Arabians Tonka is an eau de parfum by Montale released in 2019, a take on Arabians built around the tonka bean. The house opens it with bergamot and saffron, sets rose and oud at the heart and closes it on amber, oakmoss, tonka, leather, brown sugar and white musks, in its black aluminum bottle adorned with a golden horse’s head.
Sebastian Jara, for ÇaFleurBon, saw Arabians Tonka in 2020 as a grown-up gourmand, with nothing gooey or overly sweet, lasting all day and night. Jade, on The Fandomentals, found its opening harsh in 2021, all burnt sugar, before a comforting base of sugar cane and oud.
What critics say
ÇaFleurBon: a grown-up gourmand
Michelyn Camen relayed, on January 30, 2020, the view of Sebastian Jara, an editor at the site, who had asked for this bottle. He finds tonka, in other words coumarin, used in an interesting way that is perfect for winter, with oud, rose and saffron; the rose at the heart reminds him of Intense Café, another Montale fragrance.
The sugar crystals in the base surprise him: the fragrance explores the many facets of tonka, vanilla-like, spicy and balsamic, with hints of amber, with nothing gooey or overly sweet. He finds it far removed from Arabians, and in his view it lasts all day and overnight, as one expects from Montale.
The Fandomentals: a harsh opening
Jade, on October 23, 2021, compared Arabians Tonka with Arabians. She found the opening difficult, between burnt sugar and blackened animal fat, and the fragrance a burden until it hits its stride.
The base, where sugar cane and oud remain, strikes her as comforting and unsettling at once, and the fragrance then becomes a pleasant companion. She still prefers Arabians, spicier and of unexpected elegance.
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