Aoud Collection - Red Aoud Montale for women and men

I'm just getting a ton of sweet saffron. It reminds me of other saffron bombs like instant crush and br540. 2 sprays lasted me 15 hours or so. It's a beast.

For me it’s like hand sanitiser initially but after a few minutes settles to a strong rosey peppery oud, quickly after this it dries down to a sweet woody powdery gourmand - I don’t think powdery is given enough attention in the ‘main accords’ bit on here because if you don’t like anything powdery you won’t like this!
I really love it though, grown without being too mature, sweet without being sickly or juvenile and woody without being to dry or masculine.

Top15/10

It is not overpowering, sort of a rosey-powderish-gourmand combo. I'd been craving for a bottle of this and I did not regret purchasing it. delicate and yummy scent, I'd say it is more feminine than masculine leaning. Love this scent:)

This is a gourmandish rosey oud that I enjoy even in the middle of summer, though I know that it will shine and radiate even more in cold weather. A blind buy that I will wear more than a lot in the months to come. It just makes me so happy. Feminine, with very good longevity and fenomenal sillage. Real love in a bottle.

I actually love this fragrence on my SO, this one and oud tobacco kind of remind me of each other b/c the mix of oud and pepper kind of give off a soft sweet tobacco vibe in this parfum just imo. But this is a tobacco-ish, rose/saffron scent, you def get hints of the cumins and like a very soft comforting powder like scent, very rounded, imo not sharp after the intial spray settles. I just love cuddling when he wears Parfums like this one. So relaxing, sexy and comforting. Will buy him a WB.

I love this. It feels like a really clean, polished oud fragrance that is warmed by the rose. Nothing is too overpowering.

This smells like a more bittersweet Tabu Dana, as I find it more complex. Definitely giving stone/palm reading shop after it dries on the skin, good to wear for a funeral probably.

Gourmand rose.

Imagine a tray of warm homemade biscuits covered in rose syrup. That's how Red Aoud smells to me.

It's sweet, slightly spicy, projects well, last forever and garnishes many compliments. Delicious!

What's not to love?

I always start from the back to the front, and in this case I first enjoyed the Mancera Black Prestigium 🖤, which was created quite a bit after this Red Aoud ❤️, but although it is probably a starting base of Prestigium, it seems that Red is more balanced, smoother, a little more a sweetness that also makes it pleasant to wear.
In Black 🖤, after drying, the woody feeling settles in a lot more and is a little more intrusive.
There is something warmer and cozy here, probably from the Saffron and Vetiver.. in the opening quite sweet mossy, even chocolaty, in the drydown already softened it just envelops the wood and makes it warm, fiery 🔥❤️
I love both, but Red it's my favorite and most beautiful ❤️🥰

Red Aoud is unmistakably floral-woody. The powerful and medicinal scent of aoud with pepper is followed by a vetiver that shouts next to saffron and, ultimately, an exquisite rose that stays attractive beside vetiver and sandalwood. Red Aoud continued this way, like a somewhat powdery floral with overwhelming vetiver and something warm and comforting, which I feel is the consequence of caraway and sandalwood notes. The projection and lifespan are exceptional. Without a doubt, a masterpiece!

Rose dominant Rose-oud combination on my skin. Has a tone of middle-eastern perfumes, unlike Roses Musk. I LOVE Rose Anonyme EXTRAIT in winter but not Rose Anonyme or Red Aoud, if that helps. Has a powdery facet to it. Reminds me of strong, cheap perfumes that I have smelt before. Dislike for me.

After my terrible experience with Aoud Queen Roses which smelled of a dentist room to me I was a little bit scared to try this one. I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, it does open quite synthetic, and the rose here is an oily rose that smells like rose essential oil from a vial, BUT the saffron in here is so pretty! Very prominent and photo realistic saffron! Just for this note I am ready to forgive the small downsides this fragrance has.

The user 'Caliscents' below said exact what came to my mind, baby powder and baby wipes (it's literally the same smell i swear), after some hours i can smell a bit of rose leaning feminine

need to wear it more times to write a more detailed review however all i can say is that loved this fragrance.

Finally an oud I can wear. Based on the reviews here I decided to have one more role of the dice n this is lovely. The oud is lighter n sweeter, without the heavy smokiness that feels too masculine on me. This def leans femme.I was quite scared of it being described as v strong so I sprayed it outside at first! Just in case I hated it I didn't want it to fill the house into the bargain. I'm not finding it as nuclear as threatened. It's very rich & warm, sweet spicy, woody rose; someone near mentioned the biscuit scent as well.

I am gonna be honest. Red aoud wasn't love at first sniff. I tried it first on the paper strip and I din't like it at all. Something about the opening threw me off. I decided to try it on my skin and went to the gym. When the temperature went up, that's when the magic happened. wow. The dry down is so beautiful...I get a mix of rose, saffron and oud.
Definitely a different kind of oud I didn't know that I needed.

This turns makeup-powdery on me right away, in the same vein that Delina Exclusif does. In fact, now that I own this, I dont know that I will buy Delina Exclusif as this satisfies that scent mood and is much more affordable. They aren't identical, just close enough cousins that I'm satisfied.

The opening I get some clean medicinal type oud and sweet tart rose. Reminds me a bit of the SweeTarts candy. Then that orris pops up about 30 minutes in and it is smooth makeup powder/lipstick with touches of the rose for hours and hours and hours. Seriously lasts forever. I bought a 50ml bottle, but I now wish I had bought the 100ml.

Compared to Black Prestigium this is much much better, there is some hard edge about Black Prestigium especially at the drydown, the orris root and the Mancera signature leather note is too much after Black Prestigium dries down. Red Aoud is much smoother overall. If you compare their notes, notice that Black Prestigium is much spicier and has a heavier base and isn't rounded with a vetiver note. Red Aoud is rounded with the the intoxicating vetiver and beautiful creamy sandalwood carried with the beautiful hint of orris root. Black Prestigium is black it has amber, leather, musk and violet it tries to be complex but ended up nauseating. Red Aoud is a winner for me. ps I can stay away from Black Prestigium now. lol

I get the OSM comparison, their difference is OSM has a vanilla base Red Aoud has a orris root base.

This on my skin is extremely long lasting, one spray on my hand and I can smell it the next day, although I can only pick up the sandalwood. Projection is also very good.

I don’t get much oud and it seems like a very clean/friendly Oud, no skank/barnyard-ness to it.
This comes across more as an amber fragrance with some sweet rose and smooth woodyness.

Its very good but It’s not worth a full bottle purchase because my 8ml travel sprayer will last me years since it’s an occasional fragrance and 2-3 sprays max will cover you all day.

all notes are well balanced. but I see it too much on the feminine gourmand side. for me it's a no. I feel a really good rose and a hint of biscuits. vote 5/10 super performance.
drydown is similar to other montale with oud rose combo but with more roses.

Love this Montale. For me, Red Aoud is well blended, balanced and totally addicting. The oud, saffron, subtle rose, and creamy orris / sandalwood are wonderful together. On the skin I also get a vanilla quality that might b coming from the orris or sandalwood? One note doesn’t strongly overpower the others. In the dry down the vetiver adds a touch of tartness that prevents the scent from becoming too heavy. This is a fairly unique, friendly three season western-styled oud blend. *must try on skin. Start w one spray (montale can b overpowering).

Completely unisex. Appropriate for work or play. Compared to other montales, the magnetic wearing experience reminds me of intense cafe & ristretto intense cafe. Clearly not the the same smell but, I can’t stop sniffing my wrist #embarassing. Red Aoud is rounder / warmer than white aoud, sweeter/more floral than Black aoud, less tropical/floral than Oud Tobacco, less spice versus honey aoud. I’d love to smell this on a man or woman. Mid-quality niche, upper designer. GREAT value at easily found discount.

