How you feel about Byredo M/Mink Eau de Parfum might depend on your thoughts about Dada clothing — say, Elsa Schiaparelli's shoe hat.1 The hat is awfully clever. Who would have thought to take something you wear on your feet, flip it heel up, and put it on your head? But the hat isn't particularly flattering, and, face it, when you wear a shoe on your head, people notice the shoe and little else. Schiaparelli called herself an artist, but some may have thought of her hat less as art than as gimmick. I'll let you decide where M/Mink falls.
M/Mink is a collaboration between Byredo and a French design firm called M/M, after its founders, Michael Amzalag and Mathias Augustyniak. In a press release, M/M says:
In 2009, reversing the usual idea of receiving a brief from a client, they invited Ben Gorham of byredo to their studio in Paris and presented him a creative direction and concept — a block of solid ink purchased in Asia, a photograph showing a Japanese master practising his daily calligraphy, and a large utopian formula that Mathias drew on Korean traditional paper.
It is rare in our days to find objects with a soul that perfectly fits in the trivial world we’re living in. Even though perfume is totally useless, these seemed to fulfill a kind of spiritual function[...]
Ben returned to Sweden and came back to Paris seven months later with a scent. This was his translation of the three images he was given. When we tried his proposal, we truly wanted to call it a smell. A smell as in Smells Like Teen Spirit like Nirvana used to sing.
(Note: Ben Gorham is the founder of Byredo. For brevity, I cut out bits of the press release, which you can find in full here. Let me add, I believe for the observant our world is tragic and beautiful, not trivial. Unless you're making irrelevant references to Nirvana, that is. And don't even get me started on "perfume is totally useless.")
M/Mink was developed by perfumer Jerome Epinette. Its notes include adoxal, incense, patchouli, honey, and amber. Adoxal is a synthetic compound that in the right dilution smells something like lily of the valley. In M/Mink, it is concentrated enough to stick on the tongue, like the eyedroppers of echinacea I used to take when I thought I might be getting a cold. This must be the smell of a block of ink. The sharp, plastic note, as intense as an electrical fire, burns through most of M/Mink's life on skin — at least three hours.
Gradually, incense, wood, and amber take the edge off the ink accord, but they never surface insistently enough to be a distinct presence. As the fragrance ages, Byredo compares M/Mink's scent to blood. It is metallic, but not as sweet as blood. But then, I haven't smelled a lot of blood.
All in all, M/Mink is sort of a novelty fragrance, but a joke that likely only you will get. Unlike with Schiaparelli's shoe hat, not many people will recognize M/Mink as ink. Instead, they might cast quick glances at electrical outlets to make sure nothing has shorted out. But similar to the shoe hat, M/Mink is only marginally wearable. It isn't flattering or even enjoyable. A discrete dab while you're working might be a fun, private boost for its inky reminders. I spend plenty of time writing at my laptop, and I'd appreciate a dram or less as a secret encouragement. But a hearty spritz before a dinner party would only puzzle — and possibly repulse — my friends.
So, despite the intimidating price tag and cutting-edge Parisian design firm, is M/Mink any more special than almost any of the CB I Hate Perfume scents or even a cleverly executed Demeter? Is M/Mink art or gimmick? Like I said, that's for you to decide.
Byredo M/Mink Eau de Parfum is available in 50 ml and 100 ml. For information on where to buy it, see Byredo under Perfume Houses.
1. You can find an even better image of the shoe hat here.
no one’s gonna outdo CdG 2 in the ink-y department, which they created, what, ten years ago? yet byredo’s trying to sell this as a unique and original fragrance. i was skeptical. thanks for the review.
