Initial by Montana (2015)

Again, just another "just-because-it's-new" review. Quite a meh, but fun scent.

Montana Initial is quite an odd scent for me. It smells as much cheap as quite unique, and with some stretch, fairly pleasant overall. It’s plastic, but fun. Out of the notes listed, I actually get just tonka (the powerful synthetic sweet-dusty-almondy tonka note featured in hundreds of cheapos/low-class designer scents), cinnamon for sure, some really generic crisp woods (“cedramber” and the likes), some citrus, a really faint cardamom, and most of all, a true ton of a really peculiar accord of, basically, spicy musk and ambery orange (which then evolves into “orange-infused amber”). This accord, which is basically the bone-structure of Initial’s first and mid phases, smells really powerful and bold, and I’m surprised it is missing from the “pyramid”. Now, I am not sure about the “orange” since it’s more likely due to the interaction of bergamot (which has surely some citrus-orange nuances) and cinnamon, but I am quite sure about amber and musk. They give Initial an almost overpowering feel of synthetic-soapy “laundry” cleanliness with a warm, dusty, slightly talc vanillic-ambery-woody vibe supporting tonka and cinnamon, with a whiff of syrupy fruitiness too, enhancing and taming them down at once (enhancing their power and the volume, taming down their, say, identity and their nuances). 

Still I admit it’s not a tragic scent; if I had to compare this, and it’s not an easy task since as I said, one of the few positive features of Initial is that it smells quite peculiar, I would probably think of a funky, ultra-spicy, sweeter flanker of Armani Code or similar fragrances. Sort of a cheap downtown sweet Oriental bomb. Actually it reminds me a bit of Zegna Intenso too, just sweeter, with double the power, half the refinement and more spices. The projection is powerful and the longevity is as much linear as impressive. A bit harsh and flat, probably a tad too much sweet and slightly tacky overall, but it works. Kind of the equivalent of a $10 tracksuit you can wear home or for some local grocery shopping. Quite unworthy its original retail price in my opinion, but Montana fragrances are usually sold in many grey-market stores for pennies – in that case, it may be worthy a sniff.

6/10

Separated at birth: Carbone de Balmain (2010) and Graphite by Montana (2011)

Same nose (Nathalie Lorson), same address on the boxes (4, place Wagram, Paris), same (good) quality.

Carbone

Another really nice cheapo wort having. Kind of ambery and musky at first, with a heart of cedar, pepper and vetiver(ol) and just a hint of floral dark gracefulness. The general vibe is "trendy" yet also meditative, shady and "pencil sharpener" as other users correctly say - that is the prominent heart of this scent. Some waxy feel too. The fig, I don't get that much honestly: but perhaps it is what causes the slight "lactonic", sweetish creamy note I detect underneath the general woodiness, which blends perfectly with it. Overall much synthetic and "modern", so absolutely safe and elegant for anyone, but also quite distinctive in a way as it's darker and more peculiar than other "safe mainstream scents". I can't say I don't like this, as I find it the perfect example of a solid, unpretentious but quality scent: it does smell good... really good actually (my guilty pleasure: I quite like that "pencil" feel), it feels classy and versatile, it costs pennies. Basically no evolution, bold projection and really good persistence. Encre Noire fans or of other contemporary/dark/synthetic woody scents - from Gucci pour Homme I on, basically - will love this.

7/10

P.S. The bottle I own looks different from the one I posted above - the label on mine reads "Carbone de Balmain Paris". Not sure if that indicates the existence of 2 different formulations (but I doubt that, most likely it's just a matter of graphic restyiling)

***

Graphite

A more dry, darker, woodier, kind of more austere version of Balmain's Carbone. Basically take out the subtle fruity-milky feel from Carbone, here you have Graphite. If you aren't familiar with Carbone, then well: "pencil sharpener", and that's it. Shavings, sawdust, wood chips, freshly-cut wood trunks. Nearly nothing else except for a warm ambery frame, and a gentle violet note, which is greenish, discreetly sweet and really subtle. Probably fairly pointless to own both Carbone and Graphite (as I do...), but Graphite is perfectly good as well: more than an inferior "copycat" it smells like a slightly different perspective on the same theme, worth having if you're really into this type of perfumes, or just have the chance to get both for pennies. In other words the quality and the "features" (projection, persistence, elegance, versatileness etc.) are quite the same in my opinion - except for the persistence, which is actually much better here. Solid, easy-going versatile stuff.

