Black Musk

Wow, this is a very nice musk with a twist of Montale's DNA. Black Musk opens with a hint of rose & spices, followed shortly by popping woods and leathery musk. Montale's classic oud and rose combination becomes apparent, sitting in the background, whilst the animalic & warm musk begins to rise. The spices transform into a peppery nose feel (sharp in the first half hour), whilst oud and other woods blend together to support the leather musk. The musk here is likeable. It is darker for sure, boosted by the woody base, a tinge of rose continuing to provide some colour before being replaced by a somewhat creosotic patchouli some hours later. Performance is fantastic. Not quite as aggressive or loud as some Montale scents can be, but projection & sillage are both decent, whilst longevity is spectacular - the scent remaining layered and lively hours after application. Overall, Black Musk is one of the better balanced scents from Montale's earlier work. More appealing and wearable compared with something like Black Aoud. It stills smells quite interesting and unique even today. This is a sensual, dense, and slightly animalic musk. I could wear this, any time, any where. Well worth trying for musk fans!

I could almost swear that when looking at the note pyramid and smelling this on me, there has to be more to the composition than what is listed... But in either case, I absolutely LOVE this. It's dark and masculine, but it's "clean" at the same time. This is more pewter grey than black. Longevity and sillage need not be mentioned here: it's classic Montale in those aspects. Actually, this has left traces on my skin after 24 hours. It survived 55C heat yesterday and will be on my shirt until I wash it out - but gosh, I really don't want to.. LOL This is definitely a mood-setting fragrance that turns heads with a vengeance. I actually got stared at and sniffed by a mother/daughter pair last night. After giggling and speaking to the store owner in Arabic, he told me later on that they both wanted to know what I was and I was wearing. Apparently, they both thought I was attractive and smelled sexy. From the looks of them, case closed. ;) Black Musk, another reason Montale is up there with Hermes in my collection....

I sometimes wonder if people realize the effect it has on people reading reviews when they use words such as "dark, death-like, villain etc". It makes for an interesting read but the connotation can easily put you off from giving this scent a chance. Is it somewhat dark? Yes, but not anywhere close to the picture that was painted by the reviews. Black Musk reminds me of a bare Montale Oudmazing (stripped of the fruits) and a bare Mancera Musky Garden (stripped of the fruits and add some oud). This is a beautiful creation and Black Musk will really set you apart from the people around you depending on how many sprays you do. It's musky for sure, and less leathery than expected but it's still there with some patchouli popping through in the background. Edit 2025.01.18: I actually wore it in high heat today and the fresh metallic edge works for hotter days. Just don't use too much. It gives me the feel of an molecular fragrance. What an absolutely stunning fragrance!

This is my first Montale (***drum roll***)........and perhaps like many before me, I was expecting this to be bold and challenging with the synonymous 'nuclear' Montale performance. Actually it is not really challenging at all but is a very masculine and signature-scent worthy, dark, brooding, spicy Musk-Leather-Pepper scent with a touch of watery-floral-freshness. It is a pleasure to wear. However, I'm sad to report the performance on this one is pretty disappointing - 4-5 hours and it becomes barely noticeable on skin and only traces on clothing. I checked with family members to see if it was just me going anosmic to it but they too could barely detect it. As with all my scents I give the atomiser a good few pumps out of the box and then leave them to oxidate in a dark cupboard for 4-6 weeks so fingers crossed this one gradually 'wakes up'.......I hope so because this is a statement maker in a very good way. 🤞

Such an interesting fragrance! Yesterday I tested it on my skin and in the first 30 minutes it was so...peppery, dark, sharp and strong that I was not sure it was for me. Then I found out that the first strong and cold metalic notes are a bit away and something gently sharp and deep started to come on the front line of notes. I couldnot stop breathing it. It is interesting that the strong and sharp metalic note becomes almost powdery and dominant, but as strong as in the begining. I am amazed of this clean and in the same time sharp and dark cristal deepnes of the fragrance. It becomes like a second skin to me. I believe that on a male skin will evoluate amazing too. It is a distinguished and pure pleasurable fragrance with notes of clean, dark peppery musk which turns on the senses.