Kiehl's Original Musk Oil has been around in one form or another for decades (official release date is 1963, though according to the company their musk was first blended in the 1920s. I wonder how it smelled back then and how this oil changed throughout the years, but all I have to work with is the current version and it's a good one.
Some people compare Kiehl's Musk Oil to notorious 1970s staples like Jovan and other drugstore masculine potions, all funny mustache and chest hair. Others see it as a soft unisex scent that shares a thing or two with our favorite Serge Lutens musks. I'm closer to the second camp though I wouldn't go all the way with the Uncle Serge comparison. Besides, the floral part of Kiehl's Original Musk has more in common with Miel de Bois than with MKK, but maybe it's just me.
In any case, Kiehl's Musk Oil is warm and cozy, floral and gentle with some honey and a hint of animalic musc, not too dirty, but again, I'm the girl who wears CB Musk and asks for more. I find it amusing that musks of this kind were the epitome of male sexuality in the 1970s. It just doesn't compute for me that this soft little thing I wear for comfort was (is?) considered a virile beast.
Kiehl's Original Musk Oil ($36 0.5 oz in a dab bottle or $26 for the annoying little rollerball) is available from nordstrom.com
A 1974 men's fashion ad from Found in Mom's Basement (pzrservices.typepad.com/vintageadvertising)
