Unless you’ve been living under a rock for, well, your whole life, you’d probably know that the ‘Birkin’ was named after Jane Birkin, and pretty much every Chanel signature can be traced-back to the inimitable Coco Chanel. But, sadly, the beautiful stories behind certain beauty products – particularly fragrance – are often lost while we’re skipping between counters and bowls of coffee beans, and the tale of Kiehl’s Original Musk Eau de Toilette is a perfect case in point.

The signature scent is the sequel to the Original Musk Oil – originally found by chance in a Kiehl’s Apothecary lab in the 50’s in a vat appropriately labelled ‘Love Oil’. The original fragrance oil is believed to have been created in the 20’s (if that’s not a A-class demonstration of forward-thinking, we don’t know what is).

First-sniffs are a burst of citrus (bergamont nectar and orange blossom, to be exact) followed by floral notes of rose, lilly, ylang ylang and neroli. Once it settles on the skin, you’re left with the warm, oriental and, yes, seductive notes of tonke bean, white patchouli and musk.

If you prefer to wear your boyfriend’s cologne, this is your perfect middle ground – both the scent and the bottle are him-and-her-friendly.

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By Carmen Hamilton.