Rose
Lavender
Leather
Malayan oud
Cardamom
Red thyme
Musk
Patchouli
Vetiver
Ambergris
10/27/2022
Elysium
888 Reviews
Elysium
Helpful Review
2
King of the Desert: The Arabian Horse
It has a slightly feminine scent, yet smells more masculine than feminine.
But how often should we hear these genres associated at all? Perfume exists to be worn by people — not boxed into categories. It is precisely in the deeply personal experience of scent that any attempt to catalog perfume into a rigid genre feels improper. We should approach perfume with the purity and innocence of a child, drawn by the desire to discover new sensations that appeal to the soul rather than to reason. Perfume belongs to the wearer. Everyone should choose based on the emotions and sensations a fragrance stirs against their skin — not based on gender.
Take Arabians by Montale, for instance. Despite its inspiration — the magnificent Arabian horses — there is no raw animalic smell here. Instead, the scent is an artistic creation: bold, resinous, dark, leathery, and richly oriental. Arabians greets me with a powerful opening of creeping red thyme and velvety lavender, blended with cardamom and mint. It carries a slightly camphorous edge, tinged with something mothball-like — perhaps from rose petals or thyme leaves, though not quite as they smell in nature.
The opening is an overdose of herbs. Usually, thyme and cardamom are supporting notes, but here they charge to the forefront, dragging a hesitant lavender with them. The result is an unusually sharp, green opening — vivid, bitter with cardamom, and softened only slightly by lavender’s faint sweetness.
As the aromatic face fades, the rose steps forward. It’s a clean, sexy rose — neither syrupy nor dirty — playing delicately among the other notes rather than dominating them. The camphor note persists on my skin, lingering like a ghost even as the rose unfurls.
Later, patchouli, vetiver, and oud arrive. The scent transforms — growing darker, more grounded, truly earthy. The earlier herbal notes don’t disappear; they simply slip into the background, still contributing to the overall aroma. Leather only emerges in the final stages of the drydown — and even then, it feels more like velvety suede than rugged hide. Leather and oud combine into a soft, slightly animalic accord — dark, but never overwhelming or dirty. As with the rose, the oud is mellow, without the medicinal sharpness often found in traditional Middle Eastern blends.
Arabians is undeniably an oriental fragrance, but it’s not a typical rose-oud composition.
The additions of vetiver and patchouli balance and soften what could otherwise have been a too-heavy oud. As it dries, what remains on the skin and fabric is a musky, salty accord — with moss expanding over time, casting a faintly masculine veil that is perceptible from the start. Fittingly, the scent feels like an homage to the noble strength of the thoroughbred horse. In conclusion, Arabians is excellent — non-offensive, non-restrictive, and highly wearable. It starts loud, but softens into a skin-friendly scent over time.
Here, neither rose nor oud is the star. Both serve as supportive players in a complex, evolving composition. Its performance may not roar like other Montale fragrances — but I don’t mind. I love the scent, even as it clings quietly to my skin. Arabians feels like a dark autumn cloak — perfect for colder months, best suited to evenings or nights.
Arabians feels like the memory of a storm passing — the scent of wet earth, cold air, and the soft tread of unseen hooves. It clings to my skin like a story half-remembered, haunting and comforting all at once.
This review is based on a bottle I have owned and loved since October 2022.
— Elysium
But how often should we hear these genres associated at all? Perfume exists to be worn by people — not boxed into categories. It is precisely in the deeply personal experience of scent that any attempt to catalog perfume into a rigid genre feels improper. We should approach perfume with the purity and innocence of a child, drawn by the desire to discover new sensations that appeal to the soul rather than to reason. Perfume belongs to the wearer. Everyone should choose based on the emotions and sensations a fragrance stirs against their skin — not based on gender.
Take Arabians by Montale, for instance. Despite its inspiration — the magnificent Arabian horses — there is no raw animalic smell here. Instead, the scent is an artistic creation: bold, resinous, dark, leathery, and richly oriental. Arabians greets me with a powerful opening of creeping red thyme and velvety lavender, blended with cardamom and mint. It carries a slightly camphorous edge, tinged with something mothball-like — perhaps from rose petals or thyme leaves, though not quite as they smell in nature.
The opening is an overdose of herbs. Usually, thyme and cardamom are supporting notes, but here they charge to the forefront, dragging a hesitant lavender with them. The result is an unusually sharp, green opening — vivid, bitter with cardamom, and softened only slightly by lavender’s faint sweetness.
As the aromatic face fades, the rose steps forward. It’s a clean, sexy rose — neither syrupy nor dirty — playing delicately among the other notes rather than dominating them. The camphor note persists on my skin, lingering like a ghost even as the rose unfurls.
Later, patchouli, vetiver, and oud arrive. The scent transforms — growing darker, more grounded, truly earthy. The earlier herbal notes don’t disappear; they simply slip into the background, still contributing to the overall aroma. Leather only emerges in the final stages of the drydown — and even then, it feels more like velvety suede than rugged hide. Leather and oud combine into a soft, slightly animalic accord — dark, but never overwhelming or dirty. As with the rose, the oud is mellow, without the medicinal sharpness often found in traditional Middle Eastern blends.
Arabians is undeniably an oriental fragrance, but it’s not a typical rose-oud composition.
The additions of vetiver and patchouli balance and soften what could otherwise have been a too-heavy oud. As it dries, what remains on the skin and fabric is a musky, salty accord — with moss expanding over time, casting a faintly masculine veil that is perceptible from the start. Fittingly, the scent feels like an homage to the noble strength of the thoroughbred horse. In conclusion, Arabians is excellent — non-offensive, non-restrictive, and highly wearable. It starts loud, but softens into a skin-friendly scent over time.
Here, neither rose nor oud is the star. Both serve as supportive players in a complex, evolving composition. Its performance may not roar like other Montale fragrances — but I don’t mind. I love the scent, even as it clings quietly to my skin. Arabians feels like a dark autumn cloak — perfect for colder months, best suited to evenings or nights.
Arabians feels like the memory of a storm passing — the scent of wet earth, cold air, and the soft tread of unseen hooves. It clings to my skin like a story half-remembered, haunting and comforting all at once.
This review is based on a bottle I have owned and loved since October 2022.
— Elysium
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Alishere
Elysium
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