By request, a repeat of a poll we did in 2010. The subject: skanky perfumes. From A Perfumista lexicon:
Skanky: a fragrance with animalic or other “sexy” notes. Skanky has pejorative connotations in “regular” slang, but among many perfumistas, it is meant as a compliment. The use of the term to apply to perfume was popularized by March at Perfume Posse.
We'll have a skanky Friday project coming up soon, so consider this some advance planning. Tell us...
1. What's your favorite skanky perfume?
2. What perfume do you think would be a perfect "introduction to skank"?
3. Are there any perfumes that are just too skanky for you to wear?
Or, anything else you'd like to tell us on the subject of skank in perfume. Or, as always, just talk about something else.
Note: top image is 20120331_3302_D300S [cropped] by Marco Ghitti at flickr; some rights reserved. Middle image is 20120331_3284_D300S [cropped] by Marco Ghitti at flickr; some rights reserved. Bottom image is Zebra. [cropped] by Bernard Spragg. NZ at flickr; Public Domain.
1. Amouage Gold
2. Hermes Caleche or Dzing!
3. Kouros
SOTD is Tenue de Soiree, wearing the same color as the pom pom sweater.
Farmers market this morning, tomatoes are still going strong..apples, peaches and pears ..huge market haul this morning.
Tea Sakura 2000 By MF
Yesterday someone was asking about Iris perfumes, I tried Iris by L’Erbolario when I was in Holland and its a good “cheap” as in price, not in beauty, Iris!
Notes from the website: Bergamot, Ylang Ylang
Iris, Hawthorn Tobacco Vanilla Mosses
I love Amouage Gold but I’ve never thought about it in this way.
Where’s everybody? I woke up, came here, didn’t find any comments and went to check what was going on with Irma thinking that maybe it got worse overnight, and everybody are either affected or overwhelmed by what’s going on to talk about perfumes. Thankfully, Irma was downgraded but still might cause a lot of damage.
Poll late again, too.
I see… I didn’t realize it was posted late since there is no time on the post, just date. It’s just that usually by the time I wake up (especially on weekends) most people have already commented and left.
Well, it wasn’t *that* late. Maybe an hour. But it’s not unusual for me to be late on a Saturday, really.
It didn’t show up on my iPad until about 1:00.
I just checked. It went live at 12:14 Eastern US time. If you’re not logged in you do see cached versions for a time, so you won’t see new posts as quickly. But I presume you were logged in.
Love Amouage Gold as well, but I would never describe it as skanky.
Maybe people are late because of the topic?
It took me a while to formulate my response, which is pretty brief 
Ha, could be that too!
Irma downgraded but it will strengthen as it is running through warm waters and will pick up steam. It is not looking good at all.
Skank in Gold? Nope never found it, not even in the mostest vintage. Never found skank in any Amouage come to that (really!). Too much Oud, h**l yes (Opus V)! Skank totally missing for me.
not even in Ubar?
No, and I hopefully tried vintage as well as current!
Gold Man, not woman. Sorry should of clarified.
Gold Woman is pretty animalic on me.
Yes to Dzing! for starter skank!
No skank for me, thank YOU. I enjoy me some funky musks and oud sometimes, but animalics are generally not my thang.
Deva, hope your house makes it thru the hurricane ok! Thinking of Floridians this morning.
Just read that the staff of Hemingway’s home on Key West are staying put, along with the 54 cats that make it hard for them to evacuate. Ack.
Oh gosh, thank you for sharing that, I wondered about the Hemingway house and cats after I listened to a news report from Key West. People were gathering on high ground at the high school. Some were without any means to travel north, some had dogs and did not think they could make the journey. Such a tragedy.
Oh that hurts my heart. I loved that place. Praying for all in Florida…particularly the Keys and south Florida.
There’s a place in Tampa called Big Cat Rescue that takes in lions, tigers, and other big cats from abusive situations (such as sideshows, etc). Their social media posts re: the hurricane have been upbeat but I can’t help but worry about the animals and people who will stay behind to care for them. Hoping Irma will keep shrinking . . .
The Hemingway house is on one of highest points in Key West and is constructed of either coquina rock or limestone, I can’t remember which. Still not where I’d want to be in a serious hurricane, but the house has made it through numerous bad hurricanes including the devastating Cat 5 1935 storm.
I saw the guy interviewed. He said it’s made of blocks of limestone. He did mention cats, but didn’t know it was 54!
And, as of tonight, they are reportedly all ok. Key West did better than expected.
Not being a native English speaker, for a while in the past I was reading/seeing the “skanky perfume” phrase as “skunky perfume,” which combined with my new (back then) acquaintance with the said animal and its scent didn’t produce any positive associations. Long since then I figured it out (and double checked with online dictionaries) but skanky/skunky perfumes are not my thing. And with many of the well-known perfumes that others label as such I just can’t believe that it smells good to anyone – but I keep those opinions to myself. Mostly.
Have a safe weekend everybody!
LOL at skunky. For what it’s worth, my brother told me that if you just imagine that you’re actually smelling coffee beans when the skunky smell is wafting by, it won’t smell as bad.
Interesting. I’ll try it the next time one of those creatures gets upset for no good reason and lets us know about it
Skunk is also a cannabis variety….
I like a bit of skank, but it has to be well-blended with other ingredients. I like El Attarine, Aziyade and Absolue pour le Soir for example. Salome teeters on the edge and Serge Noire goes way over it. If I were to recommend a beginner skank scent, maybe it would be L’Air de Rien.
BTW, today I am wearing Byredo 1996.
“Salome teeters on the edge”….Ha! well put! the first time I tested it was at work and luckily I did NOT do my usual dump the whole vial on my little body….I knew not to with that one…one tiny drop on my scent eating skin lasted all day….smelling like ladies dirty panties….sorry to be crude, but that is the best description I can come up with! APLS was similar in the cool weather…but completely different on my skin in the heat (see my comment below)
AND I sent a family member off to college with said sample of Salome without forewarning her…she and her flatmates will be in for a surprise when they get around to testing that one!
Hahaha nice one! ????
Hey, I am educating the next generation of perfumistas
But in my defense, I also sent her off with numerous samples of various benign and less polarizing scents for her and her friends to play with.
Ha ha, for me, Salome has leapt off the cliff and is half-way down…
!!!
I have a very low tolerance for skank, it turns out, so I have no good poll answers at all. SOTD is Le Galion Iris – it’s my only Le Galion, and I would like to explore the line further but need guidance. I know lucasai wears a fair number from LG – if you’re out there, lucasai (or anyone else familiar with more of the line), any words of wisdom?
I really liked Iris when I tried it last week. Also Whip and Snob. Of those two I prefered Whip as it was a little less fusty. The Cuirs was also nice. I didn’t take notes unfortunately but whip had a bright opening, and the lavender was quite sweet almost like apple.
Wow, Whip sounds delicious in the website description. Did Cuir remind you at all of Diorling (assuming you’ve ever had the pleasure of sniffing it)?
I haven’t sorry so can’t compare them
I really, really want to like Whip just for the name!
Yes!
I have Snob, and minis of 222, Aesthete, Whip and La Rose. la Rose is a watery rose; not my thing. I wear Aesthete and 222 frequently. I did not care for Sortilege; it felt a little like old lady perfume somehow. Sang Bleu is good but my husband stole that one!
Oh my, Aesthete sounds yummy from the website hype too! And the photo for Sang Bleu – oh my.
I tried Sang Bleu and thouggt I was going to love it, but somewhere in later development I kept smelling Tidy Cat. Clean Tidy Cat litter.
Hah! At least it was clean.
I also have Sortilege which reminds me of Chanel No.22 (aldehydes, powdery) and someone else of Joy.
