“An elegant, powdery macrocyclic musk with a natural, skin-like sensuality and exceptional staying power.”

Exaltolide® Total is a synthetic macrocyclic musk from DSM-Firmenich, known for its very fine, elegant, natural musk fragrance. It is one of the highest quality and skin-sensual musks on the market.

According to Firmenich, it is:

• “An extremely fine and elegant musk, very natural in character”
• “biodegradable and produced via green synthesis”
• “with a tenacity of 2 weeks on a fragrance strip”

 

Odor profile – Exaltolide® Total

Exaltolide® Total is a macrocyclic musk with an exceptionally natural, elegant and skin-like scent.
It is among the most sophisticated musks on the market and is often described as:

Main Character

• Soft musky
• Powdery
• Skin-like / skin-scent
• Warm and sensual
• Clean but not “laundry-like”

 

Subtones

• Slightly creamy
• Subtly floral
• Very soft animalic (natural musk effect)
• A touch of balsamic
• A round, warm depth without sharpness

 

Diffusion & texture

• Medium diffusion (not garish, rather intimate)
• Very smooth, creamy and silky
• No metallic or fruity edges like other musks

 

Shelf life

• Extremely long: up to 2 weeks on a fragrance strip
• On the skin: long-lasting, warm and subtly present

 

How it smells in a perfume

Exaltolide® Total gives perfumes:

• a natural musk base
• a soft, sensual skin scent
• a powdery finish
• a premium, niche-quality musk feel
• a creamy, elegant depth that carries other ingredients beautifully

It is a musk that finishes a perfume rather than overpowers it.

Exaltolide® Total is softer, powderier and more natural than Habanolide (fresh/metallic), and then fruitier musks like Helvetolide, or then classic recognizable musks like Galaxolide.

 

Recommended dosage of Exaltolide® Total in perfumes

Exaltolide® Total is a macrocyclic musk with excellent skin compatibility and no specific IFRA restrictions. Therefore, it is used in practice within normal musk dosages for fine fragrance.

The usual, safe guidelines used by perfumers are:

💧 Fine Fragrance (perfume / extrait)

1–5%

• 1-2% for a soft, skin-like musk base
• 3-5% for a distinct, long-lasting musk foundation

💧 Eau de Parfum

0.5-3%

• 0.5-1% for subtle rounding
• 2-3% for a warm, powdery musk signature

💧 Eau de Toilette

0.3-1.5%

💧 Bodycare (IFRA category 5)

0.1-0.5% (Shampoo, lotion, shower gel)

💧 Home Fragrance

• Candles: 1-3%
• Reed diffusers: 1-4%
• Room sprays: 0.5-2%

🧪 Why these dosages?

• Exaltolide® Total is powerful but not aggressive
• It has a long shelf life (up to 2 weeks on blotter)
• It is IFRA-approved in all categories
• It works best as a base musk, not a top diffuser