Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Amouage Lyric Woman: A Review


Amouage Lyric Woman is stunning. I say this after being disappointed by Amouage Jubilation 25 and Amouage Dia. (I have yet to try Gold, but I will, soon).

The Amouage perfume house seems to have plenty of funds for high quality ingredients. While I did not personally like Jubilation 25 or Dia this is not to say that these two perfumes smelled anything but opulent – they were excessively opulent and rich for my taste. Lyric is much easier to wear and yet so incredibly gorgeous.

Amouage describes Lyric:
“Beyond the transient beauty and purity of Lyric lingers a poignant song without a beginning and an end. Inspired by the rose, Lyric is a floral oriental fragrance suspended in time with a mythical melody.”

Amouage Lyric is described by many as a dark, spicy rose fragrance. Perhaps I’m familiar with a great deal of very dark and spicy perfumes but I find Lyric only mildly dark and spicy. Lyric is meant to be inspired by rose, but the rose note is never particularly dominant, in fact, even if you don’t like rose fragrances, you could easily love Lyric. Lyric begins as a softly powdery rose – but not powdery like baby powder – more accurately a dusting of powder created with finely ground spices such as cardamom, ginger and cinnamon with a just a hint of fruit. At the start, the scent of red velvety roses are present along with an intoxicating aroma of deep red wine. The deep velvety red roses and wine are paired a slight greenish herbal whiff perfectly balancing the spicy-incense quality with just enough freshness.

Once Lyric settles in, after about an hour or more, the rose note moves to the background and I smell mostly red wine and soft spices. From this point on I’m utterly smitten with Lyric. It becomes a meditation on spices, soft woods and frankincense. Frankincense, in particular, is the dominant aroma upon dry down and it is just g-g-g-gorgeous. I reviewed Amouage’s official website where they have a blurb about frankincense and how valuable it’s been through history. Apparently, the most prized, sought after and high quality frankincense is found in Oman, where the Amouage perfume house is located. The frankincense from Oman is said to be "...the purest kind, bright white in colour.” In fact, the chosen spices give Lyric a decidedly Middle Eastern quality, different from the usual oriental spice theme.

I think Amouage Lyric is without a doubt a modern classic. It certainly gives a nod to all-time greats such as Guerlain and it is sophisticated and stunning.

Top notes: Bergamot, Spicy Cardamom, Cinnamon, Ginger
Heart notes: Rose, Angelica, Jasmine, Ylang-Ylang, Geramnium, Orris
Base notes: Oakmoss, Musk, Wood, Patchouli, Vetiver, Sandalwood, Vanilla, Tonka Bean, Frankincense

Longevity: Excellent
Sillage: Good, soft but present
Rating: 5 Stars

9 comments:

Tania said...

I love this, too! It's just so beautiful.
It's actually the most expensive perfume I own - after trying it I just had to get a bottle. So I wear it often, as I can't bear to keep it for 'best' and I want to get my money's worth... ;-).

I find their other scents either boring (Feflection, Ciel) or they remind me of over-priviledged, over-made up women with an exagerrated sense of entitlement (Gold, 25).

Abigail said...

Tania,
I'm loving Lyric more than anything new I've tried in awhile. I love the box and bottle it came in, too. It is one of my most expensive 'fumes, as well.

I agree with your description of the other Amouage scents - they bring to mind wealthy overbearing women with loads of "work" (plastic surgery)! Not my thing at all.

If I was a monogamous fragrance person - I could see this becoming a signature scent. But I have too many other perfumes to do this...however I know I'll be wearing Lyric frequently.

Enjoy yours and know that you smell divine! :-D

Tania said...

Abigail,

exactly! Worn by the kind of women you see at airports throwing their weight around. (I do know how to spell exaggerated and Reflection - but apparently, not how to type them, drat...)
Though I hear the men's Jubilation XXV is a nice incense.

I haven't actually opened my box of Lyric, so I didn't realise it was nicely packaged, too. I'm still using up a sample. It won't last much longer though, as I love it so much I'll even wear it to bed - alone! ;-)

Angela Cox said...

I havn't had any opportunity to smell many over-priviledged women. I am not at all sure they all smell the same do they ? I wear "Reflection" and live in a small house , full time house-wife etc. It doesn't smell anymore expensive than "Lyric" to me . Some less well off people will save for a luxury .

Abigail said...

Angela,

Thanks for enlightening me.

Brian said...

Actually, yes, they all smell the same, over-priveleged women: absolutely. I was smelling one just last night.

Seriously though, to say someone is suggesting you're an over-priveleged woman because a perfume you wear conjures that image or fantasy for her is like saying I'm an old lady because I wear youth dew and so did somebody's grandmother. Perfume smells differently to every individual and conjures impressions and images that we shouldn't have to apologize for or recant. Many women, including my mother, bought Joy back in the day because it reminded them of overpriveleged women. My mother had no money. Fragrance was in some ways aspirationsl for her. Joy allowed her to step into a certain kind of personal fantasy. It smells like cat piss to some degree to me. And when I say that I'm not at all suggesting my mother is a litter box. And I'm sure, having borne children, she could handle my opinion (and has plenty of her own).

Fantastic that you saved your money for an expensive perfume. You probably would have no matter what anyone said bad about it. Amouage fragrances are thick skinned. They can handle different opinions too.

The Left Coast Nose said...

I loved your review. I think "Lyric" is simply huge and gorgeous-- I think the whole Amouage line is a rival to Chanel for the quality and for the willingness to commit to distinctive scents.

I think it's so funny that folks have such a love/hate relationship with the connotations to women with money-- I thnk Angela had it right that we wear perfume to give ourselves luxury and pleasure-- can't really help it if those with serious cash like the same things we do... ;)
Rita @leftcoastnose

Julien said...

Maybe we have such stereotypes, because here we consider perfume as art, while these people consider perfume as a way to say "I worth more than you".
Their ugly faces after surgeon recall to us that they paid a lot and become uglyer just not be like every human around them.

In perfumery we met both the best people -the passionate like here-, and the worse, superficial chitchat about how trendy is a perfume, and people having too good opinion of themselves.
Here we love to shave our passion, even our perfume, in a generous way, while there is an elit who is jealous to be the only one to be allowed to afford such wealth symbol as perfume.

I'm trying to understand, but I unly say bullshit :D

Uella said...

I like what brian had to say. Lyric is nice but not sure if a spicy wine rose is bottle worthy, however I love Gold, a Guy Robert masterpiece and on me, being "the new 25" in New York, always sexy wearing black (I don't wear colors except for light/cream "Lutens"ian beige), naturally young looking and attractive (I get hit on by a lot of younger men), Amouage Gold doesn't make me feel like an overpriveleged woman at all, it gives me character and personality, it exudes confidence and ultra-femininity. Women and men of all ages have asked me what was my perfume but I never tell anyone.