So kind of retro? I keep meaning to sample 22 but haven’t managed to yet. And Joy … I have to be in exactly the right mood to wear that one. It’s definitely NOT a no-brainer.
Retro, yes.
I like Le Galion’s Cologne and Cologne Nocturne. Their Vetyver is nice too — mild citrus vetiver; nothing earth-shaking, but pleasant.
Interesting! “Mild citrus vetiver” is nothing like LG’s description. Makes me question all their other marketing blurbs … and yet, I have samples of several in a Twisted Lily cart, and just added Cologne.
Sadly, they don’t have Vetyver listed as available.
I can be really unhelpful by offering the opposite view to Katrina
I have FBs of Sortilège and La Rose. Sortilège does have an old fashioned feel, but that’s what I like about it!
You rebel, you.
La Rose’s notes sound complex and unusual – not a soliflore at all – but fragrances do such different things on different skin … so a sample goes into the cart!
I thought I would like Whip, but it turned out to be way too much lavender for me (I have a low tolerance). Snob is nice if you like aldehydes, but I really liked La Rose and Tubereuse.
Shanky perfumes that come to my mind now and that I wear are: Dzing, Bond No.9 New York Oud (this is tough for me sometimes, but I like it). I cannot say they are favorites. I just wear them when I am in the mood.
SOTD Jo Malone Peony and Blush Suede. My MIL likes it and today is her birthday. We are spending the day with her. We had brunch already and are taking her now for some shopping. We will end up the day with some tea and pastries that she loves.
Have a great weekend everyone!
I love Peony and Blush Suede…you smell lovely!
Thank you! It is really lovely. I wish it were not so fleeting.
Happy Birthday to your MIL. It is so nice to see you get along very well with her!
Thank you Hajusuuri! She is a sweety. Fortunately, we have a very good relationship.
Sounds like a great day. Enjoy!
Thank you lillyjo. Going good do far!
Bogue Maai – I loved it for 10 minutes but by the end of the day I was surprised people weren’t fleeing from me. I wanted to flee from me.
Arquiste Nanban – did not work 5 minutes in.
I love Dzing- get no skank from it.
Shook the piggy bank and ordered the cloche of Borneo from Barneys.
Worried sick about sister in Florida – her son, daughter in law and granddaughters driving up to her in Gainesville today.
I hope your sister and family stay safe.
Eeeek, wishing your sister the best.
Hope everything goes fine with your family.
thank you for the thoughts. She is being called in already for nursing support at shelters, but is waiting until everyone is safe with her before she goes. I am having trouble focusing, so am cleaning.
what a year.
I hope that your family stays safe.
Wishing the best to your family. Very nerve-wracking.
Thinking of your family, and you. I hope all is OK.
Zoologist’s Civet and DSH’s Chinchilla!
Gah! I have been busy and missing my perfume power talks. A recent dx means I can’t have coffee, tea, tomatoes, onions, vinegar, spices, soy anything, and no citrus fruits…. you get the picture. I’ve been dousing myself in every conceivable citrus scent (and crying into my blah-blech warm water with almond milk and honey) all week. What have I been wearing?
Jo Loves Pomelo
Hermes d’Orange Vert Concentre
Ananas Fizz
Pamplemousse Rhubarbe
Azemour Les Orangers
Arquiste L’Etrog
Took a little break last night when my swapped-for Jicky edt arrived and bathed in Jicky. This morning I applied French Kiss, but already I am missing citrus again. . .
Too skanky? I really cannot stand cumin-heavy scents. Give me indoles or furry musks and I am flexible, but too much cumin and I am gone baby gone.
My cumin-lite scent, that could be an entry cumin for some, is Azemour.
Same here with the cumin…but i am stubborn and I still test anything with cumin in it
I do too! I feel like I should be the kind of person who likes cumin in perfume, and am actually a little disappointed in myself.
Same here…because I eat a ton of cumin! (wonder if that is it? too much cumin exuding from my pores and extra cumin in perfume sets it over the limit?)
I haven’t tried Civet or Chinchilla yet but I’m looking forward to them!
Sorry about the new diet. I would need an adjustment period to give up coffee and tea.
I couldn’t do it even with an adjustment period. I would die. Or else someone near me would.
Oh no, I’m sorry about the dx and the dietary restrictions! I love food and the things you listed make me want to cry. Almost guaranteed that one day my addiction to grapefruit juice is going to be a problem, but until then…
I’m a fan of cumin in fragrances, but for the longest time didn’t associate it with armpit at all. I actually find the salty/minerally notes in fragrances like Eau Des Merveilles remind me more of dirty human (in a good way) than cumin. That may be an association thing though – I don’t think my family puts out much cumin smell when we sweat, and as long as he’s not stress sweating, my s.o. smells more like pho to me.
Now if there are fragrances out there that smell like dirty hair, those sound like scrubbers.
LOL at smelling like pho! Sounds like lemongrass to me.
Right? I said that to him and he looked at me like I was crazy. It’s more of the super spiced broth than lemongrass, but it still makes me want Vietnamese food.
Chinchilla has a hint of hair in it— not exactly dirty, but not exactly fresh out of the shower either. I love that you think your S.O. smells like pho! I get that… slightly aromatic animalic.
I like the hair ones. I used to adore smelling my little boys’ heads when they came in from playing outside (funny, little girls’ heads never seem to get that smell).
Oakland, my sympathies! Are you going through caffeine withdrawal or were you not addicted anyway?
Oh Robin, I am doing the stupidest regimen. I decided to cut off my beloved coffee cold turkey–too sad to drag it out. So I’ve been taking a caffeine pill each morning with my almond milk bleckh… I cut the pill into quarters and swallow the bits over about an hour or so. I’m down to 3/4 of a pill. After a week. Of no coffee.
Oof
Good luck.
Can you drink decaf? Hope you get an extra bounce in your step soon.
Noooo…. no caffeine whatsoever (decafs have some caffeine) and not even “herbal” teas that have spices, like cinnamon and clove. Also, no alcohol. So no more Moscow Mules, or G & Ts, or homemade Margaritas… no wine. Me WHINEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
I had to give up coffee a few years ago (possibly for the same reason) and I’d say you’re doing it the smart way! I wish you good health, and hope you find lots of delicious foods you can eat.
Sorry about the dx requiring food restrictions ???? I had a condition a number of years ago and the recommendation was pretty much avoiding the same acid list. I couldn’t really follow it since I don’t have that kind of discipline, but found other (pharmacologic) ways to manage it. Fortunately it only rears its ugly head on the rare occasion now. I hope you have more discipline than I do and that symptoms resolve!
Chinchilla is a nice fuzzy musk!
I am really hoping that this too shall pass. I live for spiced foods and cocktails, and coffee. Lots of coffee. Miss coffee so much!
Yeah, I choose suffering over no coffee, lol.
I was on similar diet for a few years, really made a difference in my quality of life, symptom-wise. And was ultimately able to reintroduce coffee and others, without pharma help.
My best advice, if you are dining out, is to tell the server “If I have X or Z, my insides burn for a few day” when you are placing your order and detailing your modifications.
Use that phrase, or similar, making eye contact in a sincere, friendly voice. 9 times out of 10 it works and they remember to enter your order with your restrictions (i.e. salmon, no seasoning, no onion.)
I always got much better results using this trick. Somehow the visceral response to “insides vurn for days” helps the server remember your needs. Otherwise in my experience it was 50/50, and it stinks returning food or picking around, especially if you are on a timeline.
I hope this helps. Good luck, you can do this!
Signed,
Ex-Server, Current Special Needs Digestive System Haver ????
I usually quiz the server as to the ingredients – what specific vegetables? Is it cream-based or roux (I get a deer in the headlights look 50% of the time)? I usually just try to customize/simplify if I can with I only want x versus removing y and z.