I think it’s interesting that the guys at M/M, who are obviously visually sophisticated, missed the boat on fragrance. Doing a fragrance that smells primarily like ink is so literal and so “done”. I was talking about this with a friend who is an art professor this morning, and she pointed out that the the opposite take on M/Mink would be in a perfume company went to M/M with a perfume that smelled like roses and asked for a visual interpretation of the scent and got back a drawing of a real life rose. Not very interesting.
i used to love a good ‘novelty’ scent (the CB’s & the CDG scents of tar & garages etc), but recently i’ve become bored with novelty for the sake of it – especially if it means the fragrance doesn’t even smell good. When i get ready in the morning i increasingly find myself reaching for the fragrances i actually like the smell of & will enjoy during the day rather than wanting to be a walking scent laboratory. As you say this kind of thing is very self indulgent when only you get the joke & everyone else just wonders what the horrible smell is!
I agree! If it smelled like ink but was actually wearable, that would be something different.
I tried M/Mink about a month ago in Byredos flag-ship shop in Stockholm. The nice lady kept a secret bottle behind the counter and I got a try before it was actually released. I had read about in in NST and was deadly curious about the smell of blood and ink. I sniffed it and found it actually did smell of blood and ink at the same time – in the beginning – but then…..it started to smell like a grown mans scrotum (the area between the testicles and the anus). This special smell was very long lasting. I dont think I will buy a bottle of this perfume.
Eau de Scrotum! Ack!
“this special smell was very long lasting”
Oh, Kristin! Thanks for my belly laugh of the day!
Not to be too picky, BUT the area between the testicles (which are contained in the scrotum) and the anus is called the perineum.
So the scent would be ‘Eau de Perineum.’
Jus’ sayin’ 🙂
This is such an educational blog…
eau de scrotum would be more pleasant than eau de perineum. Perhaps we’re onto something guys? Time to cobble a few pictures together and pitch it to an artsy perfumier?
Now, that would be quite a brief!
I tried it a couple of weeks ago, fell in love and promptly bought a bottle. I’ve been yearning for a wood or incense with a prominent ink note for ages, CdG 2 didn’t do it for me, this one is it. I find it cold, unearthly, absolutely gorgeous, completely wearable and, yes, quite animalic, but then I enjoy that. Not an everyday fragrance by any means, but a beautiful one.
As for the ink note, ink can smell in many different ways – I’ve come across vintage ink meant for school use that smelled faintly of bitter almond, ink that smells cold and mineral, rather like the adoxal note here, vintage waterproof ink that smells quite a bit like creosote… To me, the top notes smells quite a bit like those mineral facets of certain inks.
I’m so glad you–a fan of M/Mink–commented! I see myself as reasonably fearless about perfume, but this one was unpleasantly piercing on my skin, even dabbed, although I could see wearing some while alone and writing. Hopefully some other people who enjoy M/Mink will comment, too.
I sent a sample to a friend who usually likes and can wear much the same things as I do, at least within this fragrance family, but apparently it turned urinous and a little sickly sweet on him – I think the honey is the culprit in that case, but it seems to be one of those fragrances that really hinges on skin chemistry.
You must be right about skin chemistry. The descriptions of M/Mink from people who love it sound so different from my experience, and so nice.
Wow, such a detailed appreciation – the olfactory nuances of ink!
Isn’t that nice? I have a friend who works in letterpress, and I’ve smelled ink on him, but that and Sharpies are all I have to compare to. M/Mink is probably closer to Sharpie.
and I’m uselessly trying to imagine – since i cant get anything out my ball-pen. I guess the hay-fever isn’t helping!
Probably not! I hope the hay fever dies down quickly.
I have a close friend with a bad case of stylophilia, and I’m catching the bug, which means lots of smelling of various inks, modern and vintage – she collects vintage ink as well as vintage pen. It’s a surprisingly olfactorily satisfying hobby. Naturally I smell everything, and both inks and, actually, pens (hard rubber!)can have a wide variety of interesting smells. I was very much surprised by how variable the smell of ink is, especially.
The paper would smell nice, too. I can easily imagined being tempted by beautiful old pens and ink.
Every bit as bad as perfume, I imagine, like fragrance it can be quite a sensual hobby, very visual and tactile. I am receptive and very tempted, but fragrance absorbs so much more time, energy and money that I feel relatively safe so far… 🙂
Pimpinett-I just tried it recently and adored it. I was looking for a unique woody/incense with a mineral note. This was just perfect. Given the price tag though, I’m inclined to try it a few times just to be sure.
