The Musc series from Narciso Rodriguez has increasingly been moving away from its nucleus (the musk accord from Musc For Her, translated through a rotating palette of raw materials). Recent additions Wild Tuberose, Radiant Magnolia, and Jasmine Musc all favoured fresh floralcy at the expense of rich bases. It has meant the identity of the line has become blurrier, figuratively but also literally in terms of its olfaction, and quite unexciting, too.
2025’s Safran Musc is a return to the same sphere as 2013’s Amber Musc combined with elements of 2019’s Pure Musc For Her. A muskier experience than we’ve had for a while from Narciso Rodriguez. Part of that has to do with material selection, saffron inherently lending itself to woodier, tea-stained, smudgy, silkier compositions overall, and part of that has to do with curation, the brand upping the dosage of its first female pillar as a mini base. It’s most evident in the dry down, when saffron’s leathery-animalic nuances mix with the starchy, steamy orange blossom of Musc For Her.
Narciso Rodriguez was aiming for “saffron[‘s] … brilliance, fusing seamlessly with Damask rose absolute and the radiant sweetness of orange blossom. The heart is enriched with warm woody accords of incense resin, imbuing the floral notes with depth and complexity. The base unveils an interplay of Indonesian patchouli and Indian cypriol, amplifying the woody dimension, while suede accords provide a velvety softness.” I think this description makes the profile sound hotter, more sweltering, and more sensual than it actually is. What I’m taking away from the start is more of saffron’s innate apple facets, some apple pie caramelisation but made with tart green apples so the mix is funky and acidic, with a long dry down of laundry tousled in detergent and left to sun dry. A strong, soapy aroma with nuances of orchard and sweet honeyed grass.
The ending brings much more of the suede accord into conversation with orange blossom, so it resembles the Naricso Rodriguez musk signature faithfully, finding the commonality between For Her, Musc For Her, and Pure Musc (mushy peaches caked in yellow chalk then pressed into pillow fluff), with a more pronounced leathery note that gives the fragrance a smarter, evening feel. Safran Musc therefore combines the chypre legacy of For Her with on-trend soapy notes, mimicking an aldehydic floral but in a new-school context of soap and honey instead of metal and jasmine. A solid piece of work.
