RhythmnHues
Very helpful Review
4
Incredibly nice
I wasn't sure what to expect, given all the polarising reviews (on all the other forums) that Montale gets, when I bought this one. A lot of the positive reviews were from people whose reviews I trust and understand. And based on that alone, pretty much like most times, I jumped on this one. And boy was I surprised!
Straight to the point- this is an incredibly nice spicy-leather scent with a generous helping of saffron and ambergris. Very potent opening. Will easily offend people who are not into these types of perfumes. The initial citrus accord is very bitterish-spicy but very short lived so it's just fine. Black Pepper and Saffron are the two notes that dominate the life of this scent, in incredible depth. It doesn't smell exactly the same all the way. Different shades emerge as time goes by. The cardamom, something I'm not usually fond of, brings great depth here to the other spices ( I get traces of cloves, cinnamon and bay leaf) and the saffron accord. The leather here is very soft and smooth. Very polished and subtle (atleast on my skin). There's also a boozy vibe to the whole thing that, together with saffron, pepper, & leather kinda reminds me of Bentley Intense. (It is quite similar in terms of the overall vibe.) And beneath all this is, what, to me, feels like, really good quality Ambergris. It's salty, slightly sweet, with some ambery-floral nuances. And finally, the Oud. It's extremely subtle here. Not at all the dominant note. Just something like a catalyst of sorts, added to bring out certain facets in the other elements. It's there - slightly medicinal and dark - but more like a filter added in post-production. It just adds a certain vibe to the main theme. Projection, sillage, and longevity are all on the higher side.
All in all, beautiful. An incredibly nice spicy-leather scent with great depth and a classy vibe.
8.5/10