Parfum de Peau Montana for women

This perfume is truly a beast in every sense of the word! Lasts up to 15hrs on my skin, And projects almost the entire time. One of the strongest perfumes I’ve ever used. To me, This doesn’t really come across as a Chypre, It’s more Oriental. Lots of Amber, Spice, And super Animalic, Strong Civet note, Maybe Castoreum as well. Think Chanel Coco with the Clove and Rose toned way down, And Animal notes turned up to 100. Not sure what formulation my bottle is, But the notes listed on this page are definitely not it. This fragrance will be too much for many people, But I love it, It’s rich, Opulent, And sexual.

I have a Prestige version of this intriguing fragrance. Once the top notes dissipate and I come up for air, the rest of it is so incredibly gorgeous.
I'm thinking that my bottle does not have the civet note because if it did I would be sick! I hate, and I mean hate, anything animalic except one that has four legs, a tail and fur!
I need to spray some more to see if this is truly as gorgeous as I am believing it is!
WOW!!!
I gave this away to a dear perfume friend who adores "skank"....

J'ai mis des années à l'apprivoiser.... Mon Dieu que cela a été long....
Mais désormais sur ma peau de "vieille" ;o))) il fait mère vieille heuheuheuheu pardon : merveille.....
Un rendu "chypre" sur ma peau magnifique ! Somptueux ! Elégant.....
J'adore m'habiller et sortir avec lui sur la peau autant en hiver qu'au printemps et même en automne...
Par contre en été je n'ai pas essayé et j'ai peur d'être déçue.... J'ai peur qu'avec les fortes chaleurs, il tourne ! Et j'ai horreur des parfums qui tournent à cause de ma peau transpirante... Ca m'est arrivé plusieurs fois et je le crains mais énorme quoi !

Parfum de peau...when I used to wear this fragrance the name actually was Montana, long time ago. She was as the sexiest, perfume,ever had. The leather,a little bit Bandit style, made me feel a sort of sex bomb😂 I was twenty year old😀 The actual version is not the same not so strong, not so rich but is still a very interesting perfume. Maybe ,not for daily use, but for some special time can be a good and very original choice.

This is west end girls, leg warmers, off the shoulder cut sweatshirt, broken in leather in a carpeted wood paneled basement with Human League blasting from a boom box. Teal and fuschia aquanet bottle on the floor. This scent so brings me back to a time period I thought I’d forgotten. I’ve smelled this before as a child. Someone I was quite familiar with wore this because with one sniff I was instantly transported to the ‘80s.

This is a really unique scent. It smells like a softened Bandit by Robert Piguet. I definitely get the leather amber base but the spicy dark berry opening with crushed marigolds and the patchouli rose base make this unique and alluring. Every time I sniff I get something different, and tbh some sniffs I abhor and other sniffs are divine…I never know which one I’ll get, but I keep coming back for more. This is a keeper - I’ll keep playing with it to see what it goes best with but all in all this is a sexy elusive little number.

**Cues the ‘80s New Wave**

I only have this in the current formulation but it really reminds me of Estée Lauder’s Knowing (also in current formulation). I’m actually a big fan, though I see others lamenting the loss of the vintage version. But I must say this version is very lovely to my nose and I have very few complaints. This is an 80s gem to me, I get all the animality, power and raunch of that decade and definitely takes me back in time. Not for everyone but neither should it be.

This smells like Animale mixed with Kouros. I can’t believe amber is voted so high, this smells very aromatic. I definitely get the ginger but it comes across as herby. I was hoping it’d be different, darker.

Sour animal hide. Bitter marigold, sour ginger and berries, gamie animal hide.

This is just a fabulous, sophisticated, ingenious creation in a bottle. Sparkly notes on top of sophisticated, light leather. When I was a teenager in the 80s I had two favourite designers, Gianni Versace, who needs no introduction and my very favourite, Claude Montana, whose architectural clothes on the pages of Vogue opened a window into the mysterious world of Parisian haute couture and left a lasting impression on a young teenager in a small town in the Finnish countryside dreaming of becoming a fashion designer. I remember I liked the perfume already then when it first came out in the late 80s, sampling it at the perfume counter of the local beauty shop. Reminiscing back now decades, and much life, later I recently got the new issue which is such a wearable, ambery, leathery, brightly floral that smooths down to a simply beautiful sophisticated caressing scent, right in every occasion and every weather. The bottle is a tactile delight - I can’t believe it took me this long to reacquaint myself with the delight that is Montana Parfum de Peau. If you don’t know it yet, you should. I don’t understand some of the reviews below - maybe this is one of these works with certain body chemistries only scents (I do well with dirty beasts but this, for me, is LIGHT). EDIT: I also got the later issued Peau Intense which is supposed to be more like the original (which I sadly don’t have at hand). The Peau Intense is, however, nowhere near as good as the current Peau. Somehow the nuances get buried in that issue

One of the most characteristic and charismatic perfumes I have ever used, very artistic, very femme fatale, a seductive fata morgana that rises from the magic lamp when you brush, sorry, spray the bottle. Arises with all its attraction above the surface like a sexy but dangerous nymph upheaving out of the mystic river Styx. Actually when you take a look at the ingredient list above, one would think "yeeayyy that's a fruity floral girly coctail" but it's not, it's 80s fellas, and all the women perfumes in 80s opened with a deep, thick, wall to wall covered Ambregris accord (mostly the molecule called Animalis Hypo) and this here is no exception, dusty,ambery animalic, powdery and hypnotic, I can only recommend, that you would need to train your nose to the 80s femme fatale classics (Ungaro Diva, Givenchy Ysatis, Lancome Magie Noir, Estee Lauder Knowing) before you take a try on this

Top notes: blackcurrant, pepper, cardamom, marigold, ginger

Middle notes: rose, tuberose, narcissus, carnation

Base notes: patchouli, musk, castoreum, amber
From Montana site

The words "sexy" and "diaper" should never be together. Yet here we are, reconciling this cognitive dissonance. How do I unthink this? Anyhow, enough of that, lest I really alienate myself from all of humanity.

So, Parfum de Peau is so profoundly aldehydic, resinous, and meowly, growly, that I blush just wearing it. There is this orange, astringent marigold note that muscles its way through, with dirty pillows made of jasmine and narcissus. "Who's gonna ride your wild horses?" they sing. Well, keep that depravity to yourself, the narcissus is horsey enough. The dry down reveals more of the leather and incense that clings to the skin like a kitten's paw.

I can't help but to think of Brenda Dickson of 80s soap opera fame (if we can call it that) or better yet, comedienne Devin Green's parodies. Dickson wears these while pondering amorous congress sticks (that's carrots) and underlining her vageen with a stationary bike (please refer to Youtube and brace yourself).

What a thrill ride. I really think I should wear this to a (Unitarian) church as it is an olfactory sermon of impure thoughts.

And we didn't even get to the bottle. It's an effing genome. Sums it up. Brilliant.

There is no way this current formulation is in the same category as the original. This is not some glamourous, complex, deep fragrance with "dirty/sultry/skanky/animalic" notes ... It's dirty & animalic in the sense that it literally smells of cat urine mixed with dirty diapers tossed in an abandoned garden somewhere. No joke.
The opening rancid fecal note is revolting. Surprisingly it is less revolting on skin than on paper tester strips (DO NOT test on paper, you will get sick).
The only good thing about it is that it dries down to a ginger citric floral powder within 15 minutes and you can get over the PTSD of the opening notes. I want to un-smell this new version and just live in the memories of the original.

I arrived late in the game for Montana. Parfum de Peau is one not to miss. I was able to track down an original formula in the blue box and stunning bottle. I was always reluctant to try it. Tuberose in Knowing makes me wince. I get none here. The blue leather effect somehow works as well.

Looking back to 1986, there was no limits on what could be in perfumes and this one would be totally confiscated by todays restrictive market. Yes, there is big oakmoss and lots of skanky civet that has vanished from anything you might buy today. Its makes me chuckle when I see younger noses go into shock over these big 80s giants.

Moussed hair, shoulder padded suits and fishnet stockings have long sense become dated and retro. However the perfume classics from this excessive time remain and stand the test of time. Diva, Coco, Animale, La Nuit, Clandestine, Halston Couture, Paloma Picasso and Parfum de Peau all haunt vintage collections and still command attention for the fans like myself. This is hauntingly like the now lost Equitos at a fraction of the cost!

Parfum de Peau is massive in scale with the strength to fill a house and last until your next shower. It should come with a users manual. After 2 sprays this gets under your skin and claims you as its own. Its unforgiving as far as its strength is concerned. Be warned...

