Hello fellow Fumies,
Have you ever read a bunch of reviews and they have frightened you off something? All I keep reading is about how harsh, strong, powerful and long lasting the Montale fragrances are. That they are kick you in the head and then jump on your carcass as you lay there dead by asphyxiation. Recently on SurrenderToChance they had a DailyChanceSpecial on the Montale manufacturers samples where you could get them for only 99c each. Of course I grabbed a bunch and they have been sitting there unloved and unsniffed since because I had to wait for there to be nothing involving people to do and nobody awake to skunk. Tonight’s the night!!
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Bulgarian rose, violet leaf, oud, nagarmotha root (Cyperus scariosus), sandalwood, patchouli.
My skin completely explodes with crushed violet leaf, slightly earthy nagarmotha root and a soft, clean, oudh for the first 15-20 minutes. It is fresh and lively, green and summery, and not what I was expecting AT ALL. Ha ha ha! I often read about the moment when you start to think you know something about fragrance and you get all, “Oh, I know what this will be like because I’m a frag DIVA!” It’s at that exact time something will come along and surprise the shit out of you. Well, here it is! While being lush and wet, like walking through the immaculate gardens of a tropical resort after rain, this is not a big fragrance. Yes you are perfumed and fragrant, you have better than good sillage and sit still for a while and people will notice that you smell incredible but Aoud Shiny is not a skunker.
Photo Stolen novinite
Oh MY! This is the part where the Bulgarian roses come in and smack everything else down. I have been wearing Aoud Shiny by Montale for nearly 40 minutes and slowly the roses have been taking over, right now they are all there is. A lavish, slightly spicy, full blown rose: those big fat global roses that open up as big as a salad plate. CooEEEEEEE! This splendiferous rose remains front and centre for a good, long while, maybe 1.5-2 hours and then a spicy, minty, medical/chewing gum experience takes over (almost like the opening of Geranium Pour Monsieur but less intense). It’s not an oudh-ish medicine but a dentist surgery, get it?
Photo Stolen inspiredbythis
One of the things I really enjoy about this fragrance is the amount of time you get with each stage of the fragrances development, now at around the 3-4 hour mark the sandalwood is making a big buttered wood statement that doesn’t run completely over the lingering violet leaf and rose, it’s a triumvirate with the sandalwood walking slightly ahead. at this point I start to feel like we are really about to arrive in a Middle Eastern fragrance. Here is where the real depths of the fragrance begin to shine. While still retaining its light and freshness Aoud Shiny gives up its hidden depths to us and will continue to do so for hours more yet. By the time I lose the fragrance I’ve stopped checking the time, so some time after the 7 hour mark but before 10 hours. EXCELLENT!
I couldn’t find a dedicated review of Aoud Shiny by any of my favoured bloggers but on Basenotes and Fragrantica there was a mixture of love and hate reviews.
ParfumsRaffy has a selection of Aoud Shiny $100/50ml & $165/100ml
SurrenderToChance starts at $4/ml
There were quite a few complaints that Montale was doing another Rose/Oudh fragrance. I am new to the line so for me it had a fresh, lovely and unusual approach towards these 2 main accords, lighter than the heavy Indian and Middle Eastern oils that I’m familiar with and heavier than almost all of the Western fragrances. A fine, balanced perfume with a great, long story to tell. I can’t wait to try another Montale.
Have you tried any of the Montales? Do you have a favourite? Please tell me below in the comments,
We at APJ hope that you have enjoyed dropping in and we hope to see you back tomorrow. Till then, take care of yourselves,
Portia xx
Here is a gorgeous Belly Dancing Artist who gives the idea a great new modern spin. Do Enjoy!!
AustralianPerfumeJunkies 
No, I’ve never tried a single Montale! Like you, I’d been scared off by various reviews of the line (and their OVERWHELMING number of perfumes). This one sounds truly delightful, Portia! Thank you for putting in a good word for Montale!
Hey Arielle! How great to see you. How’s the study going? Wishing you only exam questions you have recently studied and remember the full answers to.
Portia xx
I love your reviews Portia – they always make me smile with delight!
