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Ramón Monegal Maso

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Ihr wisst's ja: auf diesem Wege euch allen eine schöne & entspannte Weihnachtszeit - ich hab heut' mal ne Umbrakerze angezündet ❤️ (by EveMist)

Essentials Collection

Umbra Ramón Monegal 2010

7.2 / 10 81 Ratings

A perfume by Ramón Monegal for women and men, released in 2010. The scent is spicy-woody. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Spicy

Woody

Green

Fresh

Resinous

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Bergamot

Grapefruit Orange

Orange

Heart Notes

Geranium

Jasmine

Lily of the valley

Base Notes

Cedarwood

Myrrh

Oakmoss

Perfumer

Ramón Monegal Maso

Ratings

Scent

7.281 Ratings

Longevity

6.658 Ratings

Sillage

5.854 Ratings

Bottle

7.863 Ratings

Value for money

6.116 Ratings

Submitted by Florblanca · last update on 10/01/2024.

Source-backed & verified

Interesting Facts

The fragrance is part of the Essentials Collection collection.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Arabico

masculin Pluriel

The Afternoon of a Faun

Audace

Koala

Kenzo Homme Eau de Toilette Boisée

Reviews

6 in-depth fragrance descriptions

12/18/2012

6Scent 2.5Longevity 2.5Sillage

Drseid
828 Reviews

Drseid

2

Sweet Wood...

Umbra opens with a blast of fresh clean vetiver, before giving way to a peppery geranium tandem. The scent then takes a sweet turn by adding a large dose of tonka bean to the vetiver and geranium adding faint hints of oak moss and other woody aspects. The combined overall vetiver, tonka and woody accord reminds me somewhat vaguely of the sweet woody scent in Micallef's Gaiac (not that Umbra smells like it, per se). Projection and longevity are both below average.

I really enjoyed the vetiver opening to Umbra as it is quite fresh and invigorating. The geranium is also done quite well and relatively discrete, not calling too much undue attention to itself while melding with the pepper, but ever-present. The part of Umbra I have the hardest time with is the prominent use of tonka bean in the heart notes that turns the scent quite sweet. This somewhat makes the woody aspects of the scent a bit less desirable to my personal taste. Still, while I would say Umbra is not my kind of woody scent, I can still appreciate it as a good composition and give it a "good" 3 out of 5 stars.

03/16/2013

8Scent 5Longevity 5Sillage

Apicius
1328 Reviews

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Apicius

Top Review 14

Wash me, but don't get me wet?

Stop! Let's not be confused by vague descriptions of the fragrance pyramid! Umbra is yet another scent in which I can hardly grasp what is presented to us as its content. I'm sorry - here the lifeline is decidedly too short, the nose finds hardly any anchor, and so one must at least try to swim freely. So let's go!

Together with Agar Musk and Dry Wood, Umbra forms a group of sleek, puristic, and more or less austere men's perfumes from the brand Ramon Monegal. Bitter woodiness is the underlying motif in all three, and I recognize the attempt to represent masculinity in a contemporary form - beyond the sweet worlds of Orientals or even overwhelming Aromatic Fougères.

The name Umbra already suggests it - Umbra is the color of the earth, and thus the connection to Terre d'Hermès in this fragrance is hard to deny. It's interesting that Ellena's successful fragrance continually inspires others to work on it.

The structure is similar - over the characteristic Terre d'Hermès note, which we usually encounter in the fragrance pyramids under the names cedarwood and vetiver, a citrus note is laid first. In the case of Umbra, however, the top note is so distinctive and dominant that the earthy undertone remains hidden for quite a while. Citrus in this case does not mean lemon or grapefruit; rather, it has a fruity or orange quality - a vague hint of neroli or corresponding colognes became noticeable to me. But that is only half the truth: the orange note is paired with a distinctly aromatic side. It is difficult to describe, perhaps one could speak of a slightly "tipsy" tendency.

The top note is good - it already feels considerably more serious than the usual lemon, grapefruit, or bergamot and thus prepares well for the upcoming earthiness.

This earthiness is enriched with black pepper - the only note I want to concede as clearly recognizable in the fragrance pyramid. The earthiness appears much more timid than in Ellena's model, and it does not assert itself immediately. The "booziness" of the top note remains somewhat present and distorts the earth.

Among the three very austere men's perfumes from Ramon Monegal, Umbra is the most pleasant - although this quality of pleasantness should only be seen relatively to the mentioned comparison fragrances. For the bitter earthiness never has a chance to fully present itself. The friendly top note hands over the baton - without completely letting go, of course - to a certain creaminess, perhaps even an oriental touch. One might call it tonka, although it may not be - or at least not only. Possibly other balsamic notes are involved. Thus, the drydown further softens the bitterness, and as I see from the already existing reviews, not everyone appreciates this.

That Ramon Monegal takes a slightly gentler approach here compared to the very extreme Agar Musk and Dry Wood fits quite well into the collection - not everyone likes fragrances that hurt! The question of whether they have perhaps overdone it with the softening and smoothing can be answered either way.

A direct comparison with Ellena's earthy successful fragrance as well as with L'Homme Infini - Yann Vasnier's recently released contribution to the topic - shows that Umbra cannot hold a candle to the two in terms of expression and character. This is especially true during the rather early onset of the drydown. This is certainly not a reason for rejection - it simply makes clear that Umbra ultimately caters to different preferences. It places the earthy accord from Ellena's successful fragrance in a more pleasing and restrained context - and thus Umbra may balance out what it lacks in character in terms of wearability.