Its beauty radiates from a strange leathery rose that is the cause for immediate attention. There is lots of patcholi, oakmoss and vetiver that holds the composition in place. Its like a leather catsuit one finds at fetish clubs. The opening notes are candylike, ginger chews! with bold aldehydes that strike like lightning bolts. Its a little boozy . The party begins as the narcissus, neroli and rose dance around each other tightly. In fact, all of the floral notes are bound around the rose. Yes, there is tuberose that is quite restrained, and ever so good here! Ultimately, this is the most discreet white floral composition I have encountered. Then come the bitter green notes that are one step away from ruining everything. This is perfume creating skill at its best! It all sits upon a base of smoky-olibanum-woody-musky-pissy-leather that is dry and dusty. It takes at least 48 hours to get to these notes by themselves.

This edgy composition is a product of its time. The time was when the art of perfumery was at its peak. One should always have a bottle in one's collection.

The reformulated version smells rather cheap (and it IS cheap, so that's ok). Rather soapy and sharp, with some problematic note (maybe it's marigold?), but you like harsh bitter chypres, you coud find it interesting. Old style vibe.

Ok, wow... i finally managed to get a Montana vintage 50ml spray and this is dirty. I have no idea what is in that base exactly but definitely loads of castoreum and different musks. I've never experienced something this long lasting. Its been 48h now and that base is still on my arm. Unreal. As for PdP itself, i do enjoy it in summer at certain times but it exclusively fits a fierce mood and attitude. Reform is still true to the vintage version but highlights the facets i already didn't quite like as much in the vintage, mostly the floral bouquet. Still a fantastic fragrance which strangely – like others here said also – foreshadowed an oudh scent profile long before the western world got hit with the "trend".

Aldehydes...fruity, scrumptious, dry aldehydes. It's very clean. It lasts on my skin overnight. I hope to always have a bottle in my collection.

Thanks for the advice not to buy this scent blindly. Found a vintage mini of this and was thrilled to try it. Got celery at first (!) so I shook the tiny bottle and applied it liberally to see what remained of the original creation. I immediately got black pepper and leather, but waited for it to evolve. Asked my husband what he thought, and he said, “It smells like Berkeley” (we were raised and live in the SF Bay Area. Aha, he can smell the patchouli (which he loathes). Too bad, I find it evocative, and will look for a vintage new bottle.

@baltinore yes you can confide in EOS empire of scents París-France
The new Montana Peau Intense is under there label boutique in France and it smells absolutely divine!

Good luck y'all!

Great 90's scent.

Has anyone tested the current "EOS Empire of Scents" Version?
Would you consider this fragrance in it's current formulation Unisex? Thnx

Iconic... Powerful like those that came from previous decades ... smells like an expensive drink ... Nightly and luxury... In the same vein of Paloma Picasso, Animal, Knowing and Magic Noire... Great creation!

I was obsessed with this perfume in the 90s and had the soap and cream as well. I could never bring myself to use the soap, so I still have it in its original package, as well as a bottle of the original scent. I still love this fragrance, even though I sometimes worry it's a little outdated. One thing is certain...they don't make them like this anymore.

Parfum de Peau was originally composed in 1986 by Jean Guichard and was reformulated by Edouard Fléchier. So, the new version is not just weaker, watered down on but a different scent, knowing and having the original. Don t bother for the actual edition, waste of money.

Shushkin: "It's a shame there isn't an edp strength version available." There IS a vintage edp version and I own it! It's in a dark blue glass bottle - you can see one in the smaller picture.

After reading so many requests for clean, fresh and inoffensive perfumes lately I know that they couldn't handle this one. This is brash hussy perfume - make no mistake about it. I LOVE IT!!

Gorgeous, loud and skanky proud!

@ FruitDiet. Your nose knows, for sure, your review was spot on. But I am curious as to what is Blinding Neon Green? It never has been & yours shouldn't be. It should look exactly as pictured here, color & all.

The accord of patchouli, hedione, rose and lily of the valley materials is always a delight to me. This perfume in my view is the final evolution of the artistic development of the genre first starting with Aromatics Elixir. It is sadly one of the last. It does not smell like AE because it is far more floral and probably includes some damascones and other then new materials. It is clearly an 80s creation and not of the 70s as are AE or Aramis 900. Perhaps my favorite part is the marvelous, but tasteful sillage. For all the perfume's heft it stays at a polite distance and as a bonus has great longevity. What these perfumers did in the past so well was give us products that performed well and were artistic masterpieces. This review is for the modern version available on discounters.

I own a new, reformulated version. And I think it must be rather far from the original. Some reviewers wrote that this perfume is very unique, also a leather fragrance and smokey, not sweet. Well, at least on my skin this new formula behaves very differently. For me, rose is the most dominant nore surrounded with pepper and lot's of sweet fruits.Therefore the first impression of it was: oh, that's VERY PRETTY but not unusual at all. And where is leather and insence?" At least, it's definetely a chypre character. Quite a long time passed when the beautiful base started to bloom I still don't get much leather and even less insence but the whole creation becomes deeper and more beautiful.

I like it very much and will continue on testing it several times on different pulse points but it's much easier to wear than I thought.

Edit: I'm testing this for more than a day now, on different pulse points and in different quantities, etc. It must be my skin (or this is really totally reformulated) but I still can nnot detect any leather, nor incense and the fragr ance becomes a sweet fruity chypre red rose on me, the whole impression reminds me on Deci-Dela Nina Ricci. I still find it pretty but what I hoped for was a leathery chypre floral......therefore it is a dissapointment.

Edit 2: I seriously thought that there's something wrong with my nose that a don't smell leather and smoke... until I visited Montana's official website. Very rare that a company talks open about reformulations but they did so. And they write the current formulation's notes and they do not even mention leather and incense in the description nor among the notes at all! I don't exactly understand how can a company get out the leather note from a perfume that is an icon of leathery perfumes but at least my nose did not cheated on me. Anyway, on this site (and on many others) Parfum de Peau is still considered as a leather fragrance. Just better to be aware of the fact that it does not has this note (nor incense) anymore....

But I won't give up as easily as that. Now, I'm experimenting with layering this:):)

This was beautiful in vintage, but I would NOT advise buying it blindly without testing now.
Smells weaker and also very different . Classic chypres seem nonexistent now.

The animalic aspect of this scent is very evident on the opening. Then you are aware of the leather. Gradually the marigold note surfaces. The incense in this adds an intensity. I think it smells somewhat niche. It's a shame there isn't an edp strength version available.
I think guys should get their noses on this. It's pretty much unisex. If you like leather centered scents then you need this in your collection.
The patch and rose are in the background. It's a very well blended scent and my amateur nose can vaguely pick out the fruit and spice notes. The little fruity sweetness present only really surfaces after 15 minutes or so.
A great timeless scent. Is it a sexy scent?. For some it might be.
I think it's a fragrance that best suits an artistic, creative person who has bags of personality. It's certainly not for any wallflower.
I get poor longevity and moderate sillage in this warm room.

To me this first Montana smells like chamomile. A rich spiced honeyed sexy haute couture bouquet of chamomile and some other opulent balsamic flowers in amber resin. And some woody piano/pianoforte notes.

if this perfume were a song it would be Ouragan by Stephanie of Monaco.

No one has mentioned that it replicates a strand of DNA?

I got this last year in Berlin at Kadawe and to be honest it must have been reformulated. As it doesn’t smell as Smokey or leathery as the Original. Now it feels like it has some fruity note which is off putting. To bad now I use it as a collector item.

It is funny sometimes how fragrances can cause "reactions" in different and unexpected ways.
My spray happy Mom ...always oversprayed....and Dad had a fit most of the time. My Mom's 2 sisters,my Aunts,hardly ever wore perfume, but one day Mom came in the room wearing Parfum de Peau and my Dad and both Aunts exclaimed that " Finally,your wearing a perfume we can bear!". I was amazed when my Aunts asked where they could buy it !!. I would have thought the exact opposite would have happened....lol. Both Aunts got gifts of PdP from Mom.
While I do like the smell of PdP, I will just keep it as a fond memory of the past..........

