Intense Cafe Montale 2013

The first time I smelled this fragrance was on my dear friend @Betül89 . By the way, we didn't meet through Parfumo, but years before we each set up an account there. We were on the way to another friend's house with her and she smelled pleasantly sweet. This sweetness melted so beautifully on her skin and I just had to ask her the name of the fragrance. When she said it was Intense Café by Montale, I was totally surprised, because the Montale brand had really put me off at the time, if only because of the price and the fact that you can hardly test it anywhere in person... "Wow, Montale and all, it's on..." was my reaction and we both had to laugh. "But the sillage is really horrible," she said. The day was pretty eventful and somehow this fragrance faded into the background.
About a year and a half ago, I was in hospital and a nurse was wearing something sweet that I recognized from somewhere. But at first I couldn't associate it with my girlfriend's scent and was just as surprised when she said it was Intense Café. I quite liked the scent on her too, but I thought to myself that it probably wouldn't show up so well on my skin. Incidentally, the projection on her was also totally enormous, because of the poor sillage...
And a few days ago, I bought a sample here on Parfumo so that I could finally smell the fragrance on myself. To be honest, I hadn't dared to try it for a long time because I haven't had such good experiences with other fragrances from the brand.
The fragrance progression is fairly linear and unfortunately the name doesn't say it all, because I don't smell any coffee at all. What I perceive is a sweetener-coated rose with slight hints of cocoa. Even though the fragrance is so simple, which I actually like quite often, I don't know whether I love it or hate it. The first moment after spraying it on, I was overwhelmed by the synthetics, then suddenly the rose came in a very luxurious and soft style, then again not, and then again I am mega ambivalent. A few hours ago, I was even considering whether I should get a larger bottle after all, but now I'm not even sure whether that was a sensible decision with my current bottle.
And again about the synthetics: they are the same in many Montale fragrances and are so annoying. And it's called a niche, I just can't believe it. There are so many designers and so many mainstreamers that are much higher quality. The fragrance doesn't really seem unusual either; as a person with Turkish roots, it reminds me of very classic powdered lokum discreetly mixed with rose water... well, I'm really into gourmands, but I don't necessarily have to smell like lokum...
Sometimes, however, there is a brief flash of equally subtle freshness, which makes the rose less sultry and therefore more wearable, fantastic. Oh man, you can tell: I'm in a dilemma and have no idea. The best thing for me to do is to keep the bottle and continue using it. Then I can take my time to think about my decision. But the fragrance is definitely associated with memories, especially of my girlfriend. And the fragrance still suits her wonderfully.
Oh yes, and before I forget: Lasting power and sillage are quite good from my point of view, although the lasting power is a tad stronger.
Conclusion: I don't know how good or bad it is, but it is a recommendation for fans of sweet oriental fragrances. And very important: please don't let the name confuse, frighten or disappoint you.