That’s a lot to give up. I hope you feel much better soon as a result!
Not a fan of skanky perfumes as well, but I love musky drydown of Tiziana Terenzi Laudano Nero. The skankiest perfume I have tried was YSL M7 Oud Absolue- oh, boy, that stuff was pure sex, too much for me, I didn’t dare to finish my sample…
SOTD- nothing. Don’t feel like wearing anything.
I have a very high tolerance for skank and am having a hard time thinking of any skanky scents. Not Civet, not Gold, not Dzing. I remember that several years ago I smelled a Lush perfume–maybe Lust?–that I threw out, but nothing else comes to mind.
I must wear Dzing again soon as I also don’t detect any skank there.
Dzing smells like a petting zoo to me.
I LOVE skanky scents, but I’m also anosmic to many musks (Musc Ravageur is just cinnamon to me, and I can barely smell MKK at all) so it’s possible that what’s just a little raunchy to me is causing everyone else to run for the hills.
1. L’Artisan al Oudh, especially when it’s hot outside (I like it less in cool weather). In cool weather I prefer Oud Palao.
2. Hmm. Maybe Dzing? I find it only minimally skanky.
3. I haven’t found one yet, but like I said, many of the muskier skanky scents don’t work for me, alas.
Wearing just a little Cologne Indelebile today and heading out to see It later!
Also, I’m surprised by the number of people who find Gold skanky! The only floral I find REALLY skanky is A la Nuit.
I can’t smell MKK either. Funny that you find A la Nuit skanky — that one’s fine on me, but Sarrasins, now…. yargs, something peed on me!
A la Nuit is the most indolic jasmine that I’ve found, but my bottle is almost 15 years old and I feel like it’s gotten stronger as it ages.
I’ve only sniffed the current A La Nuit — perhaps they have cleaned it up. Or perhaps it’s actually skanky and my nose can’t smell that – hmm.
I never find skank in musks either, and I suspect I’m mildy anosmic but mostly to the white musks which I go ‘nose deaf’ to quite quickly.
My nose and stomach do not like animalic and skanky notes in perfume. I figure that life is too short for me to try to fix that.
My SOTD is the mimosa-centric Essences Insensees 2014 by Diptyque. It’s one of my favorites, and just right for meeting with my craft group this morning.
Thd skankiest perfume I’ve smelled is Bluebird by Olivine Atelier, which smelled like smegma the second and final time I wore it.
LOL! I have not smelled it, but for some reason it is cracking me up that the skankiest perfume is called Bluebird.
Yeah, I did not expect something called “Bluebird” to smell like that ????
Now, “Salome” is a good name for an intimidating fragrance. She asked for, and received a dude’s head on a platter or her birthday.
Oh dear lord. That doesn’t sound good. Glad it wasn’t one of the samples I ordered from her a while back
LOLOLOL kindcrow !!
That is a very specific aroma.
Thanks for the laugh.
Cheers !
I think skank doesn’t turn up as strong on my skin–I have little decants of Dzing and Dilettante and a small bottle of petite rien, and like all of them quiet well. I’ve smelled the original M7 and those of you who hate it can donate your unwanted samples to me
I am pretty sensitive to real-life sweaty scents/we are ending that season here in the PNW on transit thank goodness.
M7, yum.
Mmmmmmm, M7.
1) extremely too many to list, my favorite style of perfume by far, with Kouros, La Nuit, Parfum de Peau, and Femme taking the lead. (Vtg of course)
2) maybe one of the above in current version just to see how much you can tolerate before going the eBay route?
Dryad, Mona di Orio Ambre are also good introductions.
3) absolutely…none
Happy weekend to all and take care those of you in Miami!!
I actually find the current Femme more animalic/sweaty than the vintage, which I found rather tame.
I agree. I found Femme too cumin-y sweaty.
I find them not too different; current is quite good albeit a bit soft on projection. Vtg has a more warm musk and feels stronger on me. So maybe not a good introduction to beginners as it’ll probably scare them away ????
Yes! They replaced the musks with cumin.
1. Favorites: Musc Ravaguer, Zoologist Civet, and Attrape Coeur which would be just a shadow of itself without that note of civet.
2. Dunno about beginner’s skank. I was going to say A la Nuit because the gorgeous jasmine takes center stage, but then nicolasix said that for her it was just too much. It’s all in the nose of the sniffer I guess.
3. Just too skanky: I have some vintage Bal a Versailles extrait that’s really scary. I was amazed to read that this was a favorite of Jackie Kennedy’s. The base notes make a big difference to me. I can usually pull off civet, castoreum never bodes well, and dirty musks or indolic florals can go either way.
Like Oakland Fresca for me cumin=skank
So my favorite skank is Absolute Pour le Soir…which smells super skanky in cool weather and honey, amber and resins in hot weather/
Intro to skank…maybe Diorella or vintage Miss Dior?
A bit too skanky? Salome…
Right now I am wearing my own blend of Turkish lemon cologne to which I added a huge dose of oakmoss, patchouli, lavender, frankincense and orange essence (which smells like fresh squeezed orange juice)…..some might say I am in a cloud of my own skank
But you know the odd thing is I grew up wearing skank..I mean all of those heavy hitters I wore as a kid and teenager in the early 70s into the 80s…..I never ever ever considered Bal a Versailles to be skank until everyone here commented that it was/is-LOL!
Bal à versailles is more of a very rich balsamic floral to me even though the animalic notes are definitely there.
The Bal a Versailles I have probably dates to the 1960’s so it’s likely that whatever musk is in it would be illegal now. Sometimes reformulation can be a good thing, LOL.
And you know there is something in Saffran Troublant that reads skanky on me…but I love it anyway….so maybe that would also be a good intro to skank fragrance.
Do you think is there any particular note in Saffran Troublant that makes it feel shanky for you? I am just curious.
I think it might possible be the saffron? because I could not find cumin listed anywhere as being in the notes. But honestly, I really do LOVE Saffran Troublant…so much so that the 15ml decant my best friend sent me (it did not work for her) is now empty.
Thank you. I also love ST, but sometimes there is something strange about it. And as you say there is no cumin listed. I have not had any problem with cumin so far.
If you want more Saffran Troublant let me know, I have a back up bottle and can send you some. monica 67@aol.com
Thank you so very much for your kind offer! Right now I am having a love affair with Greylocke but if I do want more of ST I will let you know!
Anytime!
Oh Absolute pour le soir is a good one as well, forgot to mention it…my sample vial has a few sprays left… Now nights are getting longer and colder I really want to wear it again
Apls is one of those perfumes that is absolutely horrid on my skin.
I was on the fence about it when I wore it in the cooler weather…but in the heat it bloomed so beautifully on my skin…it was like I was wearing a completely different perfume! Sweet honeyed balsamic amber…delicious…in the cooler weather it was skank and women’s panties…..I still have some and will be retrying it in the dead of winter to see how it reacts with my skin.
I really like Absolue Pour le Soir, but have never dared to wear it out in public. It’s too avant garde! The average person would not understand it!!
Because I have scent eating skin the very first time I tried it I went with eight sprays and I was out in public…yikes!!!
I don’t own too much skank since I wouldn’t wear it to work or around people. But I like some dirty-ish scents as long as the skank is well blended. I’ll do some sweat, dirty musks and ouds, but stale urine or cat pee is always out. Can’t really think of a favorite at the moment but some I enjoy:
Guerlain Songe d’une Bois d’Ete-sweaty woods
Arquiste Ella-hint of BO and honey
ELDO Rossy-pepper can smell sweaty to me
Aroma M Geisha Noir-not sure it’s skanky but I think it’s very sexy.
