Montale Aoud Amber Rose

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Montale released this one in 2010. So it’s a relatively new contender in the world of aouds and I’m happy to see this house embrace aoud with such open arms.

Aoud Amber Rose

Aoud Amber Rose

In Bottle: An incense woodsy fragrance with a core of roses.

Applied: Initially this smells like a sophisticated rose settled down by a bit of smoke and spice. The fragrance evolves into a woodsier floral composition adding a bit of ambery musk to my nose. It’s warm and dry, but quite nicely blended with the rose making itself the star. As Aoud Amber Rose continues to age it takes on more and more woodsy qualities with a tinge of animalism too.

Extra: I have to question Montale’s methodology. Once a year, we get a few new releases from them. And usually at least one of those releases is an aoud fragrance or something closely related to it. It’s at the point where I’ve sampled my share of Montale aoud fragrances and they all start to smell the same with a couple of components taken out or added in. When a house releases what is essentially the same composition with a couple of tweaks, is it really worth it (aside for collection’s sake) to get the next iteration year after year?

Design: I’ll admit, the shiny metal tubes are wearing thin on me. Other niche houses with their simple bottle designs are fairly understandable. They usually have some sort of distinctive aesthetic appeal. But Montale’s bottles started off beautiful with the brushed metal look. But Aoud Amber Rose? Well, it’s pink. It makes me want to tuck it away in a sock drawer for how inconspicuous it looks. Sorry, Montale, I’m not a fan of the color choice here.

Fragrance Family: Oriental Floral

Notes: Rose, saffron, guaiac wood, cedar, agarwood.

There are novels that have been written about the beauty of aoud notes if used well in a fragrance. I’m on the fence about Montale’s many faces of aoud, but overall, I think they do a pretty good job. Aoud Amber Rose is a decent contender, but I have to concede to By Kilian’s Rose Oud as a more complex fragrance. In the end, this stuff isn’t bad, but it’s got some stiff competition.

Reviewed in This Post: Aoud Amber Rose, 2010, Eau de Parfum.

Montale Wild Aoud

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The Montale line of fragrances is known for its numerous different interpretations of aoud. I find it kind of funny that up until now, I only had non-aoud samplers. But that’s okay, I’m going to remedy that by smelling Montale’s Wild Aoud.

Wild Aoud

Wild Aoud

In Bottle: Whoa, lots of aoud in this one with an underlying hint of warm smokiness. Very nicely done.

Applied: Bergamot with sharp citrus as the aoud comes up rather quickly as the scent heads into its midstage followed by a soft floral presence that lingers in the background of the fragrance. As Wild Aoud continues to progress the florals disappear while the aoud continues to go strong as a clean woodsy note settles into the midstage marked with a progressively smoky personality as the fragrance keeps aging the dry down smells like a warm amber and smoky patchouli fragrance with that–by now–familiar aoud scent.

Extra: I haven’t gone out to seek many aoud fragrances but many perfumistas love the aoud note. Aoud is a resin that forms in the heartwood of Aquilaria trees when they are infected by a certain type of mold. The smell, to me, has a very pungent animalic quality with a hint of sweetness. Unpleasant on its own but mixed well into a fragrance and it can give the perfume a whole different dimension.

Design: Designed in much the same way as many other Montale fragrances. A rather plain-looking metal bottle that is, in this case, a warm dark brown color. It’s functional though not entirely exciting to look at. The most fascinating part of these bottles are the toppers.

Fragrance Family: Woodsy

Notes: Bergamot, geranium, artemisia, aoud, teak wood, patchouli, tobacco.

Wild Aoud is a nice fragrance that showcases the aoud note in it, but given how many aoud based fragrances (many in Montale’s line too) , I do wonder if there are any that interpret aoud in a different way. This makes me want to hold off on committing to an aoud until I’ve tested more.

Reviewed in This Post: Wild Aoud, 2009, Eau de Parfum.

Montale Soleil de Capri

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It’s a testament to how lovely Soleil de Capri is when I applied this and found it smelled so nice I had to stick my nose so close to the application site that I got some on my lips–then in my mouth. And before I knew it, I was swallowing the stuff and found it didn’t taste bad at all. Yeah, I’m a goof. But when a perfume tastes not bad and smells wonderful, you know it’s a keeper. Soleil de Capri

In Bottle: Light, sweetly floral and soapy scent with a very pleasant clean and clearness that I’m thinking might be white musk.

Applied: Lovely, clean and fresh and clear juicy, crisp citrus and clean white florals backed by a beautiful faintly sweet white musk. The scent sticks close to my skin. That’s how the little accident with me tasting this happened, you see. And you know what? It tastes like soap. Not at all unpleasant, though I wouldn’t recommend eating this all the same. The citrus stays around a bit but dissolves into the florals and white musk giving this a faintly soap scent. It dries down into a nice sheer musk. Soleil de Capri is lovely for sure, versatile for every day wear situations, not adventurous but manages to be beautiful just the same.

