Monsoon Monsoon for women

I'd never seen this perfume in my life, just heard about it through British perfume enthusiasts. I nearly died when I saw this fragrance hidden in a small pharmacy in my hometown. I had believed that this wasn't sold in Australia until now.

Monsoon is a smokey oriental in every way. It's slightly sweet with delicate notes of jasmine and rose sitting lightly on a base of incense, spices and amber.

The opening top notes and the heart smells truly divine both on the card and on my skin. I can see why so many people overseas praise this scent to high heaven. It reminds me of a toned-down version of Cacharel's Lou Lou.

It's rather expensive here in Australia, probably because it is so exclusive. The price tag when compared with the other scents in the same cabinet was a little outrageous. However for those first fleeting moments, I was thinking to myself that I could possibly afford to buy this treasure.

Unfortunately my spirit was dampened by a rather unpleasant and banal musky drydown with a strange hint of over-ripened banana. The longevity was also very poor I found. Not a good sign.

Nevertheless, I am pleased to have discovered this fragrance, even if it was for a momentary sniff. I feel like I've managed to experience something that was once so foreign.

My godness Kama, you described exactly the same thing I felt! When I sprayed it it was overpowering! Smelled like some mini my greatgranny used to have. That is not bad if you like strong old fashion perfumes, of course it could have been Chanel N5, I can't remember what it was but smelled like that. I thought "mmm, a bit too much for me" the kind that suffocates the person standing next to you. But yes! a while after, the sweet lighter notes come, and I too was surprised to find them after and not before the darker start. It was very pleasant and I thought ye, I could wear this on a night out.

And now a couple of hours later, the scent is very pleasant even if a bit masculine and not strong at all. One of those that needs reapplying (not bad as its cheap enough). Although not sure if I would want that explosion of sweet darkness before the dry down in public!

Monsoon to me doesn't have the vanilla dry down that Lagerfield Sun Moon Stars has. Monsoon from memory was a very dry smell but moist rainforest hence the Monsoon name. That's just my memories of it because I have not had a bottle in years and years but I do remember it was not a sweet gourmand type of perfume. It was farely cheap to buy but it had a wet rainforest smell in a dry cypher kind of way not Jenifer Lopez Deseo way. Not warm and sweet with coconut. I would love to know where to get it because the new one is hard to get but I think it smells more sharp and of aldehydes I don't think it is the same as it used to be it just isn't as dry now.

monsoon in the 90's had a very famous and popular fragrance named "WILD LAGOON".
such a pitty it's not listed in this database. it was wonderful and i m really curious about the new fragrances from monsoon. i m intrigued about hearing they are smelling a little bit 80's or 90's style what sounds pretty good to me. :o)

what a mess some reviewers do have in their minds:

"SUN MOON STARS" was from karl lagerfeld and its bottle was a royal-blue clear glass ball with carvings of sun moon and star symbols. lid was a brass color ball, nothing in common with "WILD LAGOON" from monsoon!

"WILD LAGOON" was a lagoon-blue frosted and dropshaped bottle with a painted naive artdesign bronce sun on it and it had a bronce color twirled lid, cone shape... very nice.
it was such a pretty fragrance in the 90's and they still sell it on ebay sometimes but it's indeed very rare and one of them i proudly own in my collection :P

I agree it smells like something from the 70th maybe 80th? It is so much a copy of something I can't think of what? It is not what I expected from monsoon, I think the clothes are very different, somehow exotic, grown up, posh, silky... this is none of that, it smells cheap to me.

This has a burst of aldehydes when first sprayed. But after about 10-15 minutes it settles into a nice light floral. There is still a hint of aldehydes (although I'm not so sure it isn't just because that's what my nose remembers. LOL)

The floral is a pretty bouquet, with just a touch of sweet laced in.

Medium sillage, with medium - light lasting power. I could still smell it on myself without gluing my nose to my wrist 2 hours later.

When I waved my wrist under my husband's nose 1 hour later, he said it was still a strong scent.

Pleasant fragrance.

And the bottle is absolutely adorable!

This is a cheap version of Chanel N5.smell it and u will see

yeah i remember the old perfume.. was it called moon and stars in a blue bottle? i did not like the fragerance very much but i do remember it,

Hey Monsoon launched a perfume called monsoon in the mid 90's. The bottle was a little frosted blue ball (slightly squashed over to the side so it wasn't symmetrical)with a plastic bronze coloured spiral cone lid.
Does anyone know if this is the same fragrance just relaunched? Its been so long since I smelt the original but the notes listed seem similar.
I liked in in the 90's but not sure I'd go back there.

ajbww- moon and stars is a different perfume all together, its not the bottle i was reffering too although it was release around the same time and for the same target market.

ur right Kama, i bought Monsoon in Boots and was surprised when i found the perfume in the cheap shelf and ur also right, this does not long though i still love this perfume whenenver i feel being girly.. :-)

I really love Monsoon shop... and was quit curios when I have read that they have lunched their perfume.

Finally I found them in Boots...
I was quit surprised to find them on the cheap brands shelf...
My Monsoon, great quality clothes/accessories, not cheap at all being on the cheap shelf..!?!

So I took this beautiful bottle, which appeared to be a bit too plastic in my opinion, and the pink colour was just TOO PINK...

I sprayed them on my wrist and got a bit shocked...it was a bunch of aldehydes mixed with bergamot and neroli...kind of feeling like when you sniff perfumes created in 70's, like for ex. Rive Gauche YSL...although without its metalic feeling more aldehyde mixed with green notes...
It makes them boho perfume, being in right path with the style of Monsoon..
Kind of French boho, more elegant then young perfume...

Strong aldehyde feeling makes them unique perfume today...

Aldehyde that starts to soften just within few minutes into Moroccan Rose Oil and eastern spices notes...
Somehow now I start to feel fruity notes! Aldehydes, rose, spices, folowed by delicate sweetenes of lychee...
Strange as I didn't feel them as 1st notes, rather as second/base notes...
After 1 hour all I can feel is slightly sweetenes of fruits mixed with...vanilla/amber...

I like the unique feeling of aldehydes...but I am not sure about the sweet fruit notes...as in the end they are not very elegant but not very girly because of the start...
Would I wear them?
I do not think so...they dissapear too fast, after 1-1.5 hour...and I rather prefer girly or elegant perfume, not both in one bottle...

i just bought this perfume last saturday..the moment i tested it on my skin, i immediately bought it.im very choosy on perfumes coz of my body chemistry and coz of my choosy nose.:-)..this perfume really lives up even stands out to my standards!!! this is really a very nice perfume i can say...with everything in it,floral but not too much...oriental but not suffocating...sexy and mysterious.