On the skin, Emblem is pleasant and can walk between appointments, from day to night, with ease. The output is slightly fruity and sweet and the evolution shows an oriental body, which gains woody and creamy facets. But it is not an innovative cologne today, nor when it was released. Its fragrance presents a proposal similar to that of 212 VIP Men (2010) and, if worn side by side, it is possible to notice similarities. The biggest difference is due to the creaminess of Emblem, which results from the sage and fava tonka notes, against the alcoholic and salty aspect of the other, due to the notes of vodka, caviar lime and salty amber. Nevertheless, it's unfortunate that a house that is capable of producing the excellent Individuel is opting for the tried and tested money-making formula, but that's hardly surprising - particularly after the statement of purpose that was MB Legend. So why do I dislike it? Well, for me, with my particular skin chemistry, whatever has been used here to create the cardamom note smells synthetic and somewhat unpleasant and, worst of all, clashes with and detracts from the rest of the otherwise ordinary but nice enough notes in the composition. I have, however, smelled this fragrance on other folks, and I have come to the conclusion that this issue is a function of my skin and not the product.

I've actually begun to revise my opinion of Mont Blanc, a luxury manufacturer with a great reputation and their fore into fragrance has to be deemed as a success to most due to the fact they have some winning fragrances. Yesterday, I sniffed the cap of Mont Blanc's emblem and it seemed very disappointing. I left a review here just below this one that I will keep for comparison. RECOMMENDATION: Mont Blanc Emblem has one of the worst fragrance performances, the opening is very weak and it only gets weaker by the minute, not even by the hour. Its performance is disappointing. Not worth buying it. It may not be groundbreaking, but I was looking for a mass appealing designer frag that isn't very well known but still remains unique. This really fit the bill for me. The opening sage and grapefruit makes for a very refreshing, fresh-but-on-the-dry-side start (closer to cucumber than fruit) with some moderate projection that lasts for a good 1-2 hours on my skin - the spices start to emerge as the citrus fades, ultimately leading to the considerably sweeter base of tonka and wood notes that radiate a minimal amount for abut another 90 minutes before becoming a skin scent for another few hours.Emblem was announced in March 2014 along with its Intense version (which is rare in this market as there is usually a space of, at least, one year between flanker releases). At the time, Montblanc claimed that the fragrances represented the brand's heritage and, for this reason, the bottle cut into the shape of the famous six-point star. Emblem (as well as Legend) is indeed unexceptional but it has distinct elements of masculinity, freshness and sweetness that makes it so easy to wear and understand - it doesn't provoke any thoughts and isn't very surprising but that is EXACTLY what I want. Now don't be mistaken there are bad mainstream fragrances too but my point here is that mediocrity isn't a synonym of garbage. Emblem is nicely blended, has quality ingredients and the signature metallic accord that's in many of Montblancs. Also, It's so wearable it's almost ridiculous - I reach for Jaipur maybe once every 3 weeks but Emblem can be worn from monday to the end of the week with such ease I sometimes forget I'm even wearing anything. Emblem opens with inviting fresh citrus and maybe a hint of exotic fruit? The heart is another Tonka washout for me though very pleasant but all too familiar and very much the en vogue accord for bland designer fare at the moment. There's a hint of violet and spices, clary sage and cardamom, cinnamon is evident.

It is not as synthetic smelling as PR's Invictus. Despite that "Emblem" will never be in my want list, I can give Mont Blanc the credit for introducing a good quality sweet perfume. But, I also want to say that I had enough with this category of perfume. They need to be more daring and experiment with different kinds of ingredients. I need something new!It smells like some other common scents, such as Invictus by Paco Rabbane. But, still a very good smell and affordable for the quality it is. Highly recommend. Today's men's popular/'generic' department store fragrance market can be generally categorised into two groups. First, we have the works-every-time fresh citrusy scents. Second, we have the new sweet spicy scents that have lately become popular - the prime examples being One Million and Spicebomb. I barely get the clary sage in the opening (maybe it's my skin chemistry or I'm anosmic to it?), but rather a blast of a higher note citrus which I cannot immediately identify as grapefruit, sweetened by the cardamom. That said, Emblem reinforces my personal opinion about the fragrances of the brand, which tend to grow in my concept the more I make use of them. Here, there is a little more nobility and maturity, which fit better in my current moment of life. After all, we are talking about almost eight years of difference since the launch of the Carolina Herrera's fragrance, and the market at that time was different. Overall the tone is sweet and warm but the individual notes are too faint to raise above the violet leaf/sweet grapefuit accord; the kind of nondescript woody drydown and very sweet tonka beans, which here take a sweet tobacco-ish turn, only reinforce the combo without adding something interesting in the long run.