The 15 Best Montale Perfumes That Are Utterly Fabulous
Looking to add a rich scent inspired by Arabia and the Orient to your collection? Check out these best-selling perfumes from the House Of Montale.
The eponymous perfume range of Pierre Montale has been around for a fairly long time since being founded in 2003. The House of Montale began when perfumer Pierre Montale took a visit to Saudi Arabia.
There, he was hugely inspired by the exotic fragrances of the region and other eastern countries. Montale wanted to experiment with these natural materials to create notes of rose, full incense, blue amber, and precious oud wood.
He was a pioneer in bringing these Eastern essences into the Western world of perfumery. Montale used these middle eastern notes to create a range of high-quality scents. Each one of Montale’s excellent fragrances is an olfactory experience and offers a truly beautiful scent to the wearer.
Montale also made the unique decision to house each powerful scent in aluminum bottles. A sleek, metallic bottle doesn’t just look striking on your vanity, but helps to protect the complex fragrance inside from deterioration by light. Each Montale perfume is an intense scent that has a strong to moderate sillage and amazing longevity on the skin.
However, if you’re looking for the best Montale perfumes, it can be easy to get lost in the extensive range of popular scents. Luckily for you, we’re here to help. We’ve created this conclusive list of the 15 best Montale fragrances for your reading pleasure. Whether you’re looking for delicate floral notes, a fruity scent, a woody fragrance, or even a more unisex scent, there’s a beautiful option on our list that’s perfect for you!
15 Best Montale Perfumes
1. Montale Intense Café
Montale Intense Cafe is, as the name suggests a niche fragrance based around the rich aroma of coffee beans. But if you’re worried about smelling like the local Starbucks, think again.
Intense Cafe opens with top notes of red rose petals, alongside other floral accords such as sweet peony. But as the scent warms up on the skin, these floral notes give way to a more gorumand vibe. Alongside yummy roasted coffee, you’ll notice a hint of sweetness courtesy of vanilla and comforting tonka bean.
There are also some more spicy and powdery notes that come through on the scent’s dry down. There’s an animalic hit of white musk, plus a healthy dose of Montale’s signature amber. This is our pick for the best overall fragrance from Montale’s range because it’s universally loved by perfumes fans.
2. Montale Roses Musk
For fans of floral looking for a more mysterious scent, Montale Roses Musk is a perfect way to go. It’s a rather simplistic construction with minimal notes, but the way they come together makes for a sweet oriental dream. This rosey, musky, powdery perfume is one of the best sellers in the Montale range.
Roses Musk blends a sweet accord of Turkish rose petals with the pungent, animalistic notes of musk to create a perfume that’s sweet but never sickly. Middle notes of jasmine help add some extra complexity and round out the scent. It’s a surprisingly calm and comforting wearing experience.
This scent is a great daytime fragrance, as while it makes a statement, it’s a little more subtle. The scent leans feminine but isn’t quite so loud and girly as the bright pink bottle may suggest. Roses Musk actually offers a surprisingly mature, sophisticated take on a floral perfume.
3. Montale Ristretto Intense Cafe
If you’re a fan of more unisex perfumes, Montale Ristretto Intense Cafe may be a contender for your next signature scent. This unisex cologne smells just as fabulous on any gender, making it a great gift for the high-power man or woman in your life.
There’s a strong and intense coffee vibe to Ristretto Intense Cafe, but it’s well balanced and crafted so as not to seem like a novelty scent. Unlike a classic men’s cologne, it has quite a lot of sweet and gourmand notes, so the earthy and slightly bitter coffee helps to add balance and avoid sickliness.
The scent opens with a big whiff of coffee, which is sweetened up with a hit of dewy rose petals. The middle of the fragrance brings the more masculine notes, with a distinctive woody scent coming through. At the fragrance’s base notes are the more gourmand elements, including mouthwatering caramel, comforting vanilla, and creamy white musk.
4. Montale Chocolate Greedy
Another of the unisex fragrances from this world-class perfume house is Montale Chocolate Greedy. As the name suggests, this scent is a chocoholic’s delight. But if you’re concerned about it being sickeningly sweet, have no fear. The scent is cut through with woody and fruity elements to help give it lift and vibrancy.
Chocolate Greedy opens with a prominent note of cacao. While this is quite chocolatey, it also offers an ambery, spicy element, and even some more earthy, balsamic touches. The sweet and creamy chocolate is supported by cozy tonka bean and delicious vanilla.
To help to balance out that sweetness, the scent also employs some bitter coffee heart notes. Spicy, fruity notes of plum, candied peel, and bitter orange also give this warm scent some added grit and depth. But that specific note of chocolate cacao still stands out, and remains on the skin for hours to come.
