Ormonde Jayne Montabaco: fragrance review

Possibly the most "masculine" leaning of the otherwise aimed at both sexes new collection The Four Corners of the Earth, it being a fougere, Montabaco by Ormonde Jayne is a perfume to capture the essence of Latin America: leather, suede, wood and tobacco leaf repeated over and over again creating a suggestive sensuality and Latino temperament. Basically what the typical westerner dreams of smelling at Havana or any such exotic port of call. Does it deliver a poker hand worthy of a gambler the repute of Jack Weil? I say it does, though in a cleaned up fashion, just like Redford is a cleaned up version of a seedy gambler in the first place.

via pinterest

The floral presence of magnolia, jasmine and rose are meant to soften the toughness of those unashamedly seductive, classic masculine codes for "macho." You can almost see the beautiful face of a Latin analogue of Tyrone Power behind the smoky rings of the tobacco. In our day and age, this is the only acceptable way to get your tobacco fix (mon tabac, get it?), but what a great way it is, eh?
The aromatics in Montabaco are fusing into the woody-fern ambience, giving it an odd freshness. Last but not least, thanks to the unerring fondness of perfumer Geza Schoen for Iso E Super, a woody-hazy-musky component in the base of many of his compositions, Montabaco (an Iso-E Super beast if there's one) radiates friendly vibes in a radius of building blocks and lasts extremely well, even it is noticed more by those coming into contact with you than yourself on you at all times.

Notes for Ormonde Jayne Montabaco:
top : air note, orange absolute, bergamot, juniper, clary sage,cardamom.
heart : magnolia, hedione, rose, violet, tea notes.
base : tobacco leaf, iso e, suede, sandalwood, moss, tonka, ambergris.

Available exclusively at the Ormonde Jayne London boutiques.

Ormonde Jayne Montabaco: Perfume Bottle Giveaway

Ormonde Jayne likes to surprise us with new releases in a sporadic fashion, instead of globering us down the head with continuous output that would have nothing new to say. Her latest exclusive to Harrods and her own London boutiques line, the Four Corners of the World, comprises four scents (Tsarina, Montabaco, Qi and Nawab of Oudh) inspired by her travels around the world. With the help of trusted perfumer Geza Schon the vision becomes beautiful reality. I'm so very excited to share the new scents with you, which we presented to the press in an ultra-glamorous journey aboard the Orient Express (making everyone feel like an Agatha Christie character!) and I promise that reviews are coming up shortly.

In the meantime I am in the happy position to be able to giveaway a traveler atomiser bottle of the exclusive Montabaco for our readers. You can enter the draw wherever you are in the globe (fittingly to the theme!) by entering a comment answering the following question: what would be the place you'd most like captured in a fragrance? Draw is open till Friday midnight and the winner will be announced in the weekend.