Reviews of Amouage Gold Men (1983)
by Amouage

Is this for men? I guess it is not, even it reads so on the label. At first impression, it clearly smells like some classic perfume for women from the 1950's or even later.

Top notes made me recall two fragrances - at first, Chanel Nº 5; Later, YSL's Opium (the original, for women). The presence of very strong flowery and aldehydic top notes and clear powdery base notes made me think of them (I must assume I liked the powdery dry down).

Thus, Amouage Gold inspires a sarcastic comment, in terms that it would be the right choice for men eager to wear more than exclusive classic floral femenine scents but are afraid to do so.

Of course, taking in mind Amouage's prices, this proves an expensive option. So if your are among the last group of people, getting these fears away will prove a good choice in terms of savings. And in case you are being asked about what fragrance you are wearing, you will only have to mention Amouage Gold.

MonkeyManMatt was being far too kind. This is Nicheiosity to the max. Should have been in an old Ab/Fab episode:

Edina: " Do you like it? "
Patsy: " Er . . .Who made it? "
Edina: " Amouage "
Patsy: " It's fabulous, darling. "

Yuck!

Well this one completely leaves subtlety out of the dictionary.

It's like having a flower shop drop on your head with a particularly bellicose civet doing it's business with it's glands all over you and then dousing you in musk.

It is one of the most potent fragrances I have ever encountered, a couple of generous sprayings of this could be used as a counter terrorism measure. It's not entirely unpleasant, but the drydown reminds me of a cheap musk I bought recently because it blended well with some other things.

Is it worth the money? I don't honestly think it is. It's okay, but is a long way short of being beautiful, engaging or in the least bit attractive.

Here it is: the most extreme turnaround in my opinion of any fragrance, ever. I begin with my original assessment:

“Egads! Honeyed cat pee. It must be arduous to extract and distil the urine of all those diabetic cats, which would explain the astronomical price. This is alleged to contain hundreds of ingredients, but to my nose it's civet, buckets of musty powder and aldehydes...and a little more powder. Civet + powder + aldehydic white flowers = The Cat Peed in Grandma's Closet. Bombastic and unbalanced for a full eight hours. Shocking as the flagship of the line that contains the marvelous Dia and Jubilation XXV. Oddly enough, the women's version is quite good on my wife. Go figure.”

What’s happened since? I’ve been sampling Gold on and off for years - have my tastes evolved so far? I suspect a reformulation is responsible, and for once, a reformulation for the better! Gold is still enormous, unsubtle, and intensely animalic, but it now strikes me as more nuanced and better balanced. The aldehydes and powder seem to have been toned way down, and the frankincense brought further to the fore. Where the “old” Gold was a musty, dusty, floral, the one I wear now is a rich incense fragrance with a bold floral overlay. Is it easy to wear? No. Does is it smell great? Yes. Once again, go figure…

I really didn't like Amouage Gold Men at all. On one arm I had sprayed Amouage Gold. On the other was Amouage Dia. I gave most of my time to Gold, as I knew Dia was a winner from the first few sprays.

Amouage Gold smells 1) sticky 2) unsanitary and 3) old-fashioned. The "stickiness" comes from the floral honey notes, which I can't stand in fragrances.

The unsanitary element comes from civet, I understand, which is the musk extracted from glands of the civet (African mammals that look like a raccoon mixed with a ferret). Mix it with a bit of ambergris, and there you have it.

The old-fashioned comes from everything else thrown in here and the way they're executed. It's sweet and pungent.. and I don't think I could ever bring myself to find any appreciation for Amouage Gold.

The sillage and longevity were solid. There probably aren't any "middle of the road" folks on this scent. Love it or hate it. Shame that this is the Amouage signature fragrance. Amouage, and Arabian perfumery in general, have so much more to offer. Don't let this fragrance keep you from exploring the other Amouage offerings.

I just opened my Amouage Gold. I sprayed one spray of the vaporizer indirectly on my wrist - not even a concentrated spray - and my reaction as I walked in another room and sat in my easy chair was, and continues to be, WOW. I said to my wife, "Wow!" Incense... a menacing rose that finds its pure, true expression in Lyric... but all I can say is, WOW. It's loud, it's sumptuous, it's a proper sultan's perfume. It is awe-striking... sublime! Gold has spectacular sillage and endurance. A single spray will last all day. You wouldn't wear this for your own benefit; a single spray and you'll be sharing it with your office mates all day. But it is elegant, grand, impressive, as I said, sublime. It's like driving a Rolls Royce. You simply can't drive around in a car like that and not be noticed for the over-the-top grandeur and luxury. This is a Rolls Royce of all fragrances.