5. Montale Sensual Instinct
The spicy and floral notes of Montale Sensual Instinct make it a perfect scent for the winter season. It’s a best selling fragrance in Montale’s range, and that’s not just because of the stunning pure gold bottle. It’s a deeply sexy fragrance, and almost feels like a love letter to the ambers and ouds that inspired the entire Montale perfume house.
Sensual Instinct opens with a complex coffee bean aroma. It’s somewhat sweet, but offers some delicious smokiness and even a slightly bitter accord. The fragrance’s heart is scrumptious combination of rosy notes and delectable, creamy praline.
The base notes of the fragrance are where things get really interesting. Alongside the signature Montale hit of amber, there’s cedar and santal wood, plus oakmoss. These notes add an earthy herbaceousness to what is otherwise a rather sweet and lightweight scent. This makes the scent both more interesting to wear, and more versatile in terms of occassion.
6. Montale Arabians Tonka
Montale Arabians Tonka is a warm perfume with some surprising hidden depths. Even by looking at the stunning golden horse emblem on the sleek jet-black bottle, you can probably guess this is a powerful, strong scent that stands out from the crowd.
Arabians Tonka blends fruity, gorumand, woody, and spicy notes for a deeply complex perfume wearing experience. It opens with some bright and spicy notes, with citrus elements of bergamot and the intriguing bittersweetness of saffron.
The fragrance’s heart has a hint of the signature Montale black aoud. This dark aoud is complemented by rose, and sweetened up with sugar cane. The scent’s base notes offer more earthiness and spice. There’s herbaceous oakmoss, animalic white musk, and an oriental amber hit to round things out beautifully.
7. Montale Dark Purple
Montale Dark Purple may be the best fruity fragrance from the entire, extensive perfume line. For those who love sweet fruits, but want something with a little more depth and sophistication, you need look no further. Whoever thinks fruity perfumes are brash and immature has clearly never smelled this.
Dark Purple Eau de Parfum opens with a juicy burst of fresh plum. These darker, fruity notes are complemented beautifully by the tartness of fresh orange zest. This tartness continues through the heart notes of the fragrance, with a mouthwatering accord of juicy red berries and currants.
These fruity elements are balanced out with some fabulous floral notes. Thjere’s that trademark Montale rose, plus delicate geranium and some grassy greenness thanks to a hit of patchouli. The fragrance’s base notes are more along the typical Montale lines, with amber, white musk, and teak wood grounding the scent.
8. Montale Sweet Vanilla
Montale Sweet Vanilla marks the most straightforwardly vanilla-leaning perfume in Montale’s fragrance line. But while it’s fairly simplistic in its notes, the scent is rather more fruity, spicy, and complex than most typical vanilla perfumes on the market.
Sweet Vanilla has a primary of accord of, you guessed it, vanilla. It’s an extremely high-quality take on the classic perfume note, though, offering a sweet, creaminess with excellent sillage. The vanilla note warms up on the skin during wear time, too, making it rather sexy and sensual.
Alongside the strong scent of vanilla, this perfume has some delicate fruitiness thanks to its inclusion of apricot. There’s also some powderiness, plus an almost marshamallowy lactonic note. For lovers of all things sweet and creamy, this fragrance will not disappoint. And that pure gold bottle is just the cherry on top.
9. Montale Crazy in Love
Montale Crazy in Love represents another rose option from the Montale line, but this scent is a little more offbeat. Alongisde the rose, amber, and wood we know and love from Montale, a discerning nose will be able to pick out some ozonic, aquatic, and even slightly metallic accords in this unusual yet delectable scent.
Crazy in Love has intensely floral top notes. There’s the classic rose, but also a slightly unexpected aroma of violet flower. This offers a soapy and powdery element that makes the scent a little more interesting.
The heart notes of the scent are sweet and spicy. Brown sugar adds a gourmand element, while saffron gives some bittersweet herbaceousness. The base notes of amber and vanilla bean round out the scent and offer some much-welcomed comfort and warmth, making this a perfect fragrance for the autumn season.
10. Montale Day Dreams
Montale Day Dreams is quite a different scent compared to others in the Montale fragrance family. It’s a lighter and brighter floral, and is, as the name suggests, better suited for daytime wear. There are some signature Montale notes, like vanilla and sandalwood, but they’re blended perfectly with a heady bouquet of white flowers.
Day Dreams begins with head notes of white florals like orange blossom, plus some of the zesty fruitiness of citrus. The heart notes of the scent are where the floral bouquet really starts to shine, though. You’ll notice some soft, delicate floral notes of neroli and jasmine, reminiscent of the feeling of standing in a blossoming meadow.