Thanks, Montana, for keeping this bijou available.
One spray gives me mostly fruity rose and woods. Two sprays add a leathery plot that makes it all click.
Yet, PdP (like the rest of Jean Guichard’s legendary fragrances I own - Eden and LouLou) in its current form appears a tad too perfume-y to me. Not so Knowing, which, while clearly inspired by PdP (Kudos to Monsieur Guichard), smells better on my skin.
Iconic bottle.
****(*)

I have not read EVERY Review, but I read enough saying they did not get the Leather. That's the first thing I smell. Along with this Animalic Screechy harshly powdered Rose. One spray. Start w/ that, b/c I guarantee you this is one of those that if you went all out cray with the sprayer, you & everyone around you would regret it for years. This is coming from a person that CAN get down with the sprayer, but I've learned. Glad I did before spraying this one. It's different. It kind of reminds me of Kalimantan, but personally much better for me. I got tooooo much SKUNK from that one. The soapy Rose & leather is a long way in front of that in this one. Not my favorite, but, if you like these notes, it's worth trying. If you're having a day you wanna do "different", here ya go! I may top it with a spray of TF Ombre Leather & I think it'll be perfect ;)

I completely missed the boat on Parfum de Peau Montana for women. In the 80s I didn't know it existed. I was in to other perfumes. Reading the reviews on fragrantica I had a little fear of missing out. After all it was featured in that crazy movie, "Basic Instinct." So I had to try it.

Speaking of boats, the rotting fruit mingled with over-powering marigold floral does not rock mine. I wore it 3 times and managed to repel someone close to me, which was no loss, actually. It's not a keeper. Definitely on my top 10 shelf of perfumes I may want to spray on when the water is turned off and can't bathe.

The bottle is unique in a 80s rock 'n roll kind of way. Overall, PdeP has been an unforgettable experience.

I was gifted this by my sister when it first came out. I wasn't ready for it then. I still don't think I'm ready for it now. It was the most screechy fragrance I ever used. My nose hurts just remembering it. I tried giving it away at the time but none of my family or friends wanted it. I wound up tossing it and a mini perfume that came with it. I see it's still being made. Maybe I should get a sample to see if I still feel the same way about it now.

Vintage bottle: PdeP is a complex woody rose oriental with fruity musky undertones. Its name tells you that a kinder, gentler '80s powerhouse is in the room - and if you have steered away from fragrances from this decade, please think again...PdeP deserves attention because its beauty has withstood the test of time. In fact, it reminds me of the very current and omnipresent Portrait of a Lady. However, PdeP came first and does it better! In this case, Civet and leather add a facet and complexity to this woody chypre-y rose perfume, elevating it to the level of masterpiece...where Portrait sits, perhaps too comfortably.
Sillage and longevity - '80s style!

**From 2016**

Certainly in my top ten of all time, if not top five, Montana is a landmark in avant-garde 1980s perfumery that still exists in excellent, faithful form after IFRA regulations. This is one of the weird animalic 80s rose chypres that modern American noses would turn from in confusion and horror. There are others like it--Paloma, Animale--but there is something so distinctive in Montana's blinding neon green glow that reminds me of nothing else. Montana and Mugler were the kings of ruthless, fascist-inspired, unwearable 80s leather couture, yet Mugler did not put out a scent until 1992. In Montana one sees what a Mugler scent produced during his heyday might have been like. In fact, Alien's streamlined neon jasmine accord reminds me somewhat of Montana.
As for what it actually smells like, it is a giant electric rose surrounded by pepper, sour greens, sour fruit, and a salty,garbagey, urinous castoreum leather accord. From what I understand, Montana's popularity in the Middle East contributed to the development of the now-popular damasceone rose-oud accord; in a way, this predicted the Montales of the present day 20 years ahead of time. It smells exotic and Arabian, neither male nor female. Others will probably not encourage you to wear it, but that's beside the point. This is not a perfume that wants to be pretty.
A bottle of it can be seen on Catherine Tramell's boudoir in Basic Instinct. That says it all, as far as what type of woman would wear this.
Ignore reformulation talk of this one. I have had many bottles from all eras and think it is remarkably consistent. A fragrance this dirty needs its fresh green top notes and some of my older ones did not smell quite right. The bottle remains gorgeous and unchanged. A perfume this good warrants paying full retail price if necessary. For lovers of Yatagan, Magie Noire, Amouage, and the 80s in general.

I had not heard of this, but came across it compared to Animale. So... I blind bought a bottle from Scented Monkey. This is exactly what I like/enjoy, so I was excited to have something new to sniff/add to my collection.

And at first, it's that TUMMY-turning, sour, freaky smell of Animale. But... let it pass. (And honestly, that sour part only appears briefly at first on a tissue test. Like Animale, they both have that sour-sick smell, but neither fragrance wears on skin/body like that.)

And while this is very much like Animale for about five hours, it's EASIER to wear and less odd/strange/freaky. There are more florals to PdP. And the next day drydown of PdP is sooo good. Mossy, floral, powdery, musky, light incense & even some fruit. Long lasting, and the sillage was average/strong. The drydown 6+ hours later is nothing like Animale.

I have no doubt this is a current version, and sadly I really don't get leather, ginger, or noticeable incense. But this is well blended (but somewhat schreechy like Animale) and I like it until the drydown-- where I love it. Very retro.

Not sure if the top 2 notes (leather/incense) are because of the original formula? Because to me this is all marigold, rose, patchouli, and musk. The patch is more "oakmossy" here. Which is nice. I'll take oakmoss over patchouli any day. This isn't dirty or overly earthy. More like a fresh chypre- soapy-spicy-rosey-oakmoss.

For the first five minutes, Parfum de Peau is sour and animalic. Civet and castoreum are not listed as notes, but I could almost swear they are in there.

After that, the sourness fades and I get ROSE. A bold, spicy, but clean rose. Even though there is no oud, I am reminded of those Montales/Manceras that contain rose/patchouli/oud. This could be because of the incense, amber, and pepper.

That boldness fades, then this scent gets soft and powdery, but with character. I don't really get any leather here. This might be 80's retro, but to me, this is still fresh and cutting-edge. The bottle is kick-ass. Love this stuff.

Chypre of oakmoss, and orange blossoms.

Since it is released in 1986, i just wonder! how come that i detect a soapy note in here! the musk used in here is quite clean with allot of neroli, & orange blossoms. oakmoss is the base note.

And again wrong voting on major note, the major is oakmoss, soapy musk, narcissus, black current, blackberry, neroli, and orange blossoms.

It's fine but i expected a much better fragrance. So it's meh.

Oh and one more thing, that lade's face on the ad just creeps me out & reminds me of the witch in "Marina The Mermaid"! you can have a peek on youtube "/watch?v=NDXCWKCYlXs" The Arabic version @ minute 25:39 . It's just too much.

To be exactly, my mom had it and I kidnapped it. I was still in junior high school at that time (around 1990). I loved the scent but I never wear it because deep down, I'm not really sure it was a proper scent for teenage girl.

In my teenage nose, I remember woodsy, flowery, and musky swirling and mingling together into dusk.

You decect leather for sure.
Like cabochard de Gres.
Nice "dirty" smell.

I'd long given up on ever smelling this beauty in its original form again, I owned it in the early 90s, and had a mini that I held on to the pathetic dregs of which had turned a little. But found a true vintage 100ml bottle for an amazing price on eBay and I am overjoyed!

Such a beautiful opening, spicy marigold, then a perfect rose, drying down to just the right amount of skank. Its longevity and sillage are incredible. I am transported to my youth when I first discovered it in the late 80s, of reading Vogue and smelling the test strips, of getting that glamour hit from the perfume counters on a Saturday afternoon.

You don't know beast mode until you've tried this truly exquisite creation. They don't make them like this any more. I am one happy perfume fanatic right now.

does anyone have a sample to sell I want to test this one.

I have the vintage. Leather, my ass. This it totally and completely a chypre. Oakmoss central.

The 80's was an era of perfumed excesses, in the heyday of Tecno, Punk, leather and broken jeans, this decade, was born true odoriferous beasts, full of excesses that announced that with more power and wake you smell better, on Everything, decade in which they made great floral and extraordinary leathers by which many niche companies would give themselves cakes by having them in their collections.

Parfum de Peau is precisely one of those eighties beasts, which develops and evolves under the concept of floral leather, leather with a lot of calendula inlaid with rose and jasmine, an animal jasmine that is felt with a spicy counterpoint but more Smoked by the drying of a powerful incense that always fits below this excellent leather.

Classic evolution, with all the rich pyramidal scale of notes and more, because they are many, feels deep, rich, opulent and with a chromatic similar to that of the gay flag, good superior, because also this would be short in comparison.

