Jacques Vaillant presented the history of what we call today musk - the animalic musks with the very known musk deer, the vegetal musks (ambrette seeds and angelica) and the adventure of organic chemistry with the galaxy of musk molecules (nitro, macro, poly and the new linear generation). The following molecules were described and presented: musk Baur, musk ambrette, musk xylene, musk cétone, musk tibethene, musk moskène, muscone, civettone, Ambretollide, Exaltolide, Musc T, Habanolide, Muscenone, Phantolide, Celestolide, Traseolide, Tonalide, Galaxolide. During the first part of the conference the audience tested musk tincture and musk cétone, with their deep animalic note.
Givaudan made a presentation about the concept of "the musk note" in contemporary fragrances. It's a scent rather different from the original ingredient (deer musk tincture) and more powdery, soft, baby skin, used everywhere, sometimes in huge amounts. 14 musks were presented on a scale, from the most fruity (ambretollide) to the most powdery (musk ketone) between other 2 main characteristics, dry and animalic. The function of musk in fine fragrances and functional perfumery was demonstrated through 3 applications (masculine and feminine EDT, a fabric softener) with their formula disclosed while the audience received the blotters and experienced also the new generation of Givaudan musks with its jewel called Cosmone.
Symrise presented the use of musks in flavors through a new generation of aromas inspired by exotic fruits, unexpected twists and a fusion of exotic tastes. They tested the impact of exaltolide in classic flavors like mandarin, mango, cocoa, cardamom, basil, vanilla and discovered the effects and impact of musk. The presentation concluded with a Musk Menu based on musk notes and their application in a new generation of exotic foods. We were given the recipes and I will just enumerate the names in French:
Entrée: Croquettes de boeuf à l'indienne
Plats: Dorade grillée / Emincé d'aiguillette de volaille cacao vanille
Dessert: Gâteau roulé aux épices
Firmenich presented the future of musks, the truth and the challenges of environmental issues and research. Today 2/3 of musks are used in "washing" products (from detergents to shower gels) with their paradox - detergency vs. substantivity. The intellectual property and the investment in knowledge is an important subject today because cca 300 companies produce "generic" musk molecules and only 5 create and invest in research. Several solutions were proposed and explained through their molecules like muscenone, helvetolide, romandolide. Blotters with helvetolide and a green floral perfume served to demonstrate the effectiveness of this molecule as a top note in a perfume (!).
Takasago made a presentation about their innovative approach to the chiral chemistry of musks (the optically active isomers of muscone) that finally lead to l-muscone, a very rich and powerful molecule obtained by asymmetric synthesis. It was overdosed by Francis Kurkdjian in one on of his creations but it is also used in a David Beckham fragrance. A chart with the effects of musks and pheromones on men and women was used to demonstrate the impact and effectiveness of their new molecule, as shown in their latest research and collaboration with chemistry Nobel prize winners.
The amount of galaxolide used in the fragrance industry is estimated at 15-20000 tones / year, 5 times more than habanolide and globalide and 100 times more than muscenone. The perfume with the highest amount of musk on the market is Max Mara created by Vincent Schaller, using about 82% musks from Firmenich.
photo: Leopold Ruzicka (1887-1976), father of Muscone and Civetone, 1939 Nobel Prize in chemistryDid you enjoy my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances, reviews of artistic perfumes and exceptional vintage masterpieces. I would be very happy if you would consider joining 1000 Fragrances, throughRSS feed,GoogleFriend connect, Facebook (more personal), or any other way that appeals to you.
Fragrance is the 8th Art - Octavian Coifan - Le Parfum est le 8ème Art