Maybe there’s a split out there you could buy into so you could take 5 or 10 ml for a test drive.
It did smell really good on you. I want to try it, but still have my CdG2, which i don’t wear that much.
The 50 ml bottle is what tipped me over the edge, it is expensive, but there are far worse culprits out there (demoralizingly so!) and I have been longing, yearning for something exactly like this for a long time now. That is when it’s worth it.
Absolutely!
I tried it a while back and I liked it, too. I’ve been thinking about getting a bottle. I need to test it more, though. To be honest, I didn’t get a lot of ink, really.
Almost all I got was ink! This one is definitely skin-dependent, it sounds like.
I tried a sample of M/Mink, but it really is not made for me. My favourite Byredo is still Chembur. Happily a collegue of mine likes it more so she was happy to get my samples. Received from Danielle, who works for Byredo in Sweden.
It’s nice to be able to swap samples–a definite advantage to having perfume-loving friends with different taste in perfume than yours.
I only recently got a chance to smell M/ink, as I was waiting for a friend in Liberty’s of London. I absent-mindedly put the blotter in my pocket and spent several hours vaguely incommodated by the metallic note until I remembered its presence…
I think there are three problems here. 1/ Fragrance briefs giving images or objects is in no way or form “reversing the brief”, unless I’m missing some crucial part of the concept. 2/ CdG has been there and done that. 3/ M/M are excellent designers, but as is often the case when non-perfume people go into perfume, they don’t know much about perfume and what’s already been done.
At some point I’m pretty sure I’ll run into one half of M/M socially as we’ve got a common friend and it’s happened before… I’d be curious to know how much they’ve researched the idea before launching into it…
I have been thinking of you a lot, and fondly, lately! I hope you’re doing well.
In the M/M press release, I definitely get the feel of a couple of guys excited about the whole concept of perfume-not-as-what-my-mom-wears (the idea that “teen spirit” could have a smell), but by now perfume lovers have been there, and a long time ago at that. The New York Times yesterday had a few paragraphs about M/Mink where they quoted the M/M guys exulting in the fact that their perfume changes on the skin over time (like no other perfume has ever done something crazy like that.) I’m happy for them, but not super impressed.
Teen Spirit does have a smell.
Three of my nephews are now in thier early teens (gag!)
Teen Spirit _rather badly_ needs to be covered by perfume.
Oh, I agree with you completely about teen spirit! (And hopefully it isn’t just the smell of Axe, either.)
I actually find this little beast quite wearable, to my surprise with a lot of my peers actually finding it quite pleasant. The drydown is very different on my skin from how it is on paper. I can only perceive the blood aspect of it in the top notes which quickly fade allowing the gorgeous heart of inky incense, amber and honey to come through.
M/Mink incredibly unique though, almost strange in a sense, so it is very expressive to wear. Some comments I’ve received wearing it is that it smells “very personal and intimate”(is this an euphemism if the scrotum mentioned in an above comment?) as well as “expensive and rare”. Interestingly, the reactions from letting the same people smell a freshly sprayed paper blotter are much different, mostly in a negative way.
The sad part of it is though that it doesn’t last, I never get more than 3 hours of perceptible wear out of it is and it is a great pity because I truly think it is a piece of wearable art. I strongly encourage everyone who have the opportunity to smell it.
It sounds really nice on you! I wish I could smell it on your skin rather than mine–it sounds terrific. This goes to show how important it is to try something yourself, since it one person’s perception and skin can be so different. Thanks for weighing in!
