Are you unsure which Amouage suits your taste? In this article I go through my personal favorites and I’ll give some pointers, based on the ones that I have sampled properly, so you have a good starting point to explore this brand. There are still many Amouages that I don’t know well enough to speak on, but I cover about 50 of their releases in this guide. I’ve divided them into: Top Picks, Men’s Releases, Women’s Releases, Exceptional Extraits, Library Collection (Opus) & Attars. As always, I suggest sampling fragrances yourself, before buying. You can click on the name of each fragrance for more info.

WHERE TO BUY?

Amouage
Beautinow (10% off with ‘SAVE10’)
Bergdorf Goodman
FragranceX
Harrods
Neiman Marcus
Selfridges

GENERAL

Amouage is one of the older niche brands, with a dedicated following. Older releases were rather traditional and ‘niche’, with a lot of incense and spices in their DNA. They were not always as mass appealing. Since 2020 the brand has changed its course; introducing flankers, diversifying with more mass appealing or modern styles, while continuing their traditions, for example in the Opus line. By now, it’s a wide range that includes styles for every taste.

TOP PICKS

Epic 56
I have many favorites from Amouage, but Epic 56 is my number one pick. It builds on the facets of Epic Woman that I enjoy most, in providing an oily, dense green and aromatic rose. Performance is spectacular on me and I think it’s worth the premium over the already amazing Epic Woman. Epic 56 is in the top 5 of my collection at the time of writing.

Jubilation XXV 
I could argue Jubilation 40 as well, but I think the value proposition here leans in favor of Jubilation XXV. A classic from Amouage, with a soft fruitiness and smokiness and a resinous, earthy core. This reminds me of a fruit tea, but not in a light sense; it feels opaque and moody (although, apparently newer batches are perceived to be less heavy than the one I own).

Sunshine Woman
One of the most unisex ones and one that I find unusually named. Sunshine Woman is quite hefty, with a soft tobacco and fruity osmanthus that adds a leathery tinge. I find this more of an Autumn/Winter scent.

Reflection Man
Easily one of the more accessible and mass appealing Amouages pre-2020. A fresher, but masculine leaning scent with a floral opening. Sometimes put in the same category as the original JPG Le Male, but for me, much less sweet and less powdery. This is an office-staple in my collection.

MEN’S RELEASES

This includes the post-2020 releases that are no longer named Man or Woman, but keep the differentiating bottle designs. I’ve sorted them losely based on popularity.

Interlude Man / Interlude Black Iris
At least for how well I know them, I found the original Interlude and the Black Iris flanker similar enough to group together. This is a very popular DNA, that I personally find too overbearing to wear. Extremely strong, spicy, but in particular the oregano note can be divisive. A real statement maker.

Beach Hut Man
Another one that I find interestingly named. This is not your average beachy fragrance, nor is it ‘blue’. This is a green, woody, minty scent with some tartness. Very classy and gentleman-like for a fresher profile.

Gold Man
The original Amouage, first released in 1983 and for better or worse, it does smell retro. Perhaps batch variations over time make a difference here, but in my testing I found this quite challenging. Especially the opening, with some pissy florals that grows powdery. An acquired taste.

Dia Man
A bit of a sleeper; this Dia Man has the signature style of the older Men’s Amouage’s, but is more subtle and toned down than most of the others. A great, resinous spicy office scent with sweet powder and soft woods.

Overture Man
This is starting to go in the history books as ‘the last of the old Amouages’. Overture is a big fragrance, with a lot of facets. Boozy, leathery and a divisive cumin note. I personally prefer Overture Woman.

Memoir Man
A thick, resinous, green tobacco. Green, yet warm and when I sampled it, I found it surprisingly sweeter than I’ve heard from most other people. Yet, a mature and more forest-like tobacco than your average sweet tobacco fragrances.

Lyric Man
A surprisingly lighter and brighter fragrance than its Woman counterpart. Lyric Man is the fresher balance of a citrus (lime) opening and pine-woods with the rose more in the background. Quite underrated for a ‘masculine leaning rose’.

Enclave
I found I had to get used to Enclave when I sampled it. A very minty opening, but simultaneously sweet. Like a warm spiced bubblegum, with the mint lasting throughout. Unique.

Journey Man
Spicy, musky and slightly animalic even, some peppery tobacco. This feels like a little brother to Interlude Man, but at the same time, it’s a lot more pungent than Dia Man.

Meander
I really like Meander. An almost lactonic, carroty iris and wood with a green tinge. Florals come through as it dries down. This one kicked off the perhaps more mass appealing direction of the brand when it was released.