L’Air d’Rien-1st try it smelled like sweaty feet but now it just smells like musty, old books.
L’Artisan La Haie Fleurie-horse stable
I’ve also revisted my Charenton Macerations Eye, Hatahepsut which is a dirty musk, but so light that it’s kind of comforting.
Can’t do Salome, PdE Musk Tonkin, or Romanza.
Spent my morning cleaning the yard- major black aphid infestation but not in my plants! All over the back stairs, in the window sills. I noticed the weed infested yard next door is COVERED in black bugs. Like 100s of 1000s. Ugh. I’m trying to keep them at bay in my side and went next door but the landlord doesn’t live there. The tenant who I spoke to said he’d call him for me but he looked super stoned so I have my doubts…
OOO! I forgot about Romanza! I actually like it but I can see how it might be a polarizing scent…and Rossy at the onset smells like vomit to me….and yet, I wore it several times as I had a few samples….to torture myself and because I rather liked the drydown….
Ha! I don’t get vomit from Rossy, but I do from Shalimar and Jicky!
Romanza has a distinctly fecal smell to me. More intense than just horse stable, which I enjoy in small doses.
I like the smells of stable and barnyard, especially when accompanied by sunshine and a soft breeze.
I do too, which is what I love about La Haie Fleurie. It smells like a rural, jasmine lined road around a barn on a warm summer’s eve.
You are so correct about Arquiste Ella. I can wear it, and actually I quite like it–but it is on the edge of too much sweat for me.
That is hilarious that Shalimar and Jicky smell like vomit to you. I love them both, but think I prefer Jicky–just a bit weirder of the two.
I really like Shalimar, still can’t do Jicky.
There’s something sexy to me about the suggestion of sweat in Ella. Agree that more than that would be unpleasant.
Ella teetered between sweat and hairspray on me, but I sorta liked it. I definitely got the night club angle referenced in the press materials!
Me too. The night club angle, 80s, etc.
Ugh…bugs. Hope he calls.
I power washed their yard through the gate. Seems to have cleaned it up for now. But they need to pay me for future services ????
I haven’t done a lot of skank and what I tried hasn’t swayed me much either way. But here goes:
1. Eris “Ma Bete” – old-fashioned animalic;
2. Guerlain “Jicky” – a mildly animalic lemon puff biscuit;
3. Ys-Uzac “Dragon Tattoo” – made from the fermented sweat of real dragons.
SOTD is about as far from animalic as you can get: Keiko Mecheri “Ume”.
Top: bergamot, mandarin and peach leaf;
Mid: wisteria, jasmine and osmanthus;
Base: hinoki, mahogany, patchouli and moss.
I’m not sure I believe that notes list BTW – the biggest note for me and for most wearers is plum, sweet and powdery.
Ume is plum. Interesting that plum isn’t in the notes. Does the perfume have a tart salty edge like the Japanese umeboshi?
Hi Oakland Fresca – not in the least! Not even like those chinese candied liquorice plums which also have a salty edge. If Ume were any sweeter I would stop liking it.
I long for the day when I can turn to someone and inform them, “YOU’RE a mildly animalic lemon puff biscuit.”
Haha!
“made from the fermented sweat of real dragons.” Ha!
Is Miel de Bois skanky because that would top my list.
Skank lite? Maybe Breath of God or All Good Things from Lush. Or even lighter skank but more cumin would be Pohadka.
Jubilation 25 seemed skanky to me but so does Mitsuoko so maybe I’m mixing up skank with chypre/ oak moss .
Yesterday I wore Bapteme du Feu and it developed a surprising metallic note, almost like very very fresh fish when it smells slightly iron-like. Strange.
I get some skank from Jub 25. Of course, that’s what makes it a winner for me
Miel de Bois smells like urine — I’d call it skanky.
1. Favorite skank
Nicolaï’s Incense Oud. I also like Aramis Aramis and Nicolaï’s Le Temps d’une Fête (I could smell something slightly animalic).
On a non-animalic skank (if that exists), I’d say CdG Tar. It just smells as the name: tar. I feel like a road worker (in a cool way) wearing it, but I still find it totally wearable.
2. Introduction to skank
Knize Ten, such a gorgeous leather with skank.
LAP Dzing is a nice one, but maybe not very “introductory”. I also get a “bandaid”, “hospital” smell out of it.
3. Too much skank
For me cumin-loaded scents are skanky in the pejorative sense. They smell like BO. Guerlain’s Songe d’un Bois d’Été comes into mind.
So skanky that I can’t bear: Guerlain’s Encens mythique d’Orient. For the whole day I kept thinking whether I had stepped on some urine…
Aramis…mmmm….that is definitely a sexy scent.
I gave away my largish decants of the Guerlains you mentioned.
I am an enormous fan of Le Temps d’une Fete and don’t find that one animalic, but then I adore narcissus and sometimes it’s a bit — umm. Yeah, horse manure. (Doesn’t bother me that you find it a touch skanky. My love is unswayed. :D) I do find several other narcissus scents to have that slight funk; I guess I just don’t care.
I put in Oreo Parisi Stercus just before reading this post! I am not a huge fan of the skank but am finding some that I really like. Of the ones I wear regularly, I feel like Le Labo Rose 31 can go all cumin-skanky sometimes. I also think of Rania J T. Habenero as skanky, too.
Ugh, no wonder I didn’t like Rose 31.
If skanky means ‘furry, salty and sweaty in a sexy way’….. Yesss i love skanky, because then this category contains some of my all time favourites.
1.
– MAAI, by Bogue
– Sarrasins by Serge Lutens
– I also like Salome (Papillon) a lot.
– And I tried a sample of Siberian Musk bij Areej le doré this summer and I think its gorgeous.
Dont know if this one counts, but Vetiver Blanc, Sultan pasha.
The tuberose here is not that indolic but the salty sweaty ambergris makes this a bit raunchy to me (in a very sexy and good way).
Oh and Romanza gives me a bit of a skanky vibe. Narcissus can be pretty indolic, but I think there is also an animalic accord at play?
2.
I really have no idea.
Maybe a Serge lutens? That brand offers a good gateway to a lot of genres imo.
(Btw I never tried MKK, a sample of it is hard to obtain….)
3.
Havent found one yet.
But I am still a rookie, so many scents out there I still need to try.
Maybe Kouros? Smelled it in a perfumery on a blotter and it was sour sweaty armpit to me, i guess I just need to try wearing it some time and see if I found my threshold
SotE is Sarrasins by the way.
“furry, salty and sweaty in a sexy way”
**swoons**
Yes, please!
I remember Kouros from the early ’80s when it has a lot of animalic notes (civet mainly, I think) in the base notes. I tried the current version about 2 years ago in a department store. It opened up very similar with almost identical top notes, but animalic base seemd to have largely gone, replaced by more cumin-type heart notes – I’d guess that will be the sweaty bit you found. I found it shorter, and far less animalic overall, if this helps. From your other comments on this poll, I think you’d like the vintage better if you ever come across it.
Thanks for sharing your Kouros experience!
Yes cumin can be hit or miss for me.
Weird thing, I dont find it repulsive in Salome, which is a cumin bomb that lots of people consider too much.
The cumin gets tamer after a while though, drydown of Salome is more animalic and cosy (and best phase imo).
Myabe the animalic element improves the cumin part for you? I definitely must try Salome!
I learned to love what seems skanky to me with Dilettante which is very indolic on me but I love it!
There are certain types of skank that I’m not really into (yet) where it is urine-like. Some honey fragrances are like that and narcissus often smells very “gas-station bathroom” to me.
I love mushroomy musks like Bruno Acampora Musc which I think could be interpreted as skanky.
