AMOUAGE
MEMOIR MAN

2010

PERFUMER
Karine Vinchon Spehner

artemisia
Mint
Basil

Incense
Lavender
Rose

Tobacco
Leather
Sandalwood
Guaiac Wood
Vetiver
Oakmoss
Amber
Vanilla
Musk

This is definitely becoming a theme with (older) Amouage; my nose has no idea what to make of this as far as notes go. I went into wearing Memoir Man without reading any notes, and especially the opening was all over the place for me.

Upon first smell I got a weird connection to confectionery chocolate or a chocolate powder, one of those cheap ones that are a blast of sugar without any of the real chocolate and bitterness. The only other note I could distinguish at first was mint and overall it has some herbal, almost medicinal quality to it in the first minutes. I was intrigued by the opening, but it wasn’t love at first sniff. However, within a good hour I absolutely loved Memoir Man.

This is in fact a dark, evening fragrance for colder days. There’s the trademark incense in here, but first and foremost, this is a tobacco fragrance. There’s a vanille and lavender accord, that I didn’t pick up on specifically, but I definitely got a sweet and ever so slightly floral combination. It’s soft, warm and incredibly balanced, with the comforting tobacco embracing all the notes; it doesn’t feel like a fougere accord to my nose.

In my opinion this is a phenomenal fragrance and one of the better ones from the brand.