Reviews of Arcus (2005)
by Amouage

More like a nimbus cloud without the cumulo. Totally boring and dull 'green' fragrance that smells very synthetic. Even selling at half price as was the case couldn't tempt me.

It's a good geranium and mandarin orange flesh scent. Medium sweet and only a hint of salty sea air on the mid-notes. It is a very "wet", "creamy" fragrance, I don't know how else to describe it. I don't get the depth some people are seeing in it here, but I may after I live with it for a while. It is high quality as you'd expect from Amouage. And yes, the bottle is VERY cool, so there's that. Standing on its own, the fragrance is excellent if not (as foetidus pointed out) a big booming fragrance. It's VERY nice and deserves a clear thumbs up. Now... *for the price* is a whole other matter. Maybe not as much. However, I review fragrances on their own merits alone.

I've said it before, you don't buy these things expecting to get any kind of bargain for a few oz of fragrant liquid for hundreds of dollars. It's a luxury item and you pay what you have to to get it. If there's any way you're going to miss the money, or the fragrance is too dear, then get a tester and choose not to buy... you never had to pay for it in order to do that. Its cost never hit your books. For that reason, I don't factor price in my reviews, nor do I think anyone else needs to.

And on its own - Arcus is really nice, natural, mildly sweet, floral & citrus aquatic. One I'm happy to have in my collection!

I have been smelling this one on people since I was a child but didn't know what was it, bought it last week and boy it is good!
If you are used to wear Gold or Jubilation or Silver or Dia this is different as it starts with the citrus.

The moment you spray it, it reminds you of Acqua Di Gio and then in about 5 minutes it transforms into something green. Then the salt appears that does remind you of Erolfa. The dry down is unmistakenly the same as that of 'Halston Catalyst' which in any case is very similar to ADG.

It does not warrant such a high price because it's fairly average and smells like a lot of other much cheaper colognes.

It is kind of ridicilous, isn`t it? The prize I mean, and value for the money.

The juice itself is actually quite nice marine citrus blend, but with the prize like that, "quite nice" isn`t nearly enough.
To me very unoriginal creation, smells somewhat very generic. We have plenty of these oceanic fresh green fragrances with strong ambergris base. Rest of those doesn`t cost this much though, and many of them are even much better.

Herbs and citruses with small dash of fig leaves thown along, some of fresh waxy flowers and sharp woods, everything fixed together with that ambergris.
Its long lasting on me.

This is a scent only for snobs, very wealthy people or / and hardcore Amouage fans.
I`m not any of those.

What?!! A $150 Escape? That is all I got. Calone, fruits, weak longevity and linearity.

4 Sprays. Longevity: 6 Hours. Sillage 60 cm.

Begins with a citrus that has a 'sour melon' note reminiscent of Acqua di you know who, but the lemons keep it happy, dries to a heart note of interesting rain/ocean Jr. Erolfa which only last about half and hour, then the rest ends in a feminine scent that most women would find too flowery. Does it have any virtue? Yes. It's overpriced. Go Amouage! The niche shall make thee rich.
Pass.

Opens aquatic; it’s very nice. It is clean and green—an attractive and high quality accord—more verdant than aquatic. Arcus is green (fig leaves and basil), clean (lime), and a bit salty (geranium). As it develops, it loses the lime, gets greener and saltier, finally ending with a light wood (patchouli and teakwood) / ambergris accord. These are all very good accords and Arcus is a very good scent. But I much prefer Erolfa for just plain attractiveness and for the ability of the notes to fulfill my expectations and artistic appreciation. The literature from Amouage states that the inspiration for Arcus is the “dramatic leading edge of a severe thunderstorm.” It’s not like the thunderstorms I’m used to—none of that ozonic purity / threat, none of that natural olfactory suspense of nature holding her breath. To me Arcus doesn’t have that thunderstorm excitement—it is just too sterile; it seems something assembled in a laboratory rather than a creation inspired by Thor. I’m doing just fine with Erolfa…I haven’t found a better aquatic yet.

Nice scent, uncomplicated and little sexy thing. It lingers for quite a long time, Also you smell so unique.

Greener and fruitier than Erolfa, Arcus could easily pass for a unisex scent. I, too, am not picking up any frankincense here.

This one falls more into the Silver Mountain Water category than the AdG category, IMHO. (Imagine SMW with less tea and more citrus and you've kind of got Arcus cornered.)

I like this one very much (as these types of "fresh, green" fragrances go, that is), but am not willing to plunk down the Abu Dhabi-esque price tag for it. Sorry, it's good but not THAT good.

Arcus is a recent release from the overpriced middle-eastern inspired Amouage line. The Arcus promotional write-up at the Amouage site says: "The dramatic leading edge of a severe thunderstorm, full of jet-black clouds, thunder and lightning, one of nature's most awe-inspiring phenomena, full of overwhelming power, speed and passion." So in a way, Arcus is not directly trying to recreate the sea-side or beach smell.

The fragrance starts off with bright citrus notes - the lemon zest stands out the most, slightly tempered by the sweet fig leaves. The middle notes introduce the star note of Arcus - the marine-like salty geranium. I dont detect any of the listed supporting notes likes basil or lavender. The arcus marine note smells sharp, fizzy and a bit sour - its quite different than the saltry-slightly brine like ozonic accord of Erolfy. But then unlike Erolfa, Arcus isnt trying to recreate the sea air, but that thunderstorm effect instead. I cant say how accurate this recreation is, but it does smell interesting.

Arcus has average sillage and longevity, which might be a problem since its one pricey fragrance. However, I find it to be more wearable and interesting than Bulgari Aqua (which annoys me with its soiled-diaper posidinia note). While I prefer Erolfa, Arcus is worth sampling for its interesting marine accord.

It seems lots of folks on the board were disappointed with Arcus. I like it quite a bit. Fruity, but never too sweet for me. As with all the Amouage scents, it's a little tough for me to pick out any individual notes. Unlike the other Amouage scents, I don't get frankincense here at all. Very summery, light, upbeat, almost sporty, but too laid-back for that. It gives me a very easy-going, positive mood. The marine note is present but very short-lived. In fact, so is the scent. Takes lots of sprays to make this one project or stick. I like it, but for the money, I'd probably run through the bottle too quickly.

I like this fragnance very much. The notes follow. Top notes: fig leaves, lime zest, and bergamot. Heart notes: basil, lavender, cyclamen, and salty geranium. Base notes: lichen, patchouli, teakwood, and ambergris. I enjoy a smell of the ocean that is more like the real thing than does Erolfia, etc. At first it smelled odd, but I appreciate it more everytime I use it. I found Arcus to be well worth the price.