You rock my world Margeaux! Where are you currently? Kath said Perth? Singapore? Madrid? I can’t remember? Where ever you are, have some fun for Mummy please,
Portia xx
I was in Perth, off to Melbourne tonight. Gold Coast and Brisbane in November. Its travel travel travel sweetie darling! Hope to see you soon, may drop into the Newtown for Trivia next Monday night 🙂 xx
Hey Portia! I loved your review, I hope you will review the rest you purchased as well! It seems I took advantage of the same offer and bought everything StC had available (about 29 of them) and I am trying them a couple every day at work to get views from the coworkers! They are trully LONGlasting and the smallest amount goes at least 8-10 hours on me! This one is one of my favorites so far !! So far I didn’t get a negative comment everyone seems to like them I guess it is the weather changing to autumn and everyone is looking to something more earthy !!
Hey Maria!
Thank you. I only grabbed 10 of them and am now kicking myself. As the weeks progress I will get to them all hopefully. What are your other faves so I can earmark them please?
Portia xx
Haven’t tried all of them yet, but I liked Aromatic Lime Fougeres MArines, oriental flowers, powder flowers(this one is very light ) sandflowers and velvet flowers! I have about a dozen more to try !
Having looked through my cache I found only Oriental Flowers in common. Such an ENORMOUS range. It will take me a year to try them all.
Portia xx
Today I will be trying crystal flowers @ crystal aoud! Don’t worry it took me a couple of weeks to actually open the box ! The quantity was overwhelming!
At last some love for this line! It is a shame I haven’t reviewed any but Patchouli (Leaves). I think that part of the blame is in the line itself for keeping throwing new releases at us. Very few are bad. Most of them are above average in my opinion. Most of them also have this uncanny ability to develop for hours and many reviewers have simply scrubbed them of or are sniffing something else before they get to the heart of them. I love Black Aoud of course, it is amazing how a fresh rose can be kept fresh for so long. Aoud Cuir d’Arabie smells like cheap goatskin and I love it for this. Try to see if you have Sandflowers in your bunch of samples. This really defies anyone’s preconceived notions about Montale
Hey Christos,
It was another bloggers time with SandFlowers that prompted my change of heart. I think it may have been Sigrun. I’m leaving it till last because if I LOVE it then the other 9 will sit for another couple of months before I try ANY.
Portia xx
I am crazy about Sandflowers! Hurry up!!! 🙂
HA HA HA!! OK How about a post on Friday? Sandflowers it is.
see you then Christos,
Portia xxx
Just went looking for SANDFLOWRERS and I don’t have it. Ordering now!!
Portia xx
I so hope you like it….. Otherwise I ‘m in trouble…… 😦
Naah, no trouble at all. I found a decant on Posh Peasant, very reasonable.
Portia xx
Cooee! Rock that RoseOud Frag Diva.
Ha Ha Ha Jordan. yes I did!!
Portia xx
I’m like Ari, I haven’t tried any of the Montales yet, and have barely dipped my toe into the oud section of the pool. However, when I do think of oud, Montale is right at the top of that list so I’ll be trying some eventually (after I work through the figs, and the incenses, and the jasmines and the orange blossoms and…)
I love the videos you add to many of your reviews, Portia. They’re always interesting.
Oud is FUN Dionne. Montale is a great way to start, the Mancera is good and I also love Profumo. Tell me when you’re ready.
Portia xx
I don’t understand why people are afraid to try Montales. They are much less scary than most mass-market fruity-florals or male aquatics, which really could asphyxiate your neighbor. Maybe the word “oud” or “aoud” scares people, but most of the Montales really don’t seem to contain any significant amount of oud, real or synthetic.
My favorite Montale, of those I’ve tried, is White Aoud. I generally avoid fragrances with “white” in the name, but in this case, I took a chance and found that it smells much better than it sounds.
Thank you Ellen I will try the White Aoud in my next sample shop.
I have changed computers and for some reason can’t find your blog. Could you please give us all the address?
Portia xx
The address of my blog, Perfume Project Northwest, is http://www.perfumenw.blogspot.com/
Hope some of you can stop by, although I’m not as regular about posting as Portia is!
Thanks Ellen,
I was looking for something with Orchids in the title. Go see Ellen, uber niche perfumery done right.