Silver Man
This is a masculine leaning ‘cologne’ style scent, but, at least in newer bottles, I found it surprisingly fruity and floral. Silver Man kind of feels like a much greener Reflection Man.

Boundless
Arguably the most underrated Amouage in my book. This came out alongside the very popular Material and was seemingly overshadowed. One of the most wearable cumin scents in the opening, due to a invigorating blood orange and ginger. The drydown changes it into an ambery vanilla and tobacco that fans of Tom Ford Tobacco Vanilla may appreciate.

Figment Man
A true favorite to some, but hard to pull off for most; for me personally, this the only unwearable Amouage. This has the earthy mud scent that reminds me of a bat cave. It’s dry and bleak, although not really animalic in a challenging sense.

Purpose
A nice spicy vetiver-ish scent with sweetness. The issue with Purpose for me is that it falls in between Essential Parfums Bois Imperial (more soapy vetiver) and Marc-Antoine Barrois (more unique and eccentric). All 3 done by Quentin Bisch and Purpose would be my last choice.

Honour Man
Another pick from the collection that seems to be an acquired taste. Green, spicy, nutty, bitter. A lot of pepper and strong vetiver, make for a rather powerful scent that you’ll either love or dislike.

Search
To me, Search is probably the least interesting scent that Amouage has released so far. It’s an aromatic citrus (lime stands out) with a warmer base. Great longevity for a fresher scent, but also a bit harsh and it didn’t move me.

Beloved Man
Another one that I find very difficult to wear. Elemi seems to create this darker take on a citrus soap, with nutmeg in it. The drydown is a lot easier, with a pencil-shaving cedarwood. Everything is laminated in a (light) leathery saffron. Mature and rather unusual.

WOMEN’S RELEASES

Guidance
It seems that Guidance joined the ranks of most popular Amouages since it’s release. It’s easy to see why, as this is quite mass appealing. Wearing a bit like a fruity, milky, women’s designer release. I get a lot of sun tan lotion vibes from it as well. Not a personal favorite, but one that I understand people (and mostly women) gravitating towards.

Epic Woman
As mentioned with Epic 56; this DNA is magnificent. I’ve always found Epic Woman to be a bit too green and aromatic for my taste, making me prefer the drydown of Epic 56. But for the money, Epic Woman is arguably the much better deal. The best green rose fragrances on the market if you ask me.

Material
This one got a lot of love when it was released. I think in part, because Amouage dropped the Man/Woman monikers around this time and Material is definitely not a traditional women’s DNA, so a lot of men checked it out and enjoyed it. This is a fiery amber scent with a thick benzoin. One of the sweeter Amouage scents and another powerhouse.

Overture Woman
Not as much of a daring powerhouse as it’s Man counterpart, but a substantial and complex fragrance nonetheless. A lot of leather, with sticky rose and fruit syrup. Warm and in the direction of rose-oud-saffron scents to me. I prefer this over Overture Man.

Lyric Woman
Whereas Lyric Man was surprisingly fresh, Lyric Woman fits the dark red theme better. Opening rather heavy, with a darker rose, yet at the same time very soapy. Earthy oakmoss and patchouli shine in the base that gets a sweet amber takeover.

Crimson Rocks
As with Meander, Crimson Rocks (and Ashore) was part of the dawn of a new era for Amouage and therefore somewhat criticized for being more mass appealing and especially sweeter than many of its predecessors. More of an amber and woody scent with an overdose of cinnamon as the biggest facet. The expected rose was not as prominent to me.

Lineage
I feel that Lineage was completely overshadowed by Guidance, but it has my personal preference for sure. Not as feminine leaning, but very subtle and soft. Almost a skin scent with a mineralic and aromatic quality. Super resinous, highlighting the frankincense/olibanum that Amouage is famous for.

Ashore
One of the safer picks, as a soft and bright floral with jasmine. I didn’t appreciate it at the time, but I may like it more today, as jasmine grew on me a lot. That being said, this was adequate, but feeling more minimal and linear than almost any other Amouage in my testing.

EXCEPTIONAL EXTRAITS

Jubilation 40
As someone who adores Jubilation XXV, I found it hard to see how a flanker could work, but Jubilation 40 nails it. Still clearly the same DNA, but perhaps more forest-like in the opening and a lot more resinous and ambery as it dries down. Gorgeous thick texture making this feel as expensive as it is. A top 3 release of 2023 for me.

