Top Notes 
Cardamom
Iris
Heart Notes 
Sandalwood
Patchouli
Cedarwood
Base Notes 
Ambrarome
Labdanum
Myrrh
Benzoin
Styrax
Vanilla
Cypriol
Tonka bean
11/08/2024
NicheOnly
101 Reviews
NicheOnly
6
new marketing to sell you the same ish
My first review of Amouage's new collection "The Essences" goes at Lustre. This collection is Amouage selling you a new bottle design (which is terrible) for 3 brand new fragrances, each containing 30% pure perfume oils while having underwent a 6-month aging process. Boy... that sure sounds like a lot of empty marketing speak for product that smells like it could easily be achieved without the fancy trickery.
Review written off one in-doors test off samples purchased directly from Amouage.
To me, Lustre opens with specific ambers that I instantly recognize from Enclave. Upon smelling the scent up-close, I also notice a lot of the qualities that Amouage utilized last year with Jubilation 40. To be more specific, I notice the camphorous qualities that J40 featured in the top, with this camphor-cardamom combination in Lustre also reminding me of scents like X for Men. Lustre also features some honeyed spicy qualities which are clearly from both J40 and J25. Initial accords: spicy-sweet-creamy-woody.
After about 5 minutes, I notice the core of the scent develop more. The sandalwood and cedar begin to lead the way, with the sweet notes occasionally offering up coca-cola like nuances which is a very common in scents that have sweet-fougere type qualities, mainly expressed through notes like artemisia (not listed for Lustre).
However, the deeper we head into the drydown, the more monotone and linear the scent becomes. The resinous backdrop starts to overwhelm, occasionally offering up smoky hints. Alternatively speaking, this is unmistakably Amouage, but the Amouage part is hidden behind a fairly mainstream product as the labdanum/dry amber contrasting the woody tones is what makes the drydown sufficiently different from scents like Matiere Premiere's Bois d'Ébène and BDK's Gris Charnel Extrait. This is furthered by Lustre not carrying any creamy-sweet tones into the drydown. In terms of feel, it's right there with products like "Amber Star | XerJoff" and Amber Sky. Ultimate accords: woody-oriental-resinous.
Conclusion. As a scent, Lustre mainly takes a spicy sandalwood-iris fragrance like BDK's Gris Charnel Extrait or Matiere's Bois d'Ébène in a more woody-oriental-resinous direction. I am expecting good, potentially very good longevity on moderate sillage. This scent is not worth €420/100ml - you can almost get both the BDK and the MP for the same price. Lustre might be new in Amouage's catalogue, but sure isn't bringing anything new to the market. As such, I will declare all that chatter about oak barrels and double infusion as empty marketing speak.
Review written off one in-doors test off samples purchased directly from Amouage.
To me, Lustre opens with specific ambers that I instantly recognize from Enclave. Upon smelling the scent up-close, I also notice a lot of the qualities that Amouage utilized last year with Jubilation 40. To be more specific, I notice the camphorous qualities that J40 featured in the top, with this camphor-cardamom combination in Lustre also reminding me of scents like X for Men. Lustre also features some honeyed spicy qualities which are clearly from both J40 and J25. Initial accords: spicy-sweet-creamy-woody.
After about 5 minutes, I notice the core of the scent develop more. The sandalwood and cedar begin to lead the way, with the sweet notes occasionally offering up coca-cola like nuances which is a very common in scents that have sweet-fougere type qualities, mainly expressed through notes like artemisia (not listed for Lustre).
However, the deeper we head into the drydown, the more monotone and linear the scent becomes. The resinous backdrop starts to overwhelm, occasionally offering up smoky hints. Alternatively speaking, this is unmistakably Amouage, but the Amouage part is hidden behind a fairly mainstream product as the labdanum/dry amber contrasting the woody tones is what makes the drydown sufficiently different from scents like Matiere Premiere's Bois d'Ébène and BDK's Gris Charnel Extrait. This is furthered by Lustre not carrying any creamy-sweet tones into the drydown. In terms of feel, it's right there with products like "Amber Star | XerJoff" and Amber Sky. Ultimate accords: woody-oriental-resinous.
Conclusion. As a scent, Lustre mainly takes a spicy sandalwood-iris fragrance like BDK's Gris Charnel Extrait or Matiere's Bois d'Ébène in a more woody-oriental-resinous direction. I am expecting good, potentially very good longevity on moderate sillage. This scent is not worth €420/100ml - you can almost get both the BDK and the MP for the same price. Lustre might be new in Amouage's catalogue, but sure isn't bringing anything new to the market. As such, I will declare all that chatter about oak barrels and double infusion as empty marketing speak.
2 Comments
Merlotsupern
CivetOnly
NicheOnly
BertolucciK
DNSB
PetarMolnar
papajinzo
Zerkalo
ScentFan
AlexD76
