Montale Amber and Spices, Wild Aoud, and Aoud Leather

By Tom Somewhere Kelly is doing his "Toldja So!" dance.. Lately I have found myself very drawn to Montale fragrances, especially the aouds. Aoud (or Oud) is actually (according to Wikipedia) a reaction of a hardwood called Agarwood to a mold infection, a resin is produced; the more mold, the more resin, and the more scent. I've grown more and more fond of Montale's various scents that feature this slightly mushroomy clean-skin note and was happy to sample 3 of the 7 new ones that are available at luckyscent. Amber & Spices doesn't list aoud in the name, but it's in there from the opening to the end. The spices are cumin and nutmeg, lending this a slightly drrrty air and Montale's other trademark, deep winey rose. The woody amber drydown is lovely, but cumin hates keep in mind while this isn't Eau d'Hermes, if you consider for instance Serge Noire to be gaggingly skanky, this one isn't for you. It is however, very much for me. Wild Aoud starts with a burst of candied sweetness, sprightly citrus and candied rose petals before being joined by geranium, aoud and finally resiny woods. I only get a hint of the listed tobacco in the drydown and the listed patchouli is still hiding somewhere, but none of that's a bad thing. I'd never thought I would come across a "summery" Montale, much less enjoy it, but we live and learn. This surprised me by being my favorite of the three. Aoud Leather neatly tips your expectations on it's ear: the leather isn't a biker jacket, it's more a ladies opera-length glove. One with which she had inexplicably decided to zest some Mexican limes (the teensy ones that I think are Key limes in Florida). The effect is not unlike as luckyscent points out like Piguet's Bandit. Like one of those fashion magazine that dolls up Gwyneth Paltrow as Marilyn Monroe, this is a comparison that inevitably does Aoud Leather ill: it makes a very appealing scent pale by comparison. Actually, it kind of makes this seem like "Bandette". But if you find the Piguet just waaay to much, this is worth a try. Heck, it's worth a try on its own, because as luckyscent points out "there can never be too many leathers" $150 for 50ML, $210 for 100, at luckyscent Depending upon when this is put up, it will be a day shy of when Colombina first invited people to contribute to her blog. Three days later she kindly put up my first review. I want to first publicly thank her for three years of learning and growing as a perfume-lover and I hope as a writer, and of course to thank all of the people who have been so kind and generous with comments and thoughts. It's meant more to me than you can know and I look forward to more adventures in sniffing in the future. (Tom, the blog wouldn't be what it is without your elegantly snarky wit and you skanky tastes. You should know that I came up with that first call for contributors, to lure you in, because I loved your comments so much. You are the best! - M.) The winner of the Scents by Alwexis drawing is Chaya, please contact us with your shipping information and thanks to you all for your comments!