Cookies and roses. Too feminine for me and there's something synthetic smelling underneath it all. It doesn't smell bad I just wouldn't want to smell like this all day

The first spray was really strong and I almost got scared for a sec, but then it settled into this creamy, delicious, warm and spicy oud. I couldn't stop smelling myself and want a full bottle of this deliciousness.

This is just what you get time and time again from the £3.99 rollerball Arabian houses. It’s such a standard Arabic mukhallat blend. Rather than this, I’d get the cheap but potent stuff from the UAE.

Nothing like my orange Oud.

This has quickly risen to become my favourite Montale. It is not as bracing as Black Oud and it is not so persistently linear as such sweet gourmands as Mukhallat and Sweet Oriental Dream. Instead it shifts between spicy hot pepper, sweet chocolate and woods. In texture it is a little like Oud Rose Petals which is a delicate rose over teak with a geranium that makes it peppery - but Red Oud has better projection and while its rose is less delicate it also has a more relaxed vibe.

It's a montale Aoud day for me. Blind tested this although I knew the notes roughly. I could have guessed something nutty like copahu balm or hazelnuts, maybe sesame. I guess it's the cumin or vetiver, to me this is very sweet as all montale ouds i've tried today although might be my skin chemistry it tends to do that. The oud is not harsh or medicinal or barny, I can smell it but it's definitely not overwhelming. This is mostly sweet and warm spicy to me, hints of rose and spices, and woods and oud. But very balanced, nothing bitter or sharp, just very sweet. I'm really enjoying montales, I think they are great value, they do have a "DNA" so many of them have a similar base, but it's a good base. Very unisex.

This is the sexiest oud rose fragrance I have ever tried, the iris note in this is lovely, giving the familiar Montale oud rose combination and the chatacteristic twang of Montale’s saffron note, all offset by a plush, pillowy feel. Some people below describe this pillowy note as cake-like, which is accurate IMO, vanillary sponge cake to be precise. Subtle spices add some lift and glitter to the opening hour. Wears beautifully all day too.

I believe the reviewer @Oudsan is sensitive to cumin. For those familiar and appreciative of cumin, its done very tastefully here, it is only a bit player adding dimension.

For some reasons it smells like pop corn with an arabic/oriental twist, or socks.

It has this socks vibe ( the smelly ones, but not stinky ) which i don't like to be honest.

It^s wearable, in fact once you ignore this socks/pop corn stage you can enjoy it.

Not for me

I just picked this one up--and it's lovely! Blended very well to say the least.


My favorite part of the show is the sandal, which creates this almost baby powder effect.

I'm going to have to sit with this one for a little bit. What I will say is that, while Red Aoud is good, it'll never replace my Honey Aoud.

Finally, I bought a new pice after waiting for a long time. it's an amazing sweet type of cake. I love it. I bought one without any hesitation.

like all Montale, the oud, is synthetic but of quality ... good deep rose and sumptuous pepper on a light bed of sandalwood ... amber is missing to fall into the classic oriental attar ... attention, it is not a defect, it is only the construction of a perfume with 2 protagonists, in this case oud and rose .... longevity and sillage important...major result

Sugar sweet, gourmand, floral but not distinctly rosey. Complex scent with great performance that allows the wearer to smell with every inhale. But I strongly dislike wearing this scent. Too sweet, floral and feminine for my taste.

Separate review from my 10 and 11 year old girls: "Daddy, you smell like a girl!"

From the mouths of babes...


Genesis 8:21

For men, better version of MFK Satin Mood. I have less rose feeling from this.

I loved the spicy opening of Red Aoud for about 5 minutes. After that, it offers a lot of powdery impression, before accelerating into full-on beast mode that contains all the notes. And it just keeps going. Strong, tenacious, overpowering.

Red oud has no oud ! Seriously i get zero oud from this fragrance and the opening omg nutmeg i hate nutmug luckily it only last around 60 seconds.
After that i get more of a sweet amber scent its ok nothing special and this is not a beast mode fragrance far from it. I am struggling to pick it up after 4 hours i have to really bury my nose into my arm to pick it up.
So if i am honest this fragrance is a let down for me no oud and poor performance.

This smells so good I want to drink it! Makes my mouth water. Lots of agarwood, lots of saffron and other delicious spices. Like a campfire made up of dried roses and exotic woods. Mmmm this is sexy! The staying power is incredible, 12 + hours on my skin and probably would go longer but I showered.

I never had expectations of a gourmand from it. To me Red Aoud is a strong, sexy, spicy-woody fragrance, and I love it that way. It starts a bit pungent and you will question your choices (i mean, there is oud & pepper at the top so..) but that lasts only for few minutes. After that I get sweet rose and powdery sandalwood, which I love! Like most Montales, this is beast mode in longevity and projection, and is unisex.

For me, one of the best and beautiful works of Montale. Bright saffron tango with a rose full of expression and dynamism. Just a gorgeous scent! Perfect for the cold. I noticed where there is Saffron - and especially the dominant ones - the fragrances are soft and velvety (even though there may be stronger notes in the pyramids, such as beats or leather). There is practically no sweets for me in this flavor, if sometimes it is heard, then this is a completely different sweetness — not a candy store. There is no vetiver on my nose either (I can't hear it). And yet, my grandmother had dry Bulgarian perfume, I don’t remember the Name, which is natural with a rose. For a long time I was looking for a semblance of this divine flavor. And now the red beats are very close to him, but not immediately, but after about an hour. Very resistant and flex. With dosage must be careful. Love

This smells unforgivably cheap. There is something rather mercenary about the whole Montale brand. All these uncountable strange perfumes that smell completely awful, synthetic, and made with absolutely no thought to the pleasure or sensibilities of the wearers. I can recall smelling some of their really awful Aoud variations, including this one, and a couple shamelessly sweet and simple releases, among them "intense cafe". I would caution anyone who is curious about the unique (I have to admit the design is really cool looking) bottle designs to avoid smelling these perfumes, because you can't unsmell them. You really can't. They're all amateurishly composed, discordant, harsh, bare bones simple, synthetic, cheap, and most important of all, they all smell bad. My apologies if this comment offends anyone. I normally try not to offer negative comments, but I feel compelled to warn the public about this brand.

I agree with the faction who says the opening is trash. Yes, yes it is. Luckily the opening is literally only a minute or so - and the metallic vomit knocks off.

What you’re left with is the same thing that happens when Cinderella finds her shoe. It goes from rags to riches!

It has a powdery sweetness - and odd kind - one that’s hard to describe. Honestly, it has a Dior Homme type of powdery sweet vibe (albeit the smell is drastically different) - but we are talking vibes here. I guess what I’m saying is - when you pull for Dior Homme, you could just as easily pull for this and get the same pleasure.

Saffron, rose, powdery oud with a hint of sweetness.

Again, I’m finding this fairly difficult to describe. It maintains the montale dna (per usual) - so spray with caution.

Ultimately I feel like this is a pretty good scent. It could be a workhorse in the winter!

6/10

Initial blast smells like a bad pastry. Based on other comments, I’ll wait for the drydown and see what happens.

