Montaigne (1986)
by Caron

A few minutes alone with Caron MONTAIGNE (edp) is time enough to convince me I am in the presence of a stunning beauty. While many floral orientals tend to go heavy on the syrupy sweetness, Caron has managed to keep the saccharine base to more tasteful levels, allowing the heart of the fragrance to blossom in all its splendor.

It makes me smile and I'm not even sure why. There is this certain joie de vivre about this Caron that simply lifts my spirit. Not unlike a secret joke shared between friends with a wink or a knowing smile. The barely concealed tension between powdery and lush floral accords is the cherry on the cake or if one is so inclined to think, the glossy red smacker that leaves a gentleman bewitched, bothered...and bewildered.

12nd September, 2011.

I love it! In fact, I really really love it!!!
I can't tell if there's mimosa or narcissus in the composition (I know, I'm no expert!) but to me, it's one of the best floral orientals I've tried.
Montaigne is heady, indolic and creamy as everybody has stated. It started a little spicy and slightly bitter at first, then settles down in a sweet,warm and creamy base.I find the scent plush and sunny. Very French and old-fashioned.
I tend to wear Montaigne a lot in winter because it cheeers me up, as if the sky was not so grey any more, the weather no longer gloomy and like I was walking on a carpet of yellow flower petals! If I wear Montaigne on warm days, I feel like the sunshine started to be collected around me and the atmosphere started to shimmer! I think it's drop-dead beautiful!

29th August, 2011.

They were pushing Montaigne like a drug last holiday season at Nordstrom. The elaborate displays suggested that the promotion was Caron’s, not the store’s, and I wondered what the motive was. Were Montaigne sales slack? Does Caron think Montaigne is one of their more approachable fragrances, and hence a good “entry level” selection? Did they just have excess stock to unload? I don’t suppose I’ll ever know.

“Approachable” or not, Montaigne is certainly conventional. In style it’s a straightforward floral oriental, with all of the expected components: sweet spiced citrus, a bouquet of white flowers, and a sweet vanilla-amber foundation. These same building blocks have served for scents as fine and varied as Byzance, Ysatis, Boucheron, Tocade, Flower, Amaranthine, and Insolence. In Montaigne’s case it’s the white floral accord that dominates, aligning it more closely with Byzance, Boucheron, and Ysatis than comparatively streamlined, modernistic scents such as Flower or Tocade.

I can detect jasmine, rose, tuberose, and orange blossom among Montaigne’s floral notes. Though the arrangement is moderately indolic, it is so generously seasoned with aldehydes that it smells clean and soapy, rather than decadent and animalic. The amber and vanilla in the base notes are offset by a very smooth, creamy wood accord. Without the woods Montaigne might be oppressively sweet, but their presence assures adequate balance. The drydown, with its remnants of soapy florals tempered by soft woods and amber, is my favorite part of this fragrance. In its parfum concentration Montaigne projects and lasts well, but I don’t find it as oppressively heavy or overbearing as Boucheron or Insolence can be when over-applied.

After a few wearings I appreciate Montaigne as a solid, pleasant scent, though nothing terribly exciting. Caron offers more stimulating orientals in Nuit de Noël and Parfum Sacré, and in the heady white flower-floral oriental field Byzance, Boucheron, and Amaranthine present equally fine, though more distinctive alternatives.

29th March, 2011.

GLORIOUS, WONDERFUL, DIVINE! The opulence of this is second to none. Thumbs, way, WAY up on this classic!

4th January, 2011.

Fantastic winter scent; heavy and sweet but refined and warm.

This concert notes of jasmine, vanilla and sandalwood produce the greatest of symphonies for hours...

An absolute treasure for a scent lover...big thumbs up...!

25th December, 2010.

Beautiful ,beautiful ,beautiful ! Warm ,sweet, rich , long lasting ,creamy . I love the mimosa in this with the jasmine, vanilla combination. Smooth . Smells typically Caron. Classic .

27th July, 2010.