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Sensual Instinct Montale 2019

7.6 / 10 433 Ratings

A popular perfume by Montale for women and men, released in 2019. The scent is sweet-oriental. Projection and longevity are above-average. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Sweet

Oriental

Floral

Spicy

Synthetic

Fragrance Notes

Rose

Amber

Cedarwood

Oakmoss

Coffee

Ratings

Scent

7.6433 Ratings

Longevity

8.6396 Ratings

Sillage

8.3389 Ratings

Bottle

7.2399 Ratings

Value for money

8.0289 Ratings

Submitted by ExUser, last update on 11/03/2025.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Baccarat Rouge 540 Eau de Parfum

Baccarat Rouge 540 Extrait de Parfum

Trajan

Cosmic

Rosewood Eau de Parfum

Noir de Noir Eau de Parfum

Reviews

22 in-depth fragrance descriptions

05/15/2021

8.5Scent 10Longevity 8Sillage

Draxler
1 Review

Draxler

Helpful Review 3

For those planning to purchase.

I have been very interested in the Montale brand for some time, so it was only a matter of time before I purchased Sensual Instinct, which is obviously comparable to Baccarat Rouge 540.
Everything in theory says that the fragrance will satisfy the person who likes the scent of Baccarat Rouge 540 to a great extent. Unfortunately, the assumptions do not always turn out to be true. I was surprised when I smelled Sensual Instinct for the first time after buying it blindly. It is definitely not similar to the EDP 540 version. In the foreground we get a huge dose of rose, but in my opinion the smell of amber, cedar and oak moss will bother us the most. And the word bother is not chosen randomly, because the smell is very powerful in projection. it will be a challenge for our noses to withstand such a dose of smell. We will absolutely not feel the well-known baccarat ingredients in this fragrance, such as saffron and fir resin.

My review is a comparison with the EDP 540 version as I don't know EXTRAIT 540. Nevertheless, the fragrance itself is interesting when you don't overdo it.

04/14/2025

8.5Scent 10Longevity 9Sillage

Lui21
9 Reviews

Lui21

1

Ein warmer Blick in flüssiger Form

Sensual Instinct ist ein Duft, der sofort auffällt, Schon beim ersten Sprühen entfaltet sich eine kräftige Note von geröstetem Kaffee, die von einer süßen Rosennote begleitet wird. Die Kombination aus Praline und Amber verleiht dem Duft eine warme Tiefe, während Zeder und Eichenmoos für eine erdige Basis sorgen. Die Haltbarkeit ist beeindruckend, und die Sillage bleibt lange präsent. Ein Duft, der besonders in der kühleren Jahreszeit seine volle Wirkung entfaltet und sowohl für Frauen als auch für Männer geeignet ist

Zusammenfassung:
Ein intensiver, gourmandiger Unisex-Duft mit Noten von Kaffee, Rose und Amber - sinnlich, warm und langanhaltend.

09/22/2025

7.5Scent 9Longevity 8Sillage

xtermn8
168 Reviews

xtermn8

The syrupy cousin to BR540

Personal: 7.5/10 – I like it! It's a sweeter, syrupy cousin to BR540.
Mass appeal: 8.5/10 - Sweet, heavy, and loud. BR540 woody amber. Very likable.
Performance: 8.5/10 – It’s Montale. Loud, strong, and long-lasting. Nearly nuclear.
Value: 7/10 – Montale pricing is fair for the performance, especially compared to MFK’s price tag. Great option for people who want a similar DNA.
Uniqueness: 6.5/10 – This is basically BR540 with Montale's fruity syrup and density. Not original, but it’s a twist.

SCORE: 76/100

Full bottle buy? NO, I enjoy it but prefer this DNA to be lighter and less syrupy.
Blind buy? YES, if you know you like BR540-style sweet woody ambers.
Recommend? YES, for fans of Baccarat Rouge who want nuclear strength at niche-lite pricing and potentially want a sweeter twist.
Date night? YES, sweet, seductive, and compliment-pulling.
Office safe? NO, way too loud and syrupy for confined spaces.

Pros: Affordable BR540 DNA with Montale’s trademark projection and sweetness.
Cons: Synthetic compared to the original. Too syrupy and loud if oversprayed.

Sensual Instinct is Montale’s take on the iconic BR540 woody amber and slightly sweet DNA. Which, of course, means MUCH sweeter. It adds some depth and darkness with the oakmoss and coffee base, but it's still mostly woody and ambery. If you like the BR540 DNA, you'll enjoy this at least some. It's similar, but distinctly not a clone, and frankly, one could easily argue that it's a proper standalone fragrance that isn't even that similar to BR540. To my nose, it's at least a pretty solid nod towards it. It's still sweet syrupy rose at the top, but it's toned down enough so that I don't even notice that as the primary note. It's worth smelling, maybe not owning.

