Full Incense 2010

Full Incense by Montale
We may earn a commission when you buy from links on our site, including the eBay Partner Network and Amazon.
7.8 / 10 465 Ratings
A popular perfume by Montale for women and men, released in 2010. The scent is resinous-smoky. The longevity is above-average. It is still in production.
We may earn a commission when you buy from links on our site, including the eBay Partner Network and Amazon.

Main accords

Resinous
Smoky
Spicy
Woody
Oriental

Fragrance Notes

Somalian frankincenseSomalian frankincense Elemi resinElemi resin Atlas cedarAtlas cedar Labdanum absoluteLabdanum absolute PatchouliPatchouli
Ratings
Scent
7.8465 Ratings
Longevity
8.3396 Ratings
Sillage
7.7393 Ratings
Bottle
6.7355 Ratings
Value for money
7.4147 Ratings
Submitted by DonVanVliet, last update on 04/10/2025.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to
Series 3: Incense - Avignon by Comme des Garçons
Series 3: Incense - Avignon
Cardinal by Heeley
Cardinal
Eau Sacrée by Heeley
Eau Sacrée
Ecstasy by Tiziana Terenzi
Ecstasy
Zefiro by XerJoff
Zefiro
Berserker by Marc Gebauer
Berserker

Reviews

15 in-depth fragrance descriptions
7.5
Bottle
5
Sillage
7.5
Longevity
8
Scent
Apicius

224 Reviews
Apicius
Apicius
Top Review 10  
For Heavens' Sake!
How much of a catholic does one have to be to wear this fragrance? If you didn't get enough in Sunday's service, with a few spritzes of Full Incense you can easily revive the sacred feeling in no time. Montale did not promise too much: Full Incense is a full load of church frankincense!

Decency is not the matter of Pierre Montale. Perfumes like Oud Cuir d'Arabie or Chocolate Greedy show that he is honest about what he does. We may put Full Incence in the same line.

Incense fragrances can differ a lot from each other. Often, they are simply just especially smoky, but they keep a certain warmth which make them good company on cold days – L'Homme Sage by Divine would be one of that kind. But Full Incense is different, and this is best described with an image.

I remember biking trips in midsummer, perhaps France. It is one of those far too hot days that you arrive at a medieval abbey, somewhere in the countryside. Its ancient walls promise a relaxing cool. You enter a dark gothic or romanesque nave, and instantly you sense the cold and stale frankincense leftovers of the last service. It is always cold and damp in those ancient masonries, even with summer heat outside. How beautiful it would be in November, you may think, facing this deathly cold that seems to creep from the undercroft – that strange blend of frankincense, mould, foxing, dust and dampness.

There is only one little thing that modifies this impression in the heart note: there is a distinct resinous note with a somewhat synthetic appeal, probably the elemi. Its quality might direct you towards a hyper-modern Comme des Garçons fragrance. But this short irritation blends in consistently. I remember the strange, synthetic depth of Neil Morris' Vapor, which this note resembles – that pervasive ethereal fragrance that reminds of white clouds on an infinite blue sky.

So, the ashen, gloomy grave's atmosphere contrasts well with the glaring, surreal colours of summer – an enormously deep, suspiciously blue sky with sharply drawn white clouds and the almost unbearable brightness of a midsummer's noon.

Okay, you can blame frankincense to have certain effects – supposedly similar to a runner's high caused by fast biking in the heat. Some things in there may fit together.

For me, it is just this contrast that prevents Full Incense to slide into the kitsch of those Gregorian chant and medieval abbey fashions that come up once in a while. What can be more uncanny than sepulchral cold in midsummer?

Only the drydown is somewhat conventional with its increasing presence of patchouli – but one can reapply.

And so, I would like to recommend Full Incense as a true summer wear – to all friends of dark romanticism who prefer to keep an alternative state of mind amidst all summer's joy.
2 Comments
7.5
Sillage
10
Longevity
8
Scent
Coutureguru

223 Reviews
Coutureguru
Coutureguru
Very helpful Review 10  
The Incense to own ...
I've been wearing Montale's Full Incense (albeit sparingly) in tropical weather over the last week or so, and have come to the conclusion that this is definitely the 'one' Incense to have if this happens to be a favourite note.

