Musk was once taken from a gland of the male musk deer. Today perfumers use synthetic musks, which are cleaner and more varied. The scent is soft, smooth and skin-like, sometimes powdery, sometimes slightly sweet or clean like fresh laundry. It rarely stands out on its own. Instead it works as a blurred background that makes other notes feel rounder and closer to the body. Musk appears in nearly every style of perfume, from fresh colognes to heavy ambers. Because it is so quiet, it is often the last layer of a fragrance, the one that stays close to the skin as the brighter notes fade.
Musk mostly sits in the base in this range, where it blends the other notes into one smooth, skin-close finish.
