Amouage Journey (First 4)

My notes..

1) Lyric for Men - Ok, it is a beautiful rose.. and it's high quality, no question. Longevity and projection are mildly impressive.. but it's linear on my skin. Its development is not dramatic and the rose isn't blended nicely like it is in Black Aoud, No. 88, or my absolute favorite (and MUST HAVE) Homage. Vibert said it perfectly when he noted that Amouage must do better, at their price points, with the competition offering a nicer rose in more enjoyable fragrances.

2) Gold for Men - This one was a scrubber. My apologies in advance for fans of this fragrance. "Honey and cat pee"? Yes.. "urinal water"? Yes. Sickening.. Is this the Amouage "flagship" scent? What a shame. Monster silage, projection and longevity - it kept me awake last night. It smelled unclean - disturbingly so. I would never ever wear this.. and I'd love to hear some people step up and tell me where I'm going wrong.

3) Dia for Men - Absolutely gorgeous. It reminds me of several extremely high quality fragrances. The transformation is just beautiful. THIS is luxury, opulence and an absolutely spectacular offering. Longevity, silage, projection are perfect. Worth purchasing a full bottle without question.

4) Ciel for Men - Well yes.. I see how people can see it being generic. The honey seems to really clash with other things going on in the opening, which is fresh and bright. I got annoyed with it, but not sickened. Longevity and silage are paltry. Add the fact the price is high, being Amouage, I'll enjoy the rest of my 2ml sample and doubt I'll find any further need to return to Ciel.

Thanks -

I have yet to try Reflection, Arcus, Jubilation XXV, Cirrus or any of the "For Women/Pour Femme" line. I'll post my thoughts on those next.

mtgprox05 - Dia, to me, is able to be delicate and masculine at the same time. The incense, amber and vetiver shine through beautifully. I already noted it was extremely opulent and luxurious - note pyramid is as follows (from BN):

• Top Notes
• Bigarade, Cardamom, Incense, Cistus Labdanum .
  Middle Notes
• Ylang-Ylang, Orris, Peony, Plum Blossom .
  Base Notes
• Vetiver, Leather, Amber, Patchouli, Palissander .

If I can't afford Homage at $400 + tax, for 12ml, Dia seems the next best thing.. though without the beautiful dark rose, frankincense and oud.

Last night I tried Jubiliation XXV (For Men), Reflection, and Silver Cologne.

Silver Cologne reminded me a bit of Creed's Royal Water. It must share at least 2 notes in common. It faded the most rapidly of the 3 I tried, but while it lasted it was divine. Does anybody else see the similarities to RW? I think I'd have chosen Silver Cologne over Creed's RW if I had that choice at the time. "Silver Snuggles" is what foetidus calls it.. though I'm not sure it is the most masculine of the Amouage fragrances I've tried. That might go to Dia.

Reflection is still with me this morning. In the dry down it has a sweet vanilla (or is that musk?) with something else I'm unable to put my finger on - tobacco?. Nice projection and silage! I was worried at first that this was going to end up sneaking in some of the Amouage Gold "dirty" notes as it settled. Not at all. It's solid - crisp, and reminds me of a more "manly" FM Musc Ravageur with more complexity and opulence. Anybody who wears Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille would enjoy this one, I think. I'd consider it, as I don't have anything along these lines in my wardrobe.

Jubilation XXV is a winner. I'd give this one and Reflection a perfect 5/5. The one thing I noticed is that it stays closer to my skin than the others did. It is the most complex of the 3 and easily the most beautiful. Franincense, amber, patchouli, vetiver? No wonder I enjoy it. The dry down is soft - very soft and beautiful. It reminds me of an extremely luxurious soap - not soapy, but the scent lingering on my skin is addictive.

Homage is still my favorite.. it's like a Stradivarius violin - the most special fragrance I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing to date, I'd say. It outperforms any of the other Amouage scents if I'm basing that on their complexity and mysterious allure. It's hard for me to pit them against one another, as they are all gems in their own right.

I'm going to give all of these "full wearings" and plan to, at some point, have a wardrobe with multiple Amouage fragrances. Could it be that at some point wear nothing but Amouage?

At this point in my life I feel like I've just taken several high-end cars for test drives. Have I reached the "level" where I could have 4 full bottles of Amouage and wear them daily? I don't think so. I have too many things to accomplish first before I could justify it to myself. I'd be way out of my element driving a Bentley and I think the same applies to wearing Amouage.

There are too many other fragrances that are tried, tested and true loves in my wardrobe right now. Despite that, I'm conerned it won't stop my fascination for Amouage.

I think so.. it is Silver Cologne on my 2ml vial, but the notes seem to match. I'm very new to Amouage, so I'm not 100% certain.

How is Ubar?

My pleasure, Jenson

I've changed my favorites after wearing all of the Amouage fragrances multiple times since the first post. I haven't obtained a full bottle of any of them yet, but in order..

1) Reflection Man
2) Dia Man
3) Jubilation XXV

And I'm omitting Homage only because it's an obvious favorite, though at the same time way too expensive for me to consider. I think I'd get a lot more out of Reflection.

LOL It might be at some point! I guess there was one very fine evening I wore Reflection when it had a chance to really shine. Compliments galore, and I was enjoying my sillage for hours and hours from 3 sprays.

Does every bottle still come with the small paper signed by the artist who crafted and filled it? That's classy.

I posted a link to a YouTube video a while ago showing a small tour of the Amouage factory. It's true - one of the best niche houses.