Question:
I have been testing this today from samples from Vijay (thanks!).
I need to do more testing as I have the tail end of a nasty cold so my sniffer is not in full working order; maybe about 65-70%. I want to do a wrist to wrist with black oud too as they have some similarities, I think. That will be happening in the next few days
So far I have this: It goes on with a good (slightly transparent) oud and roses which emerge from the almost sacharin sweet trademark of the montale ouds which I have tried (it disappears fast, anyone know what this is?). The oud's "medicinal" quality drops off fairly quickly, being less present than in the fragrances with oud in ther name, leaving a heart of roses with a ghost of oud that has been and a ghost of sandal to come.
As time progresses, the sandalwood note emerges to underpin the rose and the balance slowly shifts as the rose drops away leaving a light drydown where all three notes are present.
Bearing in mind that my nose is not at its best I found that this fragrance is not the sillage monster that the ouds are, it is less loud and in this more wearable. Its longevity also seems a little lower, which may be good as those ouds seem to last for a couple of days sometimes.
It is fudementally a rose fragrance with dressing. The rose note is very good to my (ailing) nose, especially after the sweetness drops away a little. The sadalwood I am not so sure about. it is not a big sharp biting santal like in santal imperial (creed) but more smooth and woody - it reminds me of a sandalwood in a fine well made incense. It blends well with the rest of the frag though.
Thats all for now,
Any thoughts anyone?

Answer:
Originally Posted by hirch_duckfinder I have been testing this today from samples from Vijay (thanks!).
I need to do more testing as I have the tail end of a nasty cold so my sniffer is not in full working order; maybe about 65-70%. I want to do a wrist to wrist with black oud too as they have some similarities, I think. That will be happening in the next few days
So far I have this: It goes on with a good (slightly transparent) oud and roses which emerge from the almost sacharin sweet trademark of the montale ouds which I have tried (it disappears fast, anyone know what this is?). The oud's "medicinal" quality drops off fairly quickly, being less present than in the fragrances with oud in ther name, leaving a heart of roses with a ghost of oud that has been and a ghost of sandal to come.
As time progresses, the sandalwood note emerges to underpin the rose and the balance slowly shifts as the rose drops away leaving a light drydown where all three notes are present.
Bearing in mind that my nose is not at its best I found that this fragrance is not the sillage monster that the ouds are, it is less loud and in this more wearable. Its longevity also seems a little lower, which may be good as those ouds seem to last for a couple of days sometimes.
It is fudementally a rose fragrance with dressing. The rose note is very good to my (ailing) nose, especially after the sweetness drops away a little. The sadalwood I am not so sure about. it is not a big sharp biting santal like in santal imperial (creed) but more smooth and woody - it reminds me of a sandalwood in a fine well made incense. It blends well with the rest of the frag though.
Thats all for now,
Any thoughts anyone?
Coincidentally this is the one that I am testing today too! (Thanks Vijay, you're a scholar and a gentleman!)
I am about half an hour into it though I'm outside in the sun and I think that's accelearting its progression. I think you've nailed it well. The sandalwood is already coming through and is mixing with the aoud's sweetness to produce a strong incense note. But it is pretty dry smelling and I am immediately reminded of Ténéré — that dry, North African desert thing. I agree that it projects less well than some of the Aouds but as for longevity I'll have to wait and see.

Answer:
I bought this one from Vijay quite a while ago now. I really love the bright rose note mixed with that incredibly creamy Mysore sandalwood. This is such a classic South Asian vibe!
Many people who've smelled it on me have remarked on how unusual it is for a man's scent to feature so much rose. They do notice, though, that it is a man's scent. Something about that sandalwood really makes it a masculine blend.
I have worn it out and about, though never to work. It might be a bit overwhelming for that venue; but on weekends it's just the thing to have a little fun with. I don't know if the bourgeois nose would really appreciate this. Never mind, my motto about scents is "Épatez le bourgeois!"

Answer:
Originally Posted by JaimeB Never mind, my motto about scents is "Épatez le bourgeois!" Which means "let them eat paté"?

Answer:
Originally Posted by Eluard Which means "let them eat paté"? Which means "Dumbfound (or amaze, or flabbergast) the middle class!"

Answer:
Its the next morning now and I still get the sandalwood drydown, though again it doesn't have the sharp (almost BO ish) quality which I associate with mysore santal.
Its a great frag though and will be going on my list. Still need to do the comparison with black oud. Anyone else see a reason to compare them? I think for me its a comparison of the notes around the rose.

Answer:
I look forward to testing this after such a well written review.
Thanks Hirch

Answer:
Yes, it's very much worthwhile to compare Attar and Black Aoud. They are siblings, but each is a distincly different take on the rose-oud pairing. I have a pending review of Attar that will probably appear soon, and it is written in direct comparison with Black Aoud. Simply put, I find Attar to be the softer, sweeter, and more rounded of the two. It is more approachable and wearable than Black Aoud.
Black Aoud is simpler, bolder, and frankly more dramatic than Attar. It is a hard-hitting scent, with a rugged rose note that is blunt and agressive in its presentation. Where Attar is sophisticated, Black Aoud seems barbaric. It is also extremely long-lasting, with a drydown so glacially slow that I first thought of it as purely linear. Black Aoud does eventually dry down to a leathery musk/patchouli finish, but I didn't discover that until I left it on overnight.
I do not find the two fragrances to be equivalents, and you're quite liable to prefer one over the other. (My pick, incidentally, is Black Aoud. I prefer its near-savagery to Attar's suave sophisticatoin.)

Answer:
One of my three Montale favorites is ATTAR, and when asked to recommend one, I would always suggest this first to someone not used to Arabic perfumes. It is indeed more 'wearable' than my other favorites. But I do not believe Attar would appeal to many people. Any (young) man liking M7 and rose in perfume is more likely to also enjoy Attar.

Answer:
Well my cold has finally lifted away and I retested Attar again today. I mostly stand by my earlier comments, except I got the sandawood a little earlier. Its longevity and sillage are definitely lower than the aouds. It has a pleasing, simple structure with a fine rose note and a pretty good underpinning sandalwood. This is a rose feature though.
I also wore some black oud from a sample for comparison. The black begins with a much heavier oud and the rose takes a little time to break through. When it does it is a flood, and not a dissimilar rose note to the attar. The black however veers off in an altogether more complex direction with patchouli coming in strong and some other musky notes and perhaps a bit of "dirt". Not as smooth as the attar in its transitions, it sits a bit too loud and brash for my taste.
Cheers.