LORGA
MUSC PALAWAN

2019

PERFUMER
Alice Dattee

Lime
Bergamot

Ylang-Ylang
Jasmine
Marine Notes

honey
Vanilla
white musk

Musc Palawan was an interesting one for me from the first time I sampled it. It’s heavy on the white floral element (ylang-ylang with a touch of jasmine), but it’s quite different from most of the other white florals that I’ve tried that otherwise go in the same direction. It does have that creamy, tropical sun-tan vibe, but Musc Palawan feels richer, almost darker than most.

I get the slighest hint of an indolic quality to the florals, which contrasts with the uplifting and overall bright scent profile. In the opening especially, when it’s combined with lime and bergamot.

It’s a refreshing fragrance, suitable for hot weather. But quite quickly it becomes clear that this has a lot of depth and power, making it more of a versatile, year round tropical fragrance.

There’s a bit of honey coming through in the drydown, further adding to the more opulent, rich nature of the fragrance. In a way, this feels like a compromise; it’s a scent profile for which I would normally picture a beach scene and high heat, but it’s executed in a way where I think you have to be careful with the amount of sprays in the Summer. On the other hand, I wore this last week on a mild Winter day and it performed really well and it has that uplifting, pick-me-up quality.

Overall, this is excellent. The quality, the performance, it doesn’t feel redundant at all and the presentation is among the very best. The Lorga line is expensive, but I like every single one of their fragrances, which is rare and it’s become one of my favorite brands, with Ambre Platine still reigning supreme as their best release anno 2024.