Amouage Homage (2008)
by Amouage

Regardless of the note pyramid, when I put Homage on my skin, it turns into citrus, mangoes and roses over an ethereal and clean (white) musk. I get barely any frankincense - I seriously get *just enough to keep the whole thing grounded. I'm really surprised to read others reviews here mentioning oud too, as I'm not getting any of it upfront either. The incense and woods here are very muted and very distant to my nose for some reason. Perhaps it's the blending.

Either way, as different as my experience is from others, I still rank this as one of the most beautiful fragrances I've ever smelled. Homage easily fits into my list of favorites. Homage is quite exotic smelling, to the point that I used to think I just couldn't find the right occasion to wear it. I figured it was just too majestic, too mysterious and too beautiful. Well, so much for that. I now realize that you can wear this any time, as long as you're prepared to match it with a confident attitude. In other words, you wouldn't want to drive around in a Bentley while looking all nervous and self conscious now would you?

Anyway, as it stands, I do love Homage very much. But there are faults even in the most beautiful flowers. For example, the opening of Homage is quite sharp, and the base of white musk is a little generic. And so, I can't see myself purchasing a bottle at full retail price any time soon. 350$ is just too much for a bottle of perfume that isn't perfect in every way. I do, however, like Homage enough to have purchased a decant for those days when I really want to shine.

9.25/10

Note: There are some Middle Eastern attars out there that are similar to Homage and cost only a small fraction of what they are asking for Homage. While they may be hard to find here in North America, I've tried a few that are almost as good as Homage, if not on par. Sadly, the names of them escape me. Perhaps that's a reason to purchase Homage - it'll save you hassle of trying everything else out there.

An attar of rose, orange and silver frankincense. There are bound to be other ingredients but these are the stars of this show and they each have about equal weight in the overall results. A single dot of a drop of Homage will fill your personal space with this uplifting radiance. A couple drops and it will last most of the day. The frankincense is the most unusual part of the fragrance as it is a very shimmering pure frankincense with little heaviness. I receive a healing balm type of effect from this fragrance when I wear it. Unlike many other attars and oils this is very bright and radiant avoiding darkness altogether. It is simply a wonderful blend of three very vibrant essences: rose - orange - frankincense.

I like!

Aw crap! It’s about as good as everyone says it is. Now I’m liable to have to spend a gazillion bucks to get myself some.

The formula as advertized for Homage sounds simple: rose, oudh, frankincense, and citrus. Yet two of those ingredients, rose and oudh, are at their best so intricately nuanced and profound that they defy analytical description. That Pierre Montale has built an entire line of (mostly) distinct scents around these same two notes hints at the vast scope the rose-oudh pairing offers. Homage does indeed present rose and oudh at their complex and inscrutable best, and the addition of Amouage’s justly touted frankincense secrets them off into a realm of olfactory fantasy inhabited exclusively by djinns and ifrits.

Comparison with Montale’s oudh-and-rose scents is inevitable, but nothing that I’ve smelled from Montale comes close to Homage in style. The rose used in Homage is at once spicier and sweeter than Montale’s, with echoes of nutmeg, cardamom, and raspberry liqueur. Amouage’s oudh is more rounded and yielding, softer and less medicinal than Montale’s, yet still in possession of that deliciously bitter, saffron-like edge that makes the resin so irresistible to my nose. Homage is heady and enveloping and persistently claims your attention. You don’t just wear this fragrance – you wallow in it. Such an unapologetically dense, heavy fragrance is not for everyone, nor every occasion, yet there is a certain clarity in Homage’s structure that may actually render it more wearable for some than the more powdery and animalic Gold (both men’s and women’s). At $350 US or so for a 12ml bottle of perfume oil, this isn’t going to be a lemming, but I can understand the critical enthusiasm: Homage is worth smelling just for the experience.

I have recently received my sample package via luckyscent containg among others the vial with Homage Attar.
Having read some reviews, I was very sceptical about my liking it... That was totally unnecessary, since this is a really beautiful fragrance!
I cannot detect every single note of this, but what I can say is, that it is remarkably lush and well-rounded. It smells quite fresh, but it is not the usual lemon scent. The blend is just very dense and the citrus, the rose and the silver frankinsence appear for my nose at the same time. I was happy to note that the lasting power is sufficient. 4 hours after applying a tiny little dab is perfect and - unless I didn't reapply - it would have lasted longer! The drydown smells clean. Read my Chanel No. 5 review to get what I mean.
This is my first impression on Homage and I will try to enrich my essay on describing it!

This is wonderful!
Almost as good as (or maybe better) than jubilation for men.
You really need to like Oud to get on with this, but if you do then you are in for a real treat.
I'm not sure how practical it is to wear, I love everthing about it....but I think it would be difficult to wear in most social situations simply because oud is an acquired taste. I think most people could grow to love oud, but there initial reaction may be negative.

Still this is definetly worth trying on your skin. Price wise it is out of my league...but I can dream :-)

This is an absolutely beautiful rose fragrance. The best I've ever had the pleasure of inhaling. Even now as I'm typing I'm straining my neck as I keep my nose to the part of my arm I dabbed from the sample. I must get this fragrance, I MUST!!!

It's not a "masculine" fragrance AT ALL, but who cares when it's this beautiful. This type of beauty knows no bounds, especially not gender boundaries.

I want future wife (whoever she may be) to smell like this on our wedding day. Heck, I'll be wearing this to my wedding day!