The scent also has some interesting tropical vibes. The tiare flower feels warm and beachy, while the lactonic sweetness of coconut helps support these summertime vacation elements. The fragrance’s base notes of vanilla and sandalwood start to warm up on the skin over the course of your wear time, too, reminding you that this is a Montale fragrance, after all.
11. Montale Starry Night
For fans of a fragrance that balances fruity and powdery notes, Montale Starry Night is a fabulous option. Because it walks the line between spicy, citrusy, and floral, it’s a hugely versatile scent. You could feel just as comfortable wearing this perfume at a family reunion as on a date night!
Starry Night has some surprisingly bright and fresh top notes that make it stand out from the rest of the Montale perfume range. You’ll be immediately hit with crisp green apple, alongside some juicy citrus notes of bergamot and lemon.
The heart notes of the perfume are also rather unexpected, leaning towards the green and herbaceous. You’ll be able to make out a hit of patchouli, while jasmine and rose offer some comforting floral elements. The scent’s base notes are predominantly rather powdery, which make the scent feel calm and cozy. But those uplifting opening notes of juicy fruits remain on the skin, too, making the scent a wonderful balance between soothing and uplifting.
12. Montale Velvet Fantasy
Montale Velvet Fantasy is a joyful cacophony of delightful fruity notes. It’s loud and cheery, but doesn’t ever feel brash or synthetic, thanks to the high-quality ingredients the fragrance house is famous for. For a warm, sunny day spent outdoors, there’s no better fragrance option in the Montale line.
When you first sprtiz on Velvet Fantasy, you’ll immediately be entranced by a delicious blend of different mouthwatering fruity accords. Sophisticated noses should be able to pick out juicy pineapple, sticky mango, and some tart passion fruit. There are also citrus accords, plus some warm, solar notes.
All of this yummy fruitiness is grounded with some more serious heart and base notes. There’s an unusual floral hit, courtesy of violet, that is sweet and almost a little soapy. You’ll also notice some smoky incense warm up on the skin over the course of the wear time. The scent is finished off with fragrant white musk and amber for a hit of spicy exoticism.
13. Montale Amber Musk
For anyone looking for a musk-based scent that doesn’t feel too heavy, look no further than Montale Amber Musk. Often, amber and musk notes can feel more heavy and serious, sitting close to the skin. Amber Musk by Montale is a little different, offering a lighter and airier take on the genre.
Amber Musk opens with a prominent white musk note. It feels light and comfortable, and helps prepare the wearer for the notes to come. There’s another, more unusual musky note courtesy of ambergris. Ambergris is a slightly saltier musk note which almost gives the effect of sun-warmed skin, making for an animalistic and sensual fragrance experience.
The scent is offered some depth and structure with its base notes. There’s cedar wood, amber, and some clean and soapy powderiness. But the musky notes the fragrance opens with remain the most powerful, giving the scent a cozy, skin-scent quality that’s surprisingly sexy!
14. Montale Pure Love
Montale Pure Love is a great choice for those who want to experience a Montale fragrance but don’t love anything overly sweet. While there are sweet notes to be enjoyed here, the predominant vibe of Pure Love is its accord of different woods. It leans quite unisex thanks to this intense and sexy woodiness.
Pure Love does still have a hint of Montale’s signature rose, but only as a top note in the scent’s opening. This rosiness gives way to a whole host of different woody accords. The most dominant notes are sandalwood and vetiver, which give a smoky, sensual feel.
The scent’s base notes are similarly sexy. There’s a warm, sun-baked leather hit, alongside that skin-scent musk of ambergris. There’s also a much-welcomed base note of vanilla, which gives just enough gourmand sweetness to keep the scent feeling fun to wear.
15. Montale Red Vetiver
Montale’s Red Vetiver is the most obviously cologne-like scent from the perfume range. It’s a little bit lighter and fresher than other options from the brand, and is equally as enticing on both men and women.
Red Vetiver opens with a spicy hit of both pink pepper and black pepper. It’s invigorating and exciting, especially in combination with the tart citrusy notes of grapefruit. These bright and refreshing notes are what give the scent it’s cologne vibe.
As the scent progresses on the skin, deeper heart notes come out to play. You’ll notice some woodiness, courtesy of vetiver, plus resinous notes of Peruvian balsam and green herbaceousness of patchouli. This scent is perfect for crisp fall or spring days, when you want a fresh perfume that has a little extra grit.
We hope you enjoyed our round up of the 15 best Montale perfumes. This world-class range of scents may have some similarities between them – but there’s a huge range of different types of perfume here to choose from. Whether you like something floral, fruity, spicy, or woody – or even prefer a more unisex vibe – Montale has a scent for you!
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