Louban

I love this. It made my heart race! I don't know how else to describe it, but I feel like I might have worn something like this in another life. There is an opening blast of wood and what (to my novice nose) smells like the oudh (this opening reminds me of Oudh Lacquer by Soivohle, which is a masterpiece), and then about fifteen (yes, I timed it) minutes later it hooked me! The rose and the sandalwood opened up, and a touch of something spicy (the incense, I think), but the starting ingredients remained, only now they are mingling with the rose and the others. This is not sweet; it makes me think of a dark rose in the sun, confident and present, yet not having to announce its presence to everyone. It stays with you all day, it is not loud or harsh but you will still smell it softly as you go about your travels. I needed a rose/oudh combination like this. I fell hard and fast for this one! I didn't realize that there are so many Montales! A Montale for everyone, and Louban is for me. (happy dance)

I received this as a gift and did not like it at all in the beginning. It was heavy rose and heavy oud combo but mainly feminen rose with a touch of woody background. I did not give up on it and tested more on different occasions and even got a compliment which surprised me because I only sprayed it on my arm. So the less is better for this fragrance especially if you are a guy. The mid and drydown is quite good, reminds me of portrait of a lady by FM. They are not completely similar but I get the same vibe in the air. The performance is excellent like many other montale selections. You have to dress up a suit for this fragrance especially if you are a guy and it is strictly for an evening occasion like nice restaurant or some lounge bar. But then again, I have so many other oud based fragrances that I enjoy so I will not reach for this one as much but overall it is good. Do not blind buy, it takes few wearings and some time to like it and you have to like oud based complex fragrances.

This reminds me of a trip to Tunis I made a few years ago, it smells exactly like the perfume souk there in the Kasbah; Attar of Roses and something more like dried rose buds, Saffron, Cardamom, preserved lemons, and something earthy and milky, which I presume is the musk and oud base. I haven't been to Lebanon yet (the Louban of the name) but I imagine that a trip to the Souks there would smell very similar to those in Tunis. This is a perfect evocation of the Arabic love of roses and spices. Adorable if rather expensive. I've just received it today so I can't comment on sillage or longevity definitively yet, but I have a feeling the former will be decent and the latter better be good or I'll be writing to Montale to complain. LOL I love this so far though. Edit: Longevity on this is AMAZING, as is sillage, it doesn't choke everyone around you but it does subtly envelope one for hours and hours (coming on 6 hours now actually).

Another beautiful rose-oud combination. Here the rose is dry and austere, and the olibanum note is very pronounced. I feel the green powderiness of the violet leaf: what a great idea to add it to the composition! The drydown is purely woody: sandalwood and oud. So beautiful and refined! LOUBAN is completely unisex, as it is neither sweet nor too floral. I think this perfume may transform a nice guy into an irresistible one. I wish men wore that kind of perfumes ;) Or not... I guess I want a bottle for myself.

Louban (for me) opens like all the other Montales, overpowering rose, incense and oud. I sprayed my wrist, rolled my eyes and walked off thinking of roses musk, queen roses and attar all jumbled into one. BUT... wait for Louban to dry down, it will take some time. The Montale DNA dies off after an hour or so (amen) and you are left with a gorgeous powdery skin scent type of musk and a creamy sandalwood, with just a hint of violet leaf that dances above them. Lovely, if you can get past that opening.

One of the best Montale fragrances ever made... This is a Masterpiece... high quality rose with creamy sandalwood... smells Exquisite.

This smells absolutely beautiful, I had a tough time deciding deciding b/t this one or Aoud Velvet. But I'm 100% certain it's come to this, this is just so intriguingly different && I think I'm leaning more towards this b/c it's a lil more easier on the nose. Aoud Velvet is nice, but it's a lil harsher, Louban yeah it starts w/ a punch, but that doesn't stay for long the dry down you get a nice delicate smoky rose, && on me it actually becomes quite clean. It lasts for hours like all Montales && has excellent sillage. Yay found my 3rd Fav! :)

Louban is a quite pretty rose-oud combo (yes, another one). Montale makes a dozen new ones every month, and so far I have not really found one that would really stand out, but what can be said about Louban is that if you do end up with it, you will have a good quality and more than decent scent. There is rose and oud here, but also a lot of very, very nice and cosy incense and a touch of powder. It is very smooth and the woods almost creamy. Imagine if woods had a creamy textures. Very nice indeed.