If you're a fan of subtle complexities and clever accords, this probably isn't your cup of tea. If you're impressed by, and enjoy, enormous brush strokes, bold colors, loud music... if you know & love Carmina Burana by Carl Orff... and you know your way around fragrances, you will absolutely adore this one. This is the Carmina Burana of fragrances. Take that for what it is. :)

(You may notice that I LOVE this fragrance, and am absolutely, without qualification, impressed by it.)

I recently tried all the current range of mens Amouage. I was tempted to do so after the wonderful experience I had with the Jubilation XXV and Homage.

Gold is wierd! It smells so old fashioned, hard to believe it was made just 25 years ago.
It really has not aged well; in fact I wonder if it would ever have smelt right for a man, I can only imagine a 17th century coiffured dandy wearing this. It is way to flowery and powdery and just too old granny feminine. I'm 42 and can't imagine any man wanting to smell like this whatever their age or sexuality.

Well I will give it a second try, but I need to find a time when I know I won't be exposed to people as I don't want anyone to smell me with this on...it would be like walking around wearing lipstick, rouge and a hairnet!

Amouage Gold for Men

Wow where's the funeral?? Guy Robert has to have created the most intense floral opening I've experienced. This is like being locked in a flower shop overnight. The dominant notes on me seem to be jasmine and rose but I think I get hits of narcissus, tuberose, orange blossom, iris, and carnation. Robert claims to have been able to use whatever ingredients he wanted in composing this and it feels like he went to the shelf that held all of the floral oils and kept adding them in. It takes a good thirty minutes for anything to make itself known besides the floral and when it does it is incense which then leads to a civet and musk filled base leavened with a little wood. I like this but this is an example of when a nose can do whatever he wants, he perhaps goes too far. I could wish for a little less volume in the top and middle of this from the floral notes and more balance from the other notes

The first time I sampled this one I did not actually like it and did not know that this was Amouage's first fragrance,
Then I bought Lyric and jubilation and got a sample of Gold for free.
Applied it once and wow it lasted for ages and the smell takes you out of this world, Bought in auction from ebay last week.

You can not go wrong with amouage!

Amouage Gold (Crystal) for Men (EdT)


Top: rock rose, lily of valley, silver frankinsence
Heart: myrrh, iris, jasmin
Base: ambergris, civet, musk, sandalwood, cedarwood


Well, at least it crabs my attention right away. This is no boring fragrance.

Simply put this is a big and strong floral incense scent with very notable animal notes. Jasmine and civet can be quite challenging combination for many.
Amouage Gold is very feminine scent, and although wearable by men too, I think this requires a certain type of a man with matching clothing too before the scent fits in naturally.
But okay, of course you can wear this with shorts or jogging pants too, if that feels good for you.

This is very rich and luxurious blend. It smells very exotic and Arabian. I understand it is way too much over the top for many men.
Personally I enjoy basically this juice very much, but I have no desire to actually wear it.

Drydown is quite powdery, almost lotion-like.




Amouage Gold Gentleman’s Cologne Spray (EdC)


Top: orange, lemon, orris
Heart: jasmine, rose, geranium, ylang-ylang
Base: amber, patchouli, sandalwood, silver frankinsence


This version is long time ago discontinued, and if I am not mistaken it was in production for very short time. It shares lot similarities with Gold (Crystal) EdT (which of course is still in production) despite the very different olfactory pyramid. It really does smell like a light version of Gold EdT

Much lighter this of the two, more subtle and not that powerfully exotic. Much easier to handle, overall. Very well blended with great balance. It is very round and complex but no notes that stand out particularly. It is an incense scent though, after all.

This develops same kind of powdery base that can be found in EdT. It’s more subdued and stays closer to skin without big sillage.


Amouage Gold (both versions) is very interesting stuff.

Most are familiar with the very early 80's dull-bitter "opulent urine" accord. This has that in spades. And while it does indeed smell expensive, it also smells of Jovan Musk and Old Woman perfume as well. Very strange mixture to smell in 2009. Not recommended unless you really enjoy projecting self-aware parody in your fragrances.

As a guy I really do not have a problem with this one, my only slight criticism is that there is not enough longevity as compared to the Amouage Gold for women. After ten hours of wearing both, what is left of men's certainly has the hint of baby powder as noted above by Scent Surge.
The women's version however has turned into a truly great masculine, sort of pure bred Arab horse wearing a brand new Hermes saddle returns to the Orient. Great stuff!

