Ramon Monegal, Barcelona: A New Line - Page 3

Yes, I indeed did detect just a bit, but in my case at least the agarwood drowned it out for the most part...

Wouldn't surprise me! I do have lots of Scottish ancestry! I'm going to visit the homeland one day and pop in on you and spray all your perfumes!

Alfarom thank you for allowing me to crash the Monegal party! Already lots of great reviews here; will continue to follow along.

Tried Impossible Iris, courtesy of Dearest Foustie. But I found it much different from what you wrote about it. You all said it's a happy perfume and to me it wasn't this happy. I didn't enjoy the very opening but really enjoyed the phase between 30 and 90 minutes after spraying. Then again my nose started picking some resemblance to Iris Silver Mist by Lutens and Iris de Nuit from Heeley. The problem is, that I don't like any of these two iris perfume mentioned. I find IdN too floral and rather gloomy while ISM smells to me like a rotten carrot in a damp soil kept in a dark and wet, creepy cellar.
I tried to love it, but I don't. I can only say that I like it a bit, when it doesn't remind me of either ISM or IdN. For me it's too little to look around for a bottle for my own.

I'm still up to trying Cuirelle. This will be better.

You nailed it, on both counts. *LOL* Though I love Heeley and don't see it as gloomy, I don't care for ISM either. I think Impossible Iris is definitely more cheerful than these two but not as happy as Iris Nobile or Bois D'Iris.

Eeeek! Don't listen to him up there ^^^^. He likes to cause mischief!

Yeah, I'm the master of the mischief! :P

Sorry my friend. I know you love it, but I don't.

I tried Kiss My Name this entire weekend. Its a very fresh floral scent.

The opening is very strong, a combination of mixed florals, of which I picked out the jasmine the strongest of all. The tuberose was also quite strong. the combination made my mouth water (weird, I know. I'm not usually given to eating flowers) The dry down had a bit of wood(cedar), a bit of spice(nutmeg), but was still predominately floral.

Technically, this fragrance perfumes very well. It projects better than any of the other Monegals that I have sampled, and has equally good longevity. I got a good 10 hours out of 2 squirts.

My husband wanted to try this one, but didn't want to smell that floral, so he sprayed on Kanon Norwegian wood first and Kiss my Name on top. It was a good combination! Made the scent a little deeper, which I liked, particularly a few hours in, when the unrelenting floral can get wearing.

All in all, I liked the scent, but did not love it. I prefer to have either some soap or wood to go with my florals, and although this fragrance has a little wood and spice, not enough. The proportions were just off for me.

Only just discovered this line and in a couple weeks should have samples of the entire collection arriving at my door Can't wait - I adore the bottles toooo!!!

I meant him up there ^^ likes to cause mischief!! Some other posts got in between. Mortified!!

Don't worry Lucasai, (although I know that you like to cause mishief too)! BTW I kinda like your description of Iris Silver Mist. Or should it be ? It was nice of you to pop by with your thoughts about the Impossible Iris. Balance is good!

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Freddie, the bottles are faaaaaabulous!

L'Eau De Rose, Minimalist Rose

Yes, a beautiful example of minimalism. This rose is at the opposite end of the Spectrum from Flechiér's Une Rose. This is a very clever composition in my opinion. Very considered, an exercise in restraint. It makes Une Rose seem like an excercise in gluttony. That said I can't help but feel that this may be a perfumers perfume. An Academic Perfume. A fascinating example of what can be achieved, a perfect rose. A fragrance that I could smell repeatedly all day long and be delighted with over and over again, but that I don't find particularly satisfying to wear.

Rose purists take heed. A must try. Not negotiable.

oh god, yes!! gimme gimme gimme!! haven't tried it yet but could this be the only pure iris that i would like??? i'm not counting iris bleu gris and cuir d'iris as these are not primarily iris (these are the only two irises that i quite like)

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brill alfarom. my favourite quote/expression of the week! i will borrow it and change 'fragrance' with other words whenever suitable.

This thread is huge! Lol, I just now found this thread. I just received some samples..no testing yet..but upon a little sniffing..I am impressed so far.. We shall see. Mmm, opening the bag of samples again..mmm is that powder I get? Mmmm yay!

She just now found this thread. You gotta love kalli! I just filled her in that this is where the party is.

Looking forward to seeing you kalli!

Ya, I got distracted with that Rosine pass, sampling other scents and sending off packages, sorry, lol

But estoy aqui!('I am here' in Espanol). I will bring los empanadas y refrescos!(empanadas and sodas!).

