Sanguine Muskissime was one of Maître Parfumeur et Gantier's original fragrance offerings when the line was established in 1988. It is composed of bergamot, mandarin, peach, blood orange, grapefruit, lemon, jasmine, musk and sandalwood.

I first tried Sanguine Muskissime several years ago, and was not overly fond of it. A sample recently came my way again and I thought I would give it another go. For a few minutes, I thought it might work for me this time: the top notes are a lovely, sparkling blend of citrus, very bright and summery, with just the lightest hint of pale florals. After that, it is all downhill; the citrus notes grow sweeter and less sparkling the longer it is on skin, and eventually it smells uncomfortably close to orange lifesavers.

In the meantime, the sandalwood intensifies, lending a bit of a velvety finish, but the centerpiece of the dry down is a heavy, rather flat musk note, and eventually the musk takes over entirely — it is about all I can smell other than the lightest hint of orange candy. I'm not sure exactly what it is about the musk that I don't like, but I don't like it, and there is really an awful lot of it to not like.

Do comment if you love this fragrance, I'd love to hear another perspective. In general, the men's fragrances from Maître Parfumeur et Gantier seem to work better for me than the women's, in fact, the only feminines I really like from this line are Tubéreuse and Bahiana.

Sanguine Muskissime is $105 for 100 ml. For buying information, see the listing for Maître Parfumeur et Gantier under Perfume Houses.