Dark Purple / Black Purple 
Montale (2011)

This is a dark, jammy rose with woods & patchouli, the rose more prominent sniffed at arm's length, while up close it's more sharp-woody. Thankfully the plum & berry notes are not obvious to me, but perhaps help to accentuate the jamminess of the rose, while geranium adds a slightly herbaceous edge. There's no real development, although the rose sinks very slowly into the woody background over several hours, & there are still traces on my skin almost twenty-three hours after application.

l confess l tried this one partly because of the name, as l adore purple especially in its darker tones. Plus l've always appreciated the stellar performance of most of the fragrances l've tried from this house, & this one is no exception. One reviewer describes it as a "Goth fruitchouli" & l think this is apt. l'm no expert on fruitchoulis or dark rose/patchouli fragrances, but this does remind me strongly of one l'm very familiar with: Black XS (the men's version) by Paco Rabanne, circa 2006. lt therefore conjures up some very special memories for me, & for that reason l'm giving it a thumbs up.

I smell rose, patchouli, wood, amber, and geranium. I don't get any plum. Bummer. Still -- I do like it for what it is. Dark and brooding.

A nice fruity-rosy combo, Montale Dark Purple hits on a couple of spots in which the house tends to succeed.

A plum opening is a sweet start, a mixed floral heart dominated by rose is most of what I associate with this fragrance, and a woody musky dry down gives it a soft landing place. Pleasant from start to finish.

In Dark Purple, though, I don't feel they've accomplished something all that special but rather created another pleasant entry that, while perhaps suiting some wearers perfectly, very much mimics a lot of their catalog, but as far as adding volume to their catalog, Dark Purple is not an unworthy entry. And as usual with Montales, it's a great performer.

It's surely worth trying, as it might fit the bill perfectly for you, and compared to other niche, is moderately priced (currently only $95 for 100ml on Notino), but I've personally found various other better sweet rose fragrances on the market that I prefer, such as Tom Ford Noir de Noir and Cafe Rose, and Armani Prive Rose d'Arabie.

7 out of 10

perfume whose structure supports the patchouli-rose combo. It feels a little more feminine by the fruity tones (mainly plum) that here nicely contrast to the rough trail of patchouli.The overall feeling is very positive though perhaps you are missing something less linearity because , as many Montales, at the end, result in the same places.