Mukhallat Montale 2008

Some time ago I felt the urge to dive into the wonderful world of books again and visited a small dusty esoteric bookstore in my city. I was welcomed directly by clouds of incense, meditation music and dream catchers on the ceiling.
I opted for the magic corner this time and immersed myself in the world of witches and wizards. It felt like a little self-meditation as I forgot about the here and now for a short while.
Suddenly, I detected a sweet note in the air dominated by incense. This mixture smelled interesting and somehow appealing. Completely book-drunk and befuddled by the impressions of this bookstore, I turned to the side and saw a man standing right next to me who, just like me, was almost soaking up the books on magic and card reading. On the side, he kept sipping his can of Redbull, which he unabashedly pulled out of his jacket pocket. I've never been a fan of energy drinks and rather loathe those concoctions. But at that moment, the picture was different. Carefully and unobtrusively, I scanned this mysterious reader beside me. He looked rakish, but well-groomed. His nose was deep in the books. At some point he noticed my interested glances and smiled at me, saying," Oh, it looks like we have the same tastes. These books are dangerous. Once you have decided to read them, you can't stop reading them they are so exciting. Books send me into a frenzy at night. Hence the Redbull..." We talked for a while longer. This communication among like-minded people was to remain in my memory for a long time.
"Mukhallat" by Montale revives the encounter with the mysterious stranger. To me, Montale's blend smells neither like plastic Barbie, nor nail polish remover. Rather, it smells like those American Valentine heart candies, sherbet, incense, shisha, and Redbull, but in an interesting way. Luckily, tastes differ and you shouldn't be too put off by reviews from others, but always make up your own mind.
The opening is quite extreme and synthetic, but by no means off-putting or toxic. The wild strawberry is quite present and reminiscent of candyshops. However, the Peru balsam takes away the cheesy-sugariness and gives the scent a special depth and slight balsamic resinousness. After a few hours, the scent becomes softer, quieter and the vanilla comes out.
Overall very fancy and special for special occasions or rebellious days ,to get other thoughts. Either love or hate. There is no in between:D