Muscs Koublai Khan Serge Lutens for women and men

WHAT'S This Stuff! I have never smelled so much ¿civet. Disgusting,I just smell to....shit!

To those who say Muscs Koublai Khan smells exactly like Kiehl's Musk, what kind of skin chemistry do you have?

Kiehl's musk oil is my favourite scent. It sits close to the skin in an alluring way - with powder and floral dancing sexily with the beast (who's just taken a bath). The only thing that I dislike about it is that, yes, it's a bit linear.

So - based on many, many reviews - I figured Muscs Koublai Khan would be Kiehl's musk ramped up and sophisticated on my skin.

Oh, how wrong I was.

It was poop. From beginning to end, barnyard dung. I tried to convince myself otherwise: 'Oh, there's some delightful rose, delicate and welcoming.' But there was always the poop.

Even if it were just sitting there quietly in the background (which it wasn't - it was loud and clear and totally in-your-face), no one wants to smell like poop.

No one.

I've been awaiting the sample of this eagerly, for it's notorious and sometimes humerous Reviews.

I gasped... omg... that's something new... oh.. my...
*fwoosh* instantly takes you somewhere else.
First few seconds are Medicinal, that leathery Castorium(The opening of Chanel Antaeus has it too), then.. Strange, "sweet" Muskiness.. "Beyond sweet" something Animal. Obscene. Saliva, Fur... hay, soil, Sweet Dirty roses... Not gonna lie...this is instantly arousing to me. *blink* I dont CARE what anyone else thinks! It has that special something i've been looking for. This is it. It turns powdery.. The ultimate sweet musty skin smell. It blends seamlessly on my skin... It seems to jump instantly to that powdery Honey Musk as my Favorite YSL Kouros... but it's right there.. fuming off of me. A Whole different kind of animal, Rose of all things... that's been slobbered on. Honestly.. (please bare with me on this) it's a lot like.. feet, or socks after i had them on for a long LONG time. It has this sweet lilac floral Honey tinge that's SO comforting... This is Precious. I want to save up for the full Bell Jar.
For special occassions.... Perhaps not in public, but i suggest, try a dab on the inside of your lover's thighs... it's a "Mood" fragrance. For contemplation. I can appreciate the sheer artistry of the Serge Lutens line. Niche Fragrance?... Oh it definitely fills my Niche.
After a while the familiar civet becomes Very clear and persistent... that familiar sweet Stinking Civet cat oooooh. Yeah that's the part that's reminiscent of the fecal notes everyone keeps getting. kinda like.. when you try to wipe with a single-ply paper. So.. the impression mostly, Rose, Civet, hay, and crotch fur... that's been slobbered on.. heavily.
... this is so Obscene. I love it.

The rectangular bottle for export is a reformulation of the original Bell Jar version, which was sex in a bottle. The Bell Jar version is the masterpiece and the export bottle is just too perfumey.

This is the third of 3 Lutens samples I got from The Perfumed Court, and I was looking forward (with some trepidation) to trying it. I too did not get any of the uric/fecal notes other people have experienced. On me it's simply...musk...There is a hint of fur, but it's not nearly the "crotch-skank" monster it is for other people. I totally agree that this one (and perhaps most of the Lutens frags) vary a great deal given individual skin chemistry and I'm one of those people whose chemistry emphasizes the "sweet" parts of a composition. I get more rose, labdanum, and patchouli, and the civet seems to recede a bit into the background as it develops on me. It doesn't project powerfully on me, lasts about 4-6 hours, and is mostly gone by the next day. It's less complex than I expected but I definitely like it and want to wear it. So I'm going to have to save my pennies for a full bottle and am rationing my sample accordingly.

A totally maculine musk, probably because - like amg7240 said - this smells like a crotch, something a woman usually don't carry. Let my add: A hippy crotch, because perfumed with Kiehl's musk oil.

I never met a man by accident wearing it, but I'd like to explore my reactions in that case.

Because it is beautiful, but it also is a statement. The wearer smells like personal body parts - might they be human male or cat or some other animal. Maybe a little offensive for most situations? Too much in your face?

