Countdown day 9

Where shall we venture on the 9th day of our fragrance countdown? I vote to leave the Camels, Cowboys and Pyramids and venture indoors to an old smoke filled church and find a comfy pew. Montale is a house founded in 2003 by Pierre Montale. He refined the notes he knew and loved from middle eastern perfumery, and brought them to the masses. His fragrances are sometimes rather over the top, with nuclear silage and projection. They are not for the faint of heart. There are many gems, especially his Oud creations. Aoud Cuir D'Arabie for example, will take you straight to a very dirty barnyard oud, it is ingenious, but hard to wear day to day. Full Incense ( 2010) is a far more manageable affair. This fragrance is exactly what it says on the tin, and is a wonderful evocation of Midnight Mass. It is not a traditionally pyramid structured fragrance, yet it also has great depth and complexity. It opens with a huge and smoky Somali Incense, wonderfully dry and immediately Catholic. You can almost hear the bells and whistles. It is an incense which seems to capture everything contained inside the church of your choice. We have the aged wood and fabrics, the old battered hymn books giving off a sweet vanillin aspect, and best of all the smell of history. You feel that you are luxuriating in a thousand years of smells infused into the very core of the building. Following this incense is wonderful depth from its Elemi and Labdanum resins. They are beautiful and work to support the smoke as it takes flight. It is these resins which give this fragrance that added depth, projection and longevity that some straight up incense fragrances miss. In the final trail of all this is a Cedar and Patchouli base, yet these play their part relatively early on. They add a feeling of structure, and don't interfere too much in the directness of the incense itself. These are all supporting characters to the main star. I love this fragrance, and I find it an evocative experience. Having spent so many years in churches, it is great to sit back and wallow in this glorious ancient smoke, without worrying that I have anything else to do. I would also try Incense Avignon by Comme Des Garcons, it is wonderful. It just doesn't have the depth and longevity of Full Incense. Try a sample of this and listen to some full blooded medieval chant from a huge acoustic, and you will have nothing to confess other than your new found love of Montale!

Happy smelling. J xxx