No 32 Arabian Tonka

Montale built Arabians Tonka around a Middle Eastern-inflected amber gourmand: saffron and bergamot up top, oud and Bulgarian rose through the heart, and a thick tonka bean and sugar cane base that reads unmistakably sweet and rich. No 32 opens with a similar saffron-oud pairing and a genuinely sweet tonka-amber base that gets the broad strokes right. The difference is staying power: Montale's niche concentration keeps that syrupy sugar cane sweetness rolling for the better part of a day, while this dupe's sweetness thins into a plainer amber-musk after a few hours, losing the dense, almost dessert-like richness that makes the original a signature scent for fans of sweet oud. Projection is bold at first before settling close to the skin. It's a good way to sample the saffron-oud-tonka combination without the niche price tag, but expect a shorter, less syrupy ride than the real thing.