A 'heavenly' blend of Labdanum and Frankincense is faithfully supported by a good dose of Patchouli and a dry Cedar, but there is an inherent sweetness here too. I'm wondering whether the Elemi is responsible for that, because its characteristic 'pine and lemon' sharpness is not evident here.
Elemi sometimes lends a 'clean skin in the sunshine' vibe ... at least to my nose, but that is not apparent here either. Rather, Full Incense brings back vivid memories of high holy day Masses in the stone cathedral where I was an altar boy in my youth ... but then it would :). I don't think one can get very far away from these images when Frankincense is included in a fragrance.
One could, however, get less inspired renditions of this note in a fragrance. I have tried a few of the well known offerings including Tauer, Heeley and CdG ... but all have left me a little flat and quite frankly, bored. Sonoma Scent Studio's Incense Pure runs a respectable second place to this one, while the only 'better' Incense frag I have ever sampled is by Killian's Incense Oud ... which one must sell a kidney to afford.
Superlative sillage and great longevity will attest to the high quality of raw materials used in this offering by House Montale. I get at least 8 hours on my perfume munching skin and have had tons of compliments while wearing this. One of my friends (who knows that I am a complete fragrance whore LOL) even said that I should never wear anything else, ever again.

All in all, Full Incense does the best job of faithfully recalling memories of childhood while not breaking the bank to do so. I highly (and humbly) recommended this one as the reference Incense fragrance to own.
4 Comments
6
Bottle
8
Sillage
9
Longevity
9
Scent
Darkbeat

350 Reviews
Darkbeat
Darkbeat
Very helpful Review 4  
Liturgical incense resin without burning
In my effort to find my perfect incense brother, I bought blindly this perfume, it was also because I found a tempting offer, everything has to be said jejeje, the fact is that, even having liturgical incense, it is not a fragrance incense, or less, what smells Holy Week in my land. My perfect incense would be the intoxicating aroma of Avignon with the leaden, bitter and harsh nuances of Ambre Fetiche, and of course with the performance of the latter.

Before starting to tell you what I think about this perfume, I wanted to make a point about the liturgical incense and the incense brother, that from what I see, sometimes, we think it's the same, and they are not the same, because they do not smell the same . The liturgical incense is the one used in Masses, religious acts, or even for the sole fact of flavoring and acclimating the temple. This incense is of simple constitution, that is to say, it is a mixture of few elements, among them, myrrh, benzoin and incense, but almost never leaves the mixture of resins, its aroma is terpene, smoky, very resinous, balsamic, dry and even spicy, it smells like church. The brother incense, which is also liturgical, is the incense used to process the brotherhoods during Holy Week. This incense is much more complex in its composition than the liturgical one, sometimes including more than ten components in its formula, and as you can imagine it has raw materials of the most varied, among them, Mirra, Incense (of various origins), Benjuí , Estoraque, Galbanum, Wood Shavings, Flower Petals, Spices, etc, etc ... as you can imagine, its aroma is infinitely more complex, with floral nuances, spicy and woody, and depending on the brotherhood that procession, has different nuances, because there are many and very different, and of course, I speak to you from the knowledge of this fact in my land (Cádiz-Sevilla) I do not know if in other communities or countries, it will be the same, but it is simply a point to give you an idea What I'm talking about, when I'm talking about a particular incense.

Well, speaking, now, of Full Incense, I will say it is a spectacular liturgical incense, I love it, I drool, but it does not smell like brother incense. The aroma of this perfume is linear, it smells like a church from end to end, but not the burning incense, but the unburned incense, exactly the mixed stones and without burning, is like putting your nose in a bag full of these resins, a very terpenic, resinous, balsamic aroma with a certain touch of Coca-Cola, extraordinary. The truth is that it is a spectacular aroma, this really smells like a church, a temple, a cloister, while, Avignon smells like Easter, like a certain part of Ambre Fetiche, which is what, In my opinion, Avignon is missing to be perfect.

The performance is very good, not as exaggerated as the other Montale, but in line with the performance of the house. In my skin was more than 10 hours giving war, although, yes, the stele is lower than that of his brothers in the collection, very noticeable for one or two hours, more or less, and then gradually to moderate to death stuck To the skin.

Perfume of cold and temperate climates, and of nocturnal use, but, smelling like it smells, I have not been able to avoid dressing it during the morning of today, and, although it has not been precisely a fresh morning, I have enjoyed it very much.

It is an expensive perfume, although if you search well, you can find very good offers, I have got the 100ml bottle for about € 66 with shipping included. What has caught my attention and no one has made reference to it, is the shabby packing of this house for the expensive that is, the box is the simplest and the bottle not to mention, the only thing worth mentioning is the of cloth that brings the bottle, which is well made, otherwise it is all very simple, and the official price (€ 120) is not a bit of turkey, but, well, if you find these offers like me, it is not something that clashes so much.