Don’t agree with whats mostly been written here. Where did you see that ‘Byredo compares M/Mink’s scent to blood’? It seems that american people tend to have a problem with metaphors (I am french, and we’re used to “la licence poétique”). The portion of the press release written by M/M ends on a poetic/lyrical note stating “The ink that irrigates the three images we gave to Ben in the first place. It is the blood, the spirit that gives life to this visual articulation. It is the perfume of a spirit writing in immaterial ink under your skin.” It seems that quite a few people including the author of this blog have misread that quote and have litterally assumed that blood was supposed to be evoked by the scent. So this should be reconsidered. I have treated myself with a bottle when it was released at Colette after testing it. It smells magnificent, and nothing like a novelty. The first note is harsh, metallic, salty, but it quickly moves into something amazing and nothing like ‘eau de scrotum’. I keep having amazed reactions to what I wear from people not aware of Byredo neither M/M nor CDG, which to me indicates this is truly a wearable and original scent, and I have been wearing it everyday since I bought it. I suggest you read the review from the amazing Octavian on http://1000fragrances.blogspot.com/ for an unbiaised view.
CarmenCanada: I also think you’re wrong in your “3 problems description”: 1/ This is the first time I am aware of that a fragrance brief is given by imagemakers 2/This is not meant to be a conceptual fragrance à la CDG, it is a real perfume 3/ M/M have been very clear that they left the composition of the juice to Gohram and Epinette.
Keep in mind that people will obviously smell things differently. Angela is posting her opinion – this review is not posted as hard fact that will be true for everyone.
For instance, Angela seemed to really enjoy “Like This”, and to me, it smelled EXACTLY like airplane upholstery. That doesn’t mean that her review is problematic.
Airplane upholstery? That’s hilarious! I love it. Thanks for your comment.
Yes, I did you not. I couldn’t place it at first, but I got none of the pumpkin or any of the other awesome smells that people have attributed to Like This. Just a vague smell that made me feel like I needed to shower. And then it dawned on me – it’s the smell that lingers on my clothes after a transatlantic flight.
I made my fiance sniff it to verify, and that’s what he smelled, too. It was really odd – unless Luckyscent was playing a trick on me, my personal chemistry must react with Like This in a bad, bad way.
Hey, maybe you’re actually Cinderella and you were traveling in a pumpkin coach-plane? No? Well, all I can say is I’m sorry Like This turned out so awful on you.
Yes I did read that outstanding review by Octavian, and so I was surprised by the more negative response here to the fragrance. It did considerably calm my desire to try. Others by Byredo are intriguing and so I am sure M/MINK has its merits. I do appreciate people’s honest reactions… negative and/or positive. I do not consider a problem with metaphors to be a necessarily ‘American’ issue, this is an unfair assessment, as is perhaps certain assessment in regard to the perfume. Many people who post on this blog are not American, which is rather nice, and these (your) perspectives are welcome and always interesting!
Thanks for your comment. I, too, appreciate everyone’s insight on the reviews, no matter where they live.
Skipping, I’m glad to see M/Mink has inspired so much passion in you. Surely the response to a moving perfume, no? I only wish I had a similar response.
Here’s where I got the bit about the blood, not from the press release: https://nstperfume.com/2010/09/09/byredo-mmink-new-fragrance/.
I have a world of respect for Octavian and will read his review right away–thanks for pointing it out!
Whatever the merits of the perfume (and I have not smelled it or expect to get the chance), I value this discussion about it.
In a different context, I heard recently a remark from a pianist that when she was a student, her music teacher taught her in a way that ‘allowed air to rush into the forgotten chambers of [her] mind’ (not the exact quote , but close I think). A discussion like this on NST can also achieve that, so thanks everyone.
Discussion–especially respectful discussion–is the salt of life, and I like it at NST, too.
Skipping, I don’t see how a brief given by image-makers would differ in substance from a brief given by a fashion designer, an artist (Sophie Calle or Orlan, for instance) or an artistic director, as far as the end product is concerned. I would also beg to differ about Comme des Garçons: Christian Astuguevieille, their artistic director, with whom I spoke at length, does not set out to create pure novelties, but “wearable” perfumes. The perception of how wearable they are may vary. I do know people who wear Garage and Odeur 71, and clearly if they’re kept in production they do feel as wearable to their aficionados as M/Mink feels to you.
Of course I’ve read Octavian’s review — but unbiased? He is never unbiased: he always writes very strongly expressed points of view. “Unbiased” is not synonymous with “I agree with the author”. Angela’s is an informed point of view, placed within the context of the history of fashion.
