Montana Homme-Red Box

By -
Aldehyde, Begamot, Tarragon, Lavender, Mandarin, Pepper, Cinnamon, Lemon.
Carnation, Geranium, Jasmine, Pine needle, Rose, Sage.
Amber, Oakmoss, Labdanum, Leather, Patchouli, Incense, Cedar.


Montana Homme ( aka Montana Red Box ) is an extremely underrated masculine. Released over twenty years ago, this has been repeatedly compared to Aramis Havana and for very good reasons. The same perfumer created both and each fragrance shares numerous similarities. This review however is about Montana, so we'll keep it on track and describe this terrific, under the radar scent that honors the name of not only Claude Montana, but my current home state as well.

Montana Red opens with a sharp aldehydic wave of citrus that's spicy from the onset. Lavender is immediately in the fray and a soft, green sheen overshadows everything you smell. This accord is cool to the touch and like mountain air brushing by you, it does so very briskly. This quality lasts a few minutes and it's unique to Montana Red.

The edgy and spicy floral heart is the bread and butter of Montana. Pine and Sage mix it up with Carnation and Geranium. Jasmin stays in the shadows and affords the accord just enough moistened sweetness to keep Montana from becoming desert dry. The heart has stubborn longevity and only reluctantly permits the base and drydown to punch in and start their shift.

Once the drydown gets under way, you have been wearing Montana Red for a good while. Leather is the alpha note in these part of the woods. You would think that amber and labdanum would take this in a predictable direction, but you would be remiss. A leathery patch with some help from wood won't let go of the reigns and only in extended drydown do I detect any softening.

Montana Homme is equipped with very nice sillage and better than average longevity. Think Aramis Havana sans the tobacco and with superior hang time. Personally, I'm honored to have a frag that smells this good named after the state I reside in. I could care less that it was named for Claude. Big thumbs up from Aromi for Montana Homme ( Red Box ).





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Legacy 1912 Titanic Eau de Parfum for Women

By -
Image
Lemon, Orange Blossom, Hyacinth, Rose, Violet. As far as I've read, this fragrance was inspired by a Titanic survivor who was hoping to sell his fragrances in the Big Apple. I happened to run across a nearly full 75ml. bottle last month and purchased it untested. Released as an EDP, what I noticed after multiple wearings was the politeness inherent in the entire composition. The volume seems to be governed regardless of sprays, but perhaps that's a misconception on my part. At any rate, the dispersion is well behaved and mannerly, while smelling feminine and surprisingly good. Legacy is a citric floral that I can see succeeding in warm temperatures. Legacy opens with a sheer accord of citrus and leafy green aspects. The blossom is tuned a bit more assertively than the lemon, but their balances are executed very pleasantly. The combination of Hyacinth and Violet is just as good. The leaf and stem qualities compliment the violet rendition and is soon accented by a demur
Read more

Unpublished Reviews

By -
 I have been meaning to post more here but just have not been able to. I think it is the fear of not coming close to what Dave did here. I will have to cross that bridge soon. In the meantime, please enjoy these last few reviews that Dave was working on. They were written in 2021. Some were posted and then taken off the blog. These are the reviews of the Yellowstone Parfums line. I heard about this line in 2021. The smell description and artwork reminded me of Dave. I thought he was the person behind it and so I got a sample set.  It turned out that, while he was not the nose behind it, he was involved. Helping his friend with this venture. Unfortunately, I don't think the Yellowstone Parfums are in business anymore. 
Read more

Voile Blanc by Traveller Limited

By -
Image
Cedarwood, Frankincense, Leather, Musk, Thyme, Voile Blanc is yet another Arabian style sample sent to me, courtesy of CoutureGuru. As his review attests, it is distributed in a different fashion than your conventional "houses". Just the fact that a merchant can have a quality, duty-free scent created and marketed to a target audience is impressive. Too bad it isn't readily available through the normal means of purchase as Voile Blanc is well done and "adjusted" to suit palettes other than local. I say that because the west, as a whole, seems to favor "subtle yet substantial" over ostentatious. The opening of Voile Blanc is a leathery presentation accented with Incense and Woods. It's vibrant without being startling and you can tell in the first few minutes that this will come in with a smooth landing. There's nothing complicated here as the intro continues on its way until volume and presence dissipate enough to signal heart, then base
Read more