I don't know what it is with me and Montale as of late but their sweet aoud fragrances are becoming a love and hate for me. A few years back I loved this fragrance but now I just don't love it as much. I think it may be the opening I dislike because it feels way to harsh.This fragrance is good but more so at the end when it's calmed way down. This is a fragrance you'd want to apply an hour or 2 before leaving and not doing more than 2 sprays unless you're the wild daring type! Lol

Very few scents are a scrubber for me, but the opening of this scent is scrubalicious. Not attractive, not desirable. I needed to get it off of my skin quickly, but the damnable stuff is as tenacious on my forearm as bulldog with lockjaw. Scrubbed with soap three times, scrubbed with a towel three times, and this stuff is still projecting like crazy. I’ve smelled this scent before, though not in perfume form. It smells exactly like the fancy shaped soap that my grandmother had in her bathroom- the kind you never actually washed with, but sat in a decorative basket on the countertop for all the years of my childhood. It surely appealed to her, and from the looks of it, to many others on this site, but for me, a big huge pass. Much better ouds on the market.

I both Honey Aoud and White Aoud. IMO Red Aoud smells the best out of the Montale Aoud/Woods Collection. Rose, Oud, and Saffron stick out the most to me. I wouldn't recommend using anything more than 2-3 sprays. This whole house is beast mode when it comes to projection, and you can easily over do it. I sense something kind of chocolaty. Am I the only one? It's probably just the oud and sandalwood mix. I definately get sandalwood. This is a beautiful fragrance and I totally recommend this one. It's truly unisex and I wear this no matter the time of day or the season.

it´s spring and i can nicely wear it (17-25°C) and it´s still better than bitter terre d´hermes or al haramain l´aventure (which is my most worn scent in the spring/summer with non-generic niché quality) .... red aoud is frequently recommended for a wintertime but it´s soooo round and well done that i can spray it on any day, any time, for any occasion (work, going to the town, shopping, friday evenings, friday nights, datings, meetings, clubbing, social events)

always pleasant, round, warm, not overwhelming ...
probably the only one scent (of all from my entire collection) that fulfilled all my expectations and requirements

nice, well done work .. solid

i like it a lot! my definition of the scent is:
saffron/rose/smooth spicy oud vibe of orient ... i love it, even if for non-trained nose it can smell a bit feminine, i´m still dare to wear it ... on a coat, suit, scarf ...

i´ve tested it before and i like it the most of all montales (i´ve got montale red vetyver before, but the metalic note starts to irritate me)

funny but true , years back i bought a Room Freshner from UK and it was a VANILLA scent as mentioned on the bottle ( reputed brand but i forgot the name).

Now my Red Aoud landed yesterday and all i could dig out was the same fragrance but Red Aoud doesn't have any vanilla note mentioned .

Anyways the fragrance is super good & long lasting and i enjoy wearing it ( but i feel am wearing the room freshener now LOL).

Good job Montale !

Even though their are no obvious gourmand notes listed, this is a sweet synthetic gourmand oud on me. I sampled it in the store, walked around and wore it for about an hour then returned to the store and bought the 50ml.

Unfortunately the only time I could wear this without getting nauseous was that first time I wore it. I know I'm in the minority here, but this one was a subsequent scrubber for me, and even then it took days for the scent to leave me and several washings to get rid of the smell in my clothes. Longevity is off the charts.

Finally Red Aoud has the dubious distinction of making me fall ill. I even called in sick to work, two times! This fume literally made me feel like I was going to throw up ...and that has never happened before.

Over the years I have tried other oud based Montale's, and I have finally given up. The synthetic that is used in his perfumes does not agree with me.

I don’t think I’ve smelled oud yet, so I went through my samples and I found this.

The images I initially got are of a cavernous space and a tarmac. A little bit of burned rubber and a teeny bit of plastic doll head come through . But overall the impression of being in a somewhat spacious cave – not of airiness but of a large enclosed area.

Then a few moments later I get a syrupy sweetness.

Not sure that this is going to be very helpful to me, or anyone else – but trying to record my impressions as a test my samples :)

Opens with a dominant, semi-floral Orris Root, that slowly blends into a distant rose/saffron combo. Although it's not listed anywhere, I suspect that there might be ISO E Super in this formula based on the way that it develops to the senses.

There's almost no other noticable notes in the opening. Just a slightly cosmetic tinge amongst a pseduo-aqueous base. Yet as time goes by, the perception of other notes slowly begin to reveal themselves; something like in the style of a strip tease possibly?

The fragrance seems to slowly get more charming, and the subtleness in the way that the notes reveal themselves possess a sense of comfort I think. The rose itself is a bit grannyish though, and that quality also seems to pick up more and more as the senses adapt to the formula.

Maybe it's suggestive of an older woman? The surrounding notes, which seem slightly aquatic and woodsy, add that kind of perception to it (mature, yet youthful). The wood texture is definitely not Oud, but seems to me something like a combination of sandalwood, a fresh wood (guaiac?), and a sweet wood (rosewood?).

By far one of the more sophisticated artistic expressions in Montale's collection, and for its composure also one of the more tasteful and charming pieces. Unfortunately, the fragrance could easily be considered more than a little underwhelming, so it may not be much of a crowd pleaser (despite how fancy the show).

Wow, Red Aoud... This juice is probably the most powerful fragrance in my collection. It is neck & neck with Dior Home Perfume. Yes, a full 24 hour job. Red Aoud will treat you like a slave. It will hound your nose and also any person who is around you for the next 12 hours, until it starts to become a bubble scent for the next 12 hours.
I once traveled with an atomizer and when I went to the airport lounge, I sprayed half a squirt under my shirt onto my chest. Hell, what a big mistake, I was chocking people around me and I did get a complex. I went to the shower room as I had a good 60 minutes before boarding. The showers where all occupied, so I went to the wash room and got a few wet paper towels and wiped all over the area on my chest and then rubbed it dry. When I got back to my seat in the lounge, the scent was still radiating, but at a more comfortable level. You only ever need half a spray of this stuff and then wait at least an hour before to venture out anywhere.
It is a very nice gourmand baked cake & cream pie type of smell with synthetic oud. I love the stuff and am glad that I have it in my collection. It will last me forever though & it will get passed down to my children & probably their children as 100ml bottle is so much considering that you only need half a squirt.

Like but I don't love. That sounds like faint praise, but the reality is that I usually either love or hate a fragrance. It's rare that I just like one. So I still think this scent is pretty good.

This is a very pleasant scent. If I hadn't smelled other Montales like Dark Aoud, Honey Aoud or Mancera Aoud Vanille, I'd probably be quite happy with this one. But I prefer Dark Aoud to this (Dark Aoud is a totally different scent, by the way - it is not similar to Red Aoud).

It is refined, powdery, rosy, saffron-y and ever so slightly oudy. If the oud were stronger, this scent would have graduated from a like to a love for me. But I'm sure that many other people would love this scent. If you blind bought this scent, you might not love it, but I don't think you would hate it. This is not a risky, polarizing scent that some love and others absolutely detest.

However, buying a sample first (like I did) is a good way to avoid wasting money. If I'd bought a full bottle, I'd probably end up giving to my girlfriend, just as I did with this sample.

Nonetheless, a very nice scent that is a credit to the house of Montale.

All the notes blend into what's basically warm spiced bread on me. Has the usual extreme longevity and projection for Montale.

I'm getting rose & musk (not oud), plus the sweet Marie Biscuit gourmand smell found in Chocolate Greedy.

The rose/musk combo is almost identical to that of Al Rehab's Aseel.

A big like for the smell but a big let down in creativity here.

On me, this smells like a dry coffee oud that is light yet rich. My skin eats these. They don't project for long on me.

My favorite from the house along with honey aoud . The dry down is great . Smells really nice after first hour . 3 sprays max. With this . Good to go for 7 -8 hours with nice proj.

This is my very favourite oud! It's so warm, and smooth, and the rose is very dark. Lovely to wear; so very soothing and comfortable. Rich and well blended, with lots of oomph. Very nice and spicy too. It's like wearing a beautiful warm blanket. Very seductive and sensual. Love.