It reminds me a lot and that does not look like the mythical Bandit de Piguet or Rumba de Balenciaga, that yes, (PdP is less astringent and camphorated) will be because in all of these I feel an aura of nostalgia, longing and even sadness that surrounds the aroma that A pleasant sense of well-being is produced even if it is contradictory.

Demodé, retro, but with a powerful aroma, exquisite, and full of extraordinary strength.

Completely sensational.

Rating: 9.3

This gets me into the same mindset as Rumba by Balenciaga. They don't smell identical, not even remotely, but they carry the same vibe. Both are frags that I like to enjoy when I am alone with myself and my thoughts, a bit down, and enjoy the fact of having no company. That doesn't speak against the fragrance at all. It is almost like when you are in the mood to watch the movie "Old Yeller", or any other kind of tear jerker. That doesn't mean "Old Yeller" is a bad movie, it just means it's best to watch when you are in a certain mindset. Rumba and Montana are the ones I like to apply if I want to unburden my soul with free flowing tears, often accompanied by a glass of Malbec or two and some sad love songs. Well, every fragrance has its place and its purpose. So I hold on to Montana for these rare, emotional moments when I don't feel my best and need a good cleansing cry to free my soul.

Blue edp mini
Oh that big sizzling neon 80s sour electric fruity rose.
Montana is a myriad of ideas thrown in a blender and served up shaken, not stirred.The star on me is the big neon damascone rose which is also found in Magie Noire and Nombre Noir.Marigold and bitter fruit opening into the sour rose with the animalic creamy leather. Its just huge, over the top , sharp edged like the leather shoulderpadded skirtsuit of the working girl of the 80s.

First formula splash edt update:

Not as crisp as the edp..but well rounded and a complex beauty. The sour rose push pulls against the bitter marigold and the leather with the animalics support this gigantic opus. Acvording to the insert it states: "the fresh spicy top noted are contrasted with the wooded, floral, warm and sensual base notes where musk and amber melt into the skin. Cyprus, spicy musky, avant garde."
This one can last 24 hrs. Can totally see Kim Katrall in Big Trouble in Little China wearing this as well as Tramell.

Modern edt formula: Lighter and brighter. I agree with reviewier Fruitidiet that Montana needs to open fresh ontop. This formulation is plenty enough for the times we currently live in. Compared to the heavier slightly bitter rich vintage..this is a nice every day option with more florals.
Note: it thrives best in cooler weather

not bargain at all...getting harder and harder to find and the prices are not at all low...
The vintage is, indeed, a masterpiece, but the new formulation, even bit weaker and more feminine, is a very good product, probably one of the best reformulation in 80s perfumes history, incomparable with Magie Noire or Dolce Vita reformulation disasters....Sillage- KILLER. Longevity - days.

My sister wore that one in the 90s. It was really exclusive. The line was really complete: she had powder, cream, soap... it was really luxiurious.

To me, it was EXACTLY the same scent ad Iquitos from Alain Delon, altough that one was marketed for man. So to ne, this could be considered as unisex. Anyome interested in Iquitos should try this one.

For some reasons, Iquitos is now a legendary masterpiece and parfum d peau is a bargin scent... i do not understand anything regarding this.

Please keep in mind that in the 90s the trend was to use perfume with strong sillage in order to be noticed.

Nowadays, this perfume would be considered too strong.

Time past! I feel like this was yesterday!

This was my very first perfume, received as a gift more than 20 years ago, not my cup of tea, as a 13 year old at the time, but incredibly strong, woodsy, balsamic and spicy, fitted for a mature lady. I will always remember it fondly!

Parfum de Peau is perfect for Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone) and her ice pick in Basic Instinct! I saw this bottle in the film and ordered a mini bottle right away. I think I need the larger "helix" bottle in my collection! It is very unique, sexy, spicy, musky, why didn't I get this sooner? The opening is pungent marigold. The marigold made me wrinkle my nose, it is dramatic and bitter, I smell a little blend of ginger, pepper and fruit. The black currant is very well behaved on my skin, it doesn't turn rancid as usual. I get the beginnings of leather.
Flower bouquet of jasmine, ylang ylang, tuberose and rose comes through, I smell rose and white florals the most, they are accompanied by the patchouli. The leather is now stronger on my skin, it is like a dry leather, I also smell sandalwood, amber and incense. The end of the fragrance smells like smoky incense and leather. They certainly do not make fragrances like this anymore.

I had this back in 2003 and bought a new one recently.

Although it's not the 2003 one anymore, it's definitely a beautiful perfume. Strong and long-lasting. On my skin it starts off as a soap, then turns into a tuberose, then into a gorgeous orange blossom-leather smell which resembles the smell I remember from 2003, and after about 5 hours it softens to a darker leather-incense smell that lasts until you wash it off. It's like a leather smell that's becoming darker and sexier and one with the skin as time goes by, which I appreciate as my problem with most fragrances on me is that they tend to stink if I wear them for a long time, especially fruity ones. Very well made, very sexy, very expensive-smelling. Pre-reformulation it was slightly more feminine and more of a comfort smell for me, and now it's definitely more on the sultry side, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

I had a miniature about 16 or 18 years ago. I loved it! I love chypre perfumes - paloma picasso, knowing, aromatics elixir, parfum de peau, though I don't wear them so often as in the past.... Max. two sprays in a very cold weather and you get gorgeous and sophisticated.
Edit march 2017: bought it again! Omg, it's soooo good! It's a monster when compared with sweet silly gourmand caramelized contemporary scents.

Montana Parfum de Peau is a Ultimate Masterpiece of the 80s and yet nothing I've smelled to this day can beat this Beaut!
And/or even come close..what can I say if you want to feel Sensously Sexy want to attract any sex..this animalic leather avant-garde chypre will do its job..mind you this fragrance is not for the shy or timid..so if you want to feel like a Bitch or Diva like Joan Collins was in Dynasty or someone in power Montana Parfum de Peau is what you'll need!
And for the ladies and men' out there I dare and invite you to the ultimate Masterpiece of Montana Parfum de Peau you won't regret!
Next to Diva, Coco Chanel, Fendi and even Magie Noire these are also unforgettable fragrances that will stand alone in time..its a shame for reformulations and even discontinuing this Beauty!
My personal experiences with Montana have always been Fabulous and very personal,
I Love my Montana juice! Liquid Gold All Day..

If a woman wants to turn a sophisticated guy on?
Then use this marvelous & sexy scent !

A fragrant decadent Oriental perfume for anyone who loves their incense and musk. Spicy, seductive but sweet. It smells like the little perfume bottle in a harem girl's table. She seduces her sultan with ginger, grapes and fruity scents that give her a youthful playful charm. But she's actually all grown up. The rose and jasmine and narcissus are each detectable and they are elegantly arranged in a small bouquet. Of the notes in the end I smelled mostly incense, a warm and very long lasting incense. This is pretty aromatic so if you like aromatic scents layered with patchouli, musk and leather, or fragrances that really turn out to be more unisex than the "for women" category, this is for you. I think it's lovely. On me it's much sweeter. This is not a stronger full bodied oud or even a strong enough Oriental for me but lovely and something to wear casually at night. Very nice.

This takes me right back to my childhood. I grew up in a spiritual family, and on saturday afternoons I regularly would go shopping with my mom. We always visited some spiritual stores, where they sold lots of incense. When you open that door, a gentle mixture of all the scents would come and bring instant relaxation.

In Montana PdP I found that scent once again! I never knew what made that store smell so good (nag champa? sandelwood? or just, 'everything'?). Now I have it and I'm so happy!

Although it's a mini, I love it a lot. The soft, clean suede like leather, warm spices and a touch of some ginger make this such a wonderful scent. A scarfscent in autumn and winter, but perfect with a light hand in warmer types of weather too.

Would definitely buy again!

Nigels, in the new version the leather and animalic vibe are not so strong. The real leather, incense and animalic notes you can have only in the vintage, they are almost pungent. The vintage version is amazing, I think is the strongest, long lasting and pungent EDT I have ever smelled. Anyway, both versions are very good but for sure, the vintage is different, stronger, lasts forever on skin or clothes. A truly masterpiece, I have few bottles, 2 of them vintage and full and I am looking to stock it for the time when it will be discontinued...The reformulation is one of the best ever made I mean the scent is almost the same - except the animalic and leather, tamed in the new, also the lasting. But it s a very good one, comparing with the Dior disasters for instance (Dolce Vita, Dune etc) Parfum de peau is 95% the same!