On the other hand, if this should work as a women's magnet I doubt it's effectiveness, as women tend to dislike the too direct approach, am I wrong? And usually a woman like the smell of one or two crotches she has a relationship with, but not the smell of a crotch as a crotch per se?

I'm curious about how MKK works in the gay community. I imagine, therefor it's the perfect match?! Or am I trapped in clichés?

As beastly as most others find MKK, I think it's just adorable. Cute, really.

I got a free sample of this and didn't expect to like it very much, based on reviews I had seen. But after an initial tentative dab on the wrists, I was intrigued enough to apply more promptly. On me, it starts out almost herbal/grassy with the expected undercurrent of musk. Within 10 minutes it softens tremendously, becoming a rich, velvety, complex musk. I never experienced the "dirty", uric, or other even less pleasant undertones other reviewers mentioned. It's only mildly and attractively animalic on me. Duration is rather good, lasting at least several hours on me and even remaining detectable next morning if applied late in the evening. It doesn't project powerfully, but others do notice it if they are in proximity. My suspicion is that Muscs Kublai Khan, more even than most perfumes, is extremely variable with individual body chemistry; I typically turn everything quite sweet, to the point of having to avoid most fruity scents and even the more straightforward florals. My skin may be dialing down the civet and other components that could contribute to a barnyard/sweaty/underwear type note, and dialing up the rose, labdanum, and whatever other elements give it a smoother, creamier quality. Very sensual, indeed full-on sexy, but it's a warm and nuanced seduction, rather than a skanky paid companion. In sum, I would happily have a full bottle of this, but would recommend testing it on your own skin before buying.

SHORT REVIEW:

Musky and with a deep rose smell. Reminds me of my favorite incense (a floral musk, no longer made) from the 70s. Smoky, musky and floral, maybe a bit dirty but a good dirt, like a hippy that you want to have sex with. IF this smells like feces to you, what are you eating? Must be some sweet stuff... I have sampled this once and it is a must buy. A scent for a mature man, or a daring mature woman.

Oh, for those of you that think this smells like a man's crotch, let me know who that man is. I am interested!

incroyable!!!!!
tout les parfums de mensieur lutens c'est en faite;des souvenire de ca vie!!!
ce magnifique parfum vous savait ce que evoque en toucas pour moi???: un salon de coifure!!!!!
l'odeur d'un salon de coifure...vousavait lutens diser toujour que a14ans il aete jettes dans un salon de coifure!!!!

I went from detestation to adoration in one day on this one. When I first sampled this, I thought it smelled like the underwear of a guy who hadn't showered in a couple of days, had just finished working out and who thought he'd only farted. All of that's there, but it only lasts a few minutes on my skin before it turns into a marvelously natural and dirty rose and musk scent. I adore this stuff, and I never buy into the hype on fragrances, but for me this one is great. Definitely a 'try before you buy' frag as I suspect most will not like this one. Not sure that it's worth the price, but that's probably just me because I think that about a great many fragrances. Lovely on clothes; yes I spray frags on my clothes...bite me.

I do not know which intruiged me MORE...the description and notes, or the mixed reviews for this scent. Finally, after a year or so of drooling for MKK, I was lucky enough to be gifted a sample by a VERY kind member *Thanks, dearest kastehelmi!*

AMAZING!! This is one of the most gorgeous raw stinks that I have ever smelled and just absolutely, utterly adore! This is about as musky as you can get and the civetta, along with the patchouli, makes this so earthy and skanky and gorgeous! It has some sweetness (just enough to keep it from being something akin to the stench of an invading Mongol horde) from a very soft dry rose, incensey labdanum and a warm crumbly golden amber. Again, ambrette and styrax are two of my very favorite "woody" notes in perfumes; but here the ambrette is flying solo. Its soft and musky vaguely floral woodiness is complmeneted very well by the caraway's sharp arid spiciness. I get nothing even remotely "fecal" here, whatsoever. Rest assured, if I ever found someone (anyone!) who smelled like this, while sweating, I would be as helpless as those peasants on the Steppes of Russia were! This has a magical scent that is not overly dirty, nor too pungent; it's just soooo indescribably sexy! WOW! I am sure that the name, in and of itself, comes from the oriental nature of many of the inspiring notes' sources (oriental, spicy, musky etc.) but I do feel something vaguely manly and butch going on here, as opposed to feminine or soft. One wipe from the small vial's dipstick lid, on the back of my hand, and I am detecting such a sweet mysterious animalic scent that is neither "pissy" nor reeking. More than anything MKK is drier than it is musky. It has MUSK aplenty sure, but the other notes here make it more intruiging and exotic than offensive. If this had been called "Muscs d'Amour", I am sure, it would have had many more supporters than detractors.

