Reviews of Aoud Damascus
by Montale

Very nice Rose and Aoud . . . this is in my top five Rose products - silage is remarkable

Wonderful execution. Aoud Damascus is my favorite rose presentation and my favorite Montale to date. The aoud is not as pronounced as in some other Montale creations, but I find it to be quite wearable. Many roses have a musty character. While it is realistic, it is not something I am fond of. Here the rose is bright and without mustiness.

When I first reviewed this I said that longevity was relatively short. That simply is not the case; I must have underapplied it in early wearings. I did buy a bottle and it is a definite keeper for me. Highly recommended.

(Revised from 9 June 08).

The tamest oud-rose combo in Montale's oud line. Personally, I would have preferred more presence and distinction. It's not even a patch on Black Aoud...

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[Original submission date: 13 April 2008]

I guess I'm never going to develop a taste for Aoud no matter how many I try. Damascus is probably the one I've liked the best so far since it's more subdued than the others.

Aoud is so distinctive to my nose that it comes at the expense of every other note in the accords. It's basically all I smell and that renders Montales almost indistinguishable to me.

I cannot give this fragrance a bad review. That would be unfair since I seem to be a bad candidate for aouds in general. Neutral rating from me on this juice.

Yup, typical rose and oud. Rather weak considering the other offerings. I still don't like any of Montale's ouds yet.

A very impressive - and successful - Montale oud accord. I've been finding that some of the Aoud series work great (White Aoud, SIlver Aoud), while some are dissonant and, IMHO, not successful (Aoud Ambre, Aoud Lime). However, Montale does roses well, and this fragrance is perhaps one of their best.

What's really appealing is the balance... the oud, which is strong at first, never overpowers the rose, and conversely the rose isn't so dominant that the oud is only lurking in the background. At points, I don't even really smell oud and rose, but rather the intersection of the two as if a new note was just created. The effect of this superb balance is that the rose note avoids the problems inherent to many rose fragrances, such as being too sweet, too fruity, or even too earthy. Likewise, the oud avoids becoming too medicinal and overbearing as it can get in Black Aoud or even M7. As the heart emerges, I can get little whiffs of incense(?)... though fleeting. From the hear the fragrance simply fades out over the course of 4-5 hours.

Really, a great, different take on rose and a bottle I'd love to have.

A pretty old school rose scent that I just can't warm to. The initial blast is pretty powerful, lots of damask rose which is not a bad thing. An hour later, the deep rose got very powdery on me with little of the spice (frankincense) tossed in. I've worked with fresh and dried safflower so I know the smell and I couldn't pick up the safflower at any point. It reminded me of the old perfumers workshop "tea rose" that I used to own in the late 70s. I'm giving it a neutral because the silliage and longevity are decent and it's certainly not a bad perfume but if I want a dark rose, I'd rather splurge on a bottle of C&S #88 or SL's Fumerie Turque.

Magnificent rendering of the rose note, I'll agree. Still, what makes it so is the unusual use of gurgum (thanks for the info there, zztopp) and what I can only describe as a deliciously high quality sandalwood note -- very dry, very expensive. (I hope I have this pegged -- that's certainly what I'm picking up here.)

This is by far the most subtle of the aoud offerings from Montale that I've sampled to date, but it's no blushing violet. The aoud note is clear and consistent and long lasting on me, and in no danger of being overwhelmed by the rose (as is almost the case insofar as Black Aoud goes).

Definitively unisex comfort frag -- very powdery, very dry but not dessicated. HUGE thumbs up!

Love the rose!!