One of the great mysteries to me. This smells great on my sister as does Gold for women, it is just ok on my mother (as is women), but on me it's just a disaster. Offensive when it first goes on, it then dries down it a baby powder, then it just gets nastier in a way I can't adequately explain.

I gave this 24hrs and it just got worse, it can be said that it has excellent staying power because I had to scrub myself twice to get rid of it.

Lovely on some, just plain nasty on me. Try before you buy!

Dissapointing for such a high price. If you'd like to try this, just go to your local convenience store and for a $1.99 buy a small can or extra-super-hold Aquanet .....smells exactly the same.

Chanel no. 5 for Men (sweet aldehydic floral civet)

Amouage is like caviar, it takes time to learn to taste it, to understand its value, to appreciate it and to feel its inner beauty. After years of being a loyal fan of Chanel Antaeus, it took me almost 2 years of trying and sampling Amouage. Finally I could feel the difference. There is no way back. All other fragrances can be, or are good, but Amouage is much more than just a good fragrance. Amouage is a classy part of who you can be and what you can feel. You must understand the melody first before you can dare to ask for a dance. I wear now Jubilation, Gold and Silver and my wallet is also much lighter since…

My first experience of this was somewhat shocking, even to me. Now, I would like to think I'm an open minded kinda guy an I'm willing to try most things once as long as it is legal and it won't kill me (I even wear Carnal Flower with ease). However, even I was not at all prepared for the epic floral extravaganza that is Amouage Gold. The first blast of this was a floral explosion of such richness and yet such delicacy that I thought that no man could ever pull this one off. This is a shockingly beautiful melange of jasmine, tuberose, civet francinsence and musk like I have never experienced before in a "mens" fragrance. You have to be secure in your masculinity to wear this one, and I most certainly am. In the book "Perfumes: The Guide", this is described as a "Romantic Floral". Very apt..

Just like trotsky behaved in the Oktober revolution, like Caesar crossed the rubicon, like Lincoln and Davies declared the civil war, this is the opposite. Sweet, overpowering classy, aldehydes and civet are the main notes.

My mother commented on it 10 hours after application with 0,3 ml, saying she could feel it in the lungs, and it overpowered the entire room. This was after a night clubbing and a morning traveling. it has parfum strength. She loves this smell.

So, what is this? It is Mark Anthony declaring love to Cleopatra, and bearing children. Ruling and empire, and having mercy. It is about Fredrick the Great giving freedom of religion, sending letters to Voltaire, while Voltaire is having sex with his current lover.

Aristocracy, overstated mercy

Smells like baby powder... I can't see anyone paying that much to smell like baby's butt.

My name is Supermarky and...and... I am a gold crystalaholic!

I love the opening—it’s one of the richest smelling combinations I’ve encountered—gilded floral but not flowery, with a background of priceless but discreet incense. The accord is powdery above all things, but the particular combination of florals, myrrh, and incense creates a wonderfully lascivious and voluptuous opening…for a while, anyway. I wouldn’t necessarily want to wear it, but...it is rich smelling—rich as in wealth as well as in ingredients. “Rich” does have its attractions. The fragrance has a strong sillage: this fragrance was meant to be broadcast to a large audience. I do enjoy the first eight and one-half minutes of the fragrance in a fantasy sort of way—oil wells, Rolls Royces, Renoir paintings—but that is lost all too soon as the richness is lost to the powdery floral / incense middle accord. Its mutated powder is nothing special—it’s premium Johnson & Johnson, and yes, I get the vinegar, too. I think that as the Gold wears on, it continually loses its masculinity. This scent seems to progress from beginning to end from marginal masculinity to greater degrees of femininity; but not today’s definition of femininity. What it seems like is turn-of-the-twentieth-century Victorian boudoir “feminine.” This powder seems to last forever…but it finally gives way to a weak but very lovely wood, amber, and musk drydown that lasts forever. I can’t vote this one a thumbs up: It has some very impressive constructions and moves, but I have too many disagreements with it.

baby powder and floral notes blended nice. not for me though. thumbs down, can't get excited about baby powder and there are so many other frags I would wear over and over till the bottle is empty before I w ar this. hate to say it like that, but its true.

The only Amouage I've tried that I do not like at all (and I've tried all but Cirrus). I have to agree with the Baron - smells like baby powder and vinegar. Sour and bitter, harsh, then very powdery. Somehow soft and powdery, but astringent and caustic at the same time. Posh but ugly. A chaotic mix of things that just never seem to work. Come to think of it, Gold does indeed remind me of spoiled young Saudi royals.