Sillage: great
Longevity: magnificent
Overall: 4.75/5

Hmmm...150 U.S. dollars for a HUGE botttle? This may just be worth that hefty pricetag. My sample is nearly exhausted, and I am saving what remains for some "special occasion" (winks) but this is something I will eventually add happily into my collection, regardless of the cost!! Many (here and other places) often complain that SL creations, while stunning, don't (really) last all that long. Have NO fear of that with this one! I, personally, think that if KK and his horde smelled like THIS...they WOULD have conquered the world, especially all the local girls. (And, roughly, 10% of the guys too!)

LOL

quandt ont a senti l'odeur du musc al ghazell( tonkin)
a ce momant la on est qualifier de critiquer ce magnifique parfum....et je parie que 90 pour 100 des amateur de parfums n'on jamais senti de leur vie ce fameu musc tonkin!!!!!!!!!!!le parfum le plus rar....cher....mythique....interdit dans la parfumerie occidental!!!!

Oh, c'mon, this isn't so frightening, ladies and gentlemen!

Sure, there is a suggestion of oily, animal fur from the musk and civet but the main body of the scent is beautifully rich and languid with gorgeous roses and amber. It has an almost caramelized quality to it. It's one of my all-time favourites.

PS. Skip showers and baths for a cheaper and much more effective 'animal' effect!

I believe the cumin give the dirty vibe to this perfum,
but the rose come true beautifully, I don' wear it very often, but when I do I feel special and sexy. I used to love Musk oil by coty from 20 year ago when the musk was
real musk, MKK is not the same but still sexy.

Who wants to smell like an incontinent man? This stuff is fecal. Kiehl's musk is better, but Musc Ravageur is the best musk.

A light, clean, pleasant musk on me. This is almost identical to The Body Shop's White Musk which is much cheaper.

This conqueror with his powerful combination of potent musks - patchouli, civet and labdanum and only the barest quarter-teaspoon of rose - has no time for the sweet, idyllic ministrations of flowery elegance. He (it seems a very masculine perfume) is stern, swift and curt in his exchange, as his concerns are for matters of the utmost gravity. If a woman wants him, she has to throw away the high heels and other trammels of restricting conventional femininity and run to keep up or he will simply leave her behind. If she catches him though, he turn and take her in his arms in a burning, loving, unforgettable embrace that lasts the livelong day and night.

This is the fragrance of favourite well-worn jeans, tee shirt and sturdy old-leather boots that can walk a long, long way into the lonely landscape of city lights or cloudy, windswept beachfront. Serious though it is, it does not dwell on the past but is confident, forward thinking and full of boundless energy...

Muscs Koublai Khan...

From the first sniff you know who was the perfumer behind it. It is very so Serge Lutens.

It took me a while to get used to his scents. Some of them take longer than others. MKK is probably not soething I would wear, but I can't say I don't appreciate its composition.

It is quite a dirty musc. Animalistic, but not sweaty. It is heavy though, too heavy in labdanum in its first phase. I sniffed my arm, and really found it unappealing. It's exotic and dangerous. At first it seemed a bit too spicy, a bit too dry, a bit too powdery. Then, a few hours later (one thing that has to be said, longetivity of SL fragrances is outstanding), it became a much quieter musky rose scent. It is still anywhere near soothing, but it looses some of its dirtiness and becomes more wearable. There is a lovely spicy rose with lots of caraway and some patchouli, and it is addictive.

Yes, it's sex in a bottle, but, hmmmmmmmm, well, I am not going to depict the imagery it portrays. Just to say, it's not at all about silk sheets and soft pillows. Forget about those. There is no room for them in MKK.

