Summer is right behind the corner. Just a few more days and the summer season will start officially in a calendar and lets hope it will start outside as well. Here in Poland we’ve been having some really hot days lately, with temperatures reaching 30*C and the only remedy was to have a lot of water with you, or to stay at home. Luckily a nice wind was blowing, bringing some cool refreshment.
Probably many of you will be going on a summer vacation soon, or maybe some time later in July or August. My parents, for example, are going to Italy. Italy is so beautiful! I don’t have any plans for a summer trip yet, except for the fact I want to go to Pitti Fragranze in Florence, in mid-September. Most perfume lovers can’t imagine going on holidays without a perfume. So, if you’re going to some tropical place or if you have to stay at work this year but want to take a scent trip to Hawaii or somewhere, consider a new perfume from Parfums de Nicolai, Musc Monoi, your friend.
Musc Monoi is a perfume which starts with a lovely dose of creamy molecules. The opening is very tender and has a soft and quite luxurious vibe of ylang ylang. This accord is accompanied by a bright yellow lemon which brings juiciness and a bit of tartness to the composition. The feeling that I get is the combination of sweet, floral and citrusy and this combo makes me think of a soft lemon cake with a meringue on top. Delicious and addictive but also refreshing.
After 20 minutes the accord of musk becomes more prominent. It’s one of those musks which has a white color and it smells fluffly, light and airy, like a pure cotton ball. Though it’s quite simple at the first whiff, it gains complexity as the time flies. After a while coconut joins the blend. It entwines with musk molecules to add a lovely feeling of warmth. There’s also something bit more dry and powdery to this accord but then, after next 20 minutes it starts to smell more saturated and oily.
After an hour Parfums de Nicolai Musc Monoi emanates the smell which is the closest to the suntan lotion. According to what Patricia de Nicolai said “For many years I have been in love by the famous Ambre Solaire oil. I always wanted to create a fragrance from which I can use this wonderful smell, synonym of sunny beaches. A fragrance with a powerful sensuality that smells on your skin like a hot summer day was my main obsession!” She nailed it with this composition.
So, after 1 hour this new fragrance diffuses the smell of creamy ylang ylang combined with the coconut of both powdery and oily facets, and stirred in the bowl with a lot of light musks. The result is a concoction which smells like a warm body lying on the sandy beach. The skin bathes in the sun, shining with a sunbathing oil. The creamy aspect of Musc Monoi is additionally highlighed by sandalwood accord. Wood in this composition is warm and sensual and also very smooth.
Musc Manoi smells like a milky cocktail served in the coconut shell with pieces of citrus and pineapple floating in the drink. It’s very happy and optimistic, but who wouldn’t be optimistic of they were to have some fun in the sun at the beach. After some time the composition of this perfume becomes lighter and an aromatic vibe enters the stage. The combination of neroli and petitgrain has both green and floral elements, all kept light and fresh. On my skin neroli was a stronger note.
Creator of this perfume, Patricia de Nicolai, was not afraid to admit she used a synthetic calone molecule for Musc Monoi composition. I don’t blame her, because synthetics are for perfumers to use them. She used it wisely and in small dosage. It doesn’t reek of melon but introduced a nice oceanic vibe of salty breeze at the coast. The watery element of this blend is also marked with magnolia flowers. There’s also a bit of jasmine which adds the aroma of white flowers.
What’s the verdict then? I wasn’t expecting to love Musc Monoi, but the fact is that I really enjoy this composition. It’s been blended nicely and skillfully, really evoking the scent of Ambre Solaire oil. This eau de toilette has a minimal sillage, being a really good skin scent. Its longevity oscillates around 4-6 hours so I could spray it early in the morning and before I would get to the beach, the scent would be gone, allowing me to enjoy the sea and the sun without any risks.
Musc Monoi by Parfums de Nicolai makes for a perfect perfume company for a summer trip to the seaside but it’s also a nice option for those who want to feel like they were on vacation, without leaving their homes or work. The composition is available in 30 ml and 100 ml bottles.
[note] Sample was a courtesy of Parfums de Nicolai.
Chemist in the Bottle 
You have made this immensely appealing, in spite of the calone! I did actually wear Ambre Soleil for its perfume many years ago, so I think I would like this very much. And of course I like PdN perfumes any way, so I think a sample is in my future.
Thanks sweetie! I don’t think that I or my family used Ambre Solaire in the past but tropical coconuty smell of a suntan lotion is my favorite. I think you’d like that one
In the days when I wore Ambre Solaire, protection and SPFs weren’t really thought about. The purpose of putting sun lotion on was that it would intensify the tan, not stop the sun’s rays getting through – people were virtually cooking themselves! Luckily, being the pale little thing I was, I couldn’t stand sunning myself – I sat in the shade reading, content with the pleasant aroma from my AS.
I’m from the SPF conscious generation 😉 nice tan is in style now but one shouldn’t overdo with it. Oil used to intensify the tan makes me think of bodybuilding competitions where musclemen used oils to “darken” their artificial tan and highlight the musculature
Tee hee.
🙂 (Smile no. 57)
It’s not my usual type of scent but I really want to try this. I don’t like the low sillage and lasting power but I still think it might be a nice alternative to my other summery scents. I don’t really like beachy or calone heavy perfume but once in a while I find myself wanting to smell those things. It’s the memories of summers at the beach and by the pool as a kid I guess.
Not my usual type of smell too but it’s nice to smell such a perfume once in a while. It makes me optimistic in the summer heat
I think this sounds like a really nice summer scent. There are times when I want to smell a little bit like coconut, suntan lotion and other things that remind me of the beach.
It fits the summer mood perfectly 🙂
I guess many people have such cravings to smell something that reminds us of summer
This sounds really nice to me even though I don’t like calone as a general rule. I have a Carol’s Daughter Monoi shampoo that smells breezily nutty.
I know calone is not your friend but I think that it wouldn’t bother you in Musc Monoi.
And that shampoo sounds really nice
This sounds interesting, but I am not a musk fan generally and I do not like coconut notes in perfumes either. This one might change my mind. Patricia Nicolai is a very skilled perfumer.
I wonder if this perfume could “convert” you to liking musk and coconut, at least for this one particular perfume