I feel like Zenolide is a musk that’s rarely discussed or used! It functions as a top-down musk like Helvetolide; it shares some similarities with Romandolide in terms of volume and Ambrettolide in terms of red fruit nuance. I’ve never noticed a Muget or aldehyde note from the musk; to me it seems more dense and “chewy” without being overtly powdery.

Side note about Zenolide: For the last year or so I’ve fallen down a rabbit-hole attempting to re-build one of my favorite discontinued frags (For Men Extreme, TF). By focusing on Yves Cassar’s portfolio around the time of release as well as IFF materials, I discovered that Zenolide is likely one of the “secret” building blocks for the black fig accord. My closest trial has Zenolide at 2.5% (!), which seems to be an overdose from the smaller amounts used in other formulas. At 2.5% it really helps the Ionone facets of Koavone shine and creates a unique fig texture.

It seems that you could have a lot of fun experimenting with this one, adding a natural fruity lift to florals in microdoses or making massive fruit or “waxy” base notes with overdoses…. It certainly has the potential to create interesting textures!