Are you sure you couldn't stretch to a nice Rioja? Or something from La Mancha maybe?

See you later!

I went straight for the Ambra Di Luna. This is a soft but intense amber scent, a bit dark, sweet, boozy, beautiful. I get a nice, spicy kick-almost a bit acidic- on the back of this amber. If you are looking for an Ambre Sultan, this ain't it. This is very feminine scent. Along the lines of Prada L'eau Ambree in some aspects but it's more sweeter, boozier, warm, and spicier than Prada L'eau Ambree. More woody, less sour and less dark and earthy than the Prada. And a more memorable, more noticeable scent than the Prada. More vanillic as well. I don't get the alcoholic opening as I do on the Prada..but this one likes to get straight to the amber and vanilla. I get sweet vanilla and amber with slightly woody notes along with a little spice upon the opening. The jasmine peeks though softly and would be the moon in this scent, shedding it's soft light on the amber. Light dusting of sandalwood, subtle but very much present. Just not earthy, sharp, condensed or damp but just enough enough to add depth and a soft spice to the scent. A dry and sweeter sandalwood. The notes really seem to reflect off one another-if that makes sense-making the name even more appropriate. The notes don't compete, nor is any of them loud and trying to get attention but rather wanting to be in a harmony with one another. As the jasmine closes her certain a bit, the sandalwood becomes more apparent slightly, more earthy and sour. Becomes very powdery, as one might guess, from the amber and vanilla. The booziness of the vanilla exits and it becomes more and more about the sandalwood. The dry down is like a bit more sandalwood-y, slightly spicier Chanel 5 Eau Premiere to me.

Not the best review probably but there it is..I am still kinda newer, so it is what it is.

Would I buy this? Oh yes!!!!!!!! Me gusta mucho!(I like it a lot). Muchas Gracias Senor Ramon.

Today's scent is Cuirelle. It smells like edible leather, honestly. Like someone poured some honey over leather, and then roasted the whole thing over a cedar block and garnished with patchouli.

The dry down is fantastic. The patchouli dies down considerably, the sweetness increases, and the leather increases. I still smell the cedar, but quite faintly. I applied a spray to my hair, and got a whiff of it all day long, at least 12 hours worth.

As far as leather scents go, this one is not a strong leather, but it is quite an interesting combination. I love my leather with either pipe tobacco or brandy, so this combination was a lovely change.

Hiya girls! These are great reviews. Keep testing!!

I picked up some samples today from a local store that will be selling the line. Interesting tidbit I found out, according to the owner of this store, they are either being sold or distributed by Amouage here in the US. Unfortunately, they were only shipped 8 samples instead of the whole line of 12.

If any South Florida people are interested in trying these out as well as many other niche brands that are popular here. The store is Four Seasons in Delray Beach. They do not seem to carry a big inventory, but do have pretty much everything they offer to test and order in for you.

Here is their website if interested.

http://fourseasonsproducts.com/

http://fourseasonsproducts.com/cat--...e-Carry--lines

Hi, Palm Beach, Hi Everyone! I got a Lucky Scent newsletter today and they have the line in!! So, for everyone in the US who is interested, get your samples and join the party!!

I noticed that as well.

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Mon Patchouly:

Masculine obviously, pretty masculine, a bit of dark spice and powder. Almost too masculine for my tastes, really opens up as a 'men's' scent...I think the masculinity wears off just a bit after a while and becomes more sweet and floral. Thus becoming more unisex. Something hot in there..idk. Spice. Amber, balmy, woody. Something is sweet, vanilla? I get amber, lots of amber and patch. Some kind of spice. Maybe from a wood? Balmy a bit. Myrrh? Oakmoss? I'd say oakmoss cause this reminds me of the Original Guess but a lot more patch of course with the Ramon. It's a lot more masculine than the Guess. Light florals. Perhaps too masculine for me at first..but I do like the amber, powder, sweetness to this. Really powdery which I like. Probably from amber, vanilla and oakmoss? If this was the 90's..this would be more 'accepted' on a woman, lol. I really feel like I am putting on a men's scent at first(like a classic men's scent, like a very masculine, old school, drugstore aftershave)...which I don't like...but like I said..tames down a bit and I get an amber-y, sweeter, powdery scent..still keeping masculinity while becoming slightly more unisex. I get something, like almost a licorice..but not licorice..interesting. I like that licorice-y note. So, this just isn't patchouli..other stuff goin on in this.

