Montresor

[azhure]

The black fruit and vanilla oaken notes of fine Medoc and De Grâve, but not a hint of the elusive Amontillado.

In the vial: Weirdly, I don't get much scent at all directly from the vial.

Wet: OMG Booze! I smell like I've been rolling around in rum. Can't stop sniffing my arm.

Dry down: This dries down into a lighter boose scent. I can smell the fruit and vanilla softening the headiness of the booze. Delicious.

Verdict: Tempted to buy a 5ml.

[aidenraine]

I could smell this one from afar immediately after applying it to my wrist- apple juice. It was fresh apple juice right away. As I leaned in for a smell I got sweet berries and honey, and the apple seemed to fade into the background.

 

There is SO much going on in this blend. I am smelling the sweet and the musky and the boozy all at once.

 

It finally just settled down, after a few minutes, into cherry throat losange. Very medicinal, in a red sort of way. It's really spot on for the smell of... being sick, for me. Red cough syrup, and the aforementioned drops. It's actually making me a bit nauseaous. I always gagged on that syrup.

I think it's the alcohol mixed with the sickly sweet cherry scent that did it. Garhghghghgg!

 

 

After time, the berries replace the generic "red' aroma... slightly. It never loses it's cough syrup feel on me.

Edited March 30, 2006 by aidenraine

[arabella]

First Impression: Berry and rose.

 

Dries down to: Wine and wood.

 

Additional Comments: The mental image I get is of wineglasses left around the morning after a party with varying amounts of wine still in them. Something is just not working for me here. I'm not a fan of heavily oaked wine and I guess that goes for oil blends too.

 

Lasted: Several hours.

 

Rating: 2 out of 5

[Neely]

In the bottle: berry, berry, berry with something dark under it.

 

Wet: berry with something dark under it. This is very sweet on me.

 

Dry down: sweet musky berries.

 

30 minutes: sweet musky berry, it really doesn't morph at all.

 

Conclusion: No vanilla, no oak. I am so disappointed. I tried this at a Meet N' Sniff and it smelled fabulous on me. The berries calmed down and vanilla and oak made it smell so good. So, I bought a bottle. But I have tried it twice now, and it smells sickly sweet and musty. I traded this with Spanish Violet for Usher, which does smell good on me. Feel the love SV!

 

Rating 1-5 on my skin, this is a 3.

[blu°]

From the imp this smells very sweet, like Sangria rather than just wine.

 

Applied fresh it still is sweet Sangria but a bit softer now.

Quite pleasant, although I can sense a sliver of something rotten lurking in the background. Wine-y. Very dark berries. A touch of powdery vanilla and fake strawberry/oak.

 

It's a bit like vanilla-icecream with strawberry/berry sauce. Like spaghetti-icecream.

It definitely makes me think of something edible, a dessert rather than a glass of wine.

However, the dessert sweetness is a bit subdued in this, too. It's not bad at all. I rather like it and for me it's one of the better Maelström blends right now.

 

It's almost as soft and warm as plum, maybe a bit less violet in colour. The dark berries are a bit similar to those in Bewitched. Less tart than the berries in Gomorrah or other berry scents. There might really be some plum or fig in it.

 

It's not as uber-sweet as Pink Phoenix, but the vanilla and berries combine in a similar way. It's a bit fizzy and prickly, and really delicious.

 

Still, I'm not sure whether I get along with the oak in it. Oak often smells a bit off on my skin, especially when sniffed from close to the skin. A bit too soft and round and murky for me, yellowish brown and weird.

 

The throw of Montresor, however, is simply divine. I might even consider getting a bottle.

 

I'm quite surprised to like this so much, but what I can smell wafting up to me while wearing it, is simply gorgeous. Just the right mixture of sweet, soft, fizzy-fruity, dark and deep.

Only when sniffing close to the skin it's a bit weird from the oak, but it looks as if that part was vanishing slowly, leaving only dark dark fruit with vanilla, slightly subdued by an indefinite woodsiness.

[gwyllgi]

While I certainly get a boozy scent both in the vial and on my skin, there's nothing of wine in it to me - instead, it smells like a B52. It's a B52 drunk in a posh bar with flower arrangements providing a subtle scent to the air and velvet draperies lending the room mystery, but it's still a B52.

 

This isn't necessarily a bad thing. It is, however, a bit distracting, as it makes me crave the drink itself. As such, I suspect it's something better for me to wear in the evenings, rather than at work.

 

The scent fades fairly quickly on me; after about 15 minutes, I have to bury my nose in my wrist to smell it, but it lingers there for hours.

[ariesathena]

Oh I wanted to like this one. It smelled promising in the bottle, but as soon as it hit my skin it was all vile cherry cough syrup and nastiness. There's an almost menthol quality to it. And what's underneath, the oak and vanilla is actually quite pleasant, but the gross menthol-cough syrup thing overpowers it. In a way, it's almost more cruel that way because when I just catch that undertone, I love it, but then the menthol-y cough syrup reasserts itself. *sigh* Oh well. Probably for the best that I don't fall in love with another LE. 1/5

[mandragora]

In the imp: Lush berries and a hint of booze.

