montblanc

Mont Blanc Legend Spirit vs. Legend Night

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For this edition in the head to head men’s fragrance match ups, I want to do another comparison between, two Mont Blanc fragrances: Legend Night vs. Legend Spirit. Which of these descendants from the original popular cologne, smells better? Which has a better performance? Which is overall the better buy?

I have worn, tested, and reviewed each of these scents. Now, I will break them down by category, before ultimately declaring a winner.

Tale of the Tape: Spirit vs Night

Legend Spirit

Notes include: grapefruit, pink pepper, bergamot, musk, aquatic accord, lavender, cardamom, oak moss, wood

Click here to try: MONTBLANC Legend Spirit Eau de Toilette, 3.3 Fl Oz

Read my review: Legend Spirit

Legend Night

Notes include: candied apple, cedar, vanilla, cardamom, vetiver, sage, mint, bergamot, fir, lavender, violet, patchouli, and musk

Click here to try: MONTBLANC Legend Night Eau De Parfum, 1 fl. oz.

Read my review: Legend Night

Opening

Legend Spirit opens up with a citrus and aquatic blend of notes. Beyond that, is a warm and slightly spicy blend of cardamom and pink pepper. It is a nice scent, clean, and that cardamom note really helps to prevent it from settling into a standard issue aquatic.

Legend Night starts off with bergamot and candied apple. The citrus is the same as Spirit, but Night goes in an entirely, different direction. The second layer is of vanilla, sage, cardamom, and cool mint.

You get plenty of creamy vanilla and apple mix, with the warm spicy undertones.

Which is better? To me, Legend Night, has the better start. The initial juiciness of the fruits, the cool and warm contrast in spice, and then the vanilla note. It’s great.

Edge: Night

Projection

So, Spirit is a moderate with its sillage, but on the lighter end of that spectrum. Legend Night is also moderate overall, but has a strong start, and can be quite noticeable for a while, at a distance.

It’s also just a heavier fragrance versus Spirit, which can be used into the spring and summertime, whereas Night isn’t a hot weather wear.

Edge: Night

Longevity

Legend Spirit gives me 5-6 hours of wear and that’s about it. Pretty consistent with that range. Legend Night will get me 7 hours, but when I double spray each side of my neck, it goes for 9 hours.

Spirit doesn’t get any more time, with double sprays. I don’t think either of these are amazing with their longevity. Pretty standard for most Montblanc colognes. Night, has just worked better for me, over many times testing them.

Edge: Night

Versatility

Legend Spirit gets the edge in versatility. It is a warm weather fragrance but can do well year-round. It can go casual to work to a date with ease. Legend Night, is great in cold weather, and fine in the moderate temperatures.

It is also more geared toward casual and nightlife, as the name suggests. So, probably not the best business fragrance, but neither really is.

Edge: Spirit

Overall Scent

There is a lot to like about Legend Spirit. It’s got a clean and aquatic citrus aroma, with nice touches of spice. It’s pretty average in its longevity and sillage, but I do really enjoy the cardamom note in this one. Nice overall cologne.

Legend Night is better and it’s one that I wear on a pretty regular basis. It too has the cardamom, but an overall, warm and enveloping scent. It’s sweet, fruity, spicy, and has sex appeal.

I’ve gotten complements with Legend Night from ride share drivers to women to random folks at the bar. I really dig this type of scent and when it’s in the right environment, it can be amazing.

To me, it’s a fairly easy win.

Winner: Legend Night 

Emblem by Mont Blanc

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Been posting quite a few Mont Blanc cologne reviews as of late and am going to finish up here today with one of the more popular scents, Emblem. I’ve already had experience with this one in the past, but got a hold of a sample vial, in order to refresh my memory, and get my thoughts down after wearing it around.

This fragrance was released in 2014. As usual, I’ll explore what’s inside, how it smells, performs, and whether or not it is actually worth a purchase.

What does Montblanc Emblem Smell Like?

Notes include: cinnamon, violet, tonka bean, sage, cardamom, grapefruit, wood, pepper, ambroxan

Click here to try: MONTBLANC Emblem Eau de Toilette Spray, 3.3 fl. oz.

My Full Review

The opening of Emblem gives me a blast of grapefruit that is joined by a cool rush of cardamom, pepper, and violet leaf. After a few minutes, I start to pick up more cinnamon in the composition. It is interesting that I experience a warm and enveloping sensation at times.

Meanwhile, there is sort of a chill, that runs through this Mont Blanc cologne. I think the grapefruit and violet leaf, provide that cooling sensation. While cinnamon and cardamom, bring the warm feeling.

Within 20 minutes of applying, Emblem shifts away from the citrus top note opening, and I get an herbal and lightly spiced aroma. The violet leaf is familiar, as is the clary sage, which gives it that earthy sort of quality.

The cardamom stays pretty consistent throughout, to my nose. Meanwhile, there is a delicate hint of creamy tonka bean, that sits in the background during the dry down.

The sage note that comes in, stays fairly moderate during its peak, before retreating to the outer edges of the aroma. Emblem has a nice blend between being cozy and aromatic, slightly sweet and spicy. It’s fresh and not one, which screams for attention.

Further down the line, Emblem has a warm sweetness that feels like an equal part, when compared to the earlier spice.

It’s violet leaf, cinnamon, tonka bean, and cardamom at this point in the wear. The changes throughout are pretty subtle, but there is some jockeying between the ingredients, as time moves on.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, Mont Blanc Emblem has a lighter to moderate sillage. It’s not a beast, but you’ll know that you have it on.

It sort of just becomes a part of your day and not something that intrudes and permeates while wearing. At the opening, it will form a solid perimeter around the wearer.

The longevity isn’t outstanding but not terrible either. At around 6 hours, it becomes a complete skin scent, and begins that slow evaporation process. It’s in the middle of the pack, in this regard.

Seasonally, I would slot this as a fall/winter wear, since this is built for the cold weather mainly. Temperate climate, would also be fine.

I couldn’t see myself ever reaching for Emblem during the summer months. The warm spice and later smoothness, just don’t fit really warm weather. Even with it’s lighter, ozonic aspects, I don’t think it’d fit well. At least where I live.

It’s more of a business casual to formal wear sort of cologne. You can wear it out at night, but it’s low key, so don’t expect some kind of club monster. Though, it is attractive enough to be appreciated, when someone else moves close enough.

Overall Impressions of Emblem

Overall, do I recommend Emblem? I like it. I think the aroma is overall very pleasant to wear. The longevity kind of leaves more to be desire, but it isn’t terrible.

It’s a seemingly simple scent, but it has some sneaky depth. Plus, it has some more unique aspects versus a lot of the other mainstream fare.

I like the cinnamon note, along with the cardamom. The contrast between the warm and cooling sensation is attractive.

The violet leaf doesn’t actually bother me in the mix. It’s for sure one of my least favorite notes, personally. Here, I think it works and doesn’t get on my nerves.

I don’t know that this would be my personal go to, as it occupies that cold weather space, that contains some of my favorite fragrances.

Also, in terms of Mont Blanc scents, I’ve actually been loving Legend Night, as of late. If you can get a good deal on Emblem, it’s a solid choice, not earth shattering but good all around. I wouldn’t pay full retail for it, though.