Oudmazing
Montale (2016)

Another heavy, rose-oud, fem leaning Montale that can clear a room quickly. There is some oud there but the fem rose (even though it's not listed) just overwhelms, turning this into an old lady scent that is tough to get any nuance or fun out of.

Big projection on just a couple sprays during the first 3-4 hours. Settles down after that and then lasts maybe 7-8 hours.

Very fruity and very sweet. I can see the grape and pear but I'm sensing also a jammy rose and a high pitched synthetic note that I get in most of the Montales, no oud though. If I would have smelled it without knowing what it is, I would probably have guessed it's a female designer perfume. The dry down turns a different route, a gourmand-like powdery vanilla with barely any fruits remained from the opening.

This is a nice fragrance that smells of a fruity mix of pear, grapes, and vanilla (not really any fig) to my nose. There's barely any oud in it. It mostly smells of grape and vanilla. The drydown is somewhat feminine. It has good projection and longevity, and a kind of sharp in texture compared to Mancera fragrances like Roses Vanille. Overall, not bad but not great.

3.5/5

This is sample six of seven from the house of Montale. OK this is anther floral bomb that leans feminine to my nose. I get bitter citrus (bergamot), oud, orris, jasmine and musk. Not a bad scent just not for me. As always TRY BEFORE YOU BUY lol...

In which Montale finally give up on their usual attempts at oud constructs and go for a straightforward subdued woody backing instead. But the woooud is not the point here despite the name.
The notes in this one are all over the place – anyone who thinks there be figs here as the notes list declares needs to go smell figs. What we are given is a plump sugar-fed gourmand in the Angel-Sì tradition, which starts off with a bit of a chocolate rush but soon waddles into a swamp of fruit gloop and candy floss with burnt edges. A by-numbers sweet vanilla seems to ooze into any available olfactory space. A welcome undertone of something like roasted hazelnuts has its negative in a jarring acetone/citric note screeching at the fringes.
Matures to a rubbery-woody sweetness but this is still one of those experiences to which saying ‘No' seems a positive thing.

Montale's Oudmazing is certainly an unusual use of oud, specifically as a top note, as the oud factors in strongly to start but quickly (within 15 minutes of applying, in my case) fades down into a fruity, floral, powdery mix.

I find it interesting but not very inviting, but not off-putting, either. The fig assists the oud in the opening, but after they fade away, it's a mix of jasmine, iris, leather, and vanilla mainly, and no particular note stands, except perhaps for the iris as the fragrance is distinctly powdery on my skin in the dry down.

Performance seems solid, as is the expectation of most Montales, but the scent just isn't quite what I like.

6 out of 10