AMOUAGE
GUIDANCE 46

2024

PERFUMER
Quentin Bisch

Pear
frankincense
hazelnut
Rose water
pink pepper
bitter almond

saffron
rose
jasmine sambac
osmanthus

cistus
sandalwood
akigalawood
ambergris
vanilla
ambrette
georgywood
cypriol

A flanker to Amouage Guidance (2023).

‘Enthralling and beguiling, Guidance 46 Exceptional Extrait is a study in light and shade, fragility and strength, subtlety and ostentatiousness – paradoxes brought together with an immediacy that can be achieved only by the art of perfumery. Dosed at a staggering 46% concentration.’ – Amouage

Guidance 46 is a flanker to 2023’s Guidance, which popularity seems to know no bounds and was hard to match for any niche fragrance since its release. Which means I will expand on my thoughts and feelings as I feel that hyped releases are deserving of thorough feedback (for lovers and skeptics alike).

I liked Guidance for what it set out to do (which was not, targeting me). It had a youthful. womens-marketed designer vibe. I’m not generally a big fan of these styles of fragrances at a price point like Amouage’s, but Guidance was a solid release. It stood out more and smelled of higher quality, than for example Love Delight (which seemed to be an empty attempt at doubling down on Guidance’s success) or women’s targeted releases from Creed, Parfums de Marly etc. in the same time period. It was easy to see the appeal.

Another attempt at recreating that success is the expected Guidance flanker. Guidance 46 takes the Guidance DNA,  highlights other facets, but at the end of the day, the original DNA is strongly represented here and fans of the original Guidance will likely enjoy Guidance 46. Perhaps, if you like the gourmand facets of the DNA the most, this 46 may leave you disappointed. I definitely enjoy Guidance 46 more, albeit it that it’s still not a huge love for me.

Sidenote: I want to get the misconception about high concentration perfumes out of the way. The comment I heard most leading up to this release was: ‘Who needs a stronger Guidance, it’s already strong?!’. High concentration perfumes (46% in this case) tend to be smoother, rather than louder. If anything, the lack of some of the alcohol, can lower the projection, make it sit closer to the skin. Extraits may last longer and feel richer, but are generally not what a lot of people consider ‘stronger’ and neither will Guidance 46. Performance is still great, but if anything, this is less diffusive and ‘in your face’ than the original was. You’re definitely not looking to upgrade and spend the extra money for the Extrait for the performance aspect.

Whereas Guidance felt like mostly a sun-tan lotion-esque, soft, sweet fragrance to me, with nondescript fruits and gourmand elements, Guidance 46 opens with a more pronounced, punchier fruity-floral vibe. Less incense, less hazelnut, less vanilla to my nose, in the first hours. I actually view the original more gourmand in hindsight than I initially mentioned in my review, after trying to compare the two.

This time, it leans heavier into the fruitiness and florals. From my memory the original Guidance has a more common, light fruitiness (with more peach and pear), whereas 46 has a darker, syrupy, fruity rose in its first hour. I’m reminded of the rhubarb vibe that I get in Marc-Antoine Barrois Encelade (also by perfumer Quentin Bisch). In fact, especially during the mid of the wear, where the texture becomes less syrupy, Guidance 46 kept reminding me of a more feminine, lighter Encelade to the point that I was surprised that I heard nobody talking about their overlap. I can only explain it as a ‘fruity hairspray’ essence that the two share. In the drydown that fades away again.

So I get more rose, a bit of saffron, but still not any leather or smoke. You can smell the vanillic and nutty sweetness from the original underneath and it builds-up, but it feels like it’s less the focus of the composition from the onset. While it gets plenty sweet as it dries and the creamy, lactonic texture returns as well, this flanker feels less gourmand to me, despite some reports saying the opposite; It’s a day and night difference to my nose in the first several hours. Also good to note that I don’t get the skin (or by some accounts, women’s private parts) scent that people get from the original Guidance. Now, I was only mildly reminded of that then, but perceive none of it here.

Guidance 46 ends up being a true flanker, like all of these Exceptional Extraits from Amouage are. I wouldn’t call it much darker and some of the early reports I’ve seen on it paint a very different, darker, more daring, sensual image of it than I’m experiencing. Most of the wear feels more fruity-floral than ever, before settling into a comforting to even generic vanillic late drydown. 46 ís a tad less playful to me, but I assume it appeals to the same crowd. It still wears strongly feminine leaning by traditional references and still has parts to it that feel overtly mass appealing and modern. A strong departure from anything Amouage had done prior to Guidance and a Bisch creation through and through in its contemporary, unnatural, abstract and at times even plasticy smelling facets.

The end result is nice and above my expectations, but Guidance 46 approximates neither my favorite Amouages or favorite Bisch works by any means. I prefer 46 over the original Guidance by a good margin, both ‘objectively’ (as far as that exists?) and for me to want to wear myself. I wanted add some feelings about the hard-to-justify price point (€490), but I’m sure Guidance 46 will be another best-seller for Amouage, so I guess others will justify that for me. Worth sampling.