I don't usually go in for gourmand fragrances, but Vanille Absolu is something special. This is my first Montale, and I intentionally avoided trying the ouds and musks, mainly because everyone and their brother talks about them. I wanted an unconventional review for this brand, and Vanille Absolu seemed like a good bet. Let’s see how well Montale does vanilla! I was excited to wear it.
I found that Montale doesn't really take vanilla very seriously. The mysterious Pierre Montale is certainly no real-life Jean-Paul Guerlain. I expected a severe overdose of vanilla frosting when I applied Vanille Absolu, and for a few seconds, that's exactly what I got—intensely sweet extract, sinus-searing in its sweetness, with the bright muskiness that upholds most mall-rat vanillas. Somehow, the neon vanilla fails to endure, and within a minute, it evolves into something a bit more original: cotton candy. There has to be at least 85% ethyl maltol in Vanille Absolu. How else could it smell so strongly of cotton candy for so many hours? I don’t know, but I really like it. I don't know why I like it either. I should hate it. Vanille Absolu should be the antithesis of everything I strive to smell like or wear. Yet I can’t help wanting more of it, frequently digging out the sample. It carries itself with a cheeriness that you simply don’t get from standard-issue feminines. Paris Hilton did not think to slap her name on Vanille Absolu. (Her masculine scent is actually great, by the way, a gorgeous meditation on mango -- call me, Paris.)
As it dries down—about six hours later—the sweetness burns off, leaving a rich, bourbon-like vanilla musk. Remnants of the candy still linger, even eight, nine hours later. It's so friendly that it makes me hungry, and I’m not usually one to think with my stomach. Vanille Absolu is a little niche offering from a very controversial brand, and it’s a conceptual fragrance (concept being "vanilla") that succeeds at executing the vanilla idea, while offering something more, and possibly something more fun. It is a success and a great thing to wear on the weekends. For $120, it better be.