Original Aoud

A beautiful oud soliflore. Soliflore? not really... To my nose, it is smoother than the harsh oud opening of many other Montale ouds. For sure it smell a bit medicinal in the opening, but quickly smoothes to a round and warm oud, with clear notes of saffron and black pepper. In the base, some resins round the edges without ever leaning towards sweet. Really enjoying it. Fall/Winter, 30+ Edit: resulted way too synthetic/harsh afterall, and very linear. Got rid of it, and don't miss it.

Smells like a German hotel room. The notes should be changed to hotel room, vaporub and mint. Or maybe this is just how agarwood smells like. This is not a fragrance to be worn by people but to be sprayed in a room before welcoming guests who are exhausted after driving on the Autobahn all day thus taking an ausfahrt into village roads looking for a hotel for the night. The drydown is lighter and not as pungent as the beginning. It's not a horrible smell but I wouldn't buy it as there are so many other better perfumes.

Original Aoud starts out deceptively light - ethereal even. A gentle and cool morning breeze carrying a hint of the dusty desert in its wake. The sun hasn't risen yet, but oh, it will, and with it the full heat and intensity of the desert will be known. The development of Original Aoud follows a the development of a day in the desert. As mentioned, it starts quite cool and vaporous, it surrounds you but like a deep bass wave, its source is hard to pinpoint. It warms quickly, and there is just a hint of sweetness amidst the dusty coolness. This is not a fecal or barnyard oud - this is stripped of those qualities and retains only those essences which will not get in the way of calm introspection or meditation. And that is why I posted a picture of a city above [my original review over at BN had a picture of the ancient city of Bam in it, I recommend doing a Google/Bing image search for it!], and not just a desert. It smells of desert, the color tan, of warm and dry air, but there is a spiritual quality to it that I would imagine would be found in the mosques and temples of such a city. L'Air du Desert Marocain is an amazing fragrance, but it encapsulates not only the desert air, but the spices and sweetness emanating from the streets on the outskirts of a small Moroccan village, lined with artisans and vendors on one side and a vast and dry expanse of desert on the other. It is sweet and dry and yet rich and opulent too. Original Aoud is a relative, sure, perhaps a distant cousin, a cousin who chose the life of an ascetic, instead of the more worldly pleasures that LDDM indulges in. There is no hint of earthly desire or hedonism in Original Aoud - it is the essence of the desert - and the inevitable introspection that comes from being surrounded by such a dry and almost featureless environment - in a bottle. This isn't something to wear to impress the ladies (or men) or to draw unwarranted compliments from random passerbys. This is something to be worn for one's own good and well being.. to be worn when a calm sanctuary is needed, when focus is of the utmost importance, or when one simply wants to clear the mind be it for meditation or relaxation. Sillage is average and longevity too (compared to other Montales). Regardless, it's worth sampling if you are interested in very dry scents. It is, of all the scents I've smelled, without question the one I'd recommend in response to the question "What would a holy man/mystic/shaman wear?"

Also known as Bois de Aoud, this fragrance carries the famous Aoud note (achieved through an oil made from the resin of the Aquilara bark, a type of tree that produces this resin with about 50 years of life) plus wonderful shades of woods and musk. This is about a fragrance with a strong output and a medicinal aroma, which is a characteristic of aoud, that only gives a relief after about 20 minutes of being applied. Then, evolves – very subtle - to a woody aroma, which is very well balanced with a touch of musk in the background, without losing, however, its aoud aspects. It screams: "I'm made of aoud and I will die exuding aoud!". I don't know if this is also categorized as unisex, but I just can't see it as a male fragrance. If I could compare it to any other scent I know, in terms of aroma, I'd say it is a "cousin" of Gucci Pour Homme, because it grew up in an "aoud cradle"...LOL. After about 3 hours on skin, it soothes a lot and gets softer, creamy-resinous, with less explosion and projection. But the lasting is worthy of a Montale. My final note goes to the fact that many criticize the Montale line as being an "unnecessary number of perfumes on the same theme, since all of them ends up being so much alike". Still, they use to say that: "you just need to have the Dark, Red and Black and you'll be well served". Well, as I said, the aoud note is very strong and it was born to be the protagonist. In the Montales, especially, it is very rich and it's like the DNA of a family: it's there for everyone to recognize that these are Montales (as well as in the Guerlain’s guerlinade). The differences between them are the notes that make up each creation, which would be like the unique characteristics that exist between brothers, even twins. And just know them, who lives and who have a perception a little more accurate, as is the case of their parents. Therefore, I advocate that, although similar, they are not the same and do not become repetitive. Maybe it's a matter of skin: in some, only the aoud stands out and everything looks alike.

This is Montale's Dark Aoud minus the sandalwood note. It has the same pungency as Dark Aoud, but with considerably more sharpness and musty woodiness up front. As it dries, it becomes smooth and creamy, very enjoyable. If you can still find it, it's easily the most authentic oud in the montale line that I've come across so far (and I own 10 Montales, most of them from the Aoud line, all of them Paris versions). I find the sillage to be strong, requiring only 1 spray to the chest for modest/polite projection, otherwise you risk offending people with this, as the scent is definitely for oud fans. The longevity is 12+ hours easily. As a side note, I received the gold bottle, and it says "70% Alcool" on the box. I hear there's another version in a black bottle that says "80% Alcool" that is more dilute. If you're a fan of the characteristic medicinal Montale oud note, and wish to experience it by itself, unadulterated by any rose, citrus, or other modifiers, then this one is for you.