Legend
Eau de Parfum, Montblanc (2020)

Montblanc Legend Eau de Parfum is a woodsy, semi-fougere fragrance that was released in 2020. Legend EdP is a flanker of Legend EdT (2011). The EdP scales back the notes of the EdT. Edp opens with bergamot and violet leaf, which drops the EdT’s lavender, pineapple leaf and verbena. This results in a darker less fruity EdP. The heart notes in the EdP are jasmine, magnolia and woods compared to oakmoss, geranium, coumarin, apple, rose, and pomarosa molecule. Edp is less fruity and floral than the EdT. The EdP base is leather and oakmoss compared to the EdT’s base of sandalwood, tonka and evernyl. The EdT is a more typical fougere than the EdP which is more woody and lacking in lavender, coumarin and geranium, staples of fougere fragrances. Essentially, the EdP is a more mature and refined version of the more synthetic EdT or its cousin A&F Fierce. I prefer Percival by Parfums de Marly to both Montblanc EdP and EdT.

EdP is a versatile fragrance, good for all seasons and occasions. The fragrance has above average longevity and sillage.

Is Montblanc EdP worth owning if you have the EdT version, Fierce or Percival? Maybe, but not essential. Nevertheless, I recommend the EdP as unique enough to consider owning even if you already own the EdT or Fierce, but not Percival, which is a superior fragrance. Tepid thumbs up.

Honestly, I think it smells as if Nautica Voyage and EL Oxford Bleu had a baby. Opening with that sharp, sweet fruit and then settling into the woody, musky dry down. The apple lingers, a little tonka provides warmth. It works and it’s nice.

I smelled it once at Macy’s back in early 2021 and I really liked it. Seemed very sophisticated compared with things like Bad Boy and Spice Bomb Night Vision EdT(s). I passed on it then but never forgot, and with it being just. so. inexpensive. on the grey market, I finally bought a bottle.

This review is after one full wearing. I’ll update after I’ve tested it more often. So far so good.

Montblanc Legend Eau de Parfum (2020) is something nobody really asked for, but now that we have it, I might as well give it a fair shake. Olivier Pescheaux was asked to return and update the original Montblanc Legend (2011), the "upper-class Axe/Lynx" fragrance that snobs love to hate and FragBros love to dismiss as cheap, but average Joe and his teenage sons seem to love. Making a relatively balanced general purpose "one cologne kinda guy" fragrance is more difficult than it may seem, as just being fresh or long-lasting isn't enough, since it has to touch generational lines with a bit of "classic" appeal to bring in older guys, plus have a full body and modicum of sweetness to it that smells like it can tackle cold weather or romantic/social situations young guys usually wear fragrance for, and Montblanc Legend achieved that. Granted, it did smell a bit like someone took Calvin Klein Eternity for Men (1989) and ran it through the Abercrombie & Fitch ventilation system to pick up traces of Fierce Cologne (2006) along the way, but that's part of the "all ages" charm of it. As an accessible fully-synthetic fruity twist on the fougère, it's gonna ruffle feathers and make friends alike. So what does this Eau de Parfum bring to the table that isn't already covered by the original? Well, nothing really, and that's the biggest problem I have with it. You get a variation on a theme with Legend Eau de Parfum, but it might not be enough for owners of the original Eau de Toilette release (that isn't going away).

The opening of Montblanc Legend Eau de Parfum is much the same as the original Montblanc Legend, so much that you might be confused about which version you sprayed. You get a similar fruitiness with synthetic bergamot and pineapple, but the verbena and pomarose have been switched out for violet leaf and an increase in lavender, making Legend Eau de Parfum feel marginally more mature and sharper after a few moments. Geranium also seems minimized to reduce the floral aspects of the original, with the apple still present in the mids but everything else swapped out for woody amber molecules which introduce more warmth but at the cost of some scratchiness. Haters of modern-day woodyamber ACs need to check out right here as it doesn't really go away, although cashmeran, evernyl and a touch of akigalawood molecule borrowed from Montblanc Explorer (2019) in the base do much to smooth them out. A bit of that "raspberry leather" aromachemical that Tom Ford likes is also in the base, which moves the Eau de Parfum further away from being a fougère and closer to just being the usual abstract designer. This leans more cold weather use but otherwise can serve all purposes much like the original Legend. Performance is sadly just about identical to my nose, and the barrage of synthetics make it possible to become anosmic to Legend Eau de Parfum just as with Legend, so spraying more only makes things worse. Expect about 8 hours of moderate to fleeting sillage depending on how much body heat gets under that cashmeran akigalawood in the core of the skinscent part of it.

Legend Eau de Parfum wears darker, a touch drier, and more similar in feel to something like Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540 (2015), Initio Oud for Greatness (2018), or Parfums de Marly Kalan (2019) than any Axe/Lynx spray, which may be an upgrade to some but a total stinkbomb to others. Fact of the matter here is if you're not on board with contemporary perfume design lead more by the marketing departments and bean counters than the perfumers themselves, this is yet another reason "perfumery is dead" for you and the only justification for you to be reading reviews on releases like this is to fill time during potty breaks at work. However, if you like stuff such as BR 540 but can't afford the price tag and don't mind a little bit of mainstream Montblanc Legend DNA mixed into it, then Legend Eau de Parfum may be just the designer alternative to it you're looking for, in much the same pattern as Montblanc Explorer is a good alternative for Creed Aventus (2010). I like Montblanc Legend Eau de Parfum but don't think I need a twist of woody aromachemicals in the mix to keep me tuned into the DNA of this line, so I personally will pass on picking up Legend Eau de Parfum, but can strongly recommend it to fans of houses like Parfums de Marly looking for something more economical to use in place of those pesky $350 retail bottles. A clever, although subtle reworking that nobody really wanted, but some folks may enjoy. Thumbs up

This is almost exactly what I would expect from an EdP release of Legend. I did expect more performance, so that's where I feel that it didn't meet all my expectations. The smell is slightly darker and more mature (via a hint of leather) and also less fruity-fresh than the original, almost like you jump right into the heart and base of the original.

It does feel like the original heart and base are amplified but the overall performance does not improve much over the original. In fact, it feels like the scent has lost the sparkle on the top end and is a bit duller, with less projection, which may appeal to some who think the original Legend was too loud or juvenile.

The original EdT is one of my all-time favorites due to its versatility and mass-appealing scent, so I like this EdP release very much since they are quite similar. Due to this similarity, it could be redundant to own both.