I’m really no expert on this subject but have been exploring it more lately. A sniff of Salome last year was Far Too Skanky for me then, but I’d really like to try it again now to see if my perceptions have changed (it does seem to be a bit of a gold standard of skank!)
Dilettante is great, isnt it?!
Fantastic!
Dilettante for me is just smelly water from a flower vase. I wanted to like it all the times I tried it, but I was too overwhelming.
I can see it, perspective is everything. That is sometimes the scary thing about fragrance, one person’s nirvana is another’s goat butt.
Mmm you’re right; there is something sweaty about Dilettante. I feel like I’d like it better without the sweat.
I always think I can’t do skank at all, because of the great love people have for scents such as SL Fleurs d’Orangers, Vero Promfumo Rubj and Rozy which turn my stomach. But some listings her I didn’t know even notice were “skanky” like A La Nuit, Dzing!, and Sarrasins.
I can definitely handle my share of indolic jasmines, and will wear Joy with abandon! Cumin I can’t handle, though I like MKK in small doses. Hermes Eau d’Hermes I blind bought expecting a citrus-y thing and pretty much got straight armpit.
The worst skanky scent I ever smelled (after ElDo’s Secretions Magnifique of course) was CB I Hate Perfume’s Musk Reinvention. Oh my – smells like salty tears, sweaty children, and stale urine. I’m a CB lover normally, but this one turns my stomach.
Oh Sécrétions Magnifiques… I still have half a vial of it which I don’t want to touch again!
Secretions Magnifique! How did I forget about it! That wins all the horror prizes in all categories! Sorry if somebody likes, but for me…..
My favs are
1. Absolute Pour le Soir
2. Ottoman Empire – Areej le Dore
3. Musc Ravageur
4. Mona di Orio Musc
5. Sultan Pasha Al Lai
6. Salome
Good beginners – Mona di Orio Musc.
Too much for me
PdE Musc Tonkin
SL MFK
SL Miel de Bois. Cat urine!!!
favourites are Oud 27, Rien ELO , Eau d’Hermes
good introduction: Yatagan
It’s weired but I find Fico Amalfi smells very sweaty and I can’t wear it
Is anyone here familiar with Loewe 001 Women with its ‘morning after’ skin-scent vibe? I recently sprayed it on a scarf at the airport and first found it unpleasantly chemical but the next day it lingered on and I really liked it. Can you think of any similar scents?
If skank means sulfuric armpits, Guerlain AA Pamplelune.
If skank means sh!t, the fecal oudhs of Ajmal, Christian Dior Leather Oud and vintage M7.
If skank means animalic/civet/castoreum, Bal A Versailles, vintage Chanel Antaeus.
If skank means sexy, sweaty man, why, anything I’m wearing, darlin’.
LOLOLOL
Triple strength coffee.
Extra long workout.
Carpe Diem.
Peace.
I hope difficult situations worldwide can resolve quickly, and with the least amount of suffering possible.
Still sipping coffee and you made me spew!
Ha! A sexy sweaty man smells better than any perfume!
Absolutely!!
Ha – you make me think of my first encounters with Kouros (be thinking early ’80s here). That stuff was potent, and real sexy too!
Hahha best answer yet!
Giggles.
Sexy, sweaty man is by far the best skank. (Not second-day sweat, though.) You wear it well, Bear!
Thanks for the <3 Everyone !!
I’m good with some things that get described as skanky, but not always. I love Salome and Absolu Pour Le Soir, Miel de Bois is another. I like the cumin in Kingdom, Rubj and Fleurs d’Oranger, but not in Arabie, because it smells too much like food – beautiful smell, but not something I want to wear.
But, I can’t take much musk. I’ve long known that I don’t like the lighter musks that make me think of washing powder, and I’ve realised I don’t like other musks either. Musk Khoublai Khan was a no, and I’ve discovered that extends to things like Hermes Galop.
I also have trouble with the dirty hair note that I get from some things described as animalic, I think it’s costus. I couldn’t wear Eris’s Ma Bete.
Dirty hair is a puzzle. Some iris scents strike people as dirty hair too.
Skank. Yuck.
My most recent skank encounter (not counting commuter armpits), was Theo Fennell Scent. On paper, TFS was lovely; on skin, it was pure SKANK. I sprayed from jjlook’s bottle when the Vancouver perfumistas got together when I was there in July.
I have nothing else to add. Skank be gone!
ahahaha
I swear it smells totally respectable on me!
Amen to that.
What an appropriate way to celebrate my birthday, listing all my favorite animalic perfumes!
Love: Kingdom, Salomé, Chinchilla, Jub 25, Musc Tonkin, L’air d’Rien…lots more I can’t think of now
Almost too much for me: SOIVHOLE Alpha Musc
Starter skank, I am not a good judge.
Wishing you a very happy birthday, fellow Virgo! Hope you are having a lovely day.
Happy birthday MikasMinion! Enjoy your day!
Happy Birthday MikasMinion! Hope your day is filled with the aromas of the animal world ????
Lol! I had to work this morning since our weekend vet tech was on vacation. You could say I had lots of interesting animal smells to start my day.
Perfect ???? But sorry you had to work.
Happy Birthday! Nice to see you here…
Thanks. We have had a couple of vital people quit so my part-time job is horribly full-time at the moment. I miss you guys!
Thanks, all. I’ve been by to quick-read but not comment, lately.
Forgot, my SOTD is Chinchilla again. Wore it Friday and couldn’t resist again this afternoon when I got home.
a skanky happy birthday to you! hope it’s a good day.
Happy Scented Birthday, MikasMinion! Hopefully there will be some animal scents that are to your liking today in addition to the ones you have already smelled.
Happy birthday! Is l’Air de Rien a skanky scent? The one from Miller Harris? Huh, my nose must be broken.
I don’t find it so, but it is for some people. I just assume anything I find cozy is a skank-fest to the rest of the world.
That’s so interesting. Ok, maybe I like some skank! (Not l’Air de Rien, but others.)
Hapoy birthday!
Happy Birthday!!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday! (But I wouldn’t probably want to smell you if you’re wearing one of your favorite perfumes
).
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday! Nice to read your comments.
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday! Whooo hooo!
Happy birthday! I hope you have a great year.
Happy Birthday MikasMinion !
Many more !
My favorite old school frag is My Sin edt. I have a decant of EDP, and it’s got some skank! The first time I put on Shalimar extrait it felt skanky (in a good way).
Anything with tuberose may be a good introduction.
I’m not a good judge of too much either..
I know that Zoologist has released its latest, Elephant, but it isn’t for sale yet. Does anyone know or have a guess about when that might be?
If it smells like peanuts, sign me up. If it smells like poop, no.
End of this interview says 9/30:
https://www.zoologistperfumes.com/blogs/news/an-interview-with-chris-bartlett-the-perfumer-of-elephant
I have yet to like a scent I recognize as skanky. I smelled Salome a few months ago, and everyone had talked it up to being, like, the epitome of skank, but it smelled…pretty tame, really. Chinchilla smelled like the skin of a cat who isn’t engaging in good hygiene, and I think that dirty-cat-skin scent is skank? I do not like that scent anytime it is not on one of my cats. I barely like it on my cats. I only like it on them because I love them. Maybe I’ll like Chinchilla once my cats are gone.
This is Day 2 of Boyfriendless Scenting, so I am all out in two sprays of TF Black Orchid, another scent he dislikes. It went on super-strong and stunning, but now, just five hours later, it’s already calmed down a lot. Perhaps I’ll give myself a booster spray later in the day. You know, to maximize on boyfriend-noseless time.
I should add that my cats never smell as strongly as DSH Chinchilla.
Enjoy your time of free spraying!
Spritz away! I always take advantage when I am home alone.
Whooo, golly! One nose’s heaven is another’s stink. Fascinating.
