April Dancer
30-04-2008, 08:18 PM
I said I would do this over the weekend, but it was pretty slow at work today, so I wacked this out. Hope it is alright.
What can I say about Montale Perfumes in general and Velvet Flowers in particular? If you have never smelled an Aoud (or Oud, there are various spellings) you are in for a suprise. I find this is one of those love it or hate it smells, but I guarantee, you have not smelled anything else like it. Aoud is derived from a wood, I believe, which is not unusual in perfumery, but such a wood!!! Aouds are middle eastern in origin and evokes, for me, the deserts and desert peoples, although, technically I think Aouds and Aoud based scents are classified mostly as Orientals.
The notes in Velvet Flowers are fruit and flowers. Saffron, sandalwood, peach blossom, centifolia rose, Lebanese jasmine and Comoros ylang ylang. It starts out powdery, with that Aoud punch that can also be smelled in Samsara, although it is so soft and tempered in Samara, that, if you don’t know what you are looking for (sniffing for?) you could miss it. The peach and white florals could be overwhelming, if they were not so well tempered by the bitter smell of the saffron and the mellowness of the sandalwood.
Montale packages all their fragrances in metal bottles with sprayers and screw on tops. The metal bottles make it hard to judge how much you have left, but the screw top is wonderful, making them easy to decant, if you want to share or carry some around with you, although re-application is not something I have ever found necessary.
The staying power of this one is fantastic. I use one spray to each wrist and one on my neck in the morning and it can still be smelled at the end of my long days.
It can be purchased from Lucky Scent for about $140 a bottle. It can be found being traded and/or decanted at lots of the perfume forums, as some people are a little overwhelmed by it.
What can I say about Montale Perfumes in general and Velvet Flowers in particular? If you have never smelled an Aoud (or Oud, there are various spellings) you are in for a suprise. I find this is one of those love it or hate it smells, but I guarantee, you have not smelled anything else like it. Aoud is derived from a wood, I believe, which is not unusual in perfumery, but such a wood!!! Aouds are middle eastern in origin and evokes, for me, the deserts and desert peoples, although, technically I think Aouds and Aoud based scents are classified mostly as Orientals.
The notes in Velvet Flowers are fruit and flowers. Saffron, sandalwood, peach blossom, centifolia rose, Lebanese jasmine and Comoros ylang ylang. It starts out powdery, with that Aoud punch that can also be smelled in Samsara, although it is so soft and tempered in Samara, that, if you don’t know what you are looking for (sniffing for?) you could miss it. The peach and white florals could be overwhelming, if they were not so well tempered by the bitter smell of the saffron and the mellowness of the sandalwood.
Montale packages all their fragrances in metal bottles with sprayers and screw on tops. The metal bottles make it hard to judge how much you have left, but the screw top is wonderful, making them easy to decant, if you want to share or carry some around with you, although re-application is not something I have ever found necessary.
The staying power of this one is fantastic. I use one spray to each wrist and one on my neck in the morning and it can still be smelled at the end of my long days.
It can be purchased from Lucky Scent for about $140 a bottle. It can be found being traded and/or decanted at lots of the perfume forums, as some people are a little overwhelmed by it.