Before you say I'm insane please here me out. This reminds me of Calligraphy Rose. Key word is reminds. Note as smoky and less rose and the saffron note is more prominent here. I assume that's why many say this has a gourmand vibe but it still has a slight backdrop of the usual Montale oud. I am pleased to notice that the oud is not in your face like many other Montale offerings in that for me makes this one wearable. The same beast mode usual Montale and one of their Top 5 aoud scents that I have smelled. Honey Aoud is my number 1!

I only like the first half-hour of this, which is deliciously complex instead of boring & cakey like the rest of its lifespan..

I don't understand why anyone would love the opening of this fragrance but to each with his own. After 30mins of wearing this scent is when I can smell my wrist and all I get is rose and oud is so faint I didn't get any gourmand from this.

scent : 7/10
sillage : 10/10
longevity :10/10
100% night fragrance
good floral and oud scent

Concordo in pieno con chi diceva assomigliasse ai pop corn caramellati e ai biscottini, se non che io ci ho trovato pure una nota di stantio, che mi ha disturbato non poco.
Non mi è piaciuto per nulla.

Lovely,creamy oud.Takes me to clouds from the first spray.

Red Aoud it's a ''gourmand oud'' very sensual and warm. Although, really this fragrance it hasn't neither gourmand notes. Then, why happens this? for the combination of notes, very interesting!! Concretally, I perceive a smell like ''cocoa''. Apart from sweet aspect also detect a piquant and powdery character. In fact, it remmind me to Dior Homme Intense regard to the powdery facet.


Personally, it's the Montale's oud fragrance that has convinced me more along to Black Aoud. IMO Red Aoud it's not versatile. It's more appropiate for Autumn and Winter and for special occasions due to gourmand quality and intensity.



Scent: 8
Longevity: 9
Projection: 9
Sillage: 9
Uniqueness: 10
Versatility: 6


Overall: 8,5

This slides into the number two place behind White Aoud and in front of Black. But it's oh so close. The Red Aoud is wonderful - I was worried that it would be too sweet and gourmandy after reading comments. It IS sweet but not in a nasty cheap way. I especially love how the rose and sandalwood come together. It's a very comforting fragrance from beginning to end, and has sillage but not as much as White Aoud. It stirs my appetite as well, for everything that one might have an appetite for.

Edit: I now prefer Black, behind White, and in third place is Red, after a couple of weeks wearing all three. The Red is the sweetest and as lovely as it is, it lacks the mystery component in the other two. I'd love to hear from other Montale Aoud lovers who also love the Black and the White, and which other ones they might recommend!

Whaaaat ??? Valantis, i get easy 12 hours + with mine

This opens rough, but becomes a wonderfully sweet rosey oud! The opening is a bit medicinal/bathroom cleaner-like, but 30 minutes in it warms up to a sweet, baked-goods, light oud. I wonder what note gives it such a sweet quality? There has to be amber or vanilla in this. Beautiful!

Smells like cookies! Definitely has a very gourmand feel. Sillage and longevity are monster! 10+++

A gourmand? Caramel corn? Oreo cookie? Not to my mind. More like potpourri!

The opening is a blast of oud and a ton of black pepper. It almost burnt all my nose hairs, it's that strong! Agree with a reviewer below that states it almost smells like a high alcohol content hand sanitiser in the opening. I'm feeling the cumin is also playing a big role in this. Thankfully it begins to sweeten up more and more as time goes by revealing a sense of creaminess lingering in the background that even then, ultimately doesn't save this one. Ive even heard comparisons to Dior homme which are pretty far fetched if you ask me. I feel that maybe if the cumin and Vetiver weren't a part of the composition and the black pepper was a whole lot more subdued then it would have been a much smoother experience. Overall a very dusty and dry fragrance. A very bumpy ride that I no longer wish to participate in. Intense cafe is miles ahead if your looking for a sexy rose gourmand.

Unisex but better on a women in my opinion!

wangi yg sangat manis..pusing ane nyium nya...tp pas drydown mendingan lah..tp prfum ini lebi cocok dipake cewe mnurut ane

S : 10
l : 10
p : 9
scent : 6

Wow, what a stunningly wonderful perfume this is. It is years since I had a signature fragrance; i simply can't stick that long to a single scent, there are too many to love. But this is signature scent quality for sure. It has got everything I have been searching for; it's warm, sweet, bright, rounded, powdery, clean and at the same time intriguing, dark and slightly earthy. I love how the saffron and sandalwood gives it a clean softness, a bit of rose to add powder, red pepper and other spices to give it edge, chocolate and vanilla to make it so easy to love. Not much oud to my nose but the sandalwood is prominent. A beautiful sillage and tremendous longevity!

Smells like a powdery cookie somhow dry, something like a biscuit. I will wear it more and i will tell you my impressions!

Revolting ruin of good cumin.

I 2nd the review below me, well said! It's like oreo cookies with Montale's normal oudy blend only visible at the opening and a tiny bit later on. Yum! NOTHING like 24 Platinum to/on me.

2 thumbs up! My non-perfume collecting boyfriend said it smells like S'mores, and mmmm'd it deeply. (No I didn't mention I thought it smelled like oreos, he said it point blank.) Huge win as far as I'm concerned.

Oreo cookies and rose oud blended well. Top scent from house.

I like to think of this one as a gourmand with a twist. Great opening smelling like a bakery in which a batch of bred has just finished cooking in the oven. After a while it gets sweeter and the bakery smell turns into a creamy rose pastry. The oud is not dominant at all and I find Red Aoud to be a very pleasant, well blended fragrance.

8/10

Pepper, spice, oud in Red Aoud make for a strong opening and agreeable spicy dry down, much more pleasant than Amouage Journey Man, in my opinion. Certainly masculine, with a good balance of spicy and herb-ish notes, I'd probably classify it as a cold weather night scent. I'd agree with some of other reviews in that it is well blended, as no particular note is cloying. It has some sweetness to it in the dry down, albeit subtly.

Projection and longevity are both strong.

This is definitely an appealing addition for fans of spicy fragrances. Generally I am not but I have to agree that this probably would work for a lot of men, and isn't overwhelming or overly formal. I'm not familiar with much of Montale, but this wants me to make try more of their scents. Not one that I'd necessarily buy at the price but worth considering.

7 out of 10

This is one of the more condom-themed Montale’s — the rubbery saffron-rose note that’s oddly appealing. But I think that what’s actually impressive about this is that it’s not as rose-dominated as you might expect, rather it takes the saffron as its focus and honeys it up a bit over the standard Montale “oud” accord. The effect is a slightly powdered, slightly gourmand take on the line’s usual Orientalist cliches, and it actually works. Furthermore, it’s not belligerently loud like many of their scents. As it settles, the rose does bloom a little more (not a good thing in my opinion as they usually smell cheap from this line), but all in all, it’s one of the better of the 50 or so ouds they’ve cranked out. A saffron gourmand with some spicy, rosy flourishes. No actual oud in sight, but that’s to be expected.

Dusty, piquant, romantic, silky oud. Almost a little salty. I don't sense any cookies or the like. The inclusion of vetiver and orris root give this depth and gravitas, literally 'roots'. I've used this in warm weather and loved it, the cooling vetiver really balanced to whole formula. Very likable and distinct! Unisex.

All I smell (unfortunately): unscented hand sanitizer (high alcohol content) and roses. That's it!!! I wish I could smell what the other reviewers do, but this frag won't budge on my skin.