Favorite skanky scent: Femme, but I can hardly bear to wear it. I prefer it wafting from across the room. I keep my sample vials in a sealed plastic bag in another sealed bag in a box in a closet.
Gateway skank: Um, I am a cologne girl and habitually steer clear of heavy fragrances, leathers, musks. My loss. I do enjoy Dzing which has been mentioned 10 times today. Go figure. And the bit of vintage Shalimar EdC I’m hoarding is definitely deep, but is it skanky?
Too much: the first shocking scent I remember sampling is A la Nuit. To me it’s straight up tart’s knickers. Must be the particular musks there. One of the Masque samples I tried a few weeks ago was appallingly-filthy-dirty, but I don’t remember which it was. Probably Times Square which has been described as an olfactory snapshot of that salacious part of Manhattan before it was cleaned up, cough cough urinal cake cough cough ahem.
After reading today’s comments I decided to wear Masque Romanza from a spray sample. It’s flowers, resins, and woods so far, but perhaps something wickedly delightful will develop.
I will put up for grabs what’s left of my Masque Milano sample set at the upcoming freebie meet. Hope someone here will be interested then.
Until then, NST, waft on with your skanky bad self.
Ha! “Straight up tart’s knickers” lol!
Wait, Shalimar is skanky? I used to bathe in the EDC in the late 70s and always thought of it as a cozy vanilla…ha! maybe I was suffocating all of my middle school peers-LOL! haven’t smelled vintage in ages….maybe with top notes deteriorating (which happens to all vintage which is why it breaks my heart to smell them now as I always remember what they smelled like in pristine condition-looking at you Cristalle and Calyx) it may be a heck of a lot more skanky than I remember!
I honestly don’t think I have any skanky scents. Maybe in samples, but I can’t think of anything. I do think I want to try Civet, though.
Spritzed on a little Cafe Tuberosa at Sephora. After the initial coffee blast, it reminded me a lot of something else I have. Maybe Gourmand Coquin or Tolu. Will have to compare once I pull them out of the cabinet for fall/winter.
Did smell some nice items at Molton Brown. Their new Russian Leather was interesting – I prefer it in its candle form. Or could be nice in a hot shower on a very cold day.
Hoping Irma decides to calm down. Hard to imagine since it was such a gorgeous day here.
Off topic. Trying to think of an appropriate scent for my outing tomorrow night. Early bday gift from my husband. Seeing Pete Townshend and Billy Idol with the NY Philharmonic doing Quadrophenia. Very excited.
What would be a “mod” scent? Something British I think. Maybe Ostara will work. I think the only other British I have are OJ.
Happy early birthday! What an awesome duo to see. Have fun!
How fun! Great gift. I’d go with something spicy. Not sure why, maybe just because I’m out and underdressed and freezing right now so spicy sounds good.
Freezing! Makes me so excited to think Fall is almost here!
I love skank – but I have skank-taming skin which turns those snarls into kitten purrs, so it has to whack me about the nose before I really notice it. Most things noted above as skanky, just aren’t in the least bit skanky to me, on my skin (as always, what one perceives is a combination of actual ingredients + skin chemisty + nasal sensitivity + perception/mental interpretation).
1. Can’t really answer this, because I don’t find my faves skanky, even when others do on them.
2. Skanky enough to probably not wear out of the home – only two so far. McQueen Kingdom EdP – on me this is pure sex sweat (not excercise sweat, or armpit or feet, or curry cumin), just after-glow.
Vintage Miss Dior (really really vintage – think ’60s here) – one sexy animal this.
3. Beginners – hmm, mild skank is rather lost on me it’s hard to suggest one with it. How about vintage Ysatis EdT – a little skank just makes that drydown nommy! You want the old bottle in the gold skyscraper style lid that drops off, preferably with a dark gold or orange-tinged juice (the oldest has most skank). This was the scent that made me appreciate and recognise a touch of animalic – it’s why I could wear this BWF in my ’20s, when other floral fragrances of the time were just cloying and suffocating on me.
I wore Ysatis when it first came out and never thought of it as skanky, but now when I smell it, I recognize skank even a touch in the current version.
Oh you are lucky, you must be more sensitive or amplify it a little! The skank in later Ysatis is too faint to register on me (even before they did away with the gold-topped bottles). I reckon I need 2000 or prior to get enough to prevent it being a somewhat bland floral.
I think I have the same issue with skank. I never smelled a really dirty perfume in my life so far. Or maybe ‘dirty’ just does not register as dirty to me. So i just went for a list of perfumes that are considered filthy and dirty by majority of other people.
Yes, I think it’s all down to skin chemistry really (like bamboo always smells hideous on me, whatever else is in the fragrance). My sister and I can’t wear the same fragrances, they smell completely different on us to the extent that great on her is awful on me.
Me, too. The only thing on my list that I actually recognize as skanky is Kingdom. Musks almost always smell sweet to me, which is why white musks get on my nerves so. They always make me feel like I’ve inhaled artificial sweetener.
And for clarification, to me
Vintage Miss Dior = animalic skank
McQueen Kingdom EdP = cumin skank
older Ysatis EdT = beginner animalic skank
For beginner-to-intermediate cumin skank, maybe Huitieme Art Fareb – I know from reviews this is too much for some, but this just gets to pleasantly furry on me, not to any-kind-of-sweaty
Musk skank – just haven’t found any musk skanky yet
Indolic skank – I don’t find indoles skanky, just stultifying. Anything too indolic and I feel like I have been suffocated under the combined flower harvest of Grasse and India combined in one enormous pile, but still no skank.
Ha! Ha! and I considered Miss Dior vintage as beginners skank because I wore that as a youngster years ago….it is funny what was acceptable back in the 60s, 70s and even 80s is considered either “old lady smell” or ” sillage monster” by today’s standards.
Yes, but that level of genuine animal extract was normal then (or only mildly daring anyway). Would it seem different if you revisit ’60s Miss Dior now? It wasn’t until I got interested in fragrance (as a result of my original scents of choice being shadows of their former selves) that I found out what had made Ysatis good on me in the first place :o)
Excellent point I am sure vintage Miss Dior would probably seems different.
I love cumin and I missed out on Kingdom. Must go eye the bottles on eBay again . . .
Where are you? If in the UK I can send a sample, but our monopoly mail carrier (Royal Mail) won’t let us post even samples outside of the UK (all international mail is x-rayed, and apparently liquids are destroyed). If you do resort to eBay, you want the EdP in the red bottle, the EdT is an innocuous floral without the cumin.
I don’t know that I’ve smelled much skank. Other than Femme (current) which I did find skanky but loved anyway. Also, I think my Shalimar EdP is skanky especially at first spray (my guy agrees wholeheartedly haha), but you all know I love it anyway. I’ll have to try some others mentioned because I think I have a high skank tolerance lol. One that smells like straight up BO to me at first is Adam Levine for men. I think it’s the grapefruit. The first one I wore it I actually smelled my armpits multiple times thinking I’d forgotten deodorant.
My prayers are with Florida right now. I have many, many family members there and spent years there as a child and many visits since. The whole state is near and dear to my heart and I am devastated thinking what Irma may do.
Oh gosh. Will be thinking of your family members. I was in Miami decades ago working on some Haitian asylum cases and I LOVED it. I have Hollywood tinted dreams of the Florida Keys of course. You’re not alone holding your breath.
With you in praying for those in Florida. My brother and his family are there; so are my aunt, and my cousin and her family as well. And all the people I don’t know, who are in danger’s path and cannot [afford to] leave.
My favorite off-the-chart skank fragrance is Papillon’s Salome. For gentle skank, Amouage Jubilation XXV Woman and Hermès Calèche. For vintage skank, Lanvin’s My Sin!