So, that's that. Would I buy it? If I was in a masculine mood..which a lot of times, I am just not into too masculine of scents..but I might because of the amber, vanilla and other notes. I am just not a really huge patch fan, I like it at times but idk. Sometimes I like patch, sometimes I don't. Not a bad scent.

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Impossible Iris:

Something was very, very off-putting to my nose at first. Something sickly green, that's not iris, is it? I don't know iris at all really. Then it develops into a waxy, almost plastic-y scent but very much more like wax. Powdery with a little spice to it. I am going to guess a wood is in here. Really waxy! Like bad. Maybe musk. Going to guess a spice..like a pepper and sandalwood? Or a dry wood. Can't guess any more flowers than iris, maybe violet? Maybe a resin on the bottom..or tonka..but like a resin, something sticky. Jasmine is a guess and I thought I smelled something sweet on top after that initial green yukness. Very dry scent. I really didn't like whatever made that gross green note..a blend of iris and something? I still get a spice, something is spicy, a pepper. There's gotta be a spice in this. Turns powdery, but something a little sticky on the bottom. I wonder what in the world made up that yuk green concoction in the beginning. I like the dry down a little bit, spicy, powdery, dry..woody..and other base note(a resin?)...not sure what..the musk comes in more and I don't like that, of course.

This is a pass for me..those top notes blended together like that..really was a gross, green eww for a bit there. And the musk really develops, another pass. So, no on the Impossible Iris.

Hiya,
I had signed up for Foustie gel's sample pass but there was a disconnect somewhere. So I got the Luckyscent sample pack.

I read the whole thread today to catch up-Great Posts, all.
A comment on the launching 14 scents a once comments. I don't get what wrong with that? The guy is an established perfumer under Myrugia branching out on his own. Maybe he developed these scents over many years. Why not release them all at once? It makes more sense to me business wise..a complete line
to choose from instead of 1 or two scents- I like. YMMV

Quickly sniffed these today on skin- Dry woods,Kiss My name, umbra, cuirelle,cherry musk, Lovely day, Mon Cuir, Impossible Iris, eau de Rose,Agar Musk.

the mon cuir and the iris, kiss my name stood out. Nose now fried.
Will test in more depth later.

I'm looking forward to the possibility that they will be at the Las Vegas Nieman Marcus, per this tweet:



Francisco Gratacós ‏@monegalperfumes

Ramón Monegal Perfumes will be available at Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus in a few weeks from now!

• Reply
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5:49 AM - 27 Jul 12 via LinkedIn · Embed this Tweet

I havent tried these yet but I find the bottle design/packaging rather off-putting. When I see the lettering/font, I vaguely think either Montale or Mancera; when I look at the vertical label and cylindrical shape of the bottle, I think LArtisan; and when I look at the bottle/lid novelty, I think Signature pour Homme by ST Dupont.

I mean, if youre going to go out on a limb and release an expensive fragrance in a unique-looking bottle, at least bring some originality to the table or dont even bother.

Trebor, I totally disagree. The quality of the design and of the materials is standout in my opinion, exeptional. I am not always too bothered about bottle design, (although I know that lots of people are), but sometimes you just have to aknowledge great design, and this is one of those times in my opinion. The bottle and cap have a lovely heft in the hand, they look fantastic, and expensive, the cap mechanism is great. The bottle comes in a Bakelite Cannister instead of a box. This is great on several levels, great look, great feel, and it keeps the fragrance protected from light. Lovely to own and to handle, and they would make an exceptionally nice gift. You may feel differently once you have had the opportunity to handle one. Please come back and let us know.

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Oh I know Knit. Bummer! But now you have the whole range! Welcome to the chat. It is so great to see you finally!!

Kalli, can we take it that you weren't keen on the Iris? It's my favourite!!

As you already own a bottle, you may be right. I'll have to wait and see...

But did such a thought cross your mind before obtaining it?

It didn't actually Trebor, but you are right about the vertical labels being reminiscent of L'Artisan.

I agree - reminiscent of L'Artisan. I noticed that immediately. However, I *love* the L'Artisan bottles, and this is what I love on steroids, with a completely different cap, so I was smitten.

And then there's the cap. OK - I'll admit that I'm a bottle guy at this point. But look at this stuff....





*drools*

It may not be a first of its kind on the lid, but it's pretty damn nice, and together with the whole package, I think it's pretty sharp.

