NAKUNA
MUSTA

2020

PERFUMER
Yann Vasnier

Spicy notes
Leather

Coal Tar
Incense
Musk

Myrrh
Vanilla
Amber
Patchouli

I’ve sampled Nakuna Helsinki’s entire line and Musta is easily their star player for me. It’s also the one that I think most men will gravitate towards, whereas most of the brand feels more aimed towards women (of course, all fragrances are for everyone).

This is a moody, melancholic, somewhat dark fragrance, but it has a silver lining. It’s resinous, smooth and there’s a sweetness akin to molasses. I pick up elements that remind me of Amouage Jubilation XXV (without the fruitiness), although it’s a quite the unique overall composition. A fragrance that I later tried that reminded me of it is Matiere Premiere Encens Suave.

Musta means ‘black’ and the notes include leather, incense, coal tar, musk, myrrh and amber. So you can imagine this is a warm, smokey scent and spiced up. I don’t think that black is fully appropriate though, as it gets comforting and warm in a sense, with a good hint of sweetness underneath. Incense combined with the spices and sweetness is almost a shisha/hookah scent.

I don’t seem to get too much of the leather note, which I’m kind of glad for, because leather could quickly overpower a composition and I think this scent profile is more interesting than yet another leather with some nuances. Smokey, soft, incense is the name of the game.

The description by the brand is perfect: ‘Musta reflects the Finnish personality; happy with a dark undertone’. To me, it’s a quintessential melancholic fragrance, which, for a melancholic introvert like myself, is as comforting as it gets when it hits right.