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Amouage Memoir Man: Initial Impressions - Page 3

post #121 of 144
3/5/12 at 10:50pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gerbick View Post

I've seen mention of a burnt rubber accord a few times in this thread... and honestly today was the first time I picked up on that. I always smelled something way back in there that I didn't agree with... but found a deal on Memoir, jumped on it.

It's a burnt, almost greasy smell... but it's only in the transition from top notes to mid-notes for me. Then it's gone. That's the only part of the scent I dislike.

I think I know exactly what you are all talking about and I pick it up too, but to me it registers more as a skunky note. I get some of this in natural wormwood, and I've no doubt it is contributing to the effect as the thujonic top notes of the wormwood oil disappear and leave the bitter green remains.

I actually really love the effect, because it is relatively short lived on me (seems to appear only from the 10-30 minute mark, and most often only lasts rather perceptibly for maybe 5 minutes).
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post #122 of 144
3/6/12 at 2:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SculptureOfSoul View Post

I think I know exactly what you are all talking about and I pick it up too, but to me it registers more as a skunky note. I get some of this in natural wormwood, and I've no doubt it is contributing to the effect as the thujonic top notes of the wormwood oil disappear and leave the bitter green remains.

I actually really love the effect, because it is relatively short lived on me (seems to appear only from the 10-30 minute mark, and most often only lasts rather perceptibly for maybe 5 minutes).

That might explain my dislike for the scent. It is sounding more and more like it *is* a skin chemistry issue with me, as that burnt rubber accord appears after 1 minute, and stays on my skin in full force for hours until the scent goes away. It overpowers all other notes on me.
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post #123 of 144
3/6/12 at 7:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by drseid View Post

That might explain my dislike for the scent. It is sounding more and more like it *is* a skin chemistry issue with me, as that burnt rubber accord appears after 1 minute, and stays on my skin in full force for hours until the scent goes away. It overpowers all other notes on me.

I assumed that was some oud in there.
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post #124 of 144
3/6/12 at 7:56am
I know that for me, this was the one that sent me down the path to niche. I am a novice, but prior to smelling this, I did not know that something like this could exist. I would check the forums wondering why my John Varvatos didn't last very long. When I finally smelled Memoir there was a resounding 'OHHHH'. Spiritual or otherwise, one does quite a bit of research prior to spending that much for a bottle of perfume. As I said before, it was the beautiful description by SOS in the original few posts that helped me to realize that I was not entirely crazy for wanting to do so... and, you know, it smells creamy...
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post #125 of 144
3/6/12 at 8:08am
It is interesting to me though, how many people seem to have identified Epic and Memoir as sort of brother and sister scents. I was initially torn between the two as well and ultimately purchased the bottle of Memoir because it was smoother and a little bit more of an every day wear. I then bought 15ml worth of Epic because I had to have it on hand for special occasions.
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post #126 of 144
4/5/12 at 10:50pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rickbr View Post

It seems that memoir man has an excellent sillage and longevity. I sprayed my sample on me at 7:00 am, and when i got at home, 8:00pm, my sister told me that my smell stayed during all the day on the kitchen. She told me: "that Hermés you wore today got impregnated on that point of the kichen" (she pointed to where i was standing when i sprayed memoir man). She thought it was Eau des Merveilles, her favorite.
Memoir Man has the same problem as Opus II has to me, which is execution problems. I love the way they open on skin, but what comes next in both is not memorable. They created a dark concept, based on a black swam, which is not achieved. It smells good, but it lacks something. Maybe they should have explored more the smoky, resinous aroma of the incense in contrast with the wormwood and mint, and really used the leather and moss at the base to make the tobacco woody aura less generic. It would have been terrific, but they way it is present it`s just great. I can see that it`s pleasant, but i don`t see myself spending 300 dollars on this one. I hope that it satisfies someone more than it satisfied me...

Rick, it's funny that she said that so long ago. I'm wearing Memoir Man again (third day in a row!) and just earlier in the day revisited Eau des Merveilles. I now get a strong connection between them - they share a particular creamy note - I think it's something in the amber/ambergris accord in each. I'm 99% sure that this is the same ingredient/aromachemical shared between them. I'd love to know what it is. Many have described Eau des Merveilles as being creamy, and I've read a few times people picking up on an 'inkiness' in EdM, and surely Memoir shares the creaminess and inky facets.