At first, this was extremely soapy on me and I had to resist washing it off. Then, it transformed into a pretty floral scent reminiscent of the fleurs de rocaille opening. There's maybe a hint of incense, but no leather yet. As other reviewers have mentioned, it seems this fragrance takes its time, so I'm still anticipating that leather note.

FruitDiet is right, I've read that this was a cult scent in the Middle East, meaning hugely popular.

I'm in love with this parfume. It's magical. It has a mysterious, sexy and unique appeal to it. I would always go for this amazing, best parfume.

To Migalex: Thank you very much for your answer!!!
I had it twice in the past and I m always in love with it! Is a magnificent one!Thanks again,I ll go for it again with a big pleasure!

To Frayja: this fragrance has been reformulated but at least two years ago it wast still basically the same fragrance. I did not compare them side by side but the only difference I notice is that it is probably a bit, but just a bit tamer. To me it is basically the same fragrance and still an absolutely brilliant fragrance. Few older fragrances sold today are as faithful as this one to the original.

Montana is a child of the 80’s. It's a sultry, extravagant and beautiful perfume with smokey marigold, rose, patchouli and leather. There's a lot of perfume to intake, it's a powerhouse fragrance, but the notes blend so nicely that it’s smooth and lush, a bountiful bouquet. This is one of my favorites from this decade.

One of the glorious from the 80 ... gorgeous and powerfull fragance ... Comes back to my country really expensive in 2012-13

Sultry, spicy, leathery, musky and yet fresh scent that immediately triggers off the images of an American Wild West with all its prairies, mustangs, rodeos and cowboys with their lassos and saddles always in hand to use...Pervasive odour of untamed emotions and headstrong feelings.
The smell of passion; fizzy, sparkling, nipping, boozy, multifaceted, full bodied and complex in its country lyrics.
Sun, sand and more sun- looks like there has been a storm on the sun that changes electromagnetic field of the earth ...with consequences here upon
de facto...
What is life without a little drama?!!!
De-Lovely and de luxe! Electric like a summer lightning ! It never fails to charge me with energy. Absolutely stunning fragrance ! Just adore it!!!
And this bottle...,the bottle is divine- the staircase to Heaven!

Marigold

Rose

Leather

Smoke!


Of COURSE there are other notes here, but these are the ones that hit me between the eyes and take no prisoners. :D

Those of you who love a strong and tangy 80's rose are in for a gigantic treat. Yes, the patchouli is a definite presence - thoroughly balanced by every other perfectly blended note. Not a subtle blend of notes, or even slightly tamed. This wild beast of an animalic beauty is in the same category to my nose as two other unique scents:

Animale Animale

and

Caesar's Woman


Both of which are about as loud and proud as the animalic chypre gets!

Animale has an earthy presence, reminding one of vegetal roses and ancient growing things. Perhaps more dry than Montana, with softer sillage. Caesar's Woman is sweeter than either of these, with Huge orange blossoms, brashness, and sillage. It would be truly wonderful when worn with cigarette smoke and sequins!

Of the three, I feel Woman the hardest for me to wear, announcing an almost soured sweetness on my skin. For others, it's primarily floral presence might be substantially more likable. Animale is the easiest for me, with an earth-like element which somehow quiets and slightly tames the rough character of this rose. One squirt under clothing is my calming, mossy comfort scent. :D

Some people really notice the civet in Animale, but I do not. Instead, I feel the Marigold and Narcissus in MONTANA are far more wild and untamed in their animalic splendor! As yet I have read few if any reviews characterizing Marigold and Narcissus (those orange and golden sirens) as anything other than floral. But when mixed with leather or other chypre notes I often sense such an amazingly strong presence of animales. My nose literally smells unbridled CIVET and Castoreum. Strong stuff indeed...

Today I am wearing but one spray of Montana on wrists, and it has lent an exhilarating element to this rainy weather. I am Alive, Alert, and very, very Scented!!!

Five stars for excellent sillage, longevity, presence, and a most distinctive personality. In other words - WOW.

Only negatives.... getting harder to find and not to be worn around the perfume intolerant! ;)

A question to any Fragrantica's member who knows:Ιs this reformulated?
I had it back in 1998 and I want to order it again,but is not available in my country, I can't test it again.So,I will have the old treasure or something new?
Thank you in advance.

Mmmmm! This musty leather and 'tart' rose scent interestingly brings to mind several other perfumes like Animal Animal, but the tone reminded me of a much more sophisticated Downtown Girl. Before I saw them on the Fragrantica page, my amateur nose could pick out every note in DG. Montana is much more well blended and wearable on me. I tried to love Downtown Girl, but what I really wanted was This all along!

Where is the gardenia? I'd swear the greenness in the background could be this lovely flower, but notes like ginger can do amazing tricks to compositions. Out of my extended search for the perfect old fashioned musty leather power house, I have found this is one of those types that is highly personal and doesn't usually turn out to be the majority's cup of tea. Very dark and old patchouli meshes well with me, as does the era of " I am Woman" !

This is quite loud, but unlike some 80's wonders, it can be worn discretely with a small spritz.

Excellent sillage and longevity.

Here are some things that come to mind when I wear this scent:
Dusty, dry leather. Earth, wet and mossy. Thick, airy elegance. The marigolds zing and sunshine so bright it hurts your eyes. Clean and refreshing. Ubiquitous. This is a woman who has perfect makeup. Her hair is cropped short or is always up and her wardrobe consists of mostly grays and cashmere. She speaks softly and rules with an icy detachment. Unfathomably sexy and independent.

Strong and beautiful. So different from the smell-one-smell-them-all, girlie-girlie variety, so lamentably in vogue these days. Gloriously 80s!

To my nose and taste this is a very elegant scent, starts of peppery, smoky with a strong note of marigold and leather, and dries down after an awful long time to an almost aldehydic, soapy, sharp floral with a dominant rose at its heart. The patchouli lends a certain retro heavyness to the whole composition that packs a punch to the senses throughout.
I don't like mentioning ages as we all have different tastes but certainly this juice demands a certain confidence and sophisticated femininity to be allowed to shine properly. Best worn during the winter months though.

got few weeks ago a qurter of a vintage bottle from my sister in law. she used to wear it more than 20 years ago when she was on her twenties. she is of an oriental origin and has tanned skin. i remember that on her this scent was just divine in an unforgettable way. though i wear it now , and i have fair skin and fawn hair, and it is also wonderful. i most certainly agree with nikoleta1. this one develops very slowly but when it does, it gets to the best part of it, which lasts almost endlessly. huge sillage and staying power. 3-4 spritz are enough! .they do not make perfumes like this any more. it is indeed a smell of skin (peau). sexy and seductive. suits winter or fall for all around day and night use and on summer nights out (in the right amount). reminds me the style of paloma picaso, aromatics elixir, soir de lune. a classic scent for classy women.

Cant trust those groupings and descriptions. This is what I smelled in a new version. Opening very scary animalisic, sweet with honey and border line unpleasant. In a few minutes it turns out into classy floral chypre, no more animals. Soft, elegant and lasting, little powdery or may be soft leather, very nobel elegant edt, great surprise find for comparison you can think of Pamela Picasso.
Great silage and longevity.

17. march 2014

I have finally got my hands on a vintage bottle of EDT and i also have a full size 7,5ml bottle of extrait of this wonderful fragrance. Been wearing it for the few last days and feel ready to share my opinion about htis fragrance.

