Montblanc
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Bergamot and pink pepper ignite with immediate clarity, their citric snap cutting through with almost aggressive brightness. The synthetic marine accord surfaces almost simultaneously, creating an unsettling juxtaposition—like standing in a citrus grove that's been inexplicably flood-lit by neon.
The ambergris settles into the composition without introducing softness, instead functioning as a resinous binder that keeps the aquatic and citric elements hovering in suspension. Leather begins emerging around the two-hour mark, slightly smoky and vaguely animalic, though it struggles against the fragrance's inherent coolness.
Indonesian patchouli finally brings genuine substance, earthy and slightly bitter, but the marine synthetic refuses to fully retreat. What remains is neither fresh nor warm—a muted, slightly industrial drydown that fades with disappointing haste, explaining the fragrance's modest longevity ratings.
Explorer Ultra Blue announces itself as a fragrance caught between two competing impulses: the crisp exhilaration of Mediterranean citrus and the austere pull of synthetic aquatics. Jordi Fernández has constructed something deliberately restless here—there's an immediate brightness from Italian bergamot and pink pepper that suggests seaside clarity, yet beneath it lurks an unsettling synthetic marine accord that never quite feels like actual sea air. Instead, it reads as the olfactory equivalent of looking at the ocean through frosted glass: you know what's there, but the image refuses to resolve into something natural.
The fragrance's most interesting moment arrives when the marine notes begin their dialogue with ambergris in the heart. Rather than creating warmth or sensuality, this pairing generates something oddly clinical—ambergris here serves as a stabiliser rather than a seductive anchor, keeping the composition tethered to its aquatic conceit. By the time Indonesian patchouli and leather emerge in the base, there's a welcome earthiness attempting to ground the proceedings, yet it arrives too late and with insufficient conviction to substantially alter the fragrance's character.
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3.5/5 (801)