Please everybody forgive me but I don't get any fecal, sweat, rancid, camel, disgusting kind of things here. It's surely not a clean musc in the opening and can be quite challenging to someone (a lot of civet and castoreum) but it's awesome. This is MUSC as it should be (at least IMO). Not too rough or rude but neither polite and absolutely fascinating. Maybe it's because I generally don't like white muscs but I can't find a single weird thing in MKK. I simply like it from the beginning to the very end. Unfortunately I don't know many people who would wear Muscs Koublai Khan on a regular basis and if I'll ever meet one I'll make everything is possible to become at least friends. In the drydown it turns to be a bit cleaner and sweet with an animalic note (civet) that make sure that the scent doesn't get too polite. I don't see any particular complexity here but a magistrally and superbly crafted "kinda rough" musc. And really, I don't understand the post-coitum / orgiastic thing. If you smell like this after you had sex I'm Koublai Khan.


May 2011
After several full wearings I started to detect the infamous "fecal note". It's there, lurking in the back, scary and threatening but it's part of MKK's incredible charme.

Rating: 9.5/10

This, to me, is very animalistic. It is not my type of fragrance, I suppose its the civet but I really think it does smell a bit too 'sweaty'. I normally hate when people say fragrances smell sweaty because I always find myself not getting even the faintest sweat vibe from frangrances. For example, VW Boudior is flowery and soft to me but others find it to smell like body odour ?! Anyway, for me to say it smells like sweat is really saying something. Sure its not awful and the initial blast is more musky but as it settled down I was very quick to wash it off as I was a bit embarrased people might think I smell sweaty. Maybe its my skin chemistry.

I had the wax sample. I'm glad I didn't get all the "nasty" notes everyone else mentioned below. It did smell like a spicy aftershave and I think this is more of a masculine scent.

Ok I got several samples of this and it is intriguing. Very different, very sexual. It reminds me of those very private moments when you are down below with your woman. If you know what I mean. You both went for a run, came back to the room, showered, you talk, kid around, hug and kiss and then before you know it, you're aroused and can't stop. Whoa! I think the creators of this fragrance had someone in mind and decided to have fun with it. There's no fragrance out there like it. It does evolve into a sweeter scent, with musk, and the human scent. It is very well done. You just have to get past the first 15 minutes.

Muscs Koublai Khan starts with really nice soothing woody sweetness, and then very soon, there’s some really weird unrin kinda acidic, sour smells comes and goes along with the nice woody sweetness. The piss smell is really weird in an intriguing and good weird way. And as the wee smell becomes less ‘out there’, I start to detect a little bit discreet soft powdery notes there, something along the labdanum line. At this stage, the scent smells of melancholy beautifully decaying and dying from another space, an ancient Egyptian kinda place, to me.

Then the urine smell fades away gradually, its powdery musky oriental smell gets clearer. I find it’s quite comfy at this stage, like walking around in the countryside in a sunny winter Sunday and it rained the night before. It’s like smelling some decaying leaves, hay, etc on the muddy ground, along with animal faeces; but the sun is shining and even the faeces smell ok to you because the warm sun makes the morning nice, bright and even golden.

The dry down has got the weird notes all over again, as if things have went back to the start: nice soft base, now it's nicer and sweeter, musk creamier, earthier; but it comes with the urine sour smell that hurts my nose, intriguing still, but with my untrained nose, I find this rather super niche, than a scent I can even wear. I guess I might revisit it after several years. It is a bizarre but interesting experience which should not be missed, but I doubt how often and how easily I can pull it off.

Smells like Aqua Velva Musk aftershave and animal s***

Holy crap! And I mean that literally.

MKK opens with the alluring scent of a dairy farm. Hot sweaty cow bodies & manure & composted dirt. At first sniff it is that oddly enjoyable sweet dung/farm smell. But this gets monotonous fast.

And unfortunately for me, MKK does not gracefully change into a sexy swan like other luckier reviews have described. Oh no, it is ugly duckling poop fest all the way. With a sprinkling of nose-tickling dust on top.

Or as my beloved said, with a frown, upon smelling it: "Does that mean you are a heifer now?".

The first notes out of the MKK vial are a labdanum-spice-rose-patchouli combo that smells very much like an attenuated version of an Arabian musk or an amped-up version of Kiehl’s.