Let just start by saying that i know quite a lot about Claude Montana, his background and impact to fashion, so i had expectations for this fragrance to be very excessive as well as his infamous exaggerated shoulder pads and structural fashion. I hav never smelled this fragrance before (i still haven´t unsealed my extrait bottle), except for one time when i have smelled a most probably recent formulation of it while visiting someone. Oh, it was lovely, heavy, honeyed, just the way i like them for the colder time of the year.
But wearing it and smelling it from the lid are quite different things. When i smell a lid of my vintage EDT, i smell familiar fragrances that i madly love (Regine´s, l´arte di Gucci EDP and Moments by Priscilla Presley). They all share that vibe of a syrupy, sweet, heavy on rose/tuberose fragrance. The smell of Montana from the lid is very similar to them as well. BUT!!! When i sprayed myself quite liberately with Montana, first thing i got was relatively light soapy tuberose scent. I know, i know, notes don´t list any tuberose for this one, but it must be a combination of blackberry, patchouli, orange blossom and narcissus i guess. And i can most certainly say that for the first couple of hours i can detect only soapy tuberose scent on myself. WHERE IS THE LEATHER???!! Not even close in here! And it also doesn´t smell anything that i have smelled from the lid, that my favorite orchestra of notes. This stage lasts for quite long time and many hours later it starts to become more syrupy. Yeah baby! that´s when i get that lovely "lid" scent! That´s when i smell that beautiful rose i wanted. The honey is not listed, BUT my nose smells something like honeyed rose (same as in Gucci Arte EDP). Now i think that i might have overapplied actually with the scent, since it´s sillage becomes more potent that in the opening. Quite a heavy one. By this time it becomes a "typical 80´s powerhouse". Gorgeous!
I can clearly see the connection of the fragrance itself and it´s marketing face Christelle Saint-Louis, who was one of my most favorite models in 90´s. She always walked quite slowly, bit lingered her steps, had that great look in her eyes and fabulous fizzy hair. Once you have seen her in motion, gracing down the catwalk in a long evening outfit, giving you THAT look and halfsmile (a hint of it), you´ll get the idea. The Montana fragrance lingers like a trail of that fab dress, it envelopes and surrounds you, makes you want not to rush anywhere and give everyone THAT look in the eyes.
Ok, the fragrance lasts on my hair for over 48hours by now, also on my skin it is very much detectable, so the lasting power is amazing (but most probably because i have applied it also SO much!). But the transformation of this fragrance doesn´t end in here. The next day, 24hours later, is the time, when i finally smell the fabulous LEATHER. Yess! it is a thick yet soft vintage leather jacket. Quite dry leather with an amazing animalistic one. I know, no civet or anything else animalistic is listed in here, but this leather in here has that most gorgeous drydown of the Paco Rabanne´s "La nuit" skanky undetone. I´m totally speechless! I ebjoy it to the very last moment from the very first moment!. True, the opening was a bit dissapointing at first, but after a very short while i enjoyed it very much as well.
Truly great multifaceted fragrance. I am seriously glad i have got it finally.
Top rating from me for this one!

P.S. Oh, did i mentioned that the bottle itself is a piece of art and absolutly magical. I SO much enjoy holding it in hands! MASTERPIECE!

Parfum de Peau leaves me with mixed emotions. This a perfume with multiple sharply distinct personalities, and it is hard for me to decide if I like the entire experience or if it fails to come together as a coherent whole. This review is based on an eau de parfum mini, a tiny cobalt blue version of the beautiful helix bottle that fits upside down into a small plastic box. I think this is vintage, because I don't believe the EDP is still available, but I am not certain of its exact age. I see other minis online that are frosted glass rather than blue. On me. PdP opens with an acrid and peppery smell of marigolds (the scent that makes marigolds a natural pest repellent in the garden). Luckily this opening doesn't last very long, perhaps ten minutes, so I don't drive away house pets and family members. The next phase is a classic strong leather. At this point, PdP smells a lot like Cabochard and Azuree to me. The leather phase fades gradually, in about an hour or two, but it is eventually replaced by the third, final, and longest lasting phase of PdP on me (about 10 hours or more...this stuff really lasts!) which is a slightly sweet and smokey bouquet of flowers (with no single floral note standing out forcefully). There is a very faint tang of clean, salty sweat in the background, but I get no more leather in the PdP drydown, unlike Cabochard and Azuree, which remain lovely leathers to the end. PdP is a fascinating, unusual scent that surprises you throughout its long wear time, but it may be too moody for me.

I am sorry for the mistake, I should have written Parfum de Peau instead of Jeu de Peau.
I read somewhere that it is being discontinued. Is it true?

I travel back to the 80's. I remember this one being a sensation back then. I didn't have the money to buy it then but would always squirt some on at perfume counters of dept. stores. My chemistry changed since then; the leather note didn't dominate when I wore it, the floral & patchouli were what I remembered. But as I'm rediscovering it, it's taking on a totally different path where leather & incense with a touch of peppered amber truly dominate. It reminds me of the nightlife, the clubs, the smell of cigarette ,leather outfits, the half full cocktail glasses & the carpets filled with the aroma of spilled beers & cigarette butts.
Jeu De Peau makes feel like I'm in my early 20's and it's 1986 all over again. Nostalgia at it's best!

Wow!! This is something else. All class and sophistication. Although it opens with a soapy note, after five minutes it's gone, to be replaced with amber, smokey woods and delicate subdued spice. There's also a tantalising wisp of leather and musk, but I'm not getting the patchouli, and even though I love that particular note, I don't miss it.

Having bought '80' and 'Just Me' and 'Parfum d"Elle' blind and loved them all, I was brave enough to give Parfum de Peau a try and I've now become quite the Montana freak. It's perfection and I'm soOoo very happy that our paths have crossed at last.

Parfum de Peau is persistant and has great sillage. It is a serious and totally womanly fragrance, not frivalous or girly girl. l I like the stylish square pexigIass stand too. I'm in love with this wonderful offering from the great maestro Claude Montana and it's now on my top shelf. I can't believe my luck. This is a rare fragrance in the EDP and I scored three 30ml bottles (blue bottles) on eBay to back up my 50ml. Exceptional projection. An extremely satisfying blind buy.

It has replaced my extremely long term signature of Schiaparelli Shocking so it must be good. Woo hoo!

I'm not sure what some are smelling here...has this been reformulated? My son brought me back a bottle of this beautiful perfume when he returned from France. That was years ago...maybe 1989.
There was nothing in that bottle that even remotely smelled of cat urine, baby nappies, or garbage and pizza! Beautiful, extravagant, loud...yes. Urine, no!!

Já foi minha assinatura nos anos 90. Amo!! Preciso comprar de novo, venho pensando nele há algum tempo. É raro aqui no Brasil e por isso anda meio caro...

I decided to stick with the French made version rather than newer Italian version. They are both charming and not dissimilar.

The newer version is lighter, brighter and less long lasting. The ginger and blackberry/currant are more prominent but it still has a decent sweet leathery base.

The french version is wonderfully decadent and I'm sure I'll never finish my bottle as a little goes a mile and then some. It's smokier, more animalic and generally more rampant.

I prefer this to Rumba (which I find queerly milky), I think Iquitos is so similar but more sophisticated.... Though this has nothing on La Nuit as far as animlaic based leather goes.

Unique, amazing, my passion...

Great scent!!!!!

FAAAAAAAB!!

Hated the first couple of hours of it, loved the extremely elegant and chic drydown. Not for me any more but can appreciate it

~ Eaudemoiselle de Givenchy is intense floral fragrance with unusual depth; base notes have a strong echo of retro, a bit reminiscent of the scents of the 80s, clearly recognizable.I had long time ago a perfume Montana, which was very similar on my skin ~

actually it was Montana Parfum de Peau.
Thanks E for giving me the chance to smell that adorable fragrance again, still amazing.

Wow. And wow again.

Next to very exciting Paloma Picasso and (sadly) not yet tested Paco Rabanne La nuit vintage edp (that, at this point, out of anticipation and totally irrationally, in my imagination evolved into "Her Majesty of Divine Dirtiness"), this stuff found its way to me and became The dirtiest creation that ever entered my nose and irretrievably stirred up my mind. I am infatuated.

As many already mentioned, this does not evokes leather in an obvious way and it's also not a typical (oakmoss) chypre. It's something in between which possesses best components of both groups, in addition of strong presence of fresh, aldehyde-like quality, spicy sharpness and animalic power. A bomb.
The next stage is an upgrade of not so ordinary combination of notes: ginger, narcissus, jasmine plus something else my infatuated mind cannot be sure of (civet? castoreum?), but registers as where that delightful dirtiness is deriving from. Sex-bomb.
Finally: rose, musk, patchouli and marigold base hold the various pieces together, making the composition firm (almost conservative), heavy and demanding, at the same time great in projection and longetivity and yes, distincly retro-smelling. Vintage 80's sex-bomb.

I adore it. This is a wonderful surprise.
(vintage edt)

Very strong and sharp at first application...(almost had to go for my asthma inhaler) but I will say it is unique. Haven't smelled any leather. Have read it described as "garish" and "neon floral" which it most certainly is. Fine if you're in the mood for it :0

PS:@Bigsly I really like the term you used "old school"

Nice scent, but not a trace of leather on my skin. Sweet, strong, dirty and it reminds me of Rumba by Balenciaga a lot.

Sometimes things just shouldn't be put together:

There's always an exception to the rule & I had hoped that this would be one of those moments when I sampled PdP. Sadly, it was not to be. PdP should never grace my skin.

