New Montale Aoud Out 12-10-2007

Thanks for that, cairomerta.

Black Aoud, Golden Aoud, White Aoud, Red Aoud... I wonder what colour's next? Probably blue or purple...

Good to see the notes, I have a decant of it coming in the mail right now...

Touted as a floral twist on black aoud..

There are too many new Montales to keep up with!

Did Laurice Rahme sleep with Pierre Montale ?

Aoud Velvet is already purple Aoud, so I don't expect that one!

Hey, what do you think of Golden Aoud? I heard it was similar to White Aoud without the vanilla? I like White Aoud but dislike the vanilla leftovers and thus am looking to trade it for another Montale Aoud.

Red Aoud sounds excellent - is the price the same as the others?

Cairomerta, would you please go over prices again? How much if you order from the Montale Boutique in Paris? Also, do you have Jasmine Full? I love this house!!! My collection is only 6 at the moment but I am thinking about getting Jasmine Full which I tried a year ago but don't really remember much about. Golden Aoud sounds good but this new floral Red Aoud....mmmmm!

Is Golden Aoud also a Paris exclusive? I know of no stores who carry it. Definitely sounds like it's for me.

Thank you for the info cairomerta, indeed almost all the Montales I've tried are just exquisite. I even appreciate the ones that I don't like! I will sell my White Aoud to buy some Golden Aoud, and hopefully if some film money comes in this month, I will go for the Red Aoud as well, as Black Aoud is a masterpiece, and with added florals it would be heavenly. And an extra 20ml certainly makes it worth it! I think I'd go for Velvet Aoud there. Has anyone tried that one?

Since you know about the extra concentrated versions from Paris, would you say that Montale's 1ml sample vials are the extra concentrated versions? I could swear that the sample vial of Attar that I had was stronger than the ones I bought from Switzerland during the sale.

Paintrman - Jasmin Full is a heavenly fragrance. It's just a jasmine soliflore, but if you get the extra concentrated version it's a very real and intense jasmine. I am also looking to acquire this one.

For those in Canada (or anywhere actually), if you're worried about customs and you don't need the extra concentrations, the best place to get Montales other than from Paris is theperfumeshoppe.ca in Vancouver. Their prices are the lowest on Montales - Aouds are $170 for 100ml vs $210 at most other places, though 95 Euro is less than that.

I've just ordered a "special" bottle of Chocolate Greedy from Paris, I am getting a 20ml of Red Aoud with it. Will post my thoughts when I get a chance.

Cairomerta, since you are officially the Montale expert, which are your favorites and why? Oh, and thanks for the info about prices. My birthday was last week and I am going to buy myself a gift but am not sure which one just yet.

Yes, Caesar, I have a sample. Aoud Velvet has a bright floral feel for the first few hours before settling into a sweet oriental base of tonka, vanilla, and barely perceptible sandalwood. The oud note blends well with orange blossom, tiare and ylang ylang. A potent, sweet orange blossom scent with vanilla/tonka sweetness and a hint of oud to lend it a sense of mystery.

On a different note, my favorite Montale is the dry, resinous Oud pur Oriental. Oud, olibanum, frankincense, balsam, Cystus ladaniferus, and amber. Desert wind in a bottle. I would pay handsomely for a bottle of this masterpiece.

If you don't mind me asking, what are your thoughts on Aoud Queen Roses? Thanks!
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Velvet Aoud is amazing. I have a 30ml decant of it, if you wanted a little bit. It's a very beautiful fragrance.

Has anyone tried their Confidential Collection? I am very curious about those, how good are they?

Rose: pungent, very strong rose but has a metallic accord running throughout its development - this completely put me off (but maybe some would say that this accord is natural).

Sandalwood: the best one of the lot - a pure and creamy sandalwood. However, for a fraction of the price, SL's Santal de Mysore is just as good (if not better).

Saffron: very medicinal - it reminded me of something from my childhood (while in hospital?). A few hours later, it smelt a tad better but it wasn't really to my liking. My least favourite.

In summary, they're nice releases but aren't really worth the money.
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Doesn't anyone think that the Aoud series has too much deja vu? This line now reminds me of SL's Bois series.

Red Aoud - apart from tha vanilla, it sounds very much like Aoud Flowers to me. Have you tried this one, cairomerta?


Sorry to burst your bubble, matey, but velvet is a fabric, not a colour...

Hey, I've got another one: Silver Aoud - ooooooooohhh yeah!!!

Belated Happy Birthday! Why not treat yourself to Jasmin Full(70 euros), and get the 20ml of your choice. Tell them is your birthday and ask for more samples!

Hey, those prices include shipping, do they not?

Are you sure it's free? I just ordered a 100ml of Chocolate Greedy and asked for Red Aoud in the 20ml and they're charging me 90 euro's. What gives?

I remember reading somewhere that they recently have started to charge for the shipping, but don't quote me on this...

I've been too busy, lately, to post all my thoughts but here goes:

Aoud Rose Petals - personally, this isn't as strong as Black Aoud and Aoud Flowers (which, btw, is my second favourite Montale Aoud so far). Also, it's practically the mirror image of Black Aoud - that is, more emphasis on rose than oud as opposed to the other way round. Black Aoud is much more to my liking.

I've just requested some samples from Montale and am very interested in trying Red Aoud - I'm curious about the exact differences between Red Aoud and Aoud Flowers, apart from just vanilla. I find most of the Montale Aouds not as distinctive as I would like them to be (but then again, if oud is the main note, it comes as no surprise). Maybe Red Aoud will be a very pleasant surprise.

cairomerta - Red Aoud being a more floral Black Aoud?! That's strange because I would have said that Aoud Flowers is a more floral Black Aoud! What do you think?

Btw, has anyone tried Taif Rose? Although it's not in the Aoud line, anyone interested in rose scents should investigate this one. It's simply a rose scent with all the green parts of the rose thrown in (stems, thorns, leaves, etc.). Personally, it was too 'green' for me and is very similar to Serge Lutens' Sa Majesté la Rose (which I prefer a tad more). It's definitely worth testing, though.

Hi, cairomerta!

Well, it's very interesting how we perceive differently the similarities bewteen these Montale releases. I guess my conclusions come down to the fact that Black Aoud and Aoud Rose Petals contain only rose, while Aoud Flowers and Red Aoud consist of more floral notes. Personally, I find Aoud Flowers a lot more tenacious than Aoud Rose Petals but that could be just me.

Hey, here's a funny story: a couple of days ago. I was planning to go out on a date after work and brought my roll-on sample of Aoud Flowers to freshen up with. Around lunchtime, I decided to let one of my female collegues smell the bottle (she already knew about my date). As soon as she smelt it, she recoiled her head back in disgust and said, in an authoritive manner, "You'll be wearing THAT for your date?! If I were you, I'd go down the road and buy a bottle of either Cool Water or Fahrenheit." LOL!!!

My date loved Aoud Flowers on me, btw...

I don't think the prices in Europe should increase, rather the opposite that the prices the companies set on the American market should increase. (I noticed that L'Artisan FdO 07 costs 190 EUR and Iris Pallida 240 EUR in France, while in the US both are priced to be $295, so maybe it is an action towards the dollar inflation, I don't know...)

I think Montale is a great House. They are very generous when you order. The fragrance themselves are of high, potent quality. I love black aoud. I received complements galore when I wore it yesterday!