My comments are not a judgment on the quality of M/Mink itself: I haven’t worn it. I was purely considering the discourse around it.
I really want to try this, though Byredo’s prices just blow my mind for what they are. None of the ones I tried on a card were really anything. But as one who would recognize the smell of ink, it might be kind of neat. And I do love the hat, too. I’d worry (were I a woman in need of an outfit to match) of getting shoes–foot shoes!–to match. But as an editorial, that would be really visually satisfying.
If you try it, please let us know what you think!
I actually love the hat, too. I’m not sure I’d have the guts to wear it in public, but I know I’d be trying it on at home constantly.
Oh, the Schiaparelli hat! I forgot all about that in my first reply, but of course I’m a fan of the hat of doubtful wearability, too, and Schiaparelli in general.
Apparently, there was a sense of rivalry between Elsa Schiaparelli and Coco Chanel, as extremely innovative and successful contemporaries who approached fashion from completely different angles. I appreciate Chanel, but I love Schiaparelli; her designs evoke an emotional response in me that Chanel just never does. Someone further up here posted a fantastic quote about letting air rush into forgotten chambers of the mind; that’s sort of how I feel about Schiaparelli.
M/Mink was just instant love, though. I don’t find it awfully original, just completely, stunningly beautiful and right.
I have similar feelings about Chanel and Schiaparelli. I admire Chanel, but long for a dressing gown with lips as pockets like Schiaparelli designed. Of course, what I’d really love to get my hands on is some old Balenciaga…
Schiaparelli tops my list of dream vintage finds, I think, perhaps along with Adrian and certain vintage women’s uniforms. I would actually wear the shoe hat (if it wasn’t the priceless piece of art I assume it is today, that is).
We’ve got to get you set up with a shoe hat, then! Maybe not a real Schiaparelli, but surely someone could make one?
Has anyone tried the CDG Sumi ink perfume, and how does this compare?
I haven’t tried it, but I’d be interested to hear from anyone who had.
well, I would like to try this as I love the smell of ink.
On the other hand, the scrotum reminiscense is, well, disconcerting.
I’m not saying that I would hate it, but as with real scrotums, it might take a lifetime to find one that suits you… ehem…
🙂 (sorry I just couldn’t resist making that comment)
Oh man! So close to dinner, too! (But very funny all the same.)
If you do try it, I’d love to know what you think. Make sure you report back.
As a writer and artist who works with ink and papers, I’ve long been fascinated by the fragrance of ink. Sumi ink is made from burned vegetal materials, and can smell like minerals, incense, woods or metal. I’m interested in M/M Ink because I love the Byredos, but I also insist on a fragrance that smells at least interesting, if not beautiful. I’m not a fan of plastic and electrical fire smells, but I have a weird chemistry and I am curious as to how M/M Ink will work on my skin.
It sure didn’t work on me, but your description of the scent of ink is mighty seductive. M/Mink might be brilliant on you–free of the caustic smell I got. Please let me know once you’d have the chance to try it!
Angela, thanks for pointing me to the Robin post with the blood reference. i have found out that the misinterpretation of the blood metaphor came from colette’s shop newsletter, and has since been repeated through many blogs..
So i apologize to americans for questioning their capacity to understand metaphors since it was frenchies who first distorted the message!
I was angry earlier seeing so many bad reactions to this and most of them triggered by what i think is a misinterpretation of Byredo and M/M intention. I truly love this, and as Octavian said “M / MINK took me like a storm” !
I’m glad you love M/Mink! It’s rare and wonderful to find a fragrance that speaks to you so completely.
I know I’m late to comment, but in re-visiting the ‘forgotten chambers of [my] mind’ – thanks, Annmarie for that quote – I’ve managed to piece together some old memories with recently acquired knowledge about the place of ink in asian society. Calligraphy is taught in chinese schools starting at an early age. Solid ink blocks have to be mixed wih water on a slate with a slanted well to create a consistency compatible to the brushes being used to write. I recall visiting Chinese art museums where calligraphy scrolls were valued as much as if not more than paintings. The quality and character of each stroke can receive endless analyses. These works represent an extension of the writers’ inner selves and a reflexion of their souls as much as a document of history and society of the time. I can understand the connection of the ink to the blood that flows in the body and through their souls. In fact, these men carried their ink blocks and brushes with them wherever they traveled.