1. Favorite skanky
It’s a toss-up between Guerlain Mahora and Parfums Delrae Amoureuse. They’re both pretty overwhelming white florals. I think Amoureuse wins the contest for skank by its inclusion of honey, but then again, that tuberose in Mahora is VERY potent.
2. “Introduction to skank”?
Maybe try Guerlain L’Heure Bleue to begin getting into the darkness.
3. Are there any perfumes that are just too skanky for you to wear?
Yes, I own but do not wear Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Pampelune. I like it but someone I trust really did say it smells too much like cat pee. And I’ve never bought MKK even though I love it because someone else I trust said he honestly thought it smelled like B.O. I suppose I could buy it just to wear when I’m buy myself but that seems extravagant.
Oh goodness yes, Amoureuse is ah-maaaaay-zing. I have a sample somewhere . . . off to dig through the stash.
On the topic of cat pee….I tested out Tauer’s Zeta at the office, and unknowingly, had a coworker comment that my area smelled of kitty urine. I have not worn it in public again
1. I suppose MKK and Yatagan. Although I think my MKK is a reformulated version – tamer than the original skank monster people often describe.
2. Maybe L’Erbolario Meharees, especially if you like amber and sweet spices. The musk is there but it does not dominate. I am not even sure it qualifies as skanky, but I definitely get animalic notes. And it’s affordable (some call it a cheaper version of Musc Ravageur)
3. PG Querelle. Maybe not too skanky but just wrong kind of skanky.
Sitting here in a hotel room in Orlando, having evacuated from our house on the east coast when the weather service had Irma going right over our house. Imagine our surprise to find it now going over Tampa. Either way though, it’s so enormous that there will be hurricane winds in almost every part of the state. So we’re watching college football on TV and enjoying the internet while we still have power. I brought my vintage Diorella, my Lush 25:43, my PdN Eau Exotique, and Patou Amour Amour – the things that would be hard to to replace.
Good luck to you, and to your neighbors, pets, friends, and your home!
I’m glad you have some beautiful things with you. I think with the size of Irma, and Jose close behind, it’s hard to predict best and worst…Florida is vulnerable and special, that’s why so many people love it! Hope all outcomes are the easiest to deal with.
Wishing you luck and safety. I’m so sorry you are going through this.
Thanks for all your good wishes. They are very much appreciated.
Also sending you and yours good wishes. Hoping for the best for you and everyone effected.
I hope everything turns out okay and you can soon return home safe and sound
The best for you and yours. Hoping for the best. Stay safe.
Glad you’re out of the direct path anyway — stay safe!
Very best wishes Aparatchick from my holiday destination Spain.
Thinking of you – I hope you stay safe and comfortable. Your perfume choices are lovely.
I’m so sorry that you are in this situation. I hope that you remain safe.
I used to be able to just flit through a list of favorites in any category, especially skank as I’m a fan – but I can’t think of anything. Maybe my definition of skank has changed, or I just don’t notice anymore? As far as newer perfumes go, I enjoy a lot of Zoologist and being on MUA I know several people thought Panda, Beaver and Civet are very animalic but to me they just smell good. Same with DSH Chinchilla, I love it. I think Kiehls Original musk is a good beginner for musk skank. Sometimes I have perfume ennui these days.
I was perusing through the perfume blogs early this morning and stumbled upon this link posted by another commenter and found it rather interesting in explaining the high cost of naturals-
https://perfumesilove.com/2016/07/17/eu-natural/
I wonder if other natural perfumers are doing the same thing which would also explain why Aftelier is so expensive…..
Well, I am happy enough to stick with essential oils and money saved as well!
Skank of the morning….my own blend of dark patchouli, lavender, frankincense, homemade vanilla bean oil, and homemade white pine sap….I am potent! But it will dry down quickly and leave a nice patchouli trail on my clothes.
Interesting article, thank you for sharing!
My favorite skanky perfume is Muscs Koublai Khan. I could just roll in it! Pure pleasure for me and one of the first perfumes I just HAD to have. I love so many others too: L’air de Rien, Cognoscenti 17/ Civet Chypre, Bal a Versailles, Ma Bete, Al Oudh, El Attarine. Some others, not previously mentioned here, have a faint animalic quality humming beneath them to me, such as Heure Exquise or Eloge du Traitre. Two of my favorite fragrances, both of which must be applied lightly because of their richness, are so complex and deep I’m sure they have some musk or other animalic basenote within: Chypre Palatin and Amouage Lyric Woman.
A beginner skanky perfume? Perhaps Jasmine et Cigarette; quirky and unique, but not too heavy.
One that I dab on from time to time, but is possibly too much is Rien. A tiny sample has lasted me years! Can’t imagine spraying this one at all or ever needing a large bottle.
I’ve had several dabber samples of Ríen over the years and wear it fairly often. Have considered a bottle but it would last beyond my lifetime. I can’t imagine wearing it sprayed.
I’m a big fan of skank, which makes me sad that it’s completely inappropriate to wear to work. (I don’t want to be known as the skanky teacher!)
My favorite skanky perfumes: Dzing!, Jicky and M/Mink.
Gateway skank: Dzing!, Jicky. (I actually do wear these to school.)
Too much? I hesitate to wear M/Mink out of the house, but that’s because it just smells too sexy for the grocery store.
We are extremely lucky here in South Carolina because Irma isn’t passing directly over us after all, although we will be feeling the storm tomorrow. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone in its path.
I love skank, so I love this poll. I’m also realizing my definition of it is wholly different from others (for one, an indolic jasmine has to be beyond over-the-top before I’ll think of it as dirty and not just narcotic), so that’s really fun to see/learn about.
1. What’s your favorite skanky perfume?
I just think civet, cumin, and the deep oud scents strike me as dirtier than the others.
Old MKK, Dior Leather Oud, Salome, Al Oudh, Septieme Sens. I also love L’Air de Rien, A La Nuit, and many others that have been mentioned, but just don’t think of them as dirty — I promise I do regularly shower!
2. What perfume do you think would be a perfect “introduction to skank”?
Dzing! gets my vote. I don’t think it’s particularly skanky/dirty, but has that animal warmth that people aren’t as used to seeing in perfumes these days.
3. Are there any perfumes that are just too skanky for you to wear?
Nope. Lol. I haven’t worn Leather Oud in public yet (it is SO fecal on me), and MKK makes me self-conscious if I do, but I haven’t found anything too dirty for wearing on my own yet!
“Animal warmth” is a good way of describing Dzing! I think.
Still figuring out skank – what I like it, whether I can even smell it. There are so many discussed here that I haven’t tried, I’ll need to expand my research!
My favorites right now are Dryad and The Dark Side by Francesca Bianchi. The drydown of Dryad is like clean kitten fur to me and The Dark Side does honey just right — teeters on the line but never goes too far into dirty panties territory. Goodness, it is so sexy.
Too much = Salome. I didn’t necessarily want to scrub it, but I definitely didn’t feel comfortable leaving the house. I really dislike scents with dirty hair note, but I’ve learned not to go by notes alone. Dryad has costus and I don’t smell dirty hair, but Chergui doesn’t list costus and it totally turns my stomach.
Baby step skank: Chanel No 5 EDT (a bit urinous on me compared to EDP), Narciso (white cube – sweet musky vibes teetering on ferret smell), Safran Troublant (cumin type effect at times without being too sweaty or foody), SJP Stash (body odor in the best possible way).
Well looks like we see eye to eye on Saffran Troublant as I get cumin in that one too…and was laughing about your nose’s take on Chergui..on my skin it is sweet baby powder with hint of spice…..
I wish that’s what I got from Chergui! The differences in our skin/noses/perception is fascinating – I have loved reading this poll!
