First Impressions – Initio – Musk Therapy

Initio – Musk Therapy – I’ve tried quite a few Initio perfumes, and they are not a brand I have gelled with. They are a sister brand to Parfums de Marly. And, in the same way as that brand, they favour performance, projection, power, and PR over the actual juice. At least that’s my perception. All well and good, and each to their own. Indeed, all the fragrances I’ve tried from Initio and Parfums de Marly seem to have the same sort of dry down. Specifically, synthetic woody ambers and a sweetness with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. I recently went through some of my decants and stumbled upon Musk Therapy from Initio. Surely this, a musk scent of all things, couldn’t be too loud and brash?

Well, with Musk Therapy, there’s good news and bad news. Firstly, the good news is this one doesn’t scream too loudly. Certainly, not as obnoxious as most of the others. However, the bad news is Musk Therapy is extremely sweet. Much too sweet for a musk scent, I believe. The fruity notes of blackcurrant, which is prominent, along with mandarin and bergamot, are so saccharine it got a little cloying after an hour. That’s not the way I want my musk scents to behave. Musk Therapy is almost ice-cream-like in its sweetness. The muted additions of creamy woods and waxy florals offer little respite or development. Musk Therapy lasted 6 hours on my skin.

There are quite a few scents in this price category that I’d favour over Musk Therapy. In my opinion, Over the Musk by Mugler and Musc des Sables by Les Indémodables are superior to Musk Therapy. Honestly, if you’re shelling out the best part of $400AUD for Musk Therapy, you’re probably a few sandwiches short of a picnic. My advice would be to forgo them all, save yourself $400AUD, put the spare cash towards a holiday, buy an ice cream, and enjoy yourself. Doubtless, that’s a much better form of therapy than Musk Therapy.

Do you have a favourite musk scent/Initio scent? Sample purchased by me.