Many Montale fragrances have a rose base. This is no exception. Louban is a dried pressed dusty rose, less noticable than Black Aoud's rose. The warm cardamom is a pleasant addition. The longevity is great, as with most Montales. The sillage is above average. Definately Unisex, my wife smells wonderful wearing this one.

Sillage is slightly above moderate, same with projection and the longevity is excellent. A unique addition and/or rendition of rose/oud. You cannot compare this with any other Montale.

This is very much like Sondos from Al-Rehab, the oil version. Sondos, like many Al-Rehab oils, has amazing sillage+longevity and it costs only ~5 euros.

Cold medicinal rose, Indian frankincense, light enough (for Montale) oud. Although it still has the Montale DNA, the first fiddle here is the Frankincense, a very realistic one. Not sure I like a temple vibe in a perfume, but I appreciate the effort.

In eastern culture, rose is associated with beauty. Turkish roses are generally red or pink in colour and have a distict smell. Their petals are edible, boiled with sugar and then consumed as a jam. I never expected Louban to be totally rose dominated. Has a rose-oud opening. Rose dominates the oud and feminity is clearly stated. Half an hour later, oud weakens and rose-violet leaf-sandalwood-patchouli combo gives an utterly sugary rose jam accord. Wow! It smells delicious but only if you are a girl! At the last stages, musk joins to soften the sugary aroma but it is still a rose dominated accord as the fragrance ends its journey. I am pretty surprised at the naming of Louban. Montale should understand that unisex scents are very tricky if you associate them with ingredients related to a certain sex. Rosey accords are used with oud or musk to make them suitable for mens use in arabian perfumery. In louban, the rose note is further feminised by violet leaf and patchouli and oud and musky notes are pretty weak. This one is one of the worst Montale’s out there. Test before you buy.

Louban smells like car tires, red roses and lather, lots of lather. If that rubber part was stronger than soapy part I would be in heaven. Rose and violet leaf dominate, if you don't like violet leaf don't even bother. There is also oud especially in the beginning, musk and some unidentified wood. I don't smell incense or anything balsamic here. It's cold, clean, dark and rather serious. Too cold for winter, too heavy for summer. And I'm still not sure about the occasion for which to wear it. Longevity and sillage are excellent, no matter how little I put on it's too much, it wears me. Although I still struggle with the idea of men smelling like roses I must admit it's completely unisex.

The dry down is the same one than Eau d'Iparie by l'Occitane. Deceiving! Very weak for a Montale...

that I never have written a review of Louban is an as well Mysterious as out of sheer Admiration Blind Occurence. then you think you already did it. and ... no. now that I place reviews in a new, other perfume site, they all come to the fore and, also the missing ones. with some you think 'oh well ...'. but Louban MUST be reviewed. so I spritzed some of the well-known bottle on my pulse and two in the nape of my neck and then you experience the Time Capsule with your 'Sensorious Physical Trait' : 'Scent'. I immediately was removed some decades back. I think this is, in any way, my second Bottle since 2009 and I HAD it in 2009. but this perfume always remained one of my favorites, along with other 'Earlies' like Black Oud, Attar, Aoud Purple Rose, Aoud Queen Roses. Montale had always convinced me he uses real oud in his perfumes. having established his Montale-factories in 2003 (and Ensar in 2004) and having worked in Qatar and Dubai, he surely possesses enough knowledge and experience (already then with his family being the owners of Comptoir Sud Pacifique) he in any way had the finetuning skills plus micro-editing art to make perfumes which Stood as Laser Beams with Rocket Launching Mechanisms. what I now smell of Oud is the Band-Aid aspect with a sour nature all underpinned by a beautiful, voluptuous, annexationist, Rose. then we have 'here at Louban' the discussion about 'Louban' which to some doesn't refer to Louban-Incense bc that is named 'Loban', i.e. 'Indian Incense'. yet Louban contains Olibanum (Boswellia) plus what is called Incense. (Loban, Styrax.) (one CAN name his perfume Louban After Loban. that is some lexicological, ethymological Thing.) in any case the perfume smells as a Rose from Hell with a pulsating Oud fraction and with richly layered granular incense ingredients. Musk, Patchouli, Sandelwood all contribute to give an opulent and persevering perfume which is as fabulous as (for my part) legendary and still, after all those years.