Does anyone else pick up a similarity between the two scents? I'm not saying that the final products smell alike - I'm just curious if anyone else would agree that the creamy/inky facet is shared between the two scents.
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post #127 of 144
4/6/12 at 6:42am
I don't know Eau des Merveilles, but I tried Givenchy Insense the other day, and couldn't believe how much it reminded me of Memoir Man.

And thanks for this thread--it inspired me to pick up a bottle.
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post #128 of 144
4/6/12 at 7:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SculptureOfSoul View Post

I think I know exactly what you are all talking about and I pick it up too, but to me it registers more as a skunky note. I get some of this in natural wormwood, and I've no doubt it is contributing to the effect as the thujonic top notes of the wormwood oil disappear and leave the bitter green remains.

I actually really love the effect, because it is relatively short lived on me (seems to appear only from the 10-30 minute mark, and most often only lasts rather perceptibly for maybe 5 minutes).

I wore Memoir Man for the first time yesterday. Seven hours later I was sitting at home with the windows open. I thought I smelled a skunk. I asked my wife if she smelled it, but she didn't.

After reading what SculptureOfSoul wrote, I just realised that it was the skunky, burnt rubber note in Memoir Man.
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post #129 of 144
4/6/12 at 9:19am
I loved the opening, but the drydown is primarily iso-e super, which I didn't like. It makes the base seem cheap and one dimensional, and basically ruined the frag for me. This could have been great, but the perfumer cut corners and made a cheap synthetic base for a frag that is not cheap and really deserves better.
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post #130 of 144
4/6/12 at 9:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian Chambers View Post

I tried Givenchy Insense the other day, and couldn't believe how much it reminded me of Memoir Man.

I don't know why yet, but makes somehow sense...let me do a side by sde test...
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post #131 of 144
4/6/12 at 11:44pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dorje123 View Post

I loved the opening, but the drydown is primarily iso-e super, which I didn't like. It makes the base seem cheap and one dimensional, and basically ruined the frag for me. This could have been great, but the perfumer cut corners and made a cheap synthetic base for a frag that is not cheap and really deserves better.

It had been a long time since I wore this, and then I wore it for the last 3 days in a row as I really fell in love with it all over again. There *is* a bit much iso e super in it though - enough that it actually causes me a bit of discomfort in my throat (TdH and all other iso e super heavy frags do this to me, too ). It seems that many of the frags I love are ies heavy, which is just cruel as they cause me some amount of discomfort (7 by Loewe comes to mind, too).

I sprayed this onto a piece of paper, and then Escentric's Molecule 01 onto another piece of paper and followed their progression over the course of a few days. There's definitely a lot more still going on in the base of Memoir than *just* iso e (there's still a smoky element, some guiac, a creamy musk, a vetiver note (the same vetiver that sames to be paired w/ ies in Encre Noire) and a vanilla/chocolate note), but there's enough iso e there for it to be recognizable. I don't think it's fair to say that it's primarily ies, but for those sensitive to or those who just have an aversion to ies, yes, the base will be a disappointment.

I too wish that the ies was reduced a bit in the fragrance. It's still overall my favorite fragrance, but I don't know how much I can wear it if it continues to cause me discomfort .
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post #132 of 144
4/7/12 at 12:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SculptureOfSoul View Post

It had been a long time since I wore this, and then I wore it for the last 3 days in a row as I really fell in love with it all over again. There *is* a bit much iso e super in it though - enough that it actually causes me a bit of discomfort in my throat (TdH and all other iso e super heavy frags do this to me, too ). It seems that many of the frags I love are ies heavy, which is just cruel as they cause me some amount of discomfort (7 by Loewe comes to mind, too).

I sprayed this onto a piece of paper, and then Escentric's Molecule 01 onto another piece of paper and followed their progression over the course of a few days. There's definitely a lot more still going on in the base of Memoir than *just* iso e (there's still a smoky element, some guiac, a creamy musk, a vetiver note (the same vetiver that sames to be paired w/ ies in Encre Noire) and a vanilla/chocolate note), but there's enough iso e there for it to be recognizable. I don't think it's fair to say that it's primarily ies, but for those sensitive to or those who just have an aversion to ies, yes, the base will be a disappointment.

I too wish that the ies was reduced a bit in the fragrance. It's still overall my favorite fragrance, but I don't know how much I can wear it if it continues to cause me discomfort .

