Aoud Red Flowers

I was expecting Montale AOUD RED FLOWERS to be more about rose geranium than anything else. Otherwise, why not just call it AOUD ROSE? Oh, that's right: because there's already a Montale perfume by that name! In reality, this is not identical to AOUD ROSE PETALS or AOUD DAMASCUS, because there is a significant dose of tagetes (aka "marigold," but that sounds so pedestrian!) here which the straightforward rose perfumes of this house lack. Add in some saffron and aoud, and voilà, you have a very complex and orange-red floriental perfume. This smells simply beautiful. I love tagetes, I love rose, I love saffron, and I love oud when it does not smell like shoe polish and bandaids, which happily here it does not. (-; But my appreciation of this perfume derives above all from the skillful interlacing of all of these notes beloved to me. The blend is perfectly balanced, and the various components work together harmonically. AOUD RED FLOWERS is a lush, floral, feminine perfume which uses aoud as an embellishment, so don't think that this is primarily an aoud perfume, because it is not. It seems to me that Montale has amply demonstrated that Lego perfumery, the construction of a perfume out of pre-made parts, is not guaranteed to end in mediocrity. No, not at all. AOUD RED FLOWERS is truly gorgeous, and I'd love to have a bottle of this!

This is the only Montale that I truly love. Aoud Red Flowers is light on aoud, which to me means the balance is just right. It is sweet yet resinous, and wears close to the skin. It has definite character, one that is (for a Montale) unusually quiet, and enormously comforting. I used to like L'Artisan Traversee du Bosphore for these qualities, but now I prefer Montale Aoud Red Flowers, as it is warmer, more alive, and lasts longer. I have a lot of perfumes that I like with reservations, or only sometimes; however, Aoud Red Flowers is one of those rare fragrances that I love whenever I smell it. I think it works best in cold/cold weather, and at night. Once my current bottle is done, I'll be purchasing another.

This is a fascinatingly different Montale Aoud line-indeed very low aoud. Delightfully sweet floral-sweet rose in the natural form with just enough tagetes to keep it from being too sweet-there's a clarity in the sweetness, the thin petals, the powder that is light and classical but woody-Modern and old-fashioned at the same time-balanced yet extraordinary, smells as high quality as almost every other Montale I've tried. Oddly reminds me a lot of an unreleased fragrance by the member here (Doc Elly) called Red Cattleya, a natural orchid fragrance-very beautiful. Aoud Red Flowers is woodier, but smells to me like a "Floral" fragrance-the kind that will elicit sighs from the very pickiest concerning florals.

This is one of my favorites from this line. I put it on my wrist earlier today and then forgot about, and later smelt this heavenly scent wafting about me and remembered it was Red Flowers. I have a problem with ouds getting too medicinal and 'stinky' on me, I've found this note needs to be handled by professionals who take their time. With this fragrance Montale has done just that- it has a lovely warm sweetness to it that really draws you in. Love this one.

The first time I tried it it instantly reminded me of my beloved grandma, she definitely owned something with similar notes when I was a child. It has a very retro french vibe, not really oriental or gourmand like other Montale perfumes. The oud note is very well blended, it does not feel medicinal or sharp at all. It is a lot softer than other Montale's as well, I used 4 sprays of it, whilewith other perfumes from them one spray is more than enough. It is very feminine, powdery, floral and warm, great for autumn. I think it is suited for a mature woman, over 40, I am in my 30's but I like to wear this to remind me of my grandma, although it does not feel "old" to me, just a little bit retro. It's a very comforting scent.