Thanks to FX’s “Love Story,” fans are clamoring to get their hands on Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s favorite fragrance.
The late Calvin Klein publicist and wife of John F. Kennedy Jr. was known to pair her minimalist designer looks with Abdul Kareem’s Egyptian Musk Oil, a skin-like, subtly soapy scent that’s been out of production for years.
“If Carolyn ran out to the drugstore, she would bring back a lipstick or a vial of Abdul Kareem Egyptian Musk Oil, which she would buy from street vendors and share with the other girls,” Elizabeth Beller wrote in her 2024 biography of CBK, “Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy.”
“‘Try this oil. Doesn’t it smell like clean, first love?’ This was Carolyn’s signature scent.”
The irresistible-sounding perfume even earned a shoutout in the first episode of “Love Story,” with one of CBK’s co-workers quipping, “By the way, I wore your Egyptian Musk last night, and I’m not kidding, three different guys, like, inhaled me.”
Unfortunately, the fragrance isn’t quite so easy to come by today. While eBay seller SkipTheMiddleMan has been known to stock it occasionally for a relatively reasonable $50 a vial — not much more than CBK paid in the ’90s! — his small drops tend to sell out fast. (At press time, his supply was entirely wiped out.)
For everyone else desperate for a whiff, be ready to fork over four figures; multiple eBay sellers are asking for over $1,000 for an itty-bitty .5-oz vial, with one even listing theirs for a staggering $4,999.
The good news? There are plenty of similar scents on the market going for far less cash. Below, shop a few popular options.
“I get asked the name of my perfume whenever I wear this oil,” one Ulta Beauty shopper raved of this “very soft fragrance that lasts all day.” In addition to a blend of musks, it incorporates lily of the valley, linen notes and hints of rose.
Featuring notes of cumin, ylang ylang, sandalwood and cinnamon, this oil’s earned more than 500 five-star reviews on Amazon alone.
“I know what everyone’s raving about now,” one shopper wrote. “It’s musky, clean, and on me, slightly sweet!”
Blended with powdery and delicate florals, this warm musk oil’s garnered a similar number of rave reviews on Amazon, with buyers calling it “heavenly,” “seductive” and “absolutely beautiful.”
“This has been my signature scent since the ’90s,” one wrote. “It’s almost a weapon because I know that whenever I wear it, people will just go crazy over it.”
Why Trust Page Six Style Shopping
This article was written by Elana Fishman, Page Six’s Style & Shopping Director. A passionate Swiftie and pop culture fanatic, Elana applies her celebrity fashion and beauty expertise to shoppable content for fellow fans as the host of video series including Currently Trending, Style Trial, Heart to Cart and Beauty Scoop — and by tracking down every Taylor Swift-worn style so you can shop it, too. Elana consults celebrity stylists on the latest street style and red carpet trends and predictions, researches which celebrity-backed brands and products are worth it and chats with the stars themselves for beauty and fashion recommendations. Prior to Page Six Style’s inception in 2018, Elana covered celebrity fashion at Vox Media, Lucky, Marie Claire and Teen Vogue.
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