Portia xxx
Wow ! The isolation and control the dancer has is far out!!!!! What an amazing talent ,belly dancing is really cool and not as easy as she makes it look ! I wonder what her SOTD was for that performance ? Opium would be an obvious choice but im thinking maybe a seductive Jasmine bomb !!!! Thanks for sharing , I have not had the long strong pleasure of Montale fragrance ! Sounds wonderful thou ! Hugs xxx
Tim, You could do this belly dancing. It would be fabulous to add in to your classes as an isolation excercise, and FUN,
Portia xx
Oh, your description of Montales had me cracking up! I’m no fan of oud, so I’ve only tried one Montale – Vanille Absolu, I think. It was nice, but nothing I need to own. I’ve never heard of this one, so happy to read a review, even though I don’t think it will be up my alley!
Hiya odonata9,
Now I am less afraid of them but I am going to go through these samples one a week to enjoy them. It’s quite possible I may come back and order an Aoud Shiny, I really enjoyed it,
Portia xx
I’m not afraid of Montale perfumes but a couple that I tried were awful on me: I do not like agarwood that much. Plus I really dislike their bottles. So I think I’ll pass on this line for now. If one day I find myself at a store that carries the brand with absolutely nothing else to test, I’ll try at least a couple more but for now I’m fine reading nice reviews like yours 😉
I love you Undina. THE BEST!!
I can understand the agarwood problem, when I wear them Jin says really loud, POOH! COW POOH! and when people comment on them he says it again. He smells only POOH.
I am laughing while I write this because he is SO DAMN FUNNY! When he doers it I fall over, even though I expect it it gets me every time.
Portia xx
❤ ❤ ❤
I want to mention that cumin smells even worse on my skin. I can take some agarwood or some cumin in my perfumes but a little more – and all I can think of is a shower 😉
You are brave indeed!
I have not been able to start on Oud…I have a bottle of the essential oil and all I can think of is wet Flokati rug. Eew!
HA HA HA JackieB,
wet Flokati rug!! Hilarious.
Portia xx
The last I tried was Lime Aoud and it was sharp and overpowering and metallic. Yuck. I have to admit that one thing that keeps me away are their bottles, which don’t look like perfume bottles to me, but rather home cleaner or bathroom spray bottles instead. Keep going though P. If anyone can find a lemming it’s you!
OMG!! You are right. they look like 80’s mousse bottles. HA HA HA!
Excellent call Scented Hound!!
I will continue the search,
Portia xx
I must admit Aoud Lime is one to stay away from!!!! Really toxic stuff. Several hours down the road and on somebody else it smells good though.
These bottles do not take any medals for beauty but they are exactly the kind of container professionals use to store perfumery oils and they are the best way to preserve a perfume unaffected by time.
Aha, that is interesting Christos. I didn’t know that about the bottles. Thanks.
You all are making me very interested in Lime Aoud. I have a sample.
It sounds SCARY!!
Portia xx
I did not realize that. I will now look at those bottles in a different light now!
You need to try and blog that Lime Aoud now Portia – I wanna know what you think too!!
Ok Margeoux, Friday I will do it.
OMG!! What have I let myself in for? My tummy already has butterflies like when you get locked into a Roller Coaster,
Portia xx
Everyone is right, the Montale bottles are hideous. Not that I’ve ever seen one in person, given that all I ever buy are samples or, in rare cases, small decants. Judging by the photos, I think the look they’re going after is the large aluminum bottles that aroma chemicals typically come in. But why?
Someone said it was to keep them fresh Ellen. I get that, it makes sense if they are using loads of the good stuff which their pricing indicates.
They look really big in the pictures, I’ve never seen them in life. I will definitely do so in January/February while in Europe.
Portia xx
I didn’t try the Montales for a really long time not because of the scent but because the bottles are so hideous. I can’t remember which blogger said they look like expensive Axe but, I thought that was a perfect description. Then I found a bunch of them at a discount store and decided to give a couple a shot. My favorite so far is Red Aoud which had a lot of chocolate in the dry down. As you mention, I love how they have so much time with each stage of the scent. You really can differentiate between top, middle and base but, they go so well together. Thanks for the great review, I have to try this one now.
You are so welcome DubaiScents. I have more to come on the Montale excursion. Unfortunately i didn’t grab Red Aoud.
Portia
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