Wet on me: Still mostly berry-ish, actually I think I smell black currants with some vanilla surrounding it.

Drydown: Now vanilla takes center stage with mellow woody notes. The berry just peeking from behind.

Verdict: Very interesting and unique. Not quite me, but I'd like to hang on to the imp and try again later. On a scale of 1-5, a 3.

[jidabug]

Fruity and boozy, but in a cherry cough syrup kind of way, not a grown-up kind of way. On drydown it goes somewhat medicinal, but still sweetly cherry. There is a sort of sweet, dry chocolate note in the end which evokes a rich, dark, red wine. A bit too rich and dark for my tastes, but it's not bad.

[QueenFae]

This one is very, very strong. It smells like a deep, rich, boozy fruitiness on the boy, but on me, straight up cherry cough syrup. Not just any cherry cough syrup, one that's loaded with a boozy alcohol note. When I sniff my wrist, all I can say is WOOOOO! Definitely not for me, I'm so glad I tried imps of the Maelstrom series before I bought anything. This one seems to work better on masculine body chemistry.

[Voleuse]

On first application, this is a strong berry, but it's soon joined by an almost boozy vanilla note. WOW. This isn't sweet, really, but it's a heady blend. What's more, it doesn't morph on me at all--it fades a little in potency, but essentially stays the same.

 

This is a gorgeous blend, but a little too boozy for me.

[GemmaCat]

Dark, boozy berries with a tart, almost powdery drydown. This is so juicy, with such depth, that it genuinely made my mouth water.

 

Tart berries, however, aren't something I like to wear, so I swapped this one on.

 

If you're looking for a dry-wine and berry scent, you need this Maelstrom!

[merivelle]

Unfortunately, I also found Montresor to smell like cherry cough syrup. I decided to try it on and see what happens. The cough syrup scent does temper down, and then it smells nice, like a fruity merlot. However, it faded away very quickly after that. Maybe wine scents are unstable?

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Berries and wood.

Wet on me - Boozy, creamy berries.

Dry on me - Dark and spicy and very sexy. The berries are there and so's the wood, but they're backed by a wonderful earthy vanilla.

[girlmadasbirds]

wine and cherry vanilla pipe tobacco! definitely a keeper! i may end up having to look for more of this.

[luxuria]

In the bottle and wet: Deep, dark, and juicy red and purple fruits with a subtle backing of the oaken notes. It's very decadent smelling. This is some wine I'd love to get my hands on and drink.

 

On my skin, this smells like rotten fruit rubbed in cat litter. Yikes. Alas, I had high hopes for Montresor, but my skin is not my friend. I had to scrub it off pretty quickly.

[Mary Mayhem]

In the Bottle: Sweet Currant, Berries, Orange

 

On wet: Sweet berries, orange.. a little spicey.

 

Stays true while drying, orange fades some, berries mellow.

 

SOmething else in the back ground, resin? Insense?

 

Fades for me and leaves behind a whif os the resin/insense in it's trail.

[bheansidhe]

NOTE: Though this is a negative review, it's not the fault of poor Montresor, but the mix of Montresor and my chemistry.

 

I uncap it. I recap it. I blink. I uncap it again.

 

You know, I had an elderly neighbor whose house reeked of 1. cats, 2. unclean cat boxes, and a 3. gift shop's worth of fruit potpourri strewn around in an effort to hide 1. and 2...In the vial Montressor hit me with the same reek of fermented fruit-sugar over sulfur compounds. But hey, I've been surprised before, so I gave it the obligatory try. Because, really, it smells like a scent in a coccon; something turbulent and dark, but complicated - nascent - something that's going to brighten and unfurl on my skin.

 

Wet: cherry cough syrup, followed by fermented grapes and cat pee.

 

Drying: cat pee, something sharp, something fermenting, cat pee, and something medicinal. Did someone lock those incontinent cats into an abandoned wine bar?

 

Dry: and how did they manage to pee into my armpit without me noticing?

 

I decided nothing was worth waiting through the sour sweat stage, so I hit the bathroom. It wouldn't come off with thorough handwashing, exfoliating spongage, alcohol swabbage, and vehement cussage. Twelve hours later I could still detect it on my skin, though it had faded to slightly off grape koolaid by then.

 

I've tried lots of scents that just didn't suit me, but were polite about it; Montressor went after me like a blind date grudge match.

 

Since Hellcat, Blood Kiss, and Sugar Skull developed a similar sour reek on me, I'm going to be wary of any "wine" notes in the future. Or is it dark berries? I loved Bewitched, but the intial wash of wet pines, blackberry, and sweet mown grass sharpened up and turned chemical, ending as pleasant berries over musty cat pee. And for some reason Nosferatu became a lovely soft floral, utterly unlike its description and despite its wine notes.

 

The solution, obviously, is to try more bpal.