06/09/2012

8Scent 7.5Longevity 7.5Sillage

Turandot
841 Reviews

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Turandot

Top Review 16

Not Just for Vetiver Fans!

The name Umbra is very well chosen for this fragrance, as the color Umbra - and for my perception, Umbra-green - radiates the cool yet enveloping darkness that characterizes the scent.

Umbra is rightly a unisex fragrance, wearable for men, but I find it much more interesting and special on myself. The cool spicy freshness is invigorating yet soft. I find it remarkable that the freshness is crafted entirely without citrus or fruity notes. I can't detect any floral notes either.
I am not familiar with balsam fir, but it is balsamic - resinous would be too much to say - despite the pronounced coniferous aroma, this is how the perfume unfolds on my skin. Tonka bean skillfully prevents vetiver and pepper from becoming too scratchy and rough, seamlessly complementing the heart note to end in an elegant powdery, but by no means sweet base. Even those who have a problem with mossy notes can approach this fragrance with ease, as this nuance harmoniously fits into the overall concept.

Umbra is now the first fragrance by Ramon Monegal that lands directly on my wish list. Dark, elegant, cool but infinitely soft in the dry down and with good longevity. Heart, what more do you want? I do not perceive it as a drawback that Umbra is not a glamorous fragrance, does not cater to erotic longings, and certainly does not come across as cheerful or cheeky. It is one of those fragrances that is at peace with itself and transmits this calmness to the wearer. I also cannot find any resemblance to other perfumes, as vetiver scents are usually rougher, and fir, pine, and other conifers often remind me of bath additives, while tonka perfumes are often too sweet for me. None of this can be criticized in Umbra. Everything plays together skillfully, and I am already starting to make space in my fragrance cabinet.

05/29/2015

9Scent 5Longevity 5Sillage

Leimbacher
2876 Reviews

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Leimbacher

Top Review 13

The Vetiver Touch

I thought Mr. Monegal had already hit the nail on the head with Cuirelle yesterday, and today he does something similar with Vetiver. And since Vetiver is currently even more highly regarded for my workday than leather, Umbra is for me close to a masterpiece, perfectly tailored to my taste. Anyone who can appreciate Vetiver even a little must simply smell Umbra at least once in their life. Most likely, it will enchant you. It completely blew me away with its subtle elegance - a dreamy combination of TdH & Vetiver Tonka. It also reminded me a lot of the new MFK Pluriel Masculin, even though a very similar effect was achieved there, but through, among other things, lavender, not Vetiver.

Umbra is green, earthy, but also bright & sunny. An incredibly straightforward, beautiful interpretation of a (office) Vetiver. Perhaps the most beautiful since the classic from Guerlain. With a creamy, very subtle sweetness, it excellently unites two dissimilar components like Tonka & Vetiver. But not really 50/50 like with Hermessence, but rather 80/20 for the bitter-sweet root grass. The modern businessman couldn't smell better in front of his laptop. Also great: the brightness & fresh vitality is hardly achieved through citrus notes, but rather through geranium, bright woods & a fir aroma.

Bottle: as always, a high-quality refined top bottle!
Sillage: perfectly tailored to me! Rather discreet
Longevity: also good enough - 6-8 hours, very quiet at the end.

Conclusion: one of the most beautiful, cleanest, highest-quality Vetiver scents I have ever encountered. And perhaps the most beautiful fragrance from Ramon Monegal, topping Cuirelle from yesterday once again!

05/12/2013

8Scent 7.5Longevity 5Sillage

Bellemorte
107 Reviews

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Bellemorte

Very helpful Review

Cool Moon Shadow instead of Brown Earth Toad

I initially had a bit of a hard time with this fragrance. Not because of the scent itself, but because of its name. Umbra initially represents for me a palette of rather muted earth tones - in plain terms, brown. Brown, in turn, I associate with earthy or woody notes, so I expected a woody-earthy and above all warm scent with the name Umbra.
However, my nose does not perceive that here. Nose and name were thus somewhat irreconcilable at first...
But aside from this meaning, Umbra comes from the Latin (core) shadow and also refers to dark sunspots as Penumbra or the umbra during a lunar eclipse, and particularly the latter image comes closest to my scent perception of Ramon Monegal's Umbra and ultimately reconciles the nose and the name:

Umbra is an elegant, rather cool fragrance that I perceive as silvery-green and shimmering, almost a bit mystical but definitely light and buoyant. I envision a blouse or shirt made of high-quality silvery-soft green silk when I sniff Umbra, perhaps with subtle ornamental tone-on-tone embroidery.
Green-woody, gently bitter vetiver is clearly at the center of this fragrance, surrounded by a bit of fir and moss - all green and shadowy in appearance and lightened by a hint of geranium. It’s more like the scent that arises when you brush over the leaves of a geranium than that of the Bourbon geranium flowers, which are often perceived as rose-like. The pepper strikes me as fresh, not spicy or sharp - at first, I suspected mint or eucalyptus as the source of this freshness, but pepper can also create this effect.
Due to its coolness, Umbra is essentially a summer fragrance for me, but it can also be worn in autumn and spring. It is soft enough to be considered unisex, but it is definitely not for sweet-toothed individuals - Umbra is not sweet at all. In the base, the fragrance does become a bit warmer and softer, but only minimally, as Umbra has not shown much development on my skin.

Umbra is quite noticeable in its projection to others but not overwhelming; I would classify the sillage as moderate.
The longevity is good, but in the end, the scent is very close to the skin.

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