Wow, where to begin. Received a sample of this recently and had high hopes, after all this is supposed to be "The most valuable fragrance in the world"... Well, what can I say, let's put it like this - often less is more, something the good people in Dubai obviously do not grasp. This is a terribly messy, super powdery, aldehydic disaster. We often discuss cultural differences in olfactory perception on the boards, and this one may be the best example of such a clash. The floral and distinct middle-eastern vibe found in Gold just smells extremely feminine to my nose. It's actually very reminiscent of Chanel #5 with a pungent aldehydic, leather-like ooze sprinkled with like, well, most known flowers to man. Grandmother was the very first impression when smelling it. And although the vanilla in the base mellows it out somewhat, the overall feeling here
is that of a mature women's perfume. Not what I look for & there's is just so much going on here -zero balance between the ingredients. It feels like the Amouage people just blended all kinds of exclusive raw materials together without any concept or feeling. Simply appauling. Check out the better (but still dissapointing) Dia if you must have something from this house. Haven't tried all of their stuff yet but this supposed "flagship"-juice indicates yet another manufacturer relying on gimmick and fancy bottles to sell their sub-par products. Powderbox-boquet-overload-meltdown - YUCK.

an exceptional perfume, maybe the best in my collection, it carries with it the spirit of the desert. complex and rich, elegant and precious, yet not only for special occasions.
almost the absolute best.

AMOUAGE GOLD COLOGNE - Much easier to wear than the original EDP concentration, more subtle and less harsh. A beautiful blend of Eastern woods and spices and on my skin the main player is sandalwood and oudh. The rose is a subtle accent throughout the composition, but overall, it is so well-blended that it's hard to discern an individual note. Though this is the cologne, the longevity is perfect and sillage is that of an EDP.

I cannot place my finger on it but this reminds me of the old movies where the brave men of the mid east battled to protect their homeland from invaders. This fragrance is filled with excitement. Very powdery and strong. This tsuff has legs...lasts a long time. It was a joy to discover this and if you want a scent that is not the "normal" smelling stuff this is for you.

I understand that the reason I don't like this, is because my nose isn't at it's fullest. But think about other people around you? They'll start to wonder how much urinal water with a hint of the flowery, you have spilled on yourself...

I really love the men's gold. It is a fragrance of supreme luxury, elegance, and power. To be honest, Amouage Gold is what brought me into a whole new level of fragrance appreciation. I first fell in love with the women's Gold, and then, in rapid order, the men's. After joining basenotes I thought that perhaps it was just my first foray into true quality and niche fragrances, and that after sampling other high quality fragrances I would find it less attractive. But no. Amouage Gold still is, and will probably always be, my holy grail.

Amouage Gold Crystal for men is very similar to the women's, only darker, to my nose by an extra dose of rich, dark, and smooth patchouli in the base. You still get that deliciously decadent and complex jasmine and orris, that musky and sensual civet, and that precious and almost awe-inspiring silver frankincense. It doesn't get any more complex. It doesn't get any more opulent. It doesn't get any more sensual.

Some people may find it too feminine for men, and I agree it can be worn by some women, but...well let's just say that smell is often linked to taste, and when I smell Amouage Gold Crystal for men I conjure up an image of a tall, handsome man with an exquisitely tailored suit and a predatory gleam in his eye...which is exactly what I have a taste for. ;)

The Baron de Charlus once told me: 'Baby powder and vinegar? Cloying cousin of Habit Rouge? Ghost of Ma Griffe? Epitome of European elegance and refinement? Snobbish syrup of the nouveau riche? Impeccable traditions of the ancient perfumes of Araby? Arrogant, spoiled young princes leaving nightclubs in red Ferraris? Calculated creation? Labour of love? Contrived? Crass? Subtle? Sublime? It is all true. True of all Amouage and of Amouage Gold in particular. Postmodernism incarnate!'

I just sampled this and it does smell like baby power with some floral notes. While it is a very pleasant scent - I find it hard to believe that this is a formal evening scent for a male - I was expecting something totally different. On the plus side - the scent does last a long time and as mentioned, it does not evolve very much from the start. It does compliment Dia for men.

This has to be one of the most richly composed scents on the market. Not only is the EdT the strength of an EdP, but the notes, though they don't evolve over a wide spectrum, produce an intoxicating and heady oriental aroma. Expensive, yes, but well worth the price for those who love to make a bold statement. Do sample before purchase as this is far too expensive to take a gamble on.