Edited December 9, 2007 by bheansidhe

[dawndie]

This was on my "maybe" list until I got a frimp at a Meet-n-Sniff.

 

In bottle: spicy fruity and nice.

 

On skin: weird astringent, like cherry Nyquil. I like Nyquil personally when I'm sick, I just don't know if I want to smell like it.

 

Half-hour later: oh dears, this is the nicest wine scent ever! It's like Wanda without the rose, Madrid without the clove, Perversion without the leather. I can't stop sniffing my wrist, and can't believe the change from the Nyquil stage. What a morph.

 

In conclusion: This has hopped into my all-time favorites, just by the drydown alone. Fruity winey YUM! An instant favorite.

[jarvenpa]

I was generously sent an imp of Montresor to try, and finally tried it today (too late for an order, thank heaven my reaction was:

 

sweet, sweet fruit syrup and cat pee.

 

I've had the cat pee reaction from one other scent (and alas, don't remember what it was, must check). It was such a strong, strange thing for a fragrance to do to my wrists I thought "olfactory halucination!"

 

But my daughter happened by and I said "hey, sniff my wrists and tell me what you smell"

 

She said---"Cat pee" and screwed up her pretty face, and added "and a big pile of rotting fruit".

 

(I washed wrists and heavily applied La Belle Dame San Merci and I smell lovely now, thank you.)

[locuraelegantia]

In the bottle it's vanilla, creamy, oak. yum

 

on my skin it turns into cough syrup.

 

as it dries down it gets sweeter, but still smells very medicinal. poo.

[Wyndi]

A gift from my adored Nechtan and one that I think I must acquire an actual bottle from. First sniff gives the impression of a slightly fruity wine kept in a cool, dark basement. Application is much the same but the scent grows stronger, fuller, and the vanilla peeks its head out to say 'hello.'

 

Sadly, it fades really quickly. However, the various layers of this scent stay deep and true. The darker fruit element comes to the foreground and it's so rich you can just about taste it. This is one gorgeous scent. There's an unidentified floral note (again with the florals!) dancing around the edges but it's very much a backstage player and never comes even remotely close to upstaging the primary elements. The vanilla keeps popping in and out, weaving itself among the darker notes.

 

This is so blissfully rich and decadent and sophisticated and complex. It's all the things I associate with a deeply tortured soul, scribbling his jumbled thoughts in a crudely bound journal in a room made hazy with opium smoke. Gorgeousness and gorgeosity and like its addictive muse, I must have more.

[chapatti]

First whiff: oooh, blackcurrant wine!

 

Drydown: it stays pure, unsweet, slightly tangy blackcurrant wine for about an hour, then the vanilla note emerges, and it's delicious! Still barely sweet at all, though.

As it goes, the scent morphs subtly but constantly, a woody note coming to the front, then the tanginess amping up then down, the vanilla coming to the front then receding, with always a strong blackcurrant note in the background... and it's delicious all the way.

The end of the drydown - and this is after 12 hours mind you - is soft, muted vanilla with a last hint of blackcurrant.

 

Verdict: lovely. Really, really lovely. Very unusual as a personal perfume... but I'm delighted with this scent. Bottle plz!

 

8.5/10

[AutumnQueen]

I would have given my eyeteeth for this scent to work on me, as it smells utterly delicious on a friend of mine, but I seem to be a victim of the cough syrup fairy, too. Actually, Montresor smelled like rancid grape bubblegum mixed with cherry cough syrup on my skin.

[dancink]

In the imp: Berrytastic.

 

Wet: Berry. Wine. Red berries and red wine. Now, I may live 15 minutes from one of Australia's premier wine regions, but I know shit about wine, other than that the more disgusting a red wine smells, the more I'll gobble it down. This does not smell disgusting, rather it smells like Fruity Gordo (a rather bad fruity red that my Dad bought for Christmas; it tasted utterly vile but was cheap and came in a cask, and really, who doesn't enjoy drinking wine out of a bag?) There's a top sweetness that's reminiscent of raspberry snapps to me, with a base note of aged wine casks. I've only got a swipe of it on my left wrist and it is wafting up quite nicely. Oh wow, the red wine is totally becoming stronger. Mmmmn. I kinda want to drink my wrist now. Anybody up for a fruit and cheese plate? Or a game of 'Goon of Fortune'?

 

Dry: ::cue bad singing:: “Red red wiiiiiiiiine! Stay close to meeeeeeeeee!” I'm gonna have to remember to not wear this one at work as I really don't need to add 'alcoholic' to my 'funky weird librarian' persona (even if I have, on occasion, been known to turn up ever-so-slightly hungover for my Sunday morning Law Library shifts. That's totally the bourbon's fault, though. Except for that one wedding...) It's not quite as overpoweringly alcoholic as before, and has become a tad sweeter; I'm thinking this is the vanilla saying hello. I'll see how it goes over the next few hours but I might actually have found a scent my skin doesn't gobble up immediately. If so I shall have to start hunting for a bottle.

 

Overall: Four and a half bottles out of five!