This one is perplexing to me like Montale sometimes is. It is definitely medicinal. The resin note here is definitely loban, from which the fragrance gets its name. It is not frankincense, aka olibanum, which comes from boswellia trees, loban is from styrax trees instead. The term "indian frankincense" is often used to refer to loban, though it is not in fact frankincense and smells very different. Do not expect something ecclesiastical like you'd normally expect from frankincense, loban is different. It's more astringent, more herbal, doesn't have the warmth and richness that actual frankincense has, it's thinner. It's closer to something like elemi. So "olibanum" isn't quite an accurate word for the actual note in the breakdown, as olibanum and loban are not the same thing. Loban would be the accurate term, but since loban is often referred to as "Indian frankincense," the term olibanum is here being used in error. The fragrance opens with a thin green rose, followed by the loban itself. I guess there could be oud, sandalwood, and patchouli but I wouldn't guess based on smelling this, and they're here in a supporting or fixative role only. After a few minutes the rose does richen slightly as the greener notes dissipate, and the loban hangs on. I don't love it, personally, loban is one of those notes that goes either way for me and this isn't my favorite instance of it. But I would call this well done and wearable, and different. I know it's not listed but I detect pink pepper, too. It's overall light, incense and rose but not in a dark way.

Hmm someone told me I smelled like disinfectant when I wore this. I'm not a huge lover of Oud anyway however..this one is a very incensey rose infused oud. Green tinges from the violet leaf and I think it's quite cool really! It smells very rich with a slightly sharp edge from the olibanum (which is very similar to frankincense). The oud is a huge blast at the beginning, but as it settles some of the other notes have a chance to come through. I swear I can smell vetiver in here, there's something rough in the drydown that's making it smell that way. I also find that there's sometimes a really unpleasant smell that I get from certain violet leaf/violet fragrances. It smells like petals..smushed into muddy puddles. Yes! That sounds strange but I get that from this sometimes when I smell it up close. I like that it has a definite transition, and the oud ISN'T so powerful all the way through, but still..I wouldn't buy this one. :)

Each of the several times when I've worn Montale LOUBAN, I have been reminded of WHITE AOUD. Both are a part of a fairly large collection of specifically rose-oud creations, but these two share a musty woodiness which evokes memories of old houses in the Deep South. LOUBAN smells a bit less musty, but also a bit less creamy. The woody quality here definitely dominates the composition all the way to the drydown and seems just as important as the dried roses. When deciding between the various rose-oud creations from Montale, one must simply try them all. This particular entry smells less oudy than some and so may appeal to those who do not cherish that trendy note. At the same time, since LOUBAN is less rosy than some of the other perfumes in the neighborhood, this particular rendition may be a good choice for the guys who appreciate roses but are not keen to smell like a bouquet ;-)

Sorry for the intervention, just for correction: #ann.sundwall No relation between the name of this scent and Lebanon (country). Louban is not Loubnan. #CDGfan In cassical Arabic Louban means the milk of the tree, which means the resin of the tree, but it doesn't mean white by force. As well, some arabic countries (syria) use this word -with light accent- for the chewing gum. They have an artisanal type of chewing gum, off white color, smells and tastes strong like the Frankincense). Bottom line, Louban, in arabic language is the Frankincense (Olibanum), which gives sense for the name of this perfume. Respect

