Amouage Homage (2008)
by Amouage

Enveloping sweet rose but the oud just makes it smell artificial just as it does in Montale Black Aoud. A plastic rose. A rubbery rose. A medicinal rose. Take your pick. An unnecessarily encumbered rose. Dries down eventually to a lightly incensed rose which is very pretty. Homage's many partisans obviously appreciate the rose-oud accord and the way it's presented here. I never will.

14th January, 2012.

This is one of the most beautiful rose fragrances I’ve encountered. It opens up with a very light rose in the sense that it isn’t overpowering and cloying, but deep in that it is ever present. There is a touch of the silver frankincense that comes through and some slight woody oud notes. None of the animalistic, medicinal oud, but just the light ever present woody qualities. This lasts forever being an oil and is just a luxury to wear. Maybe slightly feminine, but I certainly have no qualms about wearing it. Great stuff.

12nd January, 2012.

This fragrance opens with the most beautiful Rose fragrance I haver ever smelled. This is a true masterpiece and I only hope that I can find a fragrance that can equal this offering from Amouge. Holy grail material.

29th August, 2011.

When I received my SMALL 0.4 oz cube I was shocked by the size. More so I was shocked by the strength of the top notes. I applied way too much. However, over the course of the evening the Attar was bliss. This was art well received by my nose and the euphoria was nothing I ever experienced before. For those who knock it...give it another chance. This is worth every star Luca Turin blessed. May I mention 2 DROPS IS PLENTY.

1st June, 2011. (Last Edited: 13rd June, 2011.)

Homage Attar opens up with some tarty citrus notes, soft florals from the rose taifi and jasemine, all balanced with shimmer silver frankincense and oud. The florals and rose in this is a bit soapy, not the sweet variant. I've smelt something similar to this, but can't place it. Some say it resembles Joy by Jean Patou, but I wouldn't know, because I've never smelt it. Homage Attar is a very robust, full-bodied, beautiful scent. Most perfumes I find opulent are too formal smelling for everyday use or reserved for formal occasions. The beauty of Homage is how opulent it smells, yet you can wear it casually as an everyday scent. A scent that can make you feel like a King or Queen every day, even if you're not.

2nd December, 2010. (Last Edited: 11th March, 2011.)

The ultra exclusive (ultra expensive) Homage by Amouage is quite a work of art. Every single time I wear it, it reveals a little bit more of itself to me.

One of the most unique parts of Homage is the tart explosion of citrus notes that are incorporated into the top notes. It is an effect you rarely smell in attars and the smell reminds me of Turkish Delight candy (the original rose flavored ones) with lemon juice squeezed over top. Sweet and sour. Dusty (the confectioners sugar) and chewy (sweet rosy gelatin). Just delicious smelling, not too sweet and perfectly diffused onto the skin.

Application of an oil like this can be tricky for most of us guys - I admit, some mornings I grab, spray and go. Homage is an oil, and it needs to be applied by dabbing it on, which can feel awkward. Also over applying is also easy to do with an oil based scent. For this scent, you need a very little amount of this scent to pack a wallop of sillage and longevity. I found myself dabbing it on my wrists, behind my ears (I know, I know...), the inside crooks of my elbows and a tiny bit on my chest.

The rose arrives somewhat quickly after the citrus burns off and as I've said before it smells like a huge garden of roses and flowers have been collected and distilled into this scent. Roses, white flowers (something slightly indolic...jasmine?), lillies, and a ton of other flowers I can't pinpoint. At one point I get a little dusty texture to the floral element that evoked a feeling of flower pollen in the air. Lovely. I think this is the part of the scent, that scares most men testing Homage. You have to be comfortable wearing a strong floral, to like this part of the development.

The rose is said to be a taif rose. Other scents I've encountered with this note are Ta'if Roses by Montale and A.maze by People of the Labyrinths. TR is hard to 'get' the taif rose accord in because it has that HUGE Montale medicinal, aoud accord cutting through it. A.maze was incredibly good, but also gothic, vampire dark, animalic and didn't smell of other florals. I enjoyed A.maze immensely (the parfum is much better than the EdT) but because it is a alcohol based scent it tends to create potent and invasive sillage. It also features saffron and this is tricky on my skin. Homage on the other hand, applied discreetly, is rather rich and complex. I don't feel a trail of floral leaving my body when I step up and walk across the room. However closer to my personal space the rose, frankincense and aoud beam off my skin quite nicely.

It smells fantastic when my body temperature rises, which surprised me. I took a walk alongside the marina next to my office this morning (it's a hot Miami day) and Homage didn't get cloying or too heavy. The sweat and fresh air kicked up the salty frankincense a bit more. A good thing.

Is it worth $350 for 12 milliliters? Hard question to answer. It is not more than 10 times better than A.maze parfum ($215 for 100 ml), but it is more than 10 times more expensive. However, I've never personally advocated owning only scents I think are 'worth it'.

The category of rose scents is a crowded one. Homage deserves a place very close to the top.

29th August, 2010.