First, I'd like to make clear that each nose senses each fragrance in a different way. We all have different levels of sensitivity on top of different taste towards each bottle of perfume. In order to rate a fragrance I always get a sample of the same and wear it at least twice so i can see consistency. I've seen some reviews based on paper sprayed with the perfume or simply based on a sniff in a perfume store but that's nothing to do with my personal point of view. To summarize all up, I find Red Aoud a wo derful masterpiece, a 10/10 bases on my taste. At first sniff I sense a floral scent mixed with some spices. It might be this mixture plus the oud that gives this juice a woody type of sense. Saffron comes in giving the impression of vanilla and hints of caramelized nuts. Wow, I find myself jaw dropping when I smell this beauty. To me this is a gourmand on the dry side (on the wonderful dry side) not the earthy and dry tea type. Believe me, this review comes from someone who did not have any love and interest for oud fragrances. I recently found myself buying oud based perfumes and Red Aoud is a gem

Its Almond Cake. very lovely bakery shop smell. I dint notice the rose. I tried it today and went to visit my parents and they twice asked me about it. i advise to have it if you are fan of sweet notes.

Dior homme with rose and oud added
I love it longevity and sillage all day! 8.5/10

My love. Whenever i try it on, my knees are weak. Oud has that effect on me ;) It's oriental and spicy but not overly sweet. That attracts me so much! The perfume soaks into skin and all you feel is something warm and cloudy like incense. If you are fan of oud - must try!

I have adored this scent since I discovered it 4 years ago. To me this is a moderately sweet gourmand oud. It smells like Arabic/Turkish desserts, Like a mixture of top notch baklava and rose flavored turkish delight candy, with an afterthought of oud incense. I feel like the oud in this perfume is less domineering but ever present in a charming subdued way. There is a hint of delightful saffron as well.

This is an uplifting and sweetly sexy perfume. Makes me feel like an Eastern princess walking through a candy bazaar several hundred years ago in a fantasy land. Love it.

For agarwood lovers this perfume is like the Holy Grail. Powerful in the top notes, wild and spicy in the middle notes, lustful and bright in the base notes. Manly masculine, proudly feminine. Great scent.

okay so what I definitely get out of this fragrance the initial opening it's an almond nutty like sent with light rose and oud.
it can definitely be calling after a while and will fill a room if you spray more than 3 sprays.overall I give it a 8 out of 10

Trying this for the first time today, the minute I put it on it reminded me of something from my childhood that I couldn't put my finger on. But, now it's come to me: easy bake oven cake, and not in a good way. It had an very sour, leavened yeast-like smell. Luckily, that didn't last long. Now the spices are coming in, but that sourness is lingering. Maybe that's the oud? My son just told me I smell like cinnamon. It's pretty nice, not sure it's FB worthy, though.

Another Montale great! Big Oud opening which you either love or hate with a rose and saffron drydown. A tad bit of sweetness and a woody backdrop. Many speak of reformulation but the one I have is up to Montale standards. All day silage and longevity. Another masterpiece rom the house IMO.

this is the first montale i've tried, and i really love it. it's got gourmand elements but isn't overly sweet. in the vial it smells like a deep, lush red rose, fully bloomed, but on the skin, the spices come out big time and the oud kind of hangs out in the background, acting like a supporting character. it starts out as a sweet, fruity almost candy-encrusted rose, but then it becomes a warm, spicy red rose and stays pretty true to form throughout the drydown. i think this is unisex but veers a little to the more traditionally feminine side.

yesterday I've bought this EDP directly from MONTALE,s website thinking its good as I remember...but its watered down !! its a shame!! I have 10 of their perfumes in my collection bought it 5 years ago. they were good. but this RED aoud 2014 march its weak poor longevity no strength at all. I swear to god it disappeared after 30 minutes completely has no sillage . but wait...I've read on BASENOTES about it just now and many people complaining about Montale's new products, claiming that they even replayed on face book saying that its true. watering down their products. if anyone its experiencing same thing please replay...
Aurelio

This review is based on a tiny decant. Instead of the usual rose+saffron+oud+vanilla combo, the vanilla is replaced with creamy sandalwood. Not bad. All notes are well-balanced without overpowering each other. I don't really pick up the other notes. It has above average projection and good longevity on my skin.

MONTALE RED AOUD is a hot scent for a cold night, where you're escorted past the velvet rope and invited to the VIP section. But, nah, the woman in RED AOUD is ready to go home and have sex.

From roses to a slinky vanilla, all with projection and longevity--talk to me lover!

What a nice perfume! Very unusual, and the opening is rather intense, but then floral sweetness with a little pepper notes follows and it gets very warm, sensual and even a little bit dark. Very interesting smell! Spicy sweetness :)

Starts out with very strong aoud, oily, medicinal, unpleasant. Quickly morphs into red velvet cake and rose water with a musky dry down. Absolutely monster sillage and staying power. I dabbed only a tiny bit from the sample bottle for fear of offending and while I don't think anyone was offended it was definitely noticed.

I love the scent, but the oud I really felt in the very opening. I agree with the reviews that define it as a gourmand. Definitely it isn’t a chipre/floral.
In fact, smelled of maraschino cherries when "analyzed" the work. Maybe the "red" in the name suggested me. But with a closer attention I realized that is vanille-y saffron.
I bought a fraction in purse spray and I don't know if I'd buy the whole bottle as it is not a perfume that I see myself wearing frequently. I think you have to be in a certain state of mind to use it. For sure I’ll buy another purse spray when this one is over, but my 5 ml will last long.
This is my first Montale :) 
It has a very long lasting and a heavy sillage.

I was looking for a woody oriental, but this is totally gourmand, and a very dense and intensive one!

I feel like I'm eating rose loukhoum, chocolate cookies, honey and halva on top. SO sweet! It's also quite spicy (cumin and saffron are very prominent to my nose). Oh, what a delight for those with sweet tooth!

RED AOUD has an almost foody quality, but in a good way. I seriously feel sweetness on my tongue. I love everything about it: its sugar overload, its velvety texture, its powderiness (I do feel the orris root very well here).

A must have for cold winters.

Another day, another oud. If this doesn't make you like rose then nothing will. This is one of those fragrances that will definitely get you a lot of compliments. Although the combination of oud has been done many times in many ways, this is not at all familiar. It's phenomenal how the rose blankets the oud as if it's not there. The pepper and spices prevents the frag from become too rosey(which i like). Just another good oud from Montale. Bring on the next one....

Red aoud one of my recent purchase what can I say I find this scent very intriguing the notes are pretty much accurate and well balanced none of the notes are dominating each other I can feel the iris but not lipsticky you find like in dior homme. At first spray it opens up very rich a powdery type of aoud scent with the rose then the scent settles down I feel the pepper more in the middle rather than at the top. Buttom its sweet the vetyver sandalwood combo I dont know the smell of orris root in particular I guess its blended in with the buttom notes the aoud has completely diminished at this stage of the scent to my nose. All in all very good and natural smelling gourmand scent. I describe Red aoud as cotton candyish rosey powdery aoudy scent. Definitely unisex on this one and as many reviewers had said a masterpiece and I totally agree.
longevity 10 plus hours on my skin very potent 10 out 10
sillage this projects 2 spray 3 max this works for me not a monster but you will get noticed 9 out 10.
uniqueness very unique smelling for sure definitely a stand out. 10 out 10
overall smell 10 out 10 for love it no complaints from top to buttom.
price vs quality a no brainer here 10 out 10 totally moneys worth.
versatility cold weather day or night

Fruitee, opulent, riche...
Gourmand like the scene of 9 1/5 week

Red Aoud has so many reviews already that it seems obsolete to say more . For me , it is the softest , most charming of the series . It's also gourmand , I smell chocolate and saffron . Not many flowers . The Aoud isn't smoky or medicinal at all , it's just like dry wood . The dryness creates a powdery effect , without swinging to talcum . Warm , sensual , and quite feminine . Silage and lasting power are average , less than other Montale , which normally are very strong . Recommended to try to those who don't like a strong and pungent Aoud like Black Aoud but still enjoy the middle eastern sensuality . Languorous , curvy and sexy ! A masterpiece softer even than White Aoud , which I also adore .