6,5-7/10

Vintage/Discontinued Galore #2 - Some picks!

Some other vintages I like.

___________________________________

Cabochard by Grès (1959)

My review is for the vintage EDT. The opening is beyond classic, a dirty, animalic chypre comprising salty aldehydes, dark, gloomy, wet and almost rancid flowers, a subtle camphor-stale indolic aftertaste, a load of musk, a velvety balsamic breeze all over and a general, palpable funereal, austere, but at the same time vibrant, carnal, utterly sensual and self-confident personality. A humid base of herbs, woods, oak moss and leather like in the darkest male fougère complete the composition. The similarity to many fougères for man is quite bold, basically here's more about flowers, there's more woods and green notes, but the heart of oak moss, aldehydes and leather which gives that precise "austere" and dark personality is quite the same. That is why nowadays this can be clearly considered more a man scent, and even quite challenging for its boldness and its darkness – we're so used to "azure-aquatic-green-sport" bullshit. To be really honest, like some other chypres, this also smells a bit outdated to me, meaning that it is a powerful madeleine of a past era which strongly connotes the person wearing it – perfectly for nostalgic people or however to smell "like" that, but on the contrary, it lacks in the "timelessness" I personally value in scents. Other than that (which I'm not even sure if it's clear, however it's my personal opinion) it's a sure milestone for perfumery, superb from any point of view.

8,5-9/10

___________________________________

Versace l'Homme by Versace (1984)

My review is based on the early version of 1984. Must say I completely blind bought this, and I was really happy once I sniffed it, as this quite comprises all the features I was looking for in a fougère scent. The opening is already great and captivating, a modern and "young" fougère, with citrus, neroli, carnation, jasmine, fresh herbs (basil!), spices (cloves, cardamom), perhaps a drip of castoreum, on a beautiful, dense, smoky base of tobacco, hay, soft smooth leather, oak moss, a few woods. Mandatory aldehydes, but quite light and transparent. Basically an "ordinary" fougère, but quite different from the more "adult" ones: it's more tasty, soapy, almost juicy, more bright and playful, more mellow, still totally elegant and refined, just more relaxed and as I said, "younger" in a way. Extremely cozy and pleasant, dense but light, with a great persistence and a great evolution. More modern than most of his other fellows back then. Masculine and versatile. Great!

8,5-9/10

___________________________________

Montana Parfum d'Homme by Montana (1989)

Montana Parfum d'Homme smells exactly like an elegant and self-conscious man should: cozy, bold, at the same time austere but friendly, chilled, with just a hint of exoticism, slightly dark too, and above all, "good". The opening is a beautiful, mellow, flawless blend of lavender, pine, cloves, juniper, red pepper, carnation, aldehydes, woods, leather, oakmoss and tobacco, some classic fougère accords but with an overall more sophisticated floral-exotic mood if compared to other rougher and more "shouty" powerhouses (this is not, in fact: it's a classier and more gentle fougère), mostly due to flowers and the tobacco note - which is brilliant: dusty but humid, exotic, tasty, "brown". Refined, relaxed and sophisticated, with the cozy, but enigmatic natural exoticness of tobacco, and the gentle manliness of some typical eau de cologne notes – flowers, bergamot. I keep recalling the evil characters of some Hitchcock's spy movies, or more broadly other noir movies, with those secret dinners in dusty, humid and warm exotic bars and restaurants – this is quite that smell: different eau de colognes melting together, flowers, sweat, well-cut suits, cigars... a blast of flavours and aromas, with the aldehydes and the woods even providing the setting – rusty tables and woody humid furniture. Like many other well-made fougères, this is perfect all year, everywhere, with every company, without smelling generic or crowdpleasing - just terribly "good". Also still quite cheap, I got my vintage "red-boxed" bottle (new) for some 25 EUR/75 ml. Strongly recommended.

