Musk (pronounced muhsk)
(1) A
substance secreted in a glandular sac under the skin of the abdomen of the male
musk deer (Moschus Moschiferus), having a strong odor, and once widely used in
perfumery; in some contexts, a similar secretion of other animals, as the
civet, muskrat, and otter.
(2) A
synthetic organic compound used as a substitute for the above.
(3) The
odor of musk or some similar odor.
(4) In
botany, any of several scrophulariaceous plants of the genus Mimulus,
especially the North American M. moschatus, which has yellow flowers and was
formerly cultivated for its musky scent; sometimes known as the monkey flower,
or, a plant of the genus Erodium (Erodium moschatum); the musky heronsbill.
(5) In
zoology, the musk deer (genus Moschus).
1350–1400:
From the Middle English musk(e), from the Old & Middle French musc, from the Late Latin muscus (the Medieval Latin was moschus), derived from the Late Greek móskos & móschos. Root was the Persian
mushk, probably from the Sanskrit mushká (scrotum or testicle), a form
thought derived from the appearance of the musk deer's musk bag and diminutive
of mūsh (mouse). From either the Persian or the Arabic al misk (the musk), German gained moschos and Spanish has almizcle. Cognates include the Proto-Germanic musą and the Proto-Slavic mъxъ.). Ultimately from the Sanskrit मुष्क (muaka) (scrotum or testicle), a
diminutive of मूष् (mūṣ) (mouse), the shape of the gland of animals
secreting the substance being compared to human testicles; earlier compared to
mice, from primitive Indo-European muhas
(mouse).
Some three thousand years ago, in the high plateaus of Asia, between the Himalaya, China and Siberia, there roamed the small, solitary, musk deer and the people of the region came to understand that during their rutting period, the males produced from a gland nestled in their abdomens, a secretion with which to attract females. In the tradition of pre-modern medicine, men sought to capture the aphrodisiac power of the fluid, hoping female humans too would find it bewitching. Presumably after some trial and error, what they found was the olfactory properties endured only as long as the gland remained warm under the animal’s skin; upon extraction, the musk dried out, losing its odoriferous power. Having taken note of the nuance, the men undertook a vast harvest of musk because, as well as musk, the unfortunate cervid was hunted for all else it offered: leather to make bags and soft hair with which to stuff the cushions and mattresses of Chinese emperors. Already, musk was thought a luxury product and the trade became important to merchants and explorers who would take a pouch to Mediterranean countries where the Arab peoples found the scent enchanting, incorporating it into many rituals conducted to fight evil spells and often, in Islam, it’s said to be the perfume of which the blessed will smell in heaven. Demand soared and the harvesting grew throughout then twentieth century, peaking in the late 1960s, encouraged by the high profits, musk selling by then for 400,000 francs per kilo. By the late twentieth century, musk deer populations had been hunted to precariously low levels, disappearing from many parts of their original Himalayan range, its plight recognised in 1973 when the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) issued a ruling which limited the trade.
According to the authortitive Celebrity Fragrance Guide, Lindsay Lohan is not a user of musk scents and prefers Monyette Paris Coquette Tropique, Monyette Paris Fragrance, Escada Agua Del Sol Eau, Jill Stuarts Jasmin Fleur & Vanilla Lust, Valentino V, Child perfume, Narcisco Rodriguez For Her, Escada (with sea breeze notes), Jill Stuarts Jasmin Fleur & Vanilla Lust.
Musk was very expensive to produce. Found only in the mature male, to be used in a scent, the dried gland needed first to be sliced into small pieces, then left in high-strength alcohol to mature for at least months but, more typically, years. Prepared thus, it possesses a uniquely sweet, aromatic intensity prized especially for its longevity. Now rare in scent, musk was occasionally used on its own but, such is the potency, it was usually as an additive and, scarce and staggering expensive, perfume houses invested in research to produce a synthetic replica and that was partially successful.
Economics alone meant the research long pre-dated the action by CITES, chemists by the late nineteenth century working on synthetic ingredients with which to reproduce the musky notes. What they produced didn’t exactly replicate the characteristic animal smell, but did create what was usually described as evocative of a “clean” odor and this proved popular with laundry detergent vendors. It was not until 1926 that Croatian-Swiss chemist Leopold Ružička (1887–1976) managed to synthesize an element of natural musk, his work including the first chemical synthesis of male sex hormones, research for which, inter-alia, he was awarded the 1939 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Included in this work was his replication of the structure of the compounds muscone the macrocyclic ketone scent from the musk deer. These are called white musks (as opposed to animal musk) and Dr Ruzicka was the first to synthesize musk at an industrial scale, Firmenech calling the product Exaltone.
Even these precise chemical analogues however can’t quite match the complex odour olfactory effect of animal musk and there are operations in Russia and China using musk harvested from what are described as “sustainably farmed” animals although it’s unclear what that means.
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