Interlude 53
I never got a long with the Interlude DNA, but this was a nice surprise and definitely my favorite take. Sweeter and smoother; not as loud and abrasive. The drydown still smells unmistakably of Interlude, so its not for me, but fans should give 53 a try when they get the chance.

Reflection 45
I absolute love Reflection 45, but given its price point, I don’t feel the need to go after it while I have enough of Reflection Man left. Reflection 45 feels a tad more traditionally masculine and actually more linear, with a less floral and sharp opening and more of the Reflection Man drydown from the start.

Honour 43
A smooth white floral that I didn’t ‘get’ when I wore it. Pretty clean with a fruity touch from rhubarb, which is probably why I didn’t like it. Admittedly, I should try it again, as it’s often compared to Moresque Regina, which I do like a lot.

LIBRARY COLLECTION

Opus XIII Silver Oud
The Opus or Library Collection addresses the wishes for perhaps less mass appealing scents in the current Amouage releases. Silver Oud being the prime example. Very hard to wear for me personally, but I know a lot of people who are enamored by it. Harsh woods with an animalic tinge at first. The oud has a slightly acidic side that throws me off. This has a similar core feeling to King Blue, which is the one I much prefer.

Opus XV King Blue
The strong skanky woods here are made more accessible with citrus in the opening. I really enjoy the combination in the first hour; its when the citrus fades that this grows into something that I personally wouldn’t enjoy wearing often (akin to Silver Oud). That being said, I think this is arguably the best Opus offering and one that you should check out if you like wearing big statement-maker fragrances.

Opus XIV Royal Tobacco
I found this is an interesting and great take on tobacco. Not your average sweet tobacco, but a strong dose of liquorice takes center stage to my nose. Later in the wear, more and more sweet smoky actual tobacco becomes prominent.

Opus VI Reckless Leather
Admittedly I wore this a long time ago (before it was called Reckless Leahter). Leather is there, but I found this very balsamic, almost creamy. A soft orange (candle) scent mixed with spices and a woody-leathery base.

Opus I
A beautiful tropical floral scent. Jasmine and ylang-ylang, without smelling like sun-tan lotion. Very woody as it dries, with pencil shavings.

Opus II
It’s been years since I smelled this, but from what I remember, a masculine leaning scent that posed a challenge for my taste. Bitter, green and nutty; reminding me of walnuts and green leaves. Perhaps in the same broad direction as Honour Man.

Opus IX
This one is a blast. Similar florals to Opus I, but made animalic. A sensual, daring floral scent that makes Tom Ford’s Black Orchid look timid.

ATTARS

Amouage has many older attars, of which I’ve only smelled Eidyya and Tribute. Instead, here I focus on the relaunched attars since 2021.

Vanilla Barka
A vanilla-centric Amouge is hard to imagine, but Vanilla Barka, albeit very pleasant, was not what I had in mind. This has a beautiful incense-vanilla opening. It dries down into a rather simple smelling vanilla that does not stand out from the pack for me (a bit in the vanilla cake style of Casamorati Lira).

Rose Aqor
My favorite of the original 6 ‘new’ attars. Very similar to Epic Woman / Epic 56, but warmer in the base and skipping over the herbal aromatics quicker.

Orris Wakan
As an iris lover, I absolute adore this scent, but admittedly, I expected more from the price point of these attars. It’s a lovely iris, but in the same class a other good niche iris options.

Santal Sohar
Possible dethroning Rose Aqor for me. A lovely honeyed sandalwood scent that feels more tailor-made for this attar form factor than the others do to me. Very smooth and soft with an addictive sweet scent.

Incense Rori
As someone who loves iris and vanilla, Incense Rori made a better impression on me in this particular line. More complex perhaps or at least, it feels more special in highlighting this material that feels very ‘Amouage’ to its core.

Oud Ulya
From this newer range of attars, Oud Ulya is probably the closest one to attars that I know from Middle Eastern houses; as the others feel more styled as niche spray perfumes for a Western market. The sometimes skanky Oud Assam has been sweetened a lot here and the darker or daring facet comes from a smokiness.

Saffron Hamra
As with Vanilla Barka & Orris Wakan, you get a seemingly simple, but high quality saffron scent here. I don’t think it does enough to stand out at its price, but if you love saffron, you may feel differently.

Amber Sogar
The most traditionally feminine leaning of these attars, with a bright and aldehydic, watery, yet jammy rose that gets very sugary and sweet as it dries down. Dewy and vibrant. I love the scent, although I did feel that this would work at least as well in a (more affordable) spray perfume.