If you enjoy incense, it is a very good one, but forget about smoky notes, or Holy Week, or what you associate with incense, that is, plain and simple, the smell of unburned natural liturgical incense.

sorry for my bad english.
1 Comment
5
Bottle
7.5
Sillage
7.5
Longevity
7
Scent
Miaw2

339 Reviews
Miaw2
Miaw2
Helpful Review 4  
Full Incense or Pure Incense?
It's pure incense. Heavenly incense actually.

Dark, resinous and dry. Not sweet. A bit sharp and linear.

Smells like Avignon, but it's even stronger.

I thought incense was my favorite note, but after i discovered the real incense fragrances (Full Incense and Avignon) this is not my favorite note anymore.

But if you like incense, this is a MUST have.

Updated January 2014
0 Comments
7.5
Bottle
7.5
Sillage
10
Longevity
7
Scent
oliver1h

13 Reviews
oliver1h
oliver1h
Helpful Review 1  
Did someone say church-time?
Church-like incense, with some smoky sweetness.The incense note is rounded by elemi, labdanum resins and cedar. Smoky, warm and meditative. Unisex. Great longevity and sillage. Not for everybody, so sample it before buy!!!
........
You can find me on Fragrantica under the same username!
0 Comments
More reviews

Statements

10 short views on the fragrance
Moritz13Moritz13 2 years ago
7
Bottle
8
Sillage
8
Longevity
8
Scent
I smell the incense and i like the whole scent.. but something in this reminds me of Cola-gummybears :P
0 Comments
Topfpflanze3Topfpflanze3 3 years ago
7
Bottle
8
Sillage
8
Longevity
7.5
Scent
It really smells like church incense and old wooden benches. Very characteristic and authentic. Unique but quite difficult to wear
1 Comment
MichawengerMichawenger 1 year ago
6
Bottle
7
Sillage
7
Longevity
6
Scent
Hier kann man Weihrauch aus der katholischen Kirche in einer Flasche haben. Kein Verlauf sondern einfach nur Weihrauch.
0 Comments
CrazysillageCrazysillage 1 year ago
7.5
Scent
When the cardinals elect a pope, this is what the white smoke rising to the heavens smells like. White hot, sparkling church incense.
0 Comments
Finerthings8Finerthings8 5 years ago
2
Bottle
9
Sillage
9
Longevity
7
Scent
It as a very strong church Incense . I don’t go to church , i have no occasion to wear .
0 Comments
StinxjoStinxjo 6 months ago
6
Sillage
6
Longevity
7.5
Scent
Fresh and sweet forest-y resinous scent - it's really nice, however it suffers from that screechy Montale DNA that dumbs it down.
0 Comments
TheDunkPapaTheDunkPapa 8 months ago
7
Bottle
7
Sillage
7
Longevity
9
Scent
One of the more wearable pure incense fragrances, sweetened slightly by a cola-reminiscent accord. Very nice!
0 Comments
Rossi09Rossi09 3 years ago
6
Bottle
8
Sillage
7
Longevity
8.5
Scent
Does exactly what it says on the tin.
0 Comments
TorkeTorke 5 years ago
4
Bottle
8
Sillage
9
Longevity
8
Scent
Amazing incense smell.
Imagine a church with 3 or 4 people praying, on a dry autumn night: It's Montale Full Incense
0 Comments
HvsamsHvsams 1 month ago
7
Bottle
7
Sillage
7
Longevity
9.5
Scent
Yes please! A rich, waxy incense which i can feel without pressing my nose to the arm. And I really want to experiment with layering.
0 Comments
More statements

Charts

This is how the community classifies the fragrance.
Pie Chart Radar Chart

Images

17 fragrance photos of the community
More images

Popular by Montale

Arabians Tonka by Montale Intense Cafe by Montale Infinity by Montale Chocolate Greedy by Montale Ristretto Intense Cafe by Montale Black Aoud by Montale Dark Vanilla by Montale Honey Aoud by Montale Oud Dream by Montale Oud Tobacco by Montale Red Vetiver / Red Vetyver by Montale Blue Amber by Montale Sensual Instinct by Montale Soleil de Capri by Montale Roses Musk (Eau de Parfum) by Montale Vanille Absolu by Montale Intense Iris / Intense So Iris by Montale Intense Tiaré by Montale Mukhallat by Montale Herbal Aquatica by Montale