PdP opens harshly with a stomach-churning melle of notes, none of which is leather (much to my chagrin). I detect peppered wet stems & a green pungency that you get when you pick scented daffodils & marigolds. Apparently moles hate the smell of these plants & although I actually like sniffing them (the plants, not the velvet-jacketed creatures), I am feeling very mole-like around PdP - run away!!!

After a good 1/2 hour things do settle a little & PdP becomes a classic, old school aldehydic chypre with accents of patchouli & oakmoss dusted with a light touch of florals - in this case, rose.

Eventually, I detect more incense. But still NO leather at all. Disappointment!

So, this kind of scent isn't my thing at all - with PdP I am 100% with the moles. It's high thin whine threatens to give me a headache & the promised leather never arrives. I can't give it a thumbs up, but those who are looking for vintage aldehydic, sharp, chypres will be in their element.

I've bought a lovely/super cute mini of this perfume!
It's very 80s for my taste but it's a nice perfume!
Oakmoss is not that strong.
I can't imagine a woman less than 40 wearing this but then again, it's all about personal taste!
It's strong, almost unisex with a very good longevity.
I can't smell leather unfortunately.

It does smell a lot like Iquitos, from a paper sample I got. It also seemed to be quite strong. I'm not a huge fan of this kind of fragrance (too fruity/floral in an "old school" way) but it does seem like it's of decent quality.

Hello Dears,
In my skin this scent is more like chypre floral or floral aldehyde. Not at all like Leather kinda scent. Soapy and quite white floral on me. Cabochard is true leather, this is something else. But definitely I love this . Parfum de Peau is very much special, with own beautifull nature, can not compair to any other scent I think. Because.. I have not sniffed anything like this before, very unique. I hope You people will enjoy from this Gem. *Hugs*

probably the most beautiful parfums bottle, sorry, dont know the english word for it, of all, my sister used that one early 90s and recently she got a new bottle of and the parfum is excellent,long lasting and very personal

Parfum de Peau is an animalic rose chypre that wears its animal differently than other growly rose chypres. It's not so much a leather scent as a live skin scent. The scent of sweaty skin gives PdP a tannic quality. If you focus on just the rose, PdP is very similar to other big 80s monster roses and rose chypres. But the stinging slap of ripe skin is bolstered by the tart green feel of unripened fruit and together they create a deliberate imbalance. The acrid skin and the young fruit highlight the electric feel of the rose and PdP charges at you like it wants to eat you.

I also need to mention that I have an older bottle of this perfume and a new one which I bought just yesterday. And I'm definite that the original formula has been changed! Because they don't smell the same, but mind you both are Magical! WOW! (and my older one isn't spoiled or anything) the older version and the newer one are both Amazing! A true classic and a must have I believe.
I would give both versions 10/10.

A Very Sensual perfume!
For a Very beautiful and attractive woman!
When a woman decides to wear this fragrance, she should make sure that she looks Gorgeous that day!!
The result will be Magical!
I Love this Parfum!

Well, this was my first real Perfume and I write it intentionately with capital. I was growing adult and felt in love with a sample of it gotten from French friends of my parents. I was still in Romania at that time and my father was sent by his factory to travel a lot abroad. So he was in charge to bring me that "very adult, very sophisticated" scent and he found it in the Switzerland in the end. It was the first scent I've got compliments for in my life. So, I don't write too much about the scent itself, I know. But how can one talk about one's first love??
OK: the happy end: I brought with me to Germany late 90ties the last drops of that first flask, and kept them until I got online another one. Youz can't find it in shops in Germany and it's good so: It's only for adults ;-)

Montana symbolises the excessive 80's in so many ways (the GOOD ways, of course). The empowerment of women, massive shoulder pads, huge hair, extreme coloured eye makeup and fabulous electronic music! Ironically enough, I started wearing it in the late 90's and still thought it was awesome! It is a VERY powerful scent, warm, sweet, rich, peppery and the endurance is amazing. If you love perfumes, you must try it! Gorgeousness in the extreme!! Oh and don't forget the incense - a sheer delight!

"Parfum de Peau" has this intense, sour quality one finds in "Magie Noire". It demands attention and it gives an abstract dominant sensualism to the whole.
It is exactly what the name says, "The perfume of the skin", nicely done and pretty distinct!
My colleagues at the university used to wear it a lot, and though not to my liking, I can see a good reason for it to be around forever.
"Parfum de Peau" is an ideal perfume to wear in a room full of smokers. Nothing deactivates better (actually it prettifies it) the smell of a cigarette smoke.

I personally don't get the fuss about this one. It's a mediocre green chypre. Not much leather to my nose. I had a vintage, but maybe a bad bottle, we never know...

There are way better ones out there, but I still haven't stocked up on those, so I will not reveal my opinion right now.

SIMPLY THE BEST!!!!!!!

Simply my signature perfum.. not for everyone.. only women who feels in control.. it will definetly reflect that feeling.. wear a couple of sprays only otherwise could be offensive.. the best lasting power EVERRRRR.. best for parties or elegant evening outings.. i used to have it when i was 20 years, 20 years passed and I was never over it.. very hard to find.. now I got it and keeping it for special occassions.. too afraid it might finish :(

This is to me the nicest perfume ever made. There is no other perfume like this one. Many people compare Rumba to this, as I do, and I do like Rumba, but although they share similarities, they are different. Rumba is much sweeter and stickier. The drydown of Rumba does indeed remind one very much of this perfume, although still sweeter. I find it hard to understand that someone managed to create parfum de peau. This perfume is in fact oriental but the flowers and mainly the ginger give it a really special balance. The original was better and stronger but the reformulation is still amazing and still, from my viewpoint, the nicest perfume in production. And the sillage and longevity are still very good, although the original would sweep the air. Unfortunately very hard to find these days. I do not know if they discontinued it recently.
Does anyone know where to buy it online? I see it advertised in some american sites, but I do not know if it is the genuine product.

Montana is by far my favourite dominant leather fragrance, especially in its opening. It must be the daffodil that sweetens it a bit for the honeyed leather effect. I am glad I got a large bottle!

One of the best leather/chypre scents I've smelled besides Fendi. Very mature, not meaning as some call it "old lady". Quality with staying power (need not to re-apply). I have the body lotion that smells as good as the edt.

Oh, I loved this, when I first bought a bottle back in 1988! So fruity. Quite heavy, but then nothing light ever lasts on me. Is it still available?

This miniature went immediately to Aunty Kathy who just LOVES it! I'm disturbed by the cat spray note (yes, that really does exist) and it renders me unable to appreciate any facet of the perfume. Each to her own.

I read another review, for Alchemie, that suggests it's the black currant that gives the cat spray note, and it's present here too. Wow, I'd never have guessed. Notice I have no balloons but honestly I do smell it even if others don't.

One of my first fragrances back in the day ! loved this one for nights out always received compliments when I wore it just have a tiny miniature left now.

After I read a lot of raving about this one, I was eager to try it and did so in a small perfume shop. I couldn't understand the blast around it. Too me it was very strong and also extremely stinky. It's truely an 80s perfume and maybe it's simply not the time for this kind of scent anymore.

The 80s had too much of everything. Too much synthie music, too much pink lipstick and definitely too much in perfume.

Too much in perfume was then and still is no problem for me :-) Never.

PdP is too much of everything. It is a wild beast, pacing annoyed in circles, hissing at you, it hates its cage.

And just as such a big cat PdP smells very animal-like, at least in the beginning.
I can smell the musk from the next room.

The fruits which should accompany the leopard should beware of the patchouli-musk-leather-combo. These notes are quite present, they are already a test of courage in the tiniest of doses.

80s fragrances have a hard time being loved in today´s "clean" and soapy or unisex freshness. They quickly offend today´s "hightech" noses who have just read an article on the ordeal of musk oxes on wikipedia.

PdP leads me back to the roots of our existence : the beast, the animal, no matter if carni-, herbi- or omnivore.

This fragrance tortures our senses with heavy fumes which could originate in a hothouse, then again from an animal cage and in the end from the tanner and his freshly-made leathers.

However, PdP is, note this as a warning, sexy as hell. When you wear this your halo will melt into ashes :-)

I would say this scent was an inspiration for Agent Provocateur. PdP is burlesque, boudoir and a doll house in a very attractive bottle - but all in a very nice way and surely suitable for very special tastes and occasions which you want to think of for a long time :-)

PdP shocks you at first sniff but then the hissing beast turns into a half-tame chimera and dries down softly but it takes a while.

This animalic scent is special.

There is something addictive about Montana..

Montana is a leather scent that opens up with an overwhelming burst of pepper and cardamom, combined with juicy fruits. All notes blend together perfectly.

