Umbra

I wanted to purchase an expensive high quality fragrance FROM Spain, to remind me of my travels through this amazing country last year whilst I was there. Stumbled across this wonderful parfumery boutique in San Sebastián stocking all the beautiful & special niche fragrance houses I have seen & read about in magazines & this site. UMBRA by Mr Monegal was my choice & it is sublime. Unisex in nature. Not cloying, sweet, floral or sickly. The cool 'dampness' & wet but summery feel of this scent reminds me of the coastal walk between Getaria & Zarautz, 2 quaint, postcard perfect, Northern coastal towns of Basque Spain. The warmth & summery vibe of the sea & blue blue sky with the sun beating down on one side....the moist coolness & relief of the abundant, green, almost tropical, luscious hilly growth on the other side. This is what UMBRA conjures up for me when I wear it now....back here in Australia. Lush & happy travel memories......

The dry down is the best part of this. Once the vetiver dries down it transforms to an outdoorsy type of fresh/woody scent with a touch of sweetness. I am not a big vetiver lover but I do enjoy it when blended great with other brighter notes and this is sort of an example. The citrus effect of geranium takes a bit too long to make it's presence. If it had a 50/50 opening of geranium/vetiver I think it would appeal to more people but that's just my thoughts. I have tried quite a few from Monegal and this is my favorite after all I said. I feel the prices are too high @ $185 for 50 ml's. More than Tauer, are you serious?

Vetiver fans rejoice for here is one of the most natural smelling vetiver-based fragrances that your money can buy. A radiant combination of vetiver with oak moss, pepper, fir and tonka bean, this is a hauntingly beautiful and yet so very subtle juice that radiates a nice bright energy around you. Moderate sillage and projection. Also a pretty safe scent that can be easily worn by both genders in many settings, this is a lovely composition. However, given the nature of ingredients I am sure there are less expensive alternatives on the market.

Very nice, gentlemenly, slightly sweet slightly green and limey scent. Performance is also good. Loved it.

This could have been a great fragrance! Sadly two things let it down. The abysmal performance which is strange because from most of the others I've tried from Monegal all have been fairly decent with this being the exception, becoming a skin scent in under half an hour! Secondly the transition of this fragrance also was a big dissapointment. The opening is fantastic, very fresh and green which also smells like theres mint and a touch of Lemon. Then in a matter of minutes the tonka decides it wants to steal the show and be the hero, completely changing this to some powdery concoction whilst sucking the life out of all the freshness leaving a touch of vetiver as his side kick to keep him company. To summarise, this is Vetiver and Tonka that's barely even noticeable because of the shocking projection and forces me to shove my nose literally right up to my wrist to even smell if it's still there! I won't give up just yet but I'm not expecting miracles. When its all said and done, i do love this fragrance but am so torn as to whether its full bottle worthy. Edit: The dry down of this smells almost identical to Viaggio D'Africas. Im also reminded of Vetiver fatal and Bal d' Afrique, minus the fruity sweetness.