The other reviewers had this one right, gourmand oud! And I love it!!!! Not too sweet, great longevity, and perfect sillage. It lasted on my skin for 10 hours and had a good, deep, powerful sillage of about 8 hours until it turned into a skin scent. And my skin soaks up perfumes too. I need to get a bottle of this one.

At first spritz I feel the vibe medicinal oud, but within a few seconds, blends an earthy smell warm and dry, like a root still land were left exposed to the sun! After a few minutes medicinal vibe starts to get in evidence again at the right is spicy, a scent is warm and sweet, sometimes a creamy nuance appears, and soon gives way to a dry dusty vibe, and it's like they fought for decide who is next to the oud.

After some time it changes, and floral notes are evident through on my skin, and some medicinal vibe, and thus extends to the end of the fragrance!

Fixing and projection very good, but the flavor did not please me much, it's not like I expected, if the floral notes were perceptible in the background with the oud prevailing, would be perfect! But the middle to the base notes, on my skin, it just makes him more floral! It has quality, it is indisputable, but not for me!

Goodness.. Here we go. Another frag thats hit the spot. And I mean HIT. SLAM BAM WALLOP. Calm down its just a scent..but its NOT! Its soo much more. On my hand right now I smell foodie and floral and delicious smoke. Maybe it could be likend to the scent of a marshmallow melting over a flame of burning petals. I have to admit I love the gourmands. Not as foodie as Hermes hookah (aka ambre nargulie) but absolutely gormand. Montale 'Red' I was expecting Amber,ginger or cherry but the result surprised me in a very nice way. Could it work on a guy? YES and PLEASE!! (Ill share) Pricey, yes, you could say that -- but lasts FOREVER!! The Longevity is enormous

Opens with a nice blend of oud and pink pepper. I don't quite get the same strong gourmand vibe that other reviewers have noted, but it's there. Dries down to a pleasant musk with hints of rose. miaw2's review made a comparison to Dior Homme Intense. I'd have to agree with that except to remove the lipstick note from DHI and replace it with rose.

Slightly more to the feminine side of unisex because of the rose, but still very wearable for a man.

I dont know why, but the opening for about 5 minutes smells and reminds me of the smell when I used to walk into a mall department store like JCpenneys or Kaufmanns.
Dries down to a chocolate sandalwood mixed in with a faint powdery soap. Very enjoyable drydown that projects very well, but not invasive to people around you. Solid office scent and definitely a scent for someone out of school. If you do not like this scent on the first try, I'd give it a couple more wearings before passing final judgement.I'd say include this in your next sample order for sure.

Unforgettable, very classy and high quality fragrance. Every drop of this amazing perfume deserves its price.
I smell roses, those dark red roses which my grandma used to plant in her garden. Mixed with the aoud and spices these roses create fabulous aroma and u feel like a queen.Enormously lasting, it gives u comfort,warmth and at the same time it smells expensively and luxuriously.In love in love in love......

So I've been wanting to try this for months now and now I finally have! Ok, so I've heard so much about this fragrance. Most of the things i've read or heard have been nothing short of excellent.

Ok, so this starts off with a chocolate chip cookie smell mixed with rose. The rose does not dominate, the chocolate chip cookie is front and center. Upon first whiff, I was blown away! This smells so delicious! Good enough to eat! After several hours of wearing , I would get little whiffs here and there. By the end of the 8 hours i was wearing this, it ended with a nice powdery rose. This fragrance is spectacular from an artistic composition point of view and the longevity is awesome! This is a true gourmand.

Now, I've heard about being easy on the trigger with this one because of the extreme projection. My sample was a dabber, so maybe that has something to do with it, but it has good projection, just not the most beastly of Montale's as everyone was saying. The most beastly that i have experienced so far was Velvet Aoud.

This is definitely full bottle worthy!

Montale Red Aoud surprised me with a blast of sweetness straight out of the sprayer. I initially tested on the back of my hand but it was instant love so I decided to empty my tiny partially used sample vial. Soon after a full application, I noticed the freshness of this scent. This is a rich, opulent sweet freshness that I could not ignore. I was pretty impressed because I expected a heavy, dark, pungent Oud but instead I got a niche quality gourmand with a masculine edge. I did not detect the Oud note until around 8 hours after I first applied.

I continued to get delicious whiffs throughout the day but I beamed as a salesperson stuttered through his spiel because it was interrupted three times by, "Damn you smell good!"

Of the notes listed, my nose only knows Oud and vetiver. I suppose the vetiver can account for the freshness but the sweetness remains a mystery. I would compare this gem to Taueraide but I won't because both can't be Best but they are running neck in neck for Fresh.

What a fantastic perfume this is, it surprised me greatly and I am in love.
It opened with oud as it is it's most noticeable ingredient. I do love oud, but here I was more in love with the stuff going on in background, at the opening the scent is very gourmand, almost smells edible, I do not get cookies like someone mentioned, I get a very dominant note of praline. It is soon followed by a lovely sandalwood and vetiver combo, I love how vetiver plays it's role here making this dry and very sensual.
At the heart most noticeable on me is saffron, but of course the rose is there as well, here the rose is cold and very elegant.
Overall I can say this is a masterpiece and fully worth a bottle. Suitable for both sexes as oud and vetiver works perfectly as "unisex notes".
If you haven't tried this yet - do try. On my wishlist for full bottle this goes with no doubt. One of the best Montale's I've tried so far and I've tried enough and loved enough from his line of perfumes to say that this is very special.

I agree with Descartes on the Oreo cookies... this really smells like cookies and I'm thoroughly impressed by this Montale!!! It has of course a very gourmand side to it but it goes through a different path because it never gets too sweet or cloying or onedimensional as most gourmies do. Oud gives a woody well rounded finish that I simply find perfect, sensual to death and I'm soooo happy I've sampled this. Together with Black aoud at the very top of my likings !!!! This hobby/passion will drive me directly to live under some bohemian bridge if I keep on finding jewels like this one... but what a deliciously fragrant bridge that would be!

As another reviewer put it this REALLY does smell like Caramel Corn.

This may be the first time I wouldn't concur with Shera Pop, not about her description of course but of my love for this scent. This is the first time I have ever worn a scent for 5 consective days. I wore it to bed 4 times and finally wore it out today (once I got an atomizer to drop it in).

It is such a unique fragrance. Sweet but in a glazed way, spicy but in a refined pepper way, like a spicy you encounter in an Amouage. The florals are curbed by the spicy sweetness and the sweetness curbed by the florals and woody components. To top this off the oud note in here is a smooth as I have encountered in a Montale fragrance.

The unique thing about this fragrance is the combination of notes make it almost a subtle gourmand like fragrance but for the life of me these notes are not describing what I am smelling. Usually what happens for me is whever rose+oud+saffron come together I always get this uniqe sweetness on my sking. Rose Oud, NY Oud, Fearri Oud and even Cruel Intentions all do this to my nose.

Maybe it is the caraway pepper and those notes doing it to me. It smells like it could have some tonka or amber in there somewhere. This thing is just gorgeous to my nose.

This sillage, projection and longevity is Montale Aoud like but not as intense as Black Aoud or even Lime Aoud for that matter. I would probably put it on a Blue Amber level. Overall this is a great fragrance. If you like the descriptions then I promise you won't be disappointed if you find these notes challenging avoid it.