At this early stage it seems like there’s just a little too much of too many slightly incompatible things, in typical Lutens style. Then the civet kicks in, strong, fecal, and animalic. It marches along in parallel with the flowers and spice and patchouli, each forming its own stream, winding in and out with one or the other predominating at any given moment. The civet stays fairly close to the skin, but after about 15 minutes the sillage develops a wonderful “clean”, rosy musk scent that is strong and pervasive. Eventually the scent settles down and unifies into a soft, velvety, rosy, slightly powdery musk with just enough civet to keep it from being a “white” musk.

This excellent scent lasts the rest of the day, and longer on clothing. To me this is a prototype for musk, one that I will wear whenever I feel like a strong musky blast.

Definitely smelled the manure/dirtiness of this scent at first. After about 20 minutes the manure scent starts to fade and it becomes more tolerable. Interesting experience but I would not want to wear it often.

hm,, this scent is kind of funny...yes, it smells like stinky crotch D yes, it smells like goat fur, and yes it smells like armpit...but all this is happening just at the beginning, after the first phase, it settled down to a mellow, quite nice type of scent..BUT in my opinion this lutens really not worth it..sorry, but 130 Euros is too much for something weird like this, altough it s nice..

No manure in this one, not so dirty either. More of a skin, mellow scent, but a wonderful fragrance all the same. I waited forever to purchase this, partly because of the unavailability of this one in the US, and I sampled this perfume in its liquid form but it was totally different from the bottle. If you want to buy the whole bottle, go try it in store. Barney's have it.

Pure, dirty, animal-like sex in a bottle. I blushed when I wore it for my boyfriend at the time, after I told him to smell my neck. Of course, being the perv that he was (ha, ha)-he loved it. I really wish I could afford a bottle of this one. Softly funky. Love.

Well skinchemistry seems to be a player with this perfume. I don't get any goats fur, dirty underwear or any of that sort. On me this is a good strong sexy musk with incense. Well more of a potion of dry incense some patchouli leaves and a logfire that has been put out and layed to rest. First thing I thought of was some kind of wild forest creature running through the woods, yellow eyes, thick dark fur. I LOVE it and wear it all year round.

I do not find this to be all that potent on me, in the animalic way most people speak of. It wears very warm, smooth, and velvety. Truly a scent that blends in with my chemistry and enhances it, while adding that certain zing that makes it sparkle on.

I don't like this one at all. It's unwearable to me. This doesn't mean it's a bad scent! Actually it's very well made in its own genre. Which genre? The one I call I'm-clean-I-just-step-out-of-shower-yet-I-want-to-smell-beasty-for-sexsake. You know, we're animal, after all. I think we humans already have enough of an animal smell.
Anyway this fragrance is absolutely interesting as a perfumery experiment.
I'm not a great fan of Serge Lutens scents as my personal scents, because I feel they are too complicated and they always have rather something more than anything less. Maximalist scents with a not always needed 1-2 bizarre note more, but Serge Lutens is genius.
I suggest you try it on your skin. These deeply musky/animalic scents smell very different on different chemistries. On me the beasty edge springs out above everything and smell almost fecal (much like Kiehl's Musk), but other skin chemistries highlight the clean soapy edge. A great luxury expensive artistic genius soap.

Dirty, sexy, lovely. Yes, this is much of everything...

Musc Koublai Khan welcomes you with a burst of manure, flowers and patchouli. Very sexy, varm and much easier to like than I tought it should be. Wouldn´t have no problems to wear this in public, yes it is dirty, but not at all overly so... It makes me feel warm, comfy and sensual. The burst of manure settles down and lingering troughtout the whole fragrance, but softer and softer... The manure makes the rose pretty, I´ve herad roses thriwe in manure? This one sure does. An absolutly must try for everyone, good sillage and longlasting. The drydown is soft, ambery and nice, but I like the beginning better...

Highly controversial, this perfume is considered a must-try for those who love dirty, sexy perfumes. After much reading of scandalous rumor, I finally got a chance to try this and was very disappointed. Rather than a raunchy, dirty sexed up amber, I got a clean, soapy musk and barnyard. The scents don’t blend, but rather switch off, first one then the other. I get dirty stalls, old hay and head-shop musk oil. Not what I was expecting at all