Montale's signature syrupy take on an iconic woody amber DNA. Lovable and mass appealing, though loud to say the least.

Review #104 in my fragrance journey – this fragrance I own as a decant

09/04/2020

10Scent 10Longevity 9Sillage

Sky22
6 Reviews

Translated · Show original

Sky22

Top Review 24

BR540 Eau Sensuelle

BR540 has been a complete success since its launch and has been my signature scent ever since.
But do you know that feeling? This restless search for "What could top this?" for a better fragrance that still goes in a similar direction?
Thus, I stumbled upon Sensual Instinct and had the chance to test the scent in a chic perfumery in Hamburg.

After the first spray, I was deeply disappointed; a juicy, syrup-soaked rose hit me right in the face, and I found the opening to be fruity and liqueur-like. THIS is supposed to smell like BR540?! Hmm.... Never!
But as you know from Montale, it feels like it takes a very long time for the actual scent to unfold :-)

So I took the opportunity to test other niche fragrances and linger in the perfumery.
Half an hour later, a very familiar scent wafted towards me, wait, I know YOU?!
Sniffing again at my wrist, yes, you can immediately tell which fragrance the perfumer was inspired by ;-)

The name says it all: Sensual Instinct is sensual, captivating, although unisex, I perceive it as very feminine.
The rose is present throughout the entire scent development, and with the coffee and praline notes, Sensual Instinct leans more towards the gourmand direction. Somehow, the scent reminds me of Baileys, sugary-sweet, liqueur-like; I think I also read somewhere that Sensual Instinct contains a whiskey note, although this is not listed.
The juicy oakmoss note in the base is to die for!

Yes, the scent has that ambered BR540 DNA, that cannot be denied, yet it is "different".

Of course, I immediately took Sensual Instinct with me; it cannot be missing from my collection!
The longevity is unbeatable, typical for a Montale due to the high fragrance concentration; even after 10 hours, I can still perceive it very well.

To be honest, since I started wearing Sensual Instinct, I have received more compliments and positive feedback from my surroundings than with BR540.

If you like BR540, you should definitely test Sensual Instinct. Better longevity, bomb sillage, warmer, denser, deeper, and more gourmand; not quite as medicinal (that's mainly what bothers many about BR540, I like it).

I am extremely happy to have found Sensual Instinct. For me, it's the perfect scent for the cooler seasons, although I have already worn it in summer :-)

06/30/2020

9Scent 8Longevity 9Sillage

Alexxx
23 Reviews

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Alexxx

Top Review 13

Noir de Noir by Montale

I must confess, until now I wasn't really a big fan of Montale. I often encountered a lot of loudness in the fragrances that I don't particularly like. There's a bottle design that I'm not fond of. And so far, there have been four tested fragrances that I didn't really like at all. Now the opportunity arose to test Sensual Instinct, and I thought to myself: Come on, give them another chance. After all, the ingredient list contains fragrance notes that I appreciate.

What can I say - I am extremely positively surprised and even a little excited. I spray it on, and it starts to resonate. First, briefly diffuse and then quite clearly: Tom Ford's "Noir de Noir". I consider the classic from the Private Blend line to be a beautiful, desirable fragrance that is also part of my collection. Unfortunately, unfortunately, unfortunately, on my skin, it usually comes off just a tad too floral-sweet and thus a bit too feminine for me, which is why the occasions on which I wear it are really rare.

However, the Montale, while it does many things similarly to the Tom Ford, appears to be a touch less floral-sweet. There is the rose, which, although present in its beauty, is not too strong in the foreground. Together with the resinous-sweet flowing amber note, the fragrance takes on an incredibly smooth quality, but not overly sweet.

Thus, I consider Sensual Instinct to be the more wearable version of Noir de Noir for men. Anyone who likes the latter should definitely give Sensual Instinct a chance. And you lovely representatives of the female world should do so as well. All just because of the price discrepancy between the two fragrances.

Otherwise, I find Sensual Instinct to be a nice, successful evening fragrance, or one suitable for primarily evening leisure or festive occasions. Since it naturally lacks lightness, it is not necessarily a candidate for summer, especially during the day. The sillage and longevity are impressive. This also speaks in favor of it as an evening fragrance and less as an office scent. But yes, this is a Montale that gets a big like from me.

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