That's true, I was a little harsh because it started out so good, but then I ended up disappointed with it. I also have gotten more sensitive to iso-e super over time. The base definitely isn't just iso-e, but to me it was the dominant note... it kind of carries everything else on waves of fuzzy, cedary sillage.
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post #133 of 144
4/7/12 at 12:56am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dorje123 View Post

That's true, I was a little harsh because it started out so good, but then I ended up disappointed with it. I also have gotten more sensitive to iso-e super over time. The base definitely isn't just iso-e, but to me it was the dominant note... it kind of carries everything else on waves of fuzzy, cedary sillage.

I wonder if there was some technical reason that the perfumer utilized ies as she did. I hope that I can become less sensitive to ies (I went from being SUPER sensitive to it, to a sensitivity level that is 'moderately above normal'), although I'm not sure that that is the only note bothering me here (or in TdH or 7, for that matter). It's just not fair that the closest thing I've found to a grail causes me pain to wear. Perhaps I'll become the first 'perfume martyr'
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post #134 of 144
6/27/12 at 4:46am
I just came back from the Amouage store, count me in as somebody who is torn between Memoir and Epic man. I've got samples of both which I'm going to test over the next few days, but boy it's going to be a tough one! My initial instinctive reaction led me to prefer Epic, since it packed a wallop and continued to steam along strong showboating its complexity and "amouageness" whilst Memoir seemed to trail off and seem subtle and elusive rather abruptly. Go figure I get home and give my left hand a liberal spray of Memoir and now it's coming into perspective, I'm really starting to like it a lot more now, very curious to see how it develops.
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post #135 of 144
6/27/12 at 5:28am
I find Memoir much more complex than Epic.
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post #136 of 144
6/27/12 at 5:44am
Memoir Man has a bit more of a story to tell, I think. After the stroll thru the woods as the light fades you are confronted with smouldering embers in a fireplace - the dark frankincense that emerges after the amazing greenery is wonderfully austere, one of the best IMO.

Personally I find Epic Woman more interesting than Man - a lot of the same Silk Road story herbal and medicinal facets but a bit more flora in evidence, without the relentless linearity.

They're all good - tough choice, huh?
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post #137 of 144
6/27/12 at 9:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mr. reasonable View Post

Memoir Man has a bit more of a story to tell, I think. After the stroll thru the woods as the light fades you are confronted with smouldering embers in a fireplace - the dark frankincense that emerges after the amazing greenery is wonderfully austere, one of the best IMO.

Personally I find Epic Woman more interesting than Man - a lot of the same Silk Road story herbal and medicinal facets but a bit more flora in evidence, without the relentless linearity.

They're all good - tough choice, huh?

Yes! I think this one may come down to a coin toss.
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post #138 of 144
7/3/12 at 6:20pm
+1 for Memoir. (and another +1 for preferring Epic's feminine blend to the masculine one).

Depending on what you do, you might have trouble wearing Epic Man frequently - it really is a fog horn and most of the comments I get when I wear it pertain to its strength (with a mere 2 sprays) more than its beauty. I bought it a full year prior to Memoir yet have hardly managed to put a dent in that green bottle. Memoir is incredibly versatile. Cool in the summer, warming in the winter.

Memoir Man never ceases to impress.
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post #139 of 144
7/4/12 at 12:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by FumeHood View Post

Memoir Man never ceases to impress.

I agree, it just might be my favorite from Amouage.
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post #140 of 144
7/4/12 at 1:11am
Just got back from the Amouage store, I ended up getting Memoir over Epic. I didn't even bother sampling anything else again, I didn't want any doubt!
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post #141 of 144
7/4/12 at 1:17am
I was gonna say perhaps consider holding off for a few days as Interlude is being released real soon, but I don't think you'll regret adding Memoir to your arsenal.
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post #142 of 144
7/4/12 at 1:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shiny Beast View Post

I was gonna say perhaps consider holding off for a few days as Interlude is being released real soon, but I don't think you'll regret adding Memoir to your arsenal.

I've got a sample of it on now, will report back later!
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post #143 of 144
7/4/12 at 1:33am
Thread Starter 
If you enjoy Memoir I'd get it, as I don't think Interlude is a replacement as such. Well, they do have a few commonalities, but overall I'd say Interlude is simpler and definitely less introspective and 'brooding' as Memoir can sometimes be. Interlude is probably even more versatile than Memoir though - or at least I think most would feel that way.
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post #144 of 144
11/23/12 at 7:19am
Just tried the MM. I was thinking perhaps similarities with Guerlain's Sous Le Vent. Anyone?
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