,

When I was making Milk Musk, I couldn't help but experiment with the lactonic musky elements, as they seemed to have a strong enhancing effect.

I tested this with some dark, incense-like Oud and some other woody oils as well as pine and I immediately noticed a kind of widening effect on the woody notes, like the notes became stretched out, enhancing the profile and creating a very interesting change in how I perceived the oils.

I used an earlier version of Milk Musk to make the base with the following materials:

Massoia Bark EO

Laka Wood EO

Coconut Co2

Aged Civet Absolute

Ornifolia Myrrh Absolute

Papuan Vanilla Absolute

Venezuelan Tonka Bean Absolute

White Ambergris Absolute

Rhatnay Root Co2

and 2022 Sylhet Oud

On top of this base I added the following, as well as balancing the materials from the first list:

Bodhi Bodhi Prachin Oud

Thai Malacensis Oud

Greenheart Wood EO

Maroke Oud

Mysore 1996 EO

Mongolian Deer Musk

Dark Bark Pine Absolute

Ruh Khus

Kurumoji Pine EO

Bois de Landes EO

Cinnamon Bark Absolute

Atlas Cedar EO

Alaskan Cypress EO

Smelling from the applicator, Dark Milk Musk opens with a creamy, smooth, milky aroma, infused with a delicately smoky, incense-like Agarwood . The smoothness is really prominent in this attar, the lactonic notes infuse with the dark woods, creating a wide feel, like a panoramic landscape of scent.

This blend feels simple, but exudes a stunning aroma. It's perhaps a niche, unusual scent, as it took me years to like Massoia bark, but I feel I've tempered it well, making it approachable and not cloying like the raw scent of Massoia. This was done by adding materials that share qualities with Massoia, but steering it towards a delicately sweet and smoky, wood & cream profile.

I resisted the urge to make this gourmand, it teeters on the edge, with touches of Tonka bean, but I think this is more an Oud dominant attar with it's prominent woody, smoky profile and heavy doses of dark Thai Agarwood.

Smelling on the skin, Dark Milk Musk begins with a creamy, smooth, woody aroma, like a sweetened milky bark. The beginning notes are like a sweet, beeswax, almost caramelic, but not overly sweet. Then slowly the dark, incense notes of Thai Agarwood come creeping through.

I really like the progression of notes in this attar. It is very welcoming and approachable, but has a serious scent lurking just beneath the surface, that slowly edges forward as time passes.

It reminds me of millionaire shortbread somewhat, this attar feels like it has a sweetened layer of caramel infused biscuit, with a layer of spiced, dark woods instead of chocolate.

After around 15 minutes the Massoia bark becomes more prominent, with it's very milky profile, it also feels more caramelic in the presence of the Venezuelan Tonka bean, and the Cinnamon Bark absolute adds an interesting detail to the woods.

Shortly after the Massoia emerges, the dark notes of Thai Bodhi Bodhi oud start to peek through, with a smoky, refined woody presence. I enhanced this with a similar Thai Malacensis oud which has similar smoky, dark notes, and to give the base some earthy qualities I added a touch of Maroke oud too.

After half an hour, the scent is half dark Thai agarwood vibes and half milky, creamy musk and woods, this stays around this balance until late in the dry down.