The scents are not - being perfectly honest - any better than a lot of other great stuff out there. However, they are somewhat novel in that space, so if you're looking for something newish in the high-end designer / accessible niche category, they're perfect. There is bound to be one that works really well. I've found 1 worth gushing and 3 worth recommending (out of 6 smelled). My wife had a very high ratio of "I like it" to "smells ordinary", which is her response to most fragrances. I would not recommend them to anybody allergic to modernity, because I think part of what makes them novel is precisely that - enough modernity to not seem stuffy in the slightest. But not too much. A really nice balance of smelling stylistically "fresh" but reserved enough to remain classy.

Except for Lovely Day. I DO NOT GET that scent AT ALL. One moment I thought it was daring and a real story-teller, the next minute I thought it was amateurish. I simply have to recuse myself on that one.

Lol, I ordered a sample of that off Luckyscent(not affiliated)..and ya, I was like what is lovely about this??? Everything I wanted to be able to sniff in it, I just didn't get much of. I think I gave it away already LOL.

So, I sprayed the Ambra Di Luna on skin and not on paper and more of it...ok, well I get super animalic now! Whoa, it's like really animalic. Kinda has something similar with Prada L'eau Ambree(probably the amber LOLOL)..but not nearly as much. I get a dark, masculine, animal amber...then fades into something more feminine. L'eau Ambree is way more feminine and no animal bombness to it, lol. Sorry, lol. My newbness coming out I suppose. Makes sense that this is a unisex..masculine on the top notes..feminine on the dry down. Do I like it as much? Well, I don't know! Not as much I don't think. It's bad at all though. Sorry guys..total newb I guess still lol.

OK, I have also been getting to know Ambra de Luna too, and it has turned out to be one of my favourites in the range.

Ambra de Luna;

Amber, Labdanum, Jasmine, Castoruem, Sandalwood.

In my view this is one of those of those fragrances that is more than the sum of it's parts. It is beautifully composed, beautifully balanced, beautifully cohesive. It doesn't lend itself to being picked apart.

I absolutely concur with Alfarom that the overall impression is of a slightly boozy, (but only very slighty), amber with castoreum right there from the outset. Castoreum is my favourite animalic material. It is warm and soft and reassuring, like resting your head on a warm animals belly, or maybe your lover's. It is the perfect partner for Amber.

Ambra de Luna is the scent of contentment.

Imagine maybe a little cabin somewhere, a glow from the fire, a glass of muscat, and someone that you love. Time is slow, you are comfortable and reassured. To me, that is Ambra de Luna.

It is a beautiful balance of quiet, calm and refined but yet it has a very individual confidence. Ambra de Luna is suitable for both women and men.

Yeah, the Dry Wood. I don't like it either. I find this one odd. It doesn't fit somehow. Looking at the range, some I like, some I don't like, as is always the way, but this one is somehow incongruous with the rest of the range. It seems raw while the others are refined. And although it is not listed, is there is a kinda oudy thing going on? It would be interesting to hear what Sr Monegal would say about this one.

Meantime I would like to hear what hedonist says about it, if he has a sample of that one. He should be here soon hopefully.

I agree - unexpected, and a delight to wear.Cuirelle is simply outstanding. Now Mon Cuir on the other end of the spectrum smells like leather soaked in a port-a-potty. Talk about anamalic!

I think that Entre Naranjos is the easiest one to recommend to guys. I would say that the value of any suit can be doubled simply by spraying and walking through this one. It's easy to love in a Terre d'Hermès way.

Personally, though, I think Agar Musk is the nicest of the "boys" scents that I've smelled so far. The incense is perfect - it is far more reminiscent of "oud wood" than "oud".

But my Monegal money is reserved for L'Eau de Rose. I really think it's the best modern rose I've come across. There is a balance in it that just sets it apart. I love it when artists skew a rose fragrance toward unique places of one kind or another (Rose Rebelle, Rose Ikebana, Egoiste, Rose 31, Windsor, Domenico Caraceni) and even when they're somewhat undecided in their mainstream leanings (D&G the one Rose). L'Eau de Rose, however, has this balance between natural and synthetic, mature and girly, sophisticated and rustic, and just about everything else, which somehow manages to remind me of both poles at once in every direction. It manages to say - very beautifully - so much with so little. I'm positive that it's some kind of fragrant poetry, and I simply have to have it.

Agar Musk is a very nice frag, but I like Cuirelle even more.


Gentlemen - just stop what your doing right now and order a sample of Cuirelle.

A new "Five Star" leather is born. Boozy, spicy, sweet, intoxicating with a beautiful sillage and all day lasting power.

