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Powdery immortelle-inflected floral musk
Beloved opens up with a bitter, powdered clove, lavender, and sage combination that smells as aromatic and as talc-like as one of those quaint gentlemen's colognes you might find at Penhaglion's, or indeed a modern interpretation of a Dandy perfume, such as Histoires de Parfums' 1876. There is a certain spicy, resinous, talc-like feel that links all these fragrances in my mind. But more than anything, the rose, the hay-like chamomile, the sage all sing a tune that is familiar to me from my lovely, pagan, mother earth Aromatics Elixir.
The rose note in Beloved is pretty remarkable. Hidden behind the aromatic powder of the opening, you might miss it at first, but then it swells in intensity, rising up from a crumble of dusty potpourri rose petals to become a big, juicy rose fluffed out by moisture. The rose lingers for a while in a pool of boozy, hay-like immortelle, for a combination that is simultaneously syrupy and dry, sweet and savory. The immortelle adds a lovely 'baked grass' note to the florals and makes it feel less rarified than the start.
The dry down of Beloved is more pedestrian and standard-Amouage-oriental fare than its 'Classic French' opening and heart. After the herbal chypre dressing gown is dropped to her ankles, Beloved lurches off into a dry, resinous base made up of cedar, a heavily spiced musk, and a fairly bitter olibanum (Frankincense). This part's a bit of a snooze after the impressive first half, with its cool, forest-like tones, but I still like it well enough.
The rose note in Beloved is pretty remarkable. Hidden behind the aromatic powder of the opening, you might miss it at first, but then it swells in intensity, rising up from a crumble of dusty potpourri rose petals to become a big, juicy rose fluffed out by moisture. The rose lingers for a while in a pool of boozy, hay-like immortelle, for a combination that is simultaneously syrupy and dry, sweet and savory. The immortelle adds a lovely 'baked grass' note to the florals and makes it feel less rarified than the start.
The dry down of Beloved is more pedestrian and standard-Amouage-oriental fare than its 'Classic French' opening and heart. After the herbal chypre dressing gown is dropped to her ankles, Beloved lurches off into a dry, resinous base made up of cedar, a heavily spiced musk, and a fairly bitter olibanum (Frankincense). This part's a bit of a snooze after the impressive first half, with its cool, forest-like tones, but I still like it well enough.