I wish I can recall what these ink blocks smelled like as solids and when transformed. For this I would love to smell M/MINK.
I feel like I could see everything you described, just like a movie! Thanks for the comment. When you do try M/Mink, I’d love to hear what you think.
Angela, have you ever seen Ang Lee’s early film, The Wedding Banquet, where a gay man contrived the story of a fake engagement to a Chinese woman (a struggling painter living in one of his apts) to get his parents off his back about finding him a proper wife? There is a scene when the young man’s parents came from Taiwan to visit him in NY and witness “the wedding.” The man had hung scrolls of his father’s calligraphy on the living room walls and the “fiancee,” upon discovering the artist of the works, began to elaborately interpret and praise each careful stroke of the characters. The more she detailed, the bigger the father’s grin became. It’s a funny scene, but shows how special a place these work represent to their authors.
I think the ink and brush are part of their identities, so if there are special smells to them (regardless of the character), I can see that being treasured as well.
Sounds like a great movie! I adored “In the Mood For Love.” I’ll have to see this one.
I confess that i was one of the persons that coldn`t see the ink note in byredo m/mink. It smells to me more like an animal, a scared one it seems. The opening to me smells like a cross of one of three most hated fragrances by me: miel du bois, secretions magnifiques and musk khoubalai khan.
I’m starting to see a trend: some people (like me) get a harsh metallic ink note; some people get man parts; and some people get a lovely woody musky incense.
Well, gosh, I certainly want to run (OK, limp) right out and try this scent after reading the discussion here! I was intrigued by the Sumi Ink note in the CDG, but I found myself not wanting to wear it, and my BF is constantly drawing with it so he didn’t seem to need any more. This sounds like a totally different Animal, and it’s the Mink facet I’m most curious about! I found the other scents in this line quite uninteresting so an odd name like this one (I find myself stuttering MuhMink) might have captured my attention or not, so thanks for the interesting post!
It does sound very alluring, and the packaging is terrific. If you’re one of the lucky ones, maybe it will even smell good on you!
When I got the chance to have an intensive examination of this rather uncommon composition I at first thought of the synthetics Soda by Comme des Garcons but then it developed into a scent that reminded me of italian parsley together with something woody-ozone-like….it is quite an outstanding perfume that I will buy as soon as money arrives
Great! I hope you have a bottle by now.
I know this is MMUUUUCH after the party. But I was looking for info on this scent, which my husband bought for me.
I can’t offer any insight as complex or insightful as those here, but as an civilian user of M/Mink.
On me it opens so high and cloying that I refrained from wearing it.
However, it smells wonderful on my husband, soft and warm and kind of smoky(?), and not scrotal or perianal. I can sense the ink, or more the idea of an opened time capsule.
I was tempted back by how amazing it does smell on him.
For me though, I found it best after 3 or 4 hours – perhaps the 3 hours after which it has vanished for other wearers?!
And I do love the scent it leaves on my clothing.
That’s so fascinating about how the fragrance is distinctly different on you and your husband. I’m guessing my skin reacts more like yours–M/Ink smelled like the inside of a TV on my skin, all screechy metallic (although I do have to admit I haven’t tested it since I did the review.) Thanks for weighing in with the results of your road test!
Way later… but, for what it’s worth, I happened upon this fragrance today. Very interesting scent. I don’t get any ink at all or burning electrical or much mineral – it’s all animal in the beginning, verging on too much but then it dries down into an animalic beeswax. I couldn’t stop smelling my wrist. It was such a rich smell. Thanks for the post.
Thank you for weighing in! I love your description of it.
I recently tried this and found it oddly compelling. I think I am in the category of those who get a woody, animalic incense smell from it. A full bottle is in my near future.
I’ve heard of more and more people who respond to M/Ink like you do. Enjoy it!