Amouage Gold? Not skanky.
Dzing!? Maybe a little bit poopy, but so overwhelmingly vanillic you don’t notice. More artsy-niche than I usually want to project.
True skank? Serge Lutens MKK is a combo of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle soup, an old cold pipe, and butt sweat. Yes, it’s great.
More true skank? Anatole LeBreton’s L’eau Scandaleuse made my mother shudder, blush, then yell in disgust from a single whiff. Again, very nice stuff.
One more: Francesco Smalto (pour homme) is fantastic. For those men who don’t produce this smell naturally, here’s your supplement.
L’eau Scandaleuse is new to me, and with that description, I had to look it up (“I’ll have what she’s having?”). Similarly, I had never heard of the Francesco Smalto fashion house but I see that Francesco was a dead ringer for an art history teacher I had in college. I adored that man, who sadly passed away from cancer a few years after I graduated. He was Italian, and bigger than life, and could make even the dimmest of disinterested dullards lean forward in their seats. But the piece de resistance? Smalto’s Fullchoke for men. Fragrantica tells me that it is “a perfume based on the note of explosive gun powder.” Hmmm. It’s gun and its a …. well… you tell me!
https://www.fragrantica.com/perfume/Francesco-Smalto/Fullchoke-9825.html
Thanks for the laughs this AM.
Ha! Never saw that bottle before. Talk about Scandaleuse…
Well!!
The bottle looks like what TF would consider f-ing fabulous.
SOTM was Divine “L’Homme Sage”.
Top: saffron, mandarin, cardamom and lychee;
Mid: balsam fir, cedar, guaiac wood, immortelle and patchouli;
Base: oakmoss, amber and incense.
SOTAfternoon is Serge Lutens “Ambre Sultan”.
Notes are coriander, sandalwood, bay leaf, patchouli, angelica, resins, myrrh, amber, oregano, myrtle, benzoin and vanilla.
Cold, windy, rainy, and to top it all I have to work today. Bah! ;^)
Difficult (but not confrontational) chat with our next door neighbours last night. Their adult daughter got a dog several months ago and he WILL NOT SHUT UP. She is living at home but the parents are kind of left to deal with the dog. Anyway I asked them to find a solution. They are great people and had their own well-behaved dogs years ago, both now dead of old age. We don’t want to fall out over a stupid mutt, but we live in a terraced (row) house and he might as well be in our house with us when he barks, frequently, indoors. Not much better outdoors either. I hope they find a solution but I did hint that we wouldn’t wait forever for it.
l’Homme Sage is wonderful! The conversation with the neighbors sounds really tough, but things get better with the dog
Well done handling this calmly. They must be suffering, too. Hopefully your initiative will help them take action, too.
I so enjoyed reading through these comments yesterday and this morning! Like others, I think some kinds of skank are delicious to me (Dzing! is by far my most worn and favorite scent), others don’t even register as musk in particular (I’ve mentioned before that I find Salome sexy but in a grown up, grand dame-ish way), and others are just impossible for me to deal with.
I don’t think I’ve seen anyone mention SSS Nostalgie – thought I’d throw that in the ring for #3, personally. Probably just a quirk of my own mental associations that I think of this way, but I find it so, uh, specific that wearing it embarrasses me. I should really give my sample away.
SOTD: Jasmin et Cigarette – I side with the non-skanky on this one, though it’s plenty heady. The apricot, menthol, and tobacco make it too chilly to be skanky, imo.
Favorite skanky perfume might be The Party in Manhattan. Still kicking myself for being too frugal to buy a bottle in the beautiful presentation box before it was discontinued. Another one I like is Parfums d’Empire Tabac Tabou.
In terms of too much skank, I love animalics generally, I think, but am not that crazy about the particular type of skank in Schiaparelli Shocking and Vero Profumo Onda Parfum.
Fleur de Chine today for its peaceful beauty. Praying for the safety of all those in Irma’s path and those that will be involved in rescue activities. Friends are in shelters, waiting. Waiting is the hardest part.
Love Fleur de Chine and am very upset that it got discontinued. In my opinion, there are many better candidates for discontinuation in the TF’s line-up.
Do you have some? If not, I’d be happy to send you a decant. My email – laugsb at sbcglobal dot net
Best of good mornings, NST. As you can see, I’m back from Sth Australia. I had a marvellous time with my sister, making olive oil –well, I suppose I should rather say “retrieving” the oil from her olives– which was good fun but quite hard work. We made bread (to eat with oil we achieved) and walked the dogs, and generally enjoyed rural domesticity. I’m relieved to discover that the kittens still know me, and even at this moment are inserting themselves between my face and the iPad, the better to ensure strokes and general adoration.
To the matter of skank: the two most skanky I have are Beloved –its skank registers at the “refined” end of the skank scale, but it’s real and there–and vintage Joy, which is a “Well, HELLO sailor” sort of smell on me. Odd that they’re both florals. One day I’ll compare the notes and see if there’s a common factor, other than me.
Hey, I’ve got only ten weeks of work left. I can do anything for ten weeks. I’m bounding in to work today full of energy and …. well, actually, just energy. Dunno what I’m going to find. Don’t care. Will just deal with what comes my way. But, ten weeks…????
Be well and safe and superbly scented, NST friends.
So interesting that you mention Beloved. It actually came to my mind at well, and I dismissed the thought. How could such elegance be labeled skanky? Stealth skank!
I love Eau d’Hermes, but my 3/4 full bottle’s sprayer is broken and I now can only stare at it, vaguely hoping that it will suddenly start working again or that I can figure out some way to decant it.
I’m sure this had been mentioned before but I like Amaranthine. It smells a little naughty or sexy without being too challenging.
I also found SL Fleur d’oranger to be like this as well.
This isn’t my favorite note but I do like these two perfumes.
Hope everyone is safe and well!
I am thrilled by reading everyone’s lists and rediscovering that “skank” is a moving target, very personal.
1. Favorite skanky: Hard to say. See, my take on it is if *I* find it skanky, I generally don’t want to wear it. But if other people find it skanky and I don’t, I don’t care. The few things I can think of that I love despite a hint of skank are L’Arte di Gucci (a bit of costus, which I like and which makes my daughter shudder) and Soivohle Centennial (a fuzzy musk that smells like warm skin to me). Oh, and vintage Bal a Versailles smells like sexytimes in a room full of flowers and candles, but I like it anyway.
2. No clue.
3. Too skanky for me: Joy = sweaty ladyparts. (Other indolic jasmines strike me as this particular type of skank as well, though I generally get on fine with BWFs.)
Dzing = petting zoo.
Aromatics Elixir = somebody urinated on a rose hedge.
Secretions Magnifique = sex crime scene.
Smell Bent Commando = locker room crammed full of sweaty men NOT IN A SEXY WAY Y’ALL, A STINKY HAVEN’T BATHED IN DAYS WAY
On the other hand, I love love LOVE narcissus. And I like grapefruit and blackcurrant bud, which other people often think smell like BO and/or cat pee.
You pick your poison, right?
D*mn right! ;^)
I have yet to find a perfume that is too skanky. I love them all. (I do NOT consider ELDO S.M. to be skanky. I just think it’s disgusting.)
In other news,
I went through my decants and samples, I have QUITE a bit to give away/swap. So be on the lookout especially if you’re interested in any of the Hermèssences. I have several of the 4 ml manufacturer’s samples. Trying to decide how best to organize everything.
I’d be willing to trade quite a bit for some Brin de Reglisse. I may be the only person I know who loves it. If saving for swapmeet, of course, no problemo.
send me an email at madtolive88510 at gee male.
Eau de Hermes.
Salome.
Pro tip: If your’re a skank beginner do not enthusiatically order both to try then test together…one on each arm…LOL