The Informant: C.O. Bigelow Musk Oil Review: All You Need to Smell Great

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Everyone wants to smell great. People who say they don’t are liars and I want nothing to do with them. That said, finding the right cologne is tough, but once you do, it’s life-changing. The only problem is that traveling with cologne can be harder. Before SPY, I was a travel writer for another magazine, and never smelled as good as I could have on trips because you can’t take full-size cologne bottles with you in a carry-on. 

Do they sell cologne bottles under 3.4-ounces? Of course they do. They’re out there. But plenty don’t come in that small of a size. Also, what’s more likely is a situation we’ve all been in, when a product is close to 3.4 ounces and you don’t want to get flagged because you’re running late (or there’s an awful-smelling TSA agent who spots the opportunity to scoop it up). So you do the thing we all do: You leave the bottle at home instead of risking it. 

Needless to say, I required an alternative. 

A few years ago there was the advent of “solid colognes,” which are almost universally terrible. I applaud the theory — and we should be proud of ourselves as a society that we made the attempt — but it just didn’t work. They’re either too thin and just feel like applying a fingerful of sunscreen, or they’re too thick and it’s like you dipped a finger in candle wax and are trying to rub it in. 

The solution to this challenge is to get a perfume oil. Specifically, this perfume oil: C.O. Bigelow’s Musk oil. They’re small. Like, really small. They only hold .25 ounces of fluid. The cap also has a small plastic rod that’s used to apply the oil. Unscrew it, run the tip of it over each wrist, and apply like you would apply cologne. 

Also, C.O. Bigelow has been around for nearly 200 years. I think the brand knows what it’s doing. This scent, in particular, smells great and is super strong. It’s musky — which, for a bigger guy with a beard, is an appropriate way to lean into the right kind of fragrance without missing the mark. (For example, lavender wouldn’t work for me.)

The company’s formula also has been tested to smell better (subjective) and last longer (objective) than most eau de toilettes and eau de parfums.