Amouage create Memoir fragrances inspired by Baudelaire

Amouage have announced the launch of Memoir Man and Memoir Woman. Consistent with the fragrances released over the past three years, Memoir presents a new chapter in the narrative conceived by Creative Director, Christopher Chong. Bucking the industry norm of a dominant woman’s fragrance, Chong instead conceived the two Memoir fragrances from a male point of view. Memoir Man, a Fougère, took the creative lead that then informed the development of Memoir Woman.

Inspired by the genius of the 19th Century French poet, Charles Baudelaire, Chong embarks on a deep and inquisitive voyage to unlock the unfathomable mysteries that reside within human nature. He expresses these influences by coalescing the provoking and potent ingredient of Absinth with other floral and wood accords to evoke a sombre mood.

Incarnated from the introspective pages of Baudelaire’s volume of poetry Les Fleurs du Mal (Flowers of Evil), Chong’s Memoir Man seeks to uncover his identity by seeking the underworld where he meets his other self and alter ego, the Black Swan. In this emporium of vice and damnation, the anguish, the unwanted, the dark, the haunting and the unmentionable are all beauty of the truth.

Represented as the female gender in this story, the Black Swan is Memoir Woman; she is him and he is her. Hauntingly, they come together as one representing each other’s past, present and future in which they mimic each other’s sorrow and pain. They are separated and reunited by the memoir they share, which Chong constructs in these philosophical and mesmerizing fragrances by piecing together contradictory fragments of accords.

Memoir Man unmasks itself with a seductive green sensation of Mint pervading to an intoxicated journey of Absinth and Wormwood, which opens the door to the underworld of self discovery. The fragrance continues to express the complexity and philosophy of the Black Swan with the intricate richness of sophisticated Vetiver.

Memoir Man Notes: Absinth, Wormwood, Basil, Mint; Heart Notes: Rose, Frankincense, Lavender Absolute; Base Notes: Sandalwood, Vetiver, Guaiac wood, Amber, Vanilla, Musk, Oakmoss, Leather, Tobacco

Memoir Woman manifests with a spicy fusion of Absinth to resonate the magical aura of the Black Swan. This transformation is enhanced by deconstructing the redolent Tuberose to its core and reassembling the note in a white floral accord with Lisylang and Orange Blossom. As Chong explains, “I wanted to create a haunting fragrance that is beyond the restriction of gender and one that is both hypnotic and bewitching. I articulate this aspect by increasing the dark wood accord with cashmeran, sandalwood and patchouli supported by an animalic accord in the base to neutralise the gender difference.”

Memoir Woman : Top Notes: Mandarin, Cardamom, Absinth, Pink Pepper; Heart Notes: Pepper, Clove Bud, Opulent White Blossoms, Rose, Jasmine, Precious Dark Wood, Frankincense; Base Notes: Styrax, Oakmoss, Castoreum, Leather, Labdanum, Fenugreek, Musk

Resembling black fog rising from the wet cobbled streets of Europe, both bottles are made of black glass crystal graduating from a dark to a lighter shade with silver metal caps accentuated by a multi-faceted black Swarovski crystal. Memoir is presented in a silver-tone coffer with myriad shades of black to support the Black Swan feather motif and is available in 50ml and 100ml Eau de Parfum.