One of the outstanding Montale pieces, built around raw frankincense sap scent, or olibanum if you will. No trace of smoke. You cannot mistake it with any of another Montale oud-based products. I don't get any rose in it, just beautiful olibanum adorned with very delicate, almost elusive coronet of spices that ads the sense of warmth. It was made to be worn in the heat and it provides the wearer with amazing feeling of cleanlines and dryness. It's Montales opus magnum to me. Sadly, it's discontinued.

Here we go, rose & oud again, but with a twist. The fragrance smells like wet rose bush to me - bloom, stems, leaves and all. Violet leaf added greenness to this mix, musk - humidity, patchouli with a touch of incense - some gloominess to the presentation. I am glad the fragrance doesn't feel dirty-musty as musk and patchouli can sometimes create that feel. So yeh, rose bush on a gloomy, humid day with some oud, woody background.

reminds me in parts of aoud damascus. the rose is nowhere near as sharp (probably not a damask rose scent) and the frankincense is mild enough to not smell like that minty-cedar concoction that frankincence can sometimes smell like. oud is sorta kinda there, you reallly need to stretch for it. it is there, well, the montale style oud, at least...this is nice and pleasant, just a little too cloying for me...

A strong rose opening, but its not particularly sweet or flowery, I think the violet leaf is underpinning it with woody and herbal sort of notes, dampening down the rose. Within about 30 minutes, it turns into a very single minded soapy oud. I don't get the incense or spice that others have, on me its a fairly linear rose oud. Not a winner for me.

Montale often repeats also I find similarity to Aoud Damascus. Louban is more combined and it has the leader is incense. But it is an antique incense and it has celebratory mood. The rose and musk further follows. Frequent occurrence of violet leaf quite pertinently. Probably it isn't original for Montale but it is beautiful and sensory.

Actually Louban means Milking or White in classical Arabic, it has nothing to do with Lebanon. Its a loose term use to describe Benzoin, Myrhh resin but mostly Frankincense. The incense in this reminds me of East Africa, specifically Habshi incense used by Somalis and Ethiopians, its smokey , aromatic, clean, and just intoxicating.

I have to revise my review below, now that I have worn Louban all day. I haven't been able to smell it but I've had 5 compliments so far stating how wonderful the fragrance is. If it had just been a single compliment I might have smiled and shrugged it off, but 5? I seriously need to consider investing in a bottle!

A very light, ever-so-slightly sweet combination of rose and musk. Sillage is very low for a Montale scent and unlike the Montale perfumes I've sampled, longevity was almost zilch. The initial effect was gorgeous but disappeared far too quickly.

I just smell roses. Recently tested MONTALE's Pink Flowers and Crystal Flowers, and they share all the same rosey DNA. Louban is perhaps a touch more rounded and warm. All of them pleasant and none uniquely intriguing.

@Sarabx You are confusing levantine chewing gum which is from mastic trees as Frankincense, thats not the case, but yes Mastic gum definitely has the same balmy properties Frankincense does.

to be tested again ... it seems a bit 'generic and feminine ... shallow ... I do not feel incense and olibanum ... I have to try again ... I have many expectations on this

The name "Lebanon" is supposed to come from the Semitic root word for "white" (LBN) too, due to the snows of Mount Lebanon. Just thought that was interesting....

There is something bitter about this. It would otherwise be a pretty generic rose oud which in itself is nice but I think there are better ones out there.

Smells very similar to Vital Energy oil made by Adel el Attar from Luxor. Only this one is more rosy and lower performance, but oil is oil after all.

Louban is a resinous dried sap,a type of traditional chewing gum extracted from a tree called Boswellia sacra which is native to Arabian Peninsula.

i think the best of montal very powerful and nice scent