Montana is: Extravagant, Sex, Animalic, Leather and 80's.

It's loud with amazing sillage and lasting-power. Extremely unique and peculiar.

genial.... magic...so special.This perfume is like an opera, it's just perfect and amazing. I love the scent also the bottle... So bad it s so hard to find....Silage: One of the BEST I ever met in a perfume. Longevity...kind of..
...forever.
BOYS - must try it ! :)

Yes, it's very distinct. Yes, it's very demanding. But give it a few moments - even an hour and you will start feeling its inherent and true power! This is an ode to every self-conscious woman out there. A woman who doesn't care too much for the girly sweetness that so many scents exude. Leather and warm incense. Musk at its very best. WOW! The sillage is very fitting - and the staying power is as unique as the perfume itself! In love? Oh, yes I am! :)

I have a hard time reviewing a perfume I can't pronounce, but since my SO is one foot away I insisted he say this for me(he's French). The conversation went like this: (me) Pew? (him) Peau. (me) Pew. (him) Peau! (me) Peeuuuw (him) PEAU!

Whatever. Here is what I think of parfum de Pew. It opens harsh, so wait it out a bit. The top notes fade away after 20 minutes, and at this point the fragrance smells 'wet' to me. So, soggy, heavy florals with a hint of incense.

During the middle phase the incense becomes more prominent and the wetness fades away. I like this phase best; the florals and basenotes are really rich. It creates a wonderful halo that is perfect for a cold night. I can't comment on sillage because i can never guess that, but this seems average- not too strong, not too weak.

Despite the name I wouldn't call this a stinker. Like other reviewers, I wouldn't call this a leather either; to me it is more of a floral oriental. For it's price range it is certainly one of the better fragrances.

Beautiful fragrance, very similar to
Jean Louis Scherrer. Long lasting and
the best is when you spray just a little, even less than a little is more then enough!

Divina at Fragrance Bouquet....

I feel has the most astute and best description ...
I wish I could have given ...
of this Amazing Favorite Fragrance...
so feel I must share a portion of what she said with you ...

"Montana is a floral chypre that opens up with an overwhelming burst of pepper and cardamom, combined with juicy fruits that excite the senses and leave the nose tingling.
The ginger and carnation at the perfume’s heart enhance and prolong the peppery spiciness,
while rose and tuberose give the fragrance depth and substance.
It is the base notes however, which turn this into a truly magical concoction: amber, cedar, patchouli, olibanum, vetiver, oakmoss, musk, civet and by far my favorite of all animalic notes, castoreum,
which all blend together perfectly.

I'm gasping for more in a state of addiction.
Not only is Montana extremely unique and clashingly peculiar, it is also a Deviant by nature."

Parfum de Peau, also known as Montana de Montana, is usually described as sexy, assertive, dirty, and sultry.

what a great way to describe such a complex fragrance....

I found it on my 1st trip to PARIS ..way back in 1989...at his Boutique facing Galerie Vivienne

I bought Parfum de Peau ,The Savon de Bain,and mens leather gloves in his trademark Cobalt BLUE...

All these years ...I never used the Savon the Bain ...I kept the Cobalt Blue Gloves wrapped gently around the soap box still in its original boutique bag.
His Fragrance, as well as the Savon de bain is so amazingly
well constructed and expertly made ..... that the Cobalt Gloves are now infused with the fragrance...
and I wear them with great pride of rare special occasions....

I bought Parfum de Peau on Ebay ..as a treat to myself for my Birthday .. and
yes, it remains the same formulation ...and if your lucky you might get a great deal on it ..like I just did ..

Found a bottle the other day and had to have it. 'been years since I had smelled Parfum de Peau. It is still the daring escapade I remebered. Leather and tobacco with dry citrus, roses and narscissus. Ka-bam. I was dancing in a nightclub in the 90's all bound for moo moo land.

Much to my misery, I own a reformulated Parfum de Peau. It is strong, but in a special way, STRONG with capital letters. Imagine the novice me spray liberally and i n h a l e ! Slapped in the face, punched in the nose, but I was sincerely woken up. I once put it on when going to bed and I could just not fall asleep. Parfum de Peau puts you in charge, acts on your hypothalamus and overactivates your cortex, sharpens your nerves and prepares you for a challenge. Well, do not wear it to bed, do yourself a favour!
Step number one: apply less than sparingly and then yes you have a potent but tamed chypre scent, still loaded and demanding. The first to be detected are the ginger with flowers and afterwards pepper. The pepper is dry, invigorating, and I think this is what gives the impression of tons of oakmoss. There is also something winelike at the very beginning, which then gradually fades (maybe marygold). I do not see dramatic changes of the scent, I mean from now on the scent evolves very very slowly, that it seems to take a whole life, without changing too much. My skin needs a lot of time to get to terms with it, but when I do detect the basenotes, I like it, as they remind me of the basenotes in Diva, less sweet and more woody. At this point the scent (contrary to all expectations) remains just a touch of warmth, of leather, a hint of the initial fragrance but which clings faithfully for a long time. I'd rather I put it on in the evening in order to smell good in the morning, according to my taste and development on my skin (sleep permitting).

My mom gave me this one long time ago and I was only able to wear it once since it gave me a major headache. My sisters and I joke about Montana to this day!

very very dirty....its musk gives me nasty...
it is very very much strong...1 drop is enough for all day long !
i hate this perfume.

I'm a little surprised at the "leather" classification for this one, as I find its character much more reflective of a floral chypre. It is strongly reminiscent to me of one of my favorite rose chypres, L'Arte di Gucci.

The fruits in the top are tart, but not overwhelming, and I wouldn't call it "fruity" in the modern sense. There is quite a bit of patchouli in this as well as some lovely florals - I do smell a lot of narcissus, which is a note I tend to enjoy. And I do smell musk, amber and leather in the base, but the marigold and patchouli continue to hang on throughout, so that Parfum de Peau seems less leather-focused and more chypre - like wearing one's leather jacket into the garden in autumn.

Very sophisticated and womanly.

Verry unique scent, I like a lot !

Now I have a pretty nice collection of perfumes. But some years ago I could afford buying only one bottle and that was Montana Parfum the Peau.

This fabulous scent is still one of my favorites. I love the leather warm scent it has. It will last for hours.

Self confident and sophisticated woman will probably enjoy wearing Parfum the Peau

Oh yes, this takes me back. One sniff and I am transported to dancing around my bedroom in the 1980's, dreaming of being a femme fatale. I swear my mother first had a bottle, and I kept stealing sneaky little spritzes whenever I wanted to feel grown-up and sultry.

Wearing this perfume again, now, I can tell you it has really held its own. Yes, I think you can tell it has 'vintage' qualitites, but that is not such a bad thing in these days of endless copies of Light Blue and fruit-cocktail celebrity scents.

The fruitiness is here, delectable blackberries perfectly balanced with the ginger, pepper and orange blossom. The marigold is a very important note for me, it travels through the layers and holds the fragrance together.

The middle is slightly soapy, quite clean and a surprising link between the fruity musk opening and the darker notes to come...

The leather isn't overpowering, it's the leather of a favourite old jacket, soft as a baby's skin and a sort of smokey vanilla quality.

Older perfumes seem to have a certain gravitas, a drydown worth waiting for that many modern perfumes are sadly lacking. So many these days seem to be all about the top notes, an instant fix that promises much and delivers nothing new.

Parfum De Peau is a (fairly recent) classic that deserves wider attention, especially from Oriental lovers with a passion for fruity musks!

A very nice and balanced composition, not unusual for a leather, but well done. In the vein of Clinique Wrappings (v. similar drydown, but Peau does not have the dry citrus), Moments by Priscilla Presley (which has sharper florals), and Azuree by Lauder (which is more distinctive, commanding, and pervasive). Excellent longevity, very inexpensive.

I liked it when I was a youngster, but when I bought it back next year, it smelled different (I found it had not much smell at all). I asked in the shop and they told me that they chanced the chemical formula!! It's a shame!

I found this perfume back in the 80's, when I was a teenager. I used to go in my local store and spray it on myself. I loved it........ it was probably the first perfume I ever liked.. I would like to get some more to see if my taste has changed.

I ran across this scent at a discount store and thought I made a mistake purchasing it. This one had to grow on me and now I love it!
I was able to finally obtain the body lotion which adds depth to the eau toilette.

When I sprayed this on a cotton ball, all I smell is patchouli. 'Smells like Berkeley, only minus the stale urine in the gutter.