WOW! This was my first ever smell of anything by Montale. I am new to all of this, but its been a huge learning curve. I got six other samples and THIS is the one. Have you ever smelled a FRESH rose still in the garden? The kind that have the strong rose smell..the frail country ones on a bush w/huge thorns? The kind that swarm w/bees in the middle of a hot summer when everything else is silent? This smells like that. The first thing I wrote when I smelled this on my paper was "medicine" because it smelled of medicine somehow. I did not even think twice that I could like this. Then somehow something kept smelling soooo unbelievably good. And it was the one I had marked "medicine" (the medicine smell lasted a whole 5 minutes IF that). So later that day I had to put more one. And the next day I put even more on. And now I find myself just wanting it more. And looking at my poor little sample wondering what am I going to do? The only thing I don't like is the staying power is sooooo not there. Sad Sad Sad..because I could walk along smelling this on myself all day long. It ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT smell like an old lady rose, which is what one might think of something that smells so pure. Its beautiful and clean and fresh and dreamy and luscious.

I finally found a perfect rose for myself. I am not a rose person but Aoud Damascus have changed my opinion of all the rose scents. It started off very sharp and medicinal like the others from the Montale's aoud line. I believe zztopp and foetidus have summed up all the good points about this. It is not as sweet and powdery like the YSL's Paris nor as heady like the Bulgari's. It is sensuous rose scent with an edge. I think this is going to become a staple in my drobe.

Sweet, subtle, rosy. Mellow roses accompanied by a light, sweet base. No oud bitterness. Notes are well-integrated. The olibdanum (which is incense resin) and gurgum (which I believe is safflower) do not present themselves distinctly, but merely scent the mix. Tamest oud offereing in Montale's line.

Truly the most beautiful presentation of the rose that I have encountered. Usually I find rose fragrances to be too abundant and opulent to be tolerated in a fragrance, but the Damascus rose note in Aoud Damascus is rendered with incredible genius. The deep sumptuous rose accord is kept from getting too lascivious by being touched with a perfect green; the etherealness of incense is kept at an elegant minimum, the airy depth of aoud is held in abeyance (after its opening blast) to provide an impeccable background. And yet with all this control, these powerful notes are kept whole and pure. This fragrance is a model of the ingenious artistry in transforming the potency of nature to a human reach—presenting that power with sensitivity, delicacy, and awe-inspiring creativity. Opulence and luxuriousness transformed into rich elegance and refinement.

Notes: Damascan roses, Aoud, Gurgum.

Aoud Damascus is a rich, coherent rose fragrance, and one of the better Montales that I have tried.

Unlike Aoud Lime, the aoud never overpowers the other ingredients here. Damascus contains a fantastic rose note which forms the heart of the fragrance - the aoud (mostly) stays in the background and gives the fragrance depth. The base introduces gurgum a.k.a safflower, which adds a minty herbal quality. The gurgum prevents the relatively heavy notes of rose and aoud from becoming too cloying, and provides an uplofting feel to this excellent rose composition. Longevity however, is below average (3 hours max. on my skin).

Aoud Damascus ranks as one of the best rose fragrances that I have tried. It never gets too heavy or cloying; the only negative is that its not as long lasting as one would like.

Similar to Parfum Sacre, with the dark rose riding over such a deep, smoky but transparent base, yet it remains recognizably rose .... it kept my nose interested for hours. I think this one could really grow on me! There's something so compelling in this ancient pairing; my favorite of the Montales I've tried thus far. It lasted about 4 hours; short for me - most things last 8-12 hours, which speaks to me of a high proportion of natural materials.

I have a small bottle of pure Bulgarian rose oil, and a bottle of Aoud Damascus. Both of them are the epitome of what is beautiful about a rose, to me. There is such depth, from the first hint of crushed green leaves all the way to the lightly waxy, honeylike but clean ending. They just transport me. with the Aoud Damascus, the difference is that where the Bulgarian rose oil eventually fades away to nothing, the Montale scent just gives and gives. I can't keep my nose away from my wrist, and I cannot stop the reflexive utterings of "Mmmm!" every time my nose catches a whiff of it. This will undoubtedly be my first Montale full-bottle purchase. Or perhaps it should go on the birthday list...