8,5-9/10

___________________________________

Nemo by Cacharel (1999)

This scent is unexpectedly hard to describe and "get". It's a sort of meditative, enigmatic fragrance built around a fascinating accord of mineral notes, slightly aquatic too, with contemporary and synthetic woody notes (Iso E, cedar, cashmeran), frankincense, violet/floral notes, perhaps bergamot and orange blossoms, nutmeg and other spices (mainly nutmeg, however), a hint of leafy notes, and a subtle white musks creaminess. It has a sort of overall slightly sticky and aquatic flawlessness which perfectly blends with the woody-incense notes, the spices and the floral sweetness, and makes the whole blend smell quite like nothing else. Plus the composition is really tight, dense, compact and harmonic, quite hard to "dissect". It has definitely a '90s vibe underneath, and honestly reminds me a bit of Le Male at some points, but all I can say is that this smells terribly good, pleasant, cozy, even captivating and haunting, in a really peculiar way. Don't know why exactly, but the blend of natural, almost "new age" notes (mineral, aquatic, incense, aromatic woods, addictive spices) with the bold synthetic feel - not plain or cheap, though - makes me think of 1990's virtual reality, that kind of exotic-natural, almost esoteric places and settings recreated with that fascinating, geometric aesthetics of primitive computer graphic of the Nineties – think of mid-90's videogames, animations, or again "new age" videos, or musical videoclips. That's a kind of heritage that has always intrigued me a lot – that lo-fi, post-modern, computer-driven "mysticism". A fascinating, and undoubtedly well-made scent. The only "con" is that it may get a bit cloying after a while (but more likely you'll crave for it, so not a problem). Delicate and sophisticated drydown. Happy to have blind-bought it for pennies.

8/10

___________________________________

Moods Uomo by Krizia (1989)

Moods Uomo opens with a blast of aldehydes, a realistic, dark and dense leather accord, with juniper and carnation notes and a massive, sulphur-ish medicinal dose of pungent cloves, a camphor note and lavender. Herbal-mossy notes, somehow transfigured, vibrant but dark and immersed in a metallic-concrete kind of ambiance – earthy and rooty like roots and branches growing out a sidewalk. Utterly modern and for that time even almost avant-garde. Quite 1980's in fact, but not in terms of perfumery style, rather in more broad terms of the images and the suggestions that it brings – sophisticated hedonism, post-modernism, a sort of gloomy elegance, the general deep metropolitan, urban mood of pollution, translucent surfaces, an already-new way of interpreting leather, which tends more on a dark and androgynous territory. Krizia's visionary, chic and at the same time, "architectural" style at its best. As minutes pass some notes vanish and it focuses on a super dry, dusty leather-woody-mossy accord. A must for all leather fragrances lovers. Simple, beautiful packaging.

8,5-9/10

___________________________________

and finally... the king of all times masculines.

Vetiver by Guerlain (1959)

My review is based on a vintage '80s bottle of the first EDC formulation of this (the bottle in the picture is mine!), although ages ago I bought a couple of vintage EDT minis too and I still sniff them from times to times (and in fact I notice quite a little difference between these two). I do not know the actual formulation of this and to be honest, I am not much interested in it, as I guess how it could smell – not saying it's worse as I don't know it. However, the EDC is simply stunning: unmistakable opening, elegant, fresh, zesty, full of earthy-rooty richness and tasty woods. A milestone for perfumery in general, for masculine "class", for vetiver scents. A totally refined, noble, elegant, cozy freshness rich in citrus, lavender, aldehydes, with an irresistible heart of great, aromatic tobacco, vetiver and cedar. As minutes pass it progressively gets more dry and a darker woody-leather base emerges. Light spices like cumin and nutmeg "fill" the higher notes of vetiver. Refined, versatile, mellow, simple but unique, cozy, pure self-confidence in a bottle. Longevity is discreet but long-lasting. Timeless!

10/10