Montana by Montana c1986

Montana by Montana: made its original debut in Europe in the fall of 1986. Created by  Roure Perfumers Jean Guichard in association with Edouard Flechier.

The fragrance was launched in the United States in Spring of 1987 and originally marketed through Germaine Monteil Cosmetics Corp. which was up for sale at that time. Beecham Group, which owned Monteil, was selling their poor-performing subsidiaries. In 1987, the Revlon Group purchased the Germaine Monteil subsidiary from Beecham.

Fashion's enfant terrible, Claude Montana toured the United States and parts of Europe to introduce his fragrance to the public. Appearing at higher end department stores, he met with customers and autographed their bottles.

Montana said that "I wanted the perfume to be the opposite of Giorgio or Poison; it had to be intimate and sensual, but not overwhelming."

His envisioned his ideal sales technique by saying "I wanted a stand where you could choose to try the perfume, instead of being squirted by some woman before you can say no. That could ruin your day."

Vera Strubi, then president of Montana Perfume, said that I gave him hundreds of samples of perfumes to find the right one. He told us he didn't want something that people could smell from far away - it's not elegant." Montana tested the fragrance on himself at night and wouldn't let anyone in his offer offer an opinion. The designer explained his reason why, "When we do fittings of clothes, I ask for opinions of others. If it doesn't work six months later you can prove yourself again. But with fragrance, if I missed the first time there would never be a second chance."

Montana explained that he "wanted the fragrance to be as close as possible to the fashions that I'm doing, nothing flowery because I use no prints. I rather wanted something essential. My fragrance adapts to each skin and becomes very personalized. You need to be close to a person to appreciate it."

Strubi said the perfume "starts off very cool and dynamic and then becomes very warm, very sensuous and animal."

Montana said "When you put it on, it is dry and rather strong, and then it warms up on the skin and gets very sensual, like an animal fragrance."

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? It is classified as a leathery chypre fragrance for women. The scent is a mix of black currant, ginger, pepper and orange top notes with leather and semi-oriental base notes of amber, musk and incense base notes. 

• Top notes: orange blossom, marigold,  green note, cassis, pepper, peach, plum and cardamom
• Middle notes: narcissus, sandalwood, ginger, rose, tuberose, jasmine, ylang-ylang and carnation
• Base notes: oakmoss, patchouli, castoreum, vetiver, ambreine, civet, musk, frankincense and olibanum

Its top note begins with a green touch of marigold, and accented with spicy notes of ginger and pepper against fruity notes of black currant and orange blossom. Its floral heart marries the classic jasmine and rose accord with creamy sandalwood and earthy oakmoss, while its base is a blend of leather mixed with smoldering incense, animalic musk and ambrette. 

Bottle:

Presented in a bottle consisting of spiral layers of frosted glass by Serge Mansau, who won a French Glass Industry award in 1988 for the design. The packaging is an extension of Montana's design style. Wrapped in deep, electric blue and boxed in transparent acrylic, the bottle is a frosted spiral of ridged glass, "inspired by a woman's body in motion."

• 1 oz Parfum (originally retailed for $250)
• 3.4 oz Eau de Toilette Splash (originally retailed for $65)
• 1.7 oz Eau de Toilette Spray (originally retailed for $45)

Fate of the Fragrance:

Discontinued but reformulated by Edouard Fléchier in 1987 under Prestige Fragrances, a division of Revlon as Montana Parfum de Peau. In 1989 the reformulated fragrance it made its official relaunch debut in the USA. Claude Montana said the reason for the delay in launching the fragrance was due to the time it took to find the right company to distribute his fragrance in America. The state of Montana's Governor, Stan Stephens helped promote the perfume by traveling to New York City when the fragrance was introduced at department stores. He even presented Claude Montana with an honorary citizenship plaque and a cowboy hat manufactured by a company from Wisdom, Montana.

The 1989 reformulated version of Montana Parfum de Peau:

• Top notes: marigold, pepper, black currant, blackberry, ginger and orange blossom
• Middle notes: patchouli, rose, narcissus and jasmine
• Base notes: leather, incense, amber and musk

Also in 1989 was the introduction of the Douceur de Peau line of bath and body products fragranced with the scent of Parfum de Peau. The collection included a moisturizing body cream, aerosol foam, a shower gel, bath soap, moisture-plus body emulsion, compact body powder, natural deodorant spray or roll on.

 

In 1990, the perfume line was given a flanker scent called Montana Parfum d'Elle. This fragrance, in Eau de Toilette and Eau de Parfum concentrations, is a lighter, summery version of the Montana Parfum de Peau. "Warm, sparkling, pungent, unique, enveloping Parfum d´elle, an invisible array of radiance. Hymn to pleasure and to space: a perfume with an aura of elsewhere. Spicy, fruity, exotic floral aromes which blossom out over wooded, dense, honeyed and ambered undertones: Parfum d´Elle by Claude Montana"

Montana Parfum d'Elle features the addition of a "marine" or "ozone" scent, made possible by synthetic substances such as Helional, Hedione and Mousse de Mer which remind one of the refreshing odors of the sea and the succulent freshness of cucumbers or melons.

The fragrance is contained in a modified version of the frosted Parfum de Peau bottle, and packaged in a yellow box.

• Top notes: melon, ginger, lime, bergamot, lemon and mandarin orange
• Middle notes: ylang-ylang, hyacinth, tuberose, Brazilian rosewood and lily-of-the-Valley
• Base notes: tobacco, tonka bean, oakmoss, amber, vanilla and cedar

In 2003, Parfum d'Elle was remade into Parfum d'Elle II as a fruity floral chypre fragrance for women. 

"The exuberance of red fruit and peach release from an imaginary shell a strong fragrance with a generous heart of magnolia, iris, and geranium leaves, refined by purity of wood, the discretion of amber and the mystery of musk." This fragrance is housed in the same frosted bottle as the original Parfum d'Elle but packaged in a golden box.  

• Top notes: aldehydes, green notes, cassia, plum, peach, geranium, red berries and pepper
• Middle notes: iris, magnolia, ylang-ylang, tuberose, ginger, rose, carnation and jasmine
• Base notes: sandalwood, cedar, musk, tonka bean, musk, coconut, vetiver, amber and patchouli.

Parfum d'Elle II was available in the following:

• 40 ml Eau de Parfum
• 40 ml Eau de Toilette
• 75 ml Eau de Toilette
• 200 ml body lotion
• 100 ml deodorant 
• 200 ml shower gel

I believe that Parfum d'Elle II was still being produced in 2011.