Year: 2005
Notes: geranium, tea rose, Arabian oud, amber, teak, cedar, guaiac wood
As much as the discovery of Montale has been an olfactory revelation in itself, the differences between most of their rose-oud offerings are often too minimal to unconditionally embrace. For instance, is it really worth owning both Black Aoud and Aoud Roses Petals? If you're expecting each fragrance owned to be as equally distinctive as the next, the answer will most probably be 'no'.
Where Black Aoud focuses more on patchouli and a prominent oud accord, Aoud Roses Petals is pretty much the mirror opposite, with more of an emphasis on... well, the rose. As a result, Aoud Roses Petals could easily be considered the feminine counterpart to the more aggressive and masculine Black Aoud.
But surely those differences are sufficient enough to justify their existence? In many ways, yes, but when you start taking into account other releases such as Aoud Queen Roses and Aoud Damascus, things begin to get extremely hazy by the sheer amount of olfactory overlapping incurred.
Conceptually, many fragrances from the oud line are very reminiscent of the Serge Lutens Bois series – that is, variations of a sole composition but with each one highlighting particular notes (and even adding or subtracting others). Although one shouldn't complain about Montale's willingness to ensure that all tastes are duly catered for, one still gets the impression that there's a certain degree of shameless exploitation going on.
Aoud Roses Petals is a sweet and honeyed rose-oud creation, which undoubtedly already has a legion of loyal female fans. Like Montale's other rose-ouds, projection and lasting power are both very good.
Where Black Aoud focuses more on patchouli and a prominent oud accord, Aoud Roses Petals is pretty much the mirror opposite, with more of an emphasis on... well, the rose. As a result, Aoud Roses Petals could easily be considered the feminine counterpart to the more aggressive and masculine Black Aoud.
But surely those differences are sufficient enough to justify their existence? In many ways, yes, but when you start taking into account other releases such as Aoud Queen Roses and Aoud Damascus, things begin to get extremely hazy by the sheer amount of olfactory overlapping incurred.
Conceptually, many fragrances from the oud line are very reminiscent of the Serge Lutens Bois series – that is, variations of a sole composition but with each one highlighting particular notes (and even adding or subtracting others). Although one shouldn't complain about Montale's willingness to ensure that all tastes are duly catered for, one still gets the impression that there's a certain degree of shameless exploitation going on.
Aoud Roses Petals is a sweet and honeyed rose-oud creation, which undoubtedly already has a legion of loyal female fans. Like Montale's other rose-ouds, projection and lasting power are both very good.
