Musk Animalic Collection

They add depth and dimension to perfume compositions and serve as fixatives, extending the longevity of more fleeting, volatile botanical aromatics.

There is a mystique surrounding animal musks, and although synthetic molecules have replaced many of these animal-sourced aromatics in modern perfumery, this shift is mainly driven by ethical concerns, cost efficiency, and the difficulty of reproducing vast quantities of mainstream perfumes. In many ways, synthetic molecules can never completely duplicate the qualities and functions of their natural counterparts.

Ever wonder what Ambergris smells like? Civet Musk? Castoreum?

This Musk-Animalic Collection contains 6-1 Millilitre sample vials of the rarest traditional animalic essences in one handsome set.
The market for rare and exotic materials is rife with adulteration and it takes either years of costly trial and error or a trustworthy and reputable source to learn to discern between fakes and the real deal, between poor and excellent quality material.

The Musk-Animalic Collection presents the rarest of traditional perfume ingredients! I personally crafted each musk from raw materials I sourced.

This Musk-Animalic Collection is an excellent educational aid, providing an intimate, experiential introduction to these classic, exotic, and rare aromatics.

Each sampler contains 1 millilitre vial of each of the following 6 Animal Musk tinctures.

• Ambergris tincture 5%
• Civet tincture 10%
• Castoreum 10%
• Muskrat Musk tincture
• Propolis tincture 20% 
• Hyraceum tincture Dark-10%

Ethics and animal welfare in the realm of natural musks.

From an ethical perspective, using most of these animal-sourced aromatics has little to no impact on animals or the ecosystem. (Ambergris, Hyraceum, propolis)
Some are under government regulation which considers a long-term view of the well being of the ecology, the animal population and the impact of animal/human conflict and regulates and culls animal populations by regulating hunting and trapping quotas. (Beavers, Muskrats and in some cases Musk Deer).

However, Civet and, to a great degree, Deer Musk still pose serious ethical issues. Though most sellers of deer musk state their material is collected under strict government control, there seems to be way too much of this product on the market to account for the limited number of licenses that are actually awarded to hunters. Add to this issue the traditional adulteration of Deer musk, one never really knows what one has purchased for an outrageous price or where it has come from.

In the case of Civet musk, we have boycotted the use of Civet products in perfumes since the '60s. However, it has done little to help Civets or traditional farmers.

In fact, in my opinion, our passive approach has caused more damage than good. I believe we need to collectively take a more active role in changing the industry rather than hoping it will go away if we ignore it.

I have worked with Civet farmers and exporters in Ethiopia for 9 years now. Though they are happy to change their practices to accommodate a more lucrative, ethical and animal-centric farm, there simply has not yet been enough interest from the West to motivate the transformation. 

Dan

Materials: Musk Animalic Collection Castoreum, Ambergris, Muskrat musk, Propolis, Skunk, Hyraceum, Beaver, Civet Musk, Alcohol.