Musc Moschus by Rania J.

What an intriguing mirroring of close but not identical synonyms! That is what I thought when I first found out that Rania J. launched a new perfume, Musc Moschus.

Some anticipation inevitably followed initial curiosity: I knew Rania Jouaneh’s solid and bold creations. I very much enjoyed the juxtaposition of warm freshness and dark booziness of tobacco in Habanero. I loved the rose/oud interpretation in Rose Ishtar, so I expected the new perfume with a rather pleonastic name to be on track with previous creations.

Well, Musc Moschus is everything but.
Though Musc Moschus turned out to be as rich, its character almost features a mirror personality compared to other members of Rania J. line. The perfume also reveals rich shades and shifts in a soft-spoken, quietly sensual way.

The mirroring suggested in the name pairs, joins, and confronts Musk and Moschus—two closely connected but different entities—permeates the whole composition.

The perfume opens with dry, tickling, almost peppery fresh bergamot. Still, the suggestion of sharpness is immediately covered and calmed with sweetness, which remains close to the surface until deep drydown.

The first impression of perfume being overflowing with almost gourmandise sweetness is tricky and deceiving: swirls of lightly meaty fruitiness mixed with cheerful cotton candy allusions are balanced with dry iris petals and cloudy, powdery white musk, both adding freshness and lightly powdered transparency.

Stepping into the front, the clean musc features a pillow under fruity vanillic iris petals to soften a woody frame. In the drydown, the woods become firmer and more apparent as a contrast to the sweet, white, musky layer on the surface.

Just before the other musc peeks out, the perfume creates an elusive impression of light smokiness rising from the woods. This smoky effect draws the focus away from the light, fruity, and sweet top and redirects it to the darker, seductive heart.

The heart of the perfume beets in the skilful interplay between clean white musc and its alter ego – Moschus – not dirty, but entirely “lived in”.

If the musc is to be scent’s Ego – sweetly tender and flowery patterned white lace covering the surface, the other musc – moschus works almost as Id, a quiet, uncensored and slightly disturbing factor lurking from shady lived in depths beneath the surface.

Through the phase when musc and moschus are confronted, perfume does not come near animalic or in any way dirty, but this minimal input of id-music/moschus expressively creates a tension of withheld.

As the white lace fades and shady-warm woods strengthen, musc and moschus dance into the deep drydown. The dance is slow but on the verge of funk.

Close to the base, the role of the leading dancer is transferred from musc to moschus, and the quietly tempting dance amazingly lasts for hours before the closely connected but essentially different muscs are melted into one.

As mirroring becomes personal and personal becomes private, Musc Moschus manifests the definition of a skin scent that lives on the skin as a sensual experience to be enjoyed closely and privately.