I have been wearing Lovely Day for awhile now. I keep hoping I can fix it somehow (Like Kiss My Name, which was quite nice, but too much treble and not enough bass. The addition of a little wood evened it right out). But I honestly can't come up with anything. It feels like its missing personality, more so than a particular note. You know when you buy a fashion magazine, and all none of the perfume samples actually smell like the perfume they are, and they somehow all smell like each other? This perfume reminds me of that.

So yesterday my mom took the rest of the sample from me. She said it reminded her of something, she just couldn't remember what. It seemed like an appropriate statement for that scent. A least someone is enjoying it.

Few days ago I tried Entre Naranjos one more time from my sample. It´s an orange smell very pleasant and natural. I can perceive the oranges with a green aspect wich recreate a walk among orange trees in a sunny day. After an hour (more or less) the green orange smell go down and I perceive some soft woods rising up over the oranges.

It don´t last long on my skin but, as I said, it´s very pleasant and natural.

I agree that Cuirelle is pretty amazing. My skin totally destroys it, but on paper, it really wowed me. If I got it, I would have to wear it on my clothing.

Yeah, I need to recommend that one, too, even though I can't *really* do so.

Entre Naranjos:

Sniffed this one. Upon first spray..it's pretty bitter orange..like really sniffing an orange rind. Turns powdery rather quickly..my guess was amber. Something adds sweetness behind the bitter orange(I am not sure what)..and I can't help but think of Fruit Loops a little bit..something like that. But bitter Fruit Loops, lol. I get a flower..perhaps it's that adding the sweetness..not sure. Mostly, this is orange rind though. Remaining bitter... then a background sweetness..then amber and woodiness joins the amber.

Do I like it? Well, I do really like orange..but this is too bitter for me, I like orange..not orange rind. Just personal preference. The dry down is kinda nice..woody amber..I do like that.

Not complex at all. Not very many notes going on with this. As I said, it's a bit bitter for me, going to have to pass on this one.

I sampled this a couple times 10 days ago. I was crazy about Cuirelle. I decided to order two more samples from Luckyscent to wear a few more times for consideration of a full bottle purchase. These two samples smell totally different than the one I received 10 days ago. I don't like the new ones. Now I don't know which is the real Cuirelle. I'm going to order from First in Fragrance hoping, the real Cuirelle was like my first sample.

I ordered a bottle of Cuirelle upon first sniff. Beautiful stuff!

Happened to have the opportunity to test both L'Eau de Rose and Impossible Iris today looking for a new addition for my GF. I have got to say, that L'Eau de Rose to me has one of the most natural smelling Rose scents I have smelled in a while. It really reminded me of being in a flower shop, full of roses.

When I say natural smell, I am not talking about how much real oils are used versus synthetics, but more the actual smell. When I smell a rose, it is not overpowering, but soft.

Impossible Iris is very nice as well, but I think for my GF, this will be the one.

I got my luckyscent sample pack a few days ago. I'm definitely wowed by the craftsmanship in each of these compositions. I have a few faves already, but I haven't tried them all yet. The only thing that to me is sadly lacking is longevity and projection. An hour into wearing them I practically have to stick my nose into my wrist to get a faint whiff of any of the scents I've tested so far, which is a shame since the perfumes themselves are amazing - and if they were turned up a little... louder, I expect they'd develop really beautifully on the skin.

I dunno - maybe I'm spoilt. I've hardly worn anything besides Serge Lutens for years...

Both of those are great scents. Yes - the naturalness on this is brilliant - almost surreal. It should almost be "Impossible Rose", but I think that the moisture demands the name that was chosen.

Amazing stuff!

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Hey - welcome to Basenotes! Love your username (along with that of fellow BNer rubegon)!

Bump.

These are my impressions of the underated Mon Patchouli fragrance from the line:

Patchouli and Jasmine joined together in a wonderful harmony, who would have thought these two notes would go together so well. It is joined with hints of geranium,amber with a touch of incense but the main interplay is between the Jasmine and Patchouli.

It has very good projection and lasts for ages though it is very linear. It's basically these two notes then the jasmine gets powdery in the basenotes. It smells wonderful though can get a little bit annoying after hour five but thats just me.

If you can imagine the Patchouli in Givenchy Gentlmen lightened with quality jasmine which is a bit powdery then you basically got it. Smells good and a jasmine that a man can wear with confidence because of the patchouli.

A excellent interview alfarom and thanks I found it very interesting having sampled three fragrances from his range.

Well, my samples never arrived - ah well, is this line definitely worth checking out though - those bottles are still making my eyes go blurry and my finger irritated - I wanna go buy crazy D: