After the immense success achieved by Amouage for going into the cookie cutter mainstream with the original
Guidance (and subsequently with
Love Delight), the corporate warlords are back to sell you the extrait concentration for the low-low price of €490/100ml. So what are you getting here that you don't get in the original
Guidance?
Official sample purchased from Jovoy, opinions on an in-doors test with 4 sprays on the right hand.
The scent opens very strong, but not as nuclear as the original. The product clearly smells adjacent to the original
Guidance and in the first minute, I am already thinking that it achieves nothing as a flanker just like how
Alexandria II Anniversary provided very little new to the original
Alexandria II Parfum. The leading accords in
Guidance 46 remain sweet-floral and the creamy qualities are still there. The fruitiness has clearly been toned back as the scent doesn't come off as generic as the original with its peachy tan lotion vibe.
The first difference that I spot is the spiciness in the first ~15 or so minutes which is a note that I recognize from
Lineage. When smelled up-close, there is a hint of oriental here. This is what you'd expect an Amouage fragrance to smell like if they wanted a semi-mainstream fragrance as it has that complex touch that Amouage is known for. Another difference comes from the cistus note which brings a very unexpected masculine aromatic quality in the base of the fragrance, akin to some of Roja's fragrances. It even gave me moments of minty mojito underneath the standard sweet-floral-creamy Guidance profile. After 1-1.5 hours I get mild hints of incense, but just like the previously mentioned mojito aspect, this isn't worth anything more than a slight mention.
The main differences between
Guidance 46 and
Guidance are that G46 is significantly (!) less fruity in the top, heart & drydown. The cistus brings that aromatic touch on-skin which was definitely not there in the original. Performance is severely reduced with G46 as the sillage is mediocre (and it could even be poor in all honesty) which is nothing new for Amouage extraits (see:
Jubilation 40,
Dia 40). Longevity also appears to be massively overstated here on Parfumo as it is misrepresentative to count all those hours of intimate performance towards longevity, given many people buy the original
Guidance for the strength of the scents and getting the C-word.
If this wasn't a PR piece, nobody would be buying this over the original Guidance.
Top Notes 
Heart Notes 
Base Notes 
Ninamariah
NicheOnly
FranciaOlivo
Daniek
Rachelg