Extra: Sadly this isn’t the first time I’ve accidentally eaten or tasted my perfume. And funny enough, Soleil de Capri was the least offensive of the ones I’ve accidentally tasted.

Design: Bottled in much the same way as other Montale fragrances. Soleil de Capri’s container is a light brushed metal.

Fragrance Family: Fresh

Notes: : Grapefruit, kumquat, white flowers, white musk, spices.

I couldn’t smell much of the spices but the rest was certainly pleasant. Out of all of Montale’s fresh and clean fragrances, I really have to hand it to Soleil de Capri. It took light, airy, fresh and beautiful and made paradise for my nose.

Reviewed in This Post: Soleil de Capri, 2009, Sample Vial.

Montale Chypre Vanille

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Shameful as it is, I do not remember how Montale’s Oud based fragrance line smells like. Not a single one. I’m working my way back in that direction though. Along the way, I’m picking up some others first. Notably, the cleaner, whiter Montale fragrances that catch that part of me that just wants to smell clean and fresh. Chypre Vanille

In Bottle: Light and green, very pleasant and clean fragrance. Think fresh out of the shower scent with a nice, light, floral mist.

Applied: Beautifully light floral fragrance that’s very quintessentially white and airy. There’s a soapiness to this that opens the fragrance and stays with it as the scent starts to age. The incense used in Chypre Vanille isn’t your typical fair. It’s been cleaned up to the point where it’s hard to recognize as it helps to dry out the vanilla, presenting this concept of vanilla that is unfamiliar but very likable. Chypre Vanille takes the sweetness out of vanilla and makes it sharp and clean, something I wouldn’t expect the note would be capable of. But it wouldn’t be the first or last time I’m wrong. There’s a powderiness to this fragrance too that lingers in the back and reminds you once every so often that it’s still there. The dry down is a nice clean and dry woodsy scent with a very heavy reminder of the vanilla that this was based on. The dry down actually reminds me a little bit  of how the classic Guerlains smell.

Extra: Montale is popular for their many different oud-based fragrances that run the gamut of colors, styles and scents.

Design: Bottled in much the same way as other Montale scents, Chypre Vanille is presented in a lovely dark blue bottle with a metal cap and sprayer.

Fragrance Family: Chypre

Notes: Vanilla, rose, amber, incense, sandalwood, iris, vetiver, tonka bean.

An interesting take on what some people cringe to refer to as a “modern chypre”. I don’t know if I like it enough for a bottle but it’s still pleasant nonetheless. Something very clean about it. Almost soapy but very nice.

Reviewed in This Post: Chypre Vanille, 2009, Sample Vial.

Montale White Musk

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When people think “musk” their thoughts tend to gravitate toward the animalistic musks like civet then they wrinkle their noses thinking about intrepid perfumers chasing down civet cats in the jungles of the world. Very few fragrances still use naturally derived musks. Most of them are synthetics these days and hardly smell anything near animalistic. Montale White Musk

In Bottle: Bright, pure and clean. White Musk smells like lightly perfumed water. It’s airy, translucent and fleeting like the molecules of some fabulous fragrance is carried by the wind to you. With that having been said White Musk, due to its nature, is extremely light and fleeting. Even in the vial, after a couple of sniffs, it becomes hard to detect.

Applied: Very, very, very light. I would have to bathe in this stuff to get anywhere close to the average strength that other fragrances enjoy. White Musk is a blank (in a good way), refreshing, powdery scent. Sort of reminiscent of baby powder but a great deal prettier with hints of sweet florals in it. Think luxury powder in a gilded silver case. It’s also soapy and very clean. I don’t feel like this fragrance is meant to be an entity of its own. Rather it’s a natural scent enhancer and the fragrance is just so happy, light, perky and soft.

Extra: Montale is a French niche perfume house headed by Pierre Montale. The house focuses on agar wood (oud) fragrances. They also have a line of regular perfume from which White Musk is a part of.

Design: Montale’s fragrances come in a metal bottle with a signature look. I have yet to actually hold one in my hand but the design itself is iconic for Montale fragrances and it looks attractive enough. At least it’s a step beyond the standard rectangle glass bottle affair that most niche houses would swear by.

Fragrance Family: Fresh

Notes: White musk, violet, ylang-ylang, geranium.

Probably one of the more common misconceptions about perfumes is the discussion on musk. A lot of people associate the word “musk” with dirty, sweaty, or stinky smells. Musk is often used as a scent fixative in many perfumes. These days there are thousands of synthetic musks in use that don’t smell at all sweaty, stinky or animalistic. Synthetic musks are great examples. With their usually clean, almost invisible sheerness, that makes them great fixatives for fresher, cleaner, modern fragrances.

Reviewed in This Post: White Musk, 2010, Eau de Parfum.