Tonight after my bath, I decided to play a bit of Montale roulette, which involves reaching into my hat box (seriously...) of samples from this house and wearing whatever I happen to select. RED OUD it was.

These are carded manufacturer samples, so there is really no way that I can blame this on some lame decanter who answered the phone in the midst of my order fulfillment. No. This perfume really and truly came from the top-secret headquarters in an undisclosed place where weird tubular aerodynamic bottles are so often filled with perfumes which make me swoon. I was excited for a couple of minutes as I relished the prospect of yet another gorgeous rose-oud perfume from this house. No, there cannot be too many!

Alas, what I found when I donned this oddball creation was complete and utter confusion. No rose, that seemed clear. But what was it that I smelled? Could it be... no, I could not believe and applied more waiting a minute before smelling my arm. Yes, I'm afraid I was right: in the opening wafts I clearly detected....caramel corn!

After that, the perfume became less sweet but still retained a kind of corn-y flavor in the background, along with what appeared to be oud and possibly ambergris. Looking now at the notes, I don't really know what to say--or to think, except that perhaps this equation is valid, at least according to my nose:

saffron + cumin + pepper + some unlisted source of sweetness + vetiver + orris root
=
caramel corn, which morphs into an utterly indescribable mélange de je ne sais quoi que je ne veux plus porter!

Désolée, Pierre, Atmeh, or reasonable facsimile.

Time to return to the hat box...

I am sorry, but Red Aoud is not a gourmand. A gourmand perfume is one that somehow activates your taste buds and makes your mouth water. Red Aoud is definitely a floral-woody scent, a bottled wonder!

Once applied on the skin, it scares a little, because the aoud note is on the output, along with the red pepper. You don't know if you're going to choke and you wonder if that accord is going to stay strong, like that, until the end. But in about ten minutes this sensation is over, the potent and medicinal smell starts to subside and the magic happens. From then on, I had one of the biggest surprises related to perfumes to date: simply, the fragrance changes and evolves from time to time. In about an hour, it evolved differently at least three times. It is as if I am experiencing three distinct scents on my skin.

Right off the bat, as I said, it comes the strong and medicinal smell of aoud + pepper; then, a vetiver that “screams” next to saffron and, finally, an elegant rose that remains there, beautiful, together with vetiver and sandalwood. Red Aoud remained like this, like a slightly powdery floral, with imposing vetiver and something soft and cozy, which I believe is the result of notes like caraway and sandalwood. It is shamelessly unisex and has a beautiful rose to be worn by men!

The projection and longevity are superb. A masterpiece, no doubt!

Magnificent
Out of this world
No boundaries
Terrific quality
Amazingly powerful
Love at first sight
Endlessly well done.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm this red aoud is a masterpiece. A MASTERPIECE !!! It is a gourmand oud !!! BEAUTIFULLY done, very very very nice with the safran and the pepper. However it has a caramel-chocolate vibe to which makes it sublime ! I felt in love with the first spray (me ! To tell you the truth, it is very very rare, my first love was M7... i didn't think i was able to fall in love again :) !!)

10/10

My only problem is for purchasing my next fragrance : this or wazamba :)

This perfume is SPICEY! (imagine that said by SNL's Stefon). It started off smelling a little rubbery, but it developed into a wonderful mix of spices and warmth. One spray is all you need; it lasts a very long time.

I got a sample of this the other day and am loving it! It smells wonderful from first spray though dry down and beyond. It lasts 10 or more hours on my skin which is some kind of miracle and it has wonderful sillage for the first 4 or 5 hours and then lays closer to my skin. I had complements when I wore it to the store. "That smells wonderful, what's the name of it?". Yhe oud is there but quite mellow, the saffron blended with the rose makes it sweet but blended with the caraway and pepper it is spicey, too. I am definitely getting a full bottle of Red Aoud in the near future.

Upon first spray I loved it!! It's just so wonderfully different, agreed the 1st spray deceives you a bit, it makes you think it's some overly powerful standoffish scent, but it's not at all well maybe it can be a bit lol but that doesn't last for long the dry down is absolutely wonderful, && it's very well balanced there's a sweetness w/o being overly sweet giving it a nice gourmandish quality, && it's also quite cozy && very easy to wear. && YESS!! MONSTER SILLAGE && LONGEVITY! it's like the energizer bunny it just keeps going && going I showered && I could still faintly detect it on my skin && that was only one spray, && that's the great thing about Montale you don't need much at all. I took to this fast && can say this is one very enjoyable && unique Aoud I'm glad I got to discover new fav! :)

UPDATE (8.27.12): Finally own a bottle of this wooo! love this scent!! :)

For me on a 1 spritz at my wrist, the top notes gave me slight headache. It was powerful, deep and penetrating.

I was disappointed although the scent is very unique.

After 30 minutes the beauty of this fragrance caught me by surprise and the biggest surprise is that aside from its monster sillage, longevity is by far at par with my A*Men and TM Angel. It's heart and drydown are so wonderful to my nose.

After 8 hours, I woke up, took a shower and it's scent linger on my wrist for the next 5 more hours. That is a stunning and impressive 13-15 hours of wonder. But again, the slight headache will make me avoid to use this perfume unless needed on an evening formal occasion. Not recommended on summer daytime. Be careful. Two sprays is good enough and expect the scent to stick on your skin even after you took shower. Out of 10, I give it an 8.5 for it's haunting scent, strong sillage and monster longevity.

Not sickly, but sweet enough gourmand oriental fragrance!

In the beginning of the opening I feel the oud note most of all, that reminds me about dentistry office scent. But than it opens sweet and not sharp spices and starts to remind me Angel by Thierry Mugler a little bit and the patchouli note especially, but I prefer Angel to it for sure.

Not complex enough to like it, in my humble opinion.

This is such an interesting Montale. To me its a powerful sillage MONSTER :) I dont think its close to skin. 1-2 hours after I applied this I went shopping and the sales lady asked me "OMG! what are you wearing?" Its really in my face.
This is definitely more than an oud scent. Its like a sweet peppery rose with a dominant cherry note in it. The saffron is also easily detected.
I have a sample which is quite enough for me and I am happy to experience this beauty, but I dont think I will buy a full bottle. Its more on the spicy-fruity side to me rather than woody spicy..

None of the reviews here could prepare me for how Red Oud would turn out on my own skin. It's gourmand, very edible and yummy, yet it's not sickly sweet. Must be the oud, I mean, who would want to eat something that smells like rubber, right? This smells exactly like some kind of silky, creamy, white chocolate truffle with a rose confiture center. I don't get any pepper at all, which I am kind of happy about. The most interesting facet of this perfume is a mystery note that resembles citrus--it's an inexplicable acridity. While anything sour or acrid usually turns me off, in this case it serves to balance out all of the sweetness.

The sad part is that as it dries down Red Oud becomes too been-there-done-that-soft-and-powdery, a la Loukhoum by Keiko Mecheri. And I like Loukhoum Parfum du Soir better than the other two as it has more depth and richness.

(I can't seem to forget this one...so while it's not my favorite Montale, I plan to buy a bottle.)

Superb is the correct word to describe it. Really powerful. Unique fragrance.

