Reviews of Mukhallat
by Montale

Wishing that Mukhallat evoked the feelings & lovely memories expressed by jenson, I must (sadly) give this potent mixture a thumbs down... for my own associations, the strawberry/almond topnotes smell like a public restroom freshener commonly used in the midwest. Artificial smelling. I sprayed one very small squirt onto a tissue and left it on my kitchen countertop for about 6 hours. When I returned to re-sniff it, the sickly sweet berry smell had died down quite a bit and a more vanillic sweet almond was the dominant note. At this later stage Mukhallat seems tolerable, yet not what I want to wear. In the end, my thumb is neutral, as I seriously believe my cultural associations imparted a tainted viewpoint. If not for that, I would say others may enjoy this Montale...but not me, nope, not this one.

I have to agree with Trebor and Foetidus on this one...Montale's Sweet Oriental Dream is much more richer and well rounded than this comparatively "thin" example of a Turkish Delight scent. Serge Luten's Rahat Loukhoum is also a much better choice if you want to try a scent that's inspired byTurkish Delight.

Wild strawberries and sweet almonds? Well, I’m sorry but this smells horribly synthetic and medicinal. If anything, it reminds me of an empty bottle of strawberry-flavoured cough syrup.

This should never have been released, let alone created. Mukhallat is one of the worst Montale releases ever.

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[Original submission date: 28 September 2008]

I very much like and appreciate jenson's review because I can indeed see a different side of Mukhallat.
I don't like it on me. It is saccharine sweet and a bit medicinal. And after learning how to appreciate it, I don't think it's an easy one to wear. On someone exotic this could be a very intriguing scent...intriguing on a woman, but even more so on a man.
I give it one star for how it smells on me. But I give it a thumbs up for its possibilities, and how it has opened my mind.

Another Turkish delight gourmand: fruit and nuts and sweet, sweet, sweet. I suppose every niche fragrance company with an adequate product line has to do one of these. If you want one of these Turkish Delight fragrances, and are thinking of Montale’s Mukhallat, I would suggest you check out the competition, including Montale’s own Sweet Oriental Dreams. Mukhallat replaces the sweet sweets in Sweet Oriental Dreams with synthetics… not an adequate replacement. This one’s headache inducing and completely unworthy.

Mukhallat: represents a smell that i associate with Muslims(like all other montales). growing up around a loving Muslim family as neighbours, i can tell. it always used to intrigue me when younger..when i used to see uncle apply a lil part from a small bottle into a cotton ball which he would palce in between ears groove..then rub some under neck. mukhallat brings back strong memories. though it's a powdery gourmand (and people who know me, know how much i hate them), and it indeed is sweet, it commands respect and reflects festivity. To me, its s fun scent, to be worn specially on occasions and ofcourse when you feel like any other time. i definitely cannot associate it with sadness or daily chores or everyday wear..it has to be something special. this would be something very unique in ones collection, not comparable to any scent out there. notes of strawberry and almonds wouldnt make eny sense coz we arent used to smelling them this way...think of all the tropical dry fruits..like Dates..imagine them in their juicy sticky form..imagine this having captured the best of it all...mix them all in milk and vanilla ice cream till it becomes an elixir from heaven...the mere thought of it should send our tongue rolling and leave a everl;asting olfactory signature which is very hard to miss.. this one would be lovely on a lady and a man alike. it's all about the timing for this one. 50 ml should go long way and would stay enjoyable. a big thumbs up to Montale for introducing this already existing formula to everyone.