Last night I was looking through the list of fragrances I have reviewed so far, and was rather disturbed to see how few would qualify as affordable. I distinctly remember thinking, in some now distant past, that $100 was an awful lot to spend for one small bottle, now, it hardly fazes me. Surely there are still lots of wonderful fragrances to be had for under $25, right?
All of which is a roundabout way of introducing today’s fragrance, Egyptian Musk by Body Time. Body Time was established in California in 1970 as The Body Shop, and eventually sold their name to the British firm of the same name. They are best known for their China Rain scent, and they also have a full line of perfume and essential oils. For DIYers, they carry a few basic perfume making supplies, including a perfume & cologne base.
To my mind, their Egyptian Musk is the perfect "your skin but better" scent. It is clean and fresh, but without smelling like laundry detergent. It is slightly green, slightly sweet, and is the perfect thing to wear when you need to give your poor nose a break, or when you are not sure you should be wearing perfume at all. Like many musks, it can quickly bring on a kind of olfactory fatigue if you keep trying to smell it directly; you might think it is completely gone, but trust me, a couple of drops will last for hours.
There are any number of Egyptian Musk oils on the market, and I have tried about 6 or 7 different versions; this is by far my favorite. I would love to know exactly what Egyptian musk is made of (if you know, please tell!), but I assume it is plant-based. It certainly doesn’t smell in the least animalic.
It can be purchased directly from bodytime, and is dirt cheap: $8 for ¼ ounce. You can buy a whole ounce for $25.60, but this is an extremely thick perfume oil, almost like molasses, and I should think 1 ounce would last for most of the rest of your life.
Have a favorite cheap perfume? Don't think there is any such thing as a decent perfume for under $25? Please comment!
This makes me want to try Egyptian Musk again — I tried the Sweetcakes Oils version and didn't like it at all. Have you tried China Rain? I'm interested in that one as well.
Morning G! Many of the Egyptian Musks I tried were either too sweet, or too soapy. My next favorite after the BT is Auric Blends Egyptian Goddess, which is smoother & sweeter than the BT, and a touch spicier. Would guess it has some sandalwood & vanilla?
China Rain is a nice, clean floral musk, and is very nice in the BT body lotions. Their standout, though, is the Green Fig oil, which is really a great fig if you like green notes. I hear the linden is also nice, and that it mixes nicely with the Egyptian musk. Body Time does do samples, and I should have included that in the post.
Not much of a musk wearer here, but I do agree that there are many worthy fragrances to be had and to be loved in the lower price range! I discovered the drugstore gem Cherry Vanilla, and it is a nice sweet candy fragrance. Another interesting line, Un Monde Nouveau, can be had for a song from many eBay sellers.
I see that 'the healing garden' garnered a Fifi, so that line must be gathering more fans.
Thanks for the review, Robin!
Oh my, there are so many wonderful creations out there to be had for a song. A couple of *my* faves – Coty Dark Vanilla and Woman by Jovan…along with countless others from Avon…you don't have to spend a lot to smell good!
Thanks P, will look for Un Monde Nouveau, I had never heard of it!
And will check out Cherry Vanilla. I wish drugstores still had testers, like in the old days.
Again, I do wish drugstores still put out fragrance testers. It has been a very long time since I tried any of the Jovans or Cotys. Thanks for the great recs!
Walgreen and Walmart do have testers and sometimes Eckerd and CVS, too!
My daughter and I sniffed some of the new Gap scents last week and I liked many of them. They are simple, pretty fragrances that retail for less than 20 dollars.
Egyptian Musk is my favorite type of musk and I agree with you that Body Time makes the best one. My other favorite oil from Body Time is the East Indian Sandalwood Oil, but as the price is about triple that of the Egyptian Musk, I don't know if it qualifies as a cheap find! At $30 for 1.7 oz, the EDTs from the L'Occitane Gardens line are excellent and affordable scents, which makes me sad to see them slowly disappearing!
I'll have to check my Eckerd & Walmart…I swear I've never seen testers there but maybe I have't looked closely.
Thanks, those are the new mix n' match, right? I need to get over to the Gap.
My ears perked up right away at “sandalwood”. Is it soapy? Please say no. Actually, just went to look and can't find it on the site anyway, maybe they are out of stock.
I would say no to the soapy, but I have no concept of what a soapy sandalwood might be. The Body Time sandalwood is a very pure and true mysore sandalwood scent, with no other notes blended in. If you've tried Scentsational's East Indian Sandalwood, it is very similar, but I think Body Time's is purer and better.
I love Tipton Charles Sandalwood (sweet & powdery) and as you mentioned it's on sale now. It's a bargain at regular price!
Another one I love is the Healing Garden's Silk Pajamas. The spray and lotion are just heaven! And of course the price is right!
Thanks! Will see if they put it back on the website one of these days.
TC Sandalwood is lovely, and I need to try more from that line. Haven't tried any of the Healing Garden things yet.
There are a number of inexpensive synthetic musks available to the perfumer, and I'm certain there are plant-based substitutes, so I would hazard one of those, most likely the synthetic.
I have a sample of this somewhere, I haven't tested it yet. Maximina sent me an extraordinary package of musk samples that I'm slowly going through.
You are probably right! BT says the musk is from Tunisia, which makes me wonder if it could be some local plant, but who knows.
This sounds lovely – I've yet to try anything by Body Time.
To tell the truth I'm enamoured of Escential Oil's China Rain and it's lily-chinese rose punch, so I've been disinclined to try anybody else's. I really like Escential's Vanilla Amber Musk (I know, what a creative name) since it's simple elegant and lovely. And cheap. I think I paid eight bucks? for a 1/3 oz roll on bottle. And their Earl Gray layed with their Grapefruit is an old fave, as well as their dark resin-y Dragon's Blood. Their shop is here in Portland, so they tend to be my number one choice for cheap frags.
I have been everywhere on the web searching for cherry vanilla i used to get it at wal-mart,you would not happen to know who makes it would you?
I think it is by Shiara, and I am pretty sure Wal-mart still carries it. Good luck!
If you cannot find Cherry Vanilla, I can get it for you, no problem….let me know.
PLEASE I NEED CHERRY VANILLA LOL yes if you know where or how to get it let me know.
Hi all
I wear this scent and absolutely LOVE it. It is inexpensive and lasts very well. I also have found it's a bit of a man magnet, I receive many compliments on it.
Wow, late reply, don't know how I missed these comments! But hope you've tried the BT by now
K, here I am, 2 years later — wanting to try Escential's Earl Gray, that sounds lovely!
This sounds like my favorite cheap perfume, Egyptian Goddess by Auric Blends. Its around 7 dollars for the roll-on and 25 for the small bottle. I first smelled it on my yoga instructor and asked her what she was wearing. She told me about this company and have been wearing it ever since.
I have tried Egyptian Goddess but it was so long ago now that I can’t remember how it differs from the Body Time version. I do know they’re close but not quite the same.