Aomassai 10
by Parfumerie Generale

Pierre Guillaume’s scents for his own Parfumerie Generale line have been hit-or-miss for me. Some, like Querelle, Yuzu Ab Irato, Coze, and L’Oiseau de Nuit, have been “just OK” as far as I’m concerned. Others, including Intrigant Patchouli and Jardins de Kerylos, have been out-of-the-ball-park hits. Though as a gourmand oriental Aomassai is not the type of scent I normally enjoy, I must now group it with those last two among my favorites from this house.

Smoky vanilla, toasted nuts, and burnt sugar support a smoldering heart accord of incense, licorice, and spices. This dark, dark composition is ideally balanced: the intense smoky quality keeps the structure from teetering into oppressive sweetness. What could have been a trite, cloying scent is instead a paragon of warm, brooding mystery. Aomassai demonstrates what so many inferior gourmand scents could be but aren’t. A marvelous achievement in a difficult genre.

Though now I am a big fan, I wasn't so sure about Aomassai for the first week I was getting to know it. I originally found the caramel opening lacking in richness, as though it were cut 50/50 with water, a very strange sensation. But I came to appreciate the way this less intense sweetness melds so seamlessly with a grassy accord which I can't say is the straight up vetiver note I've come to know. No, this really smells like grass, but again, smoothed out, almost watered down -- a painting in water colors. Toasted hazelnuts, watery grass and watered down caramel whose warm, burnt notes come into focus later on in the development, soft spice, silky woods: The result is a very intriguing, modern, somehow sophisticated and chic combination. This grassy accord, I just can't get enough of how oddly satisfying it is juxtaposed, or I should technically say, woven into, these softly sweet gourmand notes.

I also thought of Mechant Loup while trying to get at the heart of this fragrance. Though they don't smell alike, I think Mechant Loup is an easy fragrance to draw a parallel with to a certain degree because they have a similar "weight" (come to think of it, Aomassai has a very L'Artisan sensibility while retaining commendable lasting power) and they both have gourmand notes and a gourmand feel but intriguingly, they are initially not warm fragrances, but rather, almost cool, wistful, melancholic, evocative of something outside their sweet notes. I know I'm falling prey to the perfumer's description of his own scent but when I wear this, I do feel transported somehow to a vast, open African plane, sitting in the tall grass, the wind carrying something sweet, burnt, cooking above a distant fire. I'm sold. Aomassai is not only a wonderful work of art but also an incredibly satisfying, wearable and versatile fragrance.

Opening accord is sour and watery..Like maybe damp rotten wood...it takes some time to settle to the lovely smell of hazelnuts..here im reminded of the seminal release by L'Artisan Parfumer, Mechant Loup. from here on, it pretty much smells like roasted shells with touch of spices.. after an hour or so, this scent evokes touch of sweetness and smokiness..so what was devoid of any sweetness suddenly reveals sweeter accords...i find this this pretty interesting in PG scents. seems he enjoys doing development of scent in phases. the base is pretty soft and woody with hint of sweetness from resins. stays close to skin though. i'd prefer Mechant loup over it...sorry...

Aomassai is a distinctive gourmand that opens up complexly with roasted hazelnuts, caramel, and a melange of spices, drying down to a simple accord of vanilla and woods. It's an EDT, so longevity and sillage is just average despite the strong start.

This is beautiful, complex, mysterious and perfectly balanced. It's a little tangy at first with a strong vetiver and wood before settling into the wonderful sweet but never cloying mix of vanilla, caramel, nuts and woods. The dry down is extremely pleasant. Staying power seems fantastic with 11 hours and counting for me. I absolutely love it.

This one reminds me of Ava Luxe's Crème Brûlée but is more complex and better composed, with a perfectly balanced sweetness. It's also more superior (and more grown-up) than the other gourmands of this category (Lolita Empicka, A*Men, Rochas Man, etc.). However, while I love the composition of this over, say, Serge Lutens’ Douce Amère, its lasting power is disappointing to say the least.

Personally, this should have been released as an EDP. I'm very much hoping that Aomassai will, one day, be made part of the private collection (which consists only of EDPs) – a fate that was granted to Querelle.

[Original submission date: 11 July 2008]