The New Amouage

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I have always mentioned Amouage as advanced style perfumery. Under the creative direction of Christopher Chong the perfumes were bold creative efforts. I was along for the ride with most all of them. They were complex, sensually satisfying fragrances. I could spend weeks dissecting a new release because there was something there to be pored over. I was the desired audience. The question I had was how big a group I was part of. A perfume like Myths Woman was a triumph of finding something compelling within the clash of discordant ingredients. It sang to me. But how many others?

Renaud Salmon

At about the same time there was a release called Lilac Love. It felt like this was a way to bring a more familiar style of perfume done in the Amouage way. I applauded it for the effort because I thought it would be a better starting point for a perfume lover to start their Amouage journey. As I’ve spent the week enjoying the new Amouage perfumes overseen by new creative director Renaud Salmon. I was able to crystallize some of my thoughts around what Amouage really means to me.

First it means excellently constructed perfumes. I have always returned to these because there is that feeling of great architecture underneath. M. Salmon showed that is also something he values. In Overture Woman he successfully matches Mr. Chong’s architecture. It works through similar shifts with the same kind of delight in them.

I also want some intensity. Crimson Rocks cinnamon honey tinted rose delivers that. So do the early parts of Enclave. Even that quibble on my part might be another’s idea of intensity as the AmberXtreme takes over.

Interlude Man Black Iris in hindsight now feels like M. Salmon giving people an invitation to return. If that is correct you can’t then serve up something contextually challenging. You must give them something which extrapolates from that invitation.

Mackenzie Reilly

Which is what the two perfumes M. Salmon worked on with Mackenzie Reilly provides. Ashore is a daydream-like walk along a sandy strand twirling a bit of jasmine. It feels as big as the sky with an expansive smile. This is not something Amouage is known for. Yet Ashore feels every inch like one. Even with a more genial embrace.

Which brings me to the last point. I don’t want to lose the awesome complexity of Amouage. If you read through the above, you might think I’m damning with praise of being more accessible. Let me be very clear; I am not. These are all good perfumes that are well worth seeking out. Things are different but the signature rose, incense , and sandalwood are still there. They aren’t as recognizable as a Guerlainade but they do identify Amouage a lot of the time.

Which is why Meander is such a perfect example of what the new Amouage can be. If I want a perfume where I can happily spend my time picking through a complex accord or two, it is right here. I also think because it is built around a carrot, iris, and incense heart it is easily accessible to someone who just likes a good iris perfume.

Therefore I think M. Salmon is going to be a good influence on the future of Amouage. He has a clear-eyed vision which seems to be to bring the brand back to those who might have drifted away. If that’s you there are six new perfumes overseen by M. Salmon to take a sniff of and see if they appeal. My verdict is he has given me faith that he is the right person to create a New Amouage.

–Mark Behnke

New Perfume Reviews Amouage Rose Incense and Overture Woman- Farewell Christopher, Hello Renaud

Posted on by in Mark Behnke, New Perfume Reviews and tagged , , , , , , .

As a scientist I am always looking for patterns. Perfume is not exempt from that. As I start this series of reviews, I begin with the last perfume by the previous creative director at Amouage, Christopher Chong called Rose Incense. I also look at one of the first original perfumes be the new creative director Renaud Salmon. He chose to do Overture Woman which is the female counterpart to one of the other final creations by Mr. Chong.

Christopher Chong

Rose Incense was an exclusive until this past summer. Which is why it is only widely available now. Mr. Chong again used one of the grand inspirations for the perfume. This time it was the movie “Citizen Kane”. He asked perfumer Bruno Jovanovic to collaborate. It is his first perfume for the brand.

Bruno Jovanovic

Rose Incense is probably the most simply formulated perfume of Mr. Chong’s time at the brand. Instead of the entire movie it almost seems like it is trying to capture that moment when the dying Charles Kane utters “Rosebud”. Translated to a perfume it means what the name on the label promises a lush rose coated in resins.

It begins with that rose which is the Damask variety. This variety exists to be paired with incense because of its strength. Early on elemi provides a citrus-tinted woody opening. The incense begins to appear soon after. At first it is a lighter version which allows the rose to have the lead. As we get to the heart it flips as the incense is now in charge with the rose in support. Myrrh adds to the frankincense along with a thread of leather in between the floral and incense. It is completed with a rich sandalwood.

Rose Incense has 14-16 hour longevity and average sillage.

Rose Incense is not the best example of Mr. Chong’s tenure. It acts as a farewell as he leaves the stage. Perhaps it is meant to be his own enigmatic perfumed “Rosebud”.

Renaud Salmon

A stage as grand as Amouage abhors a vacuum. It is now time to say hello to M. Salmon. For his first act he chose to design Overture Woman. When he began his Amouage career with a flanker I urged him to lean into his new position. Not that he could have told me at the time he was doing exactly that with Overture Woman. Mr Chong’s masculine version was a boozy resinous affair which was typical of his style. M. Renaud’s feminine version also contains a boozy component the apple brandy known as Calvados on top of a spicy rose and leather. Working with perfumer Annick Menardo they create something beautiful.

Annick Menardo

Overture Woman begins with the Calvados paired with saffron. It is a fascinating opening where the alcoholic apple is given a little extra bite with cinnamon. The saffron provides a slightly leathery glow as if from the pit of the stomach after a sip of the real thing. Leather itself arrives as it adds its presence with a refined version of the accord. Myrrh and frankincense come forward to give a resinous finish to this.

Overture Woman has 10-12 hour longevity and average sillage.

M. Salmon and Mme Menardo have made a very Amouage type of perfume without being the like Mr. Chong’s aesthetic. In Overture Woman there is a crisp enunciation of the phases but once they come together it feels like the beginning of a new aesthetic at Amouage.

I’ll delve deeper into that over the next two days as I review the four perfumes in the Renaissance Collection.

Disclosure: This review is based on samples provided by Amouage.

–Mark Behnke