Montale Red Aoud is a favorite of mine among other Aoud fragrances by Montale. This is a very well balanced perfume in terms of three notes: Aoud, Rose and Spice. The composition is smooth and velvety. It is red because of red rose and red pepper. I don't get black pepper but instead something similar to red pepper or pimiento pepper. The pepper note stays throughout its life being very loud in the opening and somewhat delusional in the dry down. Cumin spiced up the saffron with red pepper resulting in a loud spicy Aoud opening Which isn't as medicinal as other Aoud fragrances. I love the Rose-Aoud combo. The longevity is quite amazing. You can smell it on your clothes almost forever until you wash them. I have tried other Montale Aouds such as Moon, Golden, Black, White, Lime & Cuir d' Arabie but Red Aoud is a winner!
There is a mystic quality and just subtle sexiness in Red Aoud that I liked and decided to buy.
Verdict: 8/10

I could eat myself while wearing this one:). Oud isn't screaming here, he's only whispering, to my nose saffron, rose and caraway top the bill. On my skin it's like a rose-very dark chocolate veil, not too strong, not too sweet, just beautiful. I don't say such a thing often but it's sexy. But sometimes it's 'only' cozy. I can see myself wearing it day and night, too. Don't know how it works on a man but I'm wondering. Lasting power and sillage are very good. This is my favourit Montale and favourit oud so far. Love it.

really enjoying this scent! the drydown scent is fabulous. great longevity so far and pretty decent sillage. i've gotten a couple comments on it so far today. strong at the outset - and some might find it overpowering, but the scnet calms down quickly. the opening smelled to me like oud plus a "blood accord" which was fascinatingly intriguing, but not entirely pleasant ;-) . it's quite a distinctive scent IME! i've tried a variety of stuff with oud, but this is easily the 'smoothest' oud i've smelled. can't wait to try the other Montale Aouds!

I was very pleasantly surprised by this aoud - it's extremely wearable. It's more subtle than other aouds, and the rose note is beautiful without being too harsh. The overall effect is refined elegance with a hint of sexiness.

A strange aoud this one for me; it's less spicy and more sweet, smooth and powdery compared to the other aouds I've tried, both from this house and others. Very intriguing and long lasting but soft and staying close to skin at the same time. As far as aouds go, this one's the most easily wearable and more acceptable to those new to aoud. I really like it, but it's more of a comfort scent than I'd like in my oud.

Update: The more I use it, the more I love it. It's very gourmand and delicious and I simply have to have it. If you like sofisticated, non-too-sweet gourmands, give this a try!

Smooth, powdery, spicy, a hint of cardamom maybe?...mmmm. The sun's just set on a Sunday night and I put some on from a sample. It's soothing and engaging, and has quite a presence...I feel like heading out to a museum or something cultural! A grounding confidence booster for me.

I'd split Montale's ouds in two different categories. On one side we have Oud Cuir D'Arabie and Black Aoud that stand out for their uniqueness and their challenging power. On the other side I'd put all the other compositions form the same line as they basically consist in micro-variations on the main theme.



Now, beside what you may personally like or not almost any of the "Aouds" by this house stand somehow on the same level (a good level with the exception of a few really unsuccessful releases such as Aoud Forest and Sliver Aoud). A more or less strong / medicinal oud note joined by a complementary bunch of other aromas to match different tastes.



My suggestion to anyone who like oud is to pick up a bunch of samples from the Montale's range and see which one fits your bill better. Once you've made your choice stick with one, or maximum two of them, as I can assure you that by that point you covered a lot of ground already.



That being Red Aoud is a micro-variation on the main theme taking a spicy (red-chili) direction. The oud note here is not as strong and powerful as in other perfumes from the same line, but still remarkably present. Hidden cacao hints provide some refinement and a sort of gourmandic quality. Nice and pleasant but I stick with Aoud Musk.

Rating: 7/10

Saying that this smells like ripe red berries gently spiced and salted would be way too simplistic. This is the grand gourmet of gourmand perfumes with a well blended fusion of savory notes in delicate balance.

The agarwood in this fragrance is exquisitely delicious, with a sweet and salty woody character that's almost like caramel with a hint of soured dry red rose.

Saffron and caraway are soft but distinct, creating exotic spiced air wafting on the breeze, then settling into an accord that is reminiscent of a spiced sandalwood-vanilla-musk base.

Earthy, yet managing to instill a feeling of sublime rapture and comfort. I think my guardian angel must smell like this.

This is a very good, long lasting fragrance. Its not as dark as Black Aoud; its more powdery and gourmand light like dry cacao. Its more wearable than Black Aoud, but not as bold. It last easily 10+ hours on my skin. 9/10.

I can only review this scent up against Aoud Velvet from the same line, as the concept of ouds are still news to my nose.
Red Aoud reminds me alot of Aoud Velvet, I feel you're hit with the same initial blast of oud in both Red Aoud, Aoud Velvet, Crystal Aoud and White Aoud..
Red Aoud is without the sour notes from Velvet Aouds jasmine and orange blossom, and carraway and saffron gives Red a warmth that I feel is lacking in Velvet.
It is a tremendous confidence booster, the one I'd put on before a meeting in the bank..
It reads as very warm on my skin, whereas Aoud Velvet comes out clearly cooler in temperature.
Red Aoud struck me as more familiar somehow than did Velvet Aoud. Red plays it more safe. For this reason Velvet Aoud wins over Red Aoud in my book. I wanted the uncompromised eastern experience.
Even if Velvet can suffocate a small village..
..well actually, all from the oud line is capable of that ;)

Doesn't smell like anything i've tried before! Its opening was almost medicinal and off putting but one minute later oooh interesting. Is it the saffron or carraway? It's slightly sweet and there's a rich rose in there somewhere- the drydown is not as straightforward as the other montale aouds- it doesn't have their middle eastern nuances and woodsy drydown- red aoud stays sweet. I love it for entirely different reasons than i love the other aouds and that's all right!

Oh dear god..this is quite possibly the most exquisite, sensual, exotic perfume i have ever smelled. This, is to me how I imagine the beautiful Cleopatra to smell. I am head over heels and I must get a large bottle asap! I will cherish my precious decant. This is breathtaking so spicy and warm, but completely unlike anything else in my rather large collection- even the real spicy ones. I can't and won't stop smelling my arm!!!

You´re enjoying the most beautiful sunset in your life, the sun is enourmus, and glowing like a red ruby in the sky. The evening getting darker every second, and the sun colours the sky in amazing colours of golden, warm pink, bright red, orange and purple.

If this scenery could be interprented in a scent, that scent would be Red Aoud.

It´s warm, mysterious, comforting, spicy, glowing, deep, cool and truly gorgues in every way. The notes seem to blend seamlessly in and out in each other. The aoud is very precense in it, but not as sharp and loud as in Black Aoud, only just enough to make the scent so interesting, complex and oriental.

No doubt about me liking Red Aoud I guess? I do more than like it, actually I have to get me a big bottle of this. Red Aoud is one of those perfumes I don´t want to live without. Nothing comes even close when I am longing for it.

Amazingly longlasting, great sillage, this is not for a shy wallflower, Red Aoud will make you noticable. But more in a classy, beautiful way than common and vulgar.

Like the mysteries of the Orient in a bottle.

A must try. Don´t blame it on me when you realise you´ll need a full bottle of it!

To me, Red Aoud is so much more wearable than Black Aoud. Red is soft, smooth, not too strong. Red is sweet, warm, but also dark and deep. A little hint of chocolate makes Red very delicious and enteresting. I love this Red.

I tried this for the last two days and
Wow... its everything Jeca described and more. I'm tottaly off balance since its not usually my kind of scent, but is so well balance and distinct, perfect sillage that envelops you in tender warm arms. Very spicy, its last all day on my skin. It has few layers, making it deceptively simple. Very sensual... it makes me fell sexy. Perfect for this cold days when you need an extra push to get you going. Can stop smeeling it on my wrist.

I like this perfume, I have spent a day with it, and it was very bright and comfortable all the time. All ingredients are warm, even hot, but smooth and well-balanced, I smell the rose in its heart. I think it is dark red, or brown red.