Reviews of Attar
by Montale

To my very humble nose, Montale's Black Aoud, Royal Aoud, and Attar are all fairly straightforward oudh-rose compositions, each of which goes in its own particular direction. Attar is a far tamer scent than the barbaric Black Aoud, but more individual than the civilized Royal Aoud. If Black Aoud is the bully of the lot and Royal Aoud the dignified uncle, then Attar is the dandy.

Attar goes on immediately sweeter than the other Montale Aouds I've tried, save the cloying Aoud Ambre. The notes read sandalwood and rose, but it's the rose that grabs me first. This is a sweet, mellow rose, far removed from Black Aoud's spicy, aggressive blossom. Tea rose if you will, as opposed to damask rose. Maybe it's the double distillation. At any rate, this rose note intensifies over the first hour or two, until it fully dominates the fragrance.

As for the Mysore sandalwood? I don't get it. Nil. Nada. At least not until well into the drydown, where the rose begins to recede. Midway through, Attar reveals a mysterious note which I can only describe as "fleshy." Juxtaposed with the oudh, this builds an accord that is somewhat reminiscent of a bandaged wound. Not a nasty wound - more like a surgical wound, with stitches and some disinfectant. Further on, things sweeten up a bit, until we reach the soft and rounded woody drydown. On me, this scent lingers less than the other Montale Aoud's - a "meager" 6 to 8 hours. Also a distinctly unisex fragrance, I believe.

Very wain sandalwood and roses. Weak yet ethereal. This is one oud I could enjoy but I don't think there's any oud in it at all. OK overall.

The opening of this rose scent has been described as medicinal and sharp, which is true enough, though I would add boozey as well.
This is one drunk rose. Odd to think of booze and roses together, but there it is. The sandalwood gives it depth, and I'm in agreement with Pigeon Murderer that this definitely leans toward the feminine side.
Montale is full of surprises, isn't it?

I really like the medicinal woody opening of this, too bad that phase doesn’t last that long at all…

It becomes soon very bright and straightforward rose scent with woody undertones. Leans strongly towards feminine side.

I am hoping the sandalwood in here would be creamier, more full-bodied and more ”sturdy” overall. The structure of this scent seems quite thin to me, it is sharp and very simple, and most unfortunately it just doesn’t have any alluring qualities. Speaking for myself; many of the actual Montale Aoud scents simply outclasses this scent to be totally useless.

However, I know there are a lot of people out there who actually don’t like the aoud in larger quantities. For you this might be a real treasure – who knows.

I am not completely sure of the ingredients in this juice. Only rose and sandalwood are officially announced by Montale, but I’m sure there is a hint of aoud to the mix as well. Also I would be surprised if it didn’t have a small touch of amber and musk

Not bad, but nowhere near to my favourites from this house. Recommended for you to try, if “fresh waxy roses with dash of fairly sharp woods and very subtle animalic background” sounds intriguing.

Is there aoud in Montale Attar? I really don’t know for certain. While I get the medicinal character of aoud in the opening, which reminds me of Black Aoud, I get none of the “aoud magic” that follows in all the Montale Aoud’s I have tried to date: Black Aoud, Royal Aoud, Steam Aoud and Aoud Damascus. And Montale does not list aoud as a note (and it certainly is a note that no manufacturer would want to gloss over if it is there! It is too costly not to boast about!) At any rate, this reminds me of a Black Aoud in the opening, later in development a simple rose dominated scent, supported by sandalwood. Certainly acceptable, but not especially remarkable: I see it as an unnecessary addition if one owns Black Aoud. Indeed, if I had both, the Montale Attar would never be worn.