Pineapple Frais by Montagne

 Intro

I’ll be the first to admit that when I learned Creed was releasing a Cologne version of Aventus, I thought it would be a watered down version of the original and a way of continuing to generate cash out of the Aventus wave that seems to be never-ending (I still get countless messages on my Instagram from new-comers to the fragrance community asking me whether the “investment” in Aventus is worth it). During the release of the Cologne I actually read that they pursued the DNA but were deviating enough to create a new thing instead, I got excited and waited for reviews, then, those seemed to be mixed with some people absolutely loving the Cologne and others saying it was a waste of money, the polarization of Aventus, a legacy of it’s own, continued with the Cologne. I put the Cologne in the back-burner of my brain and didn’t give it much thought… until I tried Montagne’s Inspiration: Pineapple Frais, let’s dig in.

Opening

My first thought on the opening was “Oh, this is a citrus version of Aventus, got it”, but it’s more than that, the first sniff is all about a subtle mandarin accord, it’s very natural and not cloying…but, it’s almost “great designer” instead of niche, the journey continues when that accord starts getting subdued by what I interpret to be a combination of ginger and vetiver, grassy, earthy while the birch really takes it’s turn at front violin as well. The symphony is quite pleasing and the mandarin orange continues to linger but the fragrance is no longer on the designer realm….it jumped, it got complicated by showing you how to combine multiple notes and seem simple, it’s beautiful and pleasing. On a 1:1 comparison…. I prefer this opening to the original Aventus, perhaps it’s because the Aventus DNA is so over-used that I’ve grown tired of it, or perhaps it’s because I prefer the mandarin note, but, 1:1 I would take this one every time. In terms of projection, I don’t get a ton and people can smell me 1 feet apart, beyond that, it’s hard for people to notice it, I don’t feel a scent cloud around me even with 8 sprays, but… I still feel I’m wearing this.

Heart & DryDown

Birch, Vetiver & Benzoin, if you like ‘em, you are in luck! The mandarin for me morphs into more of a mandarin peel… it gains a certain earthiness to it where the bright gets replaced by the textured… like, you feel the mandarin, but, it’s not yelling at you anymore and instead is this constant note on the background reminding you of it’s presence. I’d be hard pressed to describe the texture I feel from the wood as smoky…. but, I can see how that word would create the right image on your head so I’ll go with it, the birch feels light-smoky where the ginger keeps everything popping into the foreground. The more you keep sniffing, the more the benzoin pops its head to you, the balsam has this creamy undertone that really makes this fragrance different, this is not a note I feel on Aventus and one I’m glad to feel here. This is the easiest one to wear from the Creed DNA if you were to ask me, no one would find this offensive or challenging, the drydown remains a comfortable wood scent kissed by a grassy note while a orange/citrus scent lingers of top of it all, my favorite part of the drydown is that it can give you a nice scent for the un-initiated and a deep bouquet for those willing to keep sniffing.

Composition

I decided to add a paragraph about this to my review because this fragrance from Montagne requires a recognition about how well blended everything is! The first time I sprayed it, birch & mandarin kind of took over and it was hard for me to recognize other things, it was this woody heavy frag that although it was good, I couldn’t get into it, then I let it sit after a couple of sprays and a month went by…one word? WOW. Everything now just complements each other on the frag, nothing jumps at you and stays on the front, the more you sniff, the more your mind goes places, I am very impressed by that, it’s one of the most rounded fragrances I’ve tried from Montagne so far.

Conclusion

My initial lack of interest for the Aventus Cologne was based on reviews, my current love and passion for it is based on Pineapple Frais, I think that tells a story by itself. This is a fragrance I’ll gladly use when hanging with people that can be challenged by heavy fragrances, this will be pleasing to them while giving me the opportunity to find complexities on it at the same time, what other fragrance can do that for you? This is the kind of fragrance a non-initiated-in-the-fragcomm would call “nice” while an initiated person would say “oh…..that’s nice”. I thought, in the beginning of my discovery journey for this frag, that this was a good designer-ish scent ….that thought was short lived as the scent developed on my skin, the smoky woodiness, the grassy tone, the balsam and the orange/mandarin create a creamy combination that is hard to dislike and can provide you hours of comfort. Performance for me is 3 solid hours where I can easily find it on my skin with it lingering past 8 hrs for me total, not bad at all. Would I recommend this? Yes, no doubt in my mind, this fragrance is pleasing and for the price, you’d be hard pressed to find a direct competitor for it, this would also make for a great gift with the new boxes and sprayers that Montage is delivering really rounding things up. Well done Montagne, well done indeed.

Thanks for reading and please, share your thoughts me on this fragrance! Do you like it? If you haven’t tried it, is it on your radar to try it?

X.

https://www.montagneparfums.com/fragrance/pineapplefrais