Continuing with the Coty theme this week, the last Coty fragrance that I was fortunate enough to obtain a sample of was Les Muses. Based on the research I did, it appears that Les Muses is the 1986 adaptation of an earlier Coty fragrance known simply as “Muse” which was released in 1945. Unfortunately, I do not have a copy of the pre-1980s release to compare it to, but it is my understanding that Coty reissues are not always necessarily true to original form. Les Muses was re-released along with Le Rose Jacqueminot and Chypre.

My overall impression of Les Muses is of a sweet, fruity, floral underpinned by a slight animalic and woody base. While I could not locate any official notes for the fragrance, most prominent is a melange of peach, tuberose and jasmine, supported by heady white florals. While Les Muses had the potential to be a terrific fragrance, this one unfortunately failed to fully capture my heart. While the white floral notes had a nice phenolic aspect (tar-like smell), once the base set in and the revealed a vanilla and amber duo, the fragrance had simply become too sweet. The fragrance seemed top-heavy and lacking in a stabilizing force. While animalic notes in a fragrance can often serve to offset sweetness, the amber (and perhaps musk) utilized were not of sufficient quality to balance the fragrance. If you, like me, enjoy the odd sweet tar-like smell of certain florals, the Shiseido’s Zen is a better option.

Fruity Floral

Notes: Peach, Jasmine, Tuberose, White Florals, Vanilla, Amber, Woods and Musk