Top Notes 
Coffee
Pine
Coriander
Juniper
Pink pepper
Labdanum
Lemon
Heart Notes 
Cashmeran
Patchouli
Cedarwood
Frankincense
Base Notes 
Cypriol
Gaiac wood
Vanilla
Musk
NicheOnly
123 Reviews
NicheOnly
Helpful Review
3
More mainstream product from Amouage
Another day, another Harrods exclusive. However, this time around I feel like the product isn't underwhelming, it's just a bit simple by Amouage standards.
The review was adjusted to reflect a second testing in late November in sub-zero weather. In both cases, Reception opens spicy-sweet and slightly resinous. In the original review, I highlighted the contrast between oriental notes (labdanum, incense) and sweet-spicy notes (cardamom, cinnamon), but in the second wear, the feeling is that it very clearly borrows a note or two (or more) from 2024's hit release Outlands. Those Outlands-style tones are accompanied by woody-aromatic nuances, coming off somewhat designer-like with a touch of lavender mixed in. The structure doesn't come off particularly complex note/accord wise either: Reception feels fairly simple, largely driven by the scent pyramid and the easy-to-understand evolution.
While the scent does have overlap to Outlands, the final dry-down is more-so akin to the idea of Opus XVI - Timber: I'd say Timber is Amouage's interpretation of a sweet masculine aromatic fragrance with some comparability to scents like Nishane's Papilefiko and Penhaligons' The Blazing Mister Sam. With Reception, the final dry-down feels like a lavender-coffee fragrance, i.e. there's a very prominent sweet-creamy opposition to the spicy-woody aspects that were more relevant in the top. In that realm of fragrance, it is an awful lot like an alternative to scents such as Kilian's Intoxicated as well as Eight & Bob's Agneta. Relative to the original review, I'd say the feeling of cinnamon and/or cardamom that I got is indeed coffee since the final dry-down doesn't actually smell spicy at all, instead coming off sweet-woody-creamy.
Having now tested the fragrance in both summer weather and sub-zero winter weather, the performance is very underwhelming by Amouage standards. In 2025, Amouage released quite a few other products that also didn't perform well on my skin, incl. Decision and Opus XVI - Timber. I would rate Reception around 4 hours on longevity with arm's length sillage for the first hour or so. Harrods has this scent listed at €420 which is the same price that other Essences fragrances (e.g. Outlands) are listed at, but given the competitors this scent has, €420 feels a bit rich (note: actual listing is €450, but I suspect that's reflective of UK to EU surcharges/customs).
Final accords: sweet-woody-creamy-spicy-resinous
Lastly, where does Reception sit in Amouage's offering as a product? Within the Essences collection, the other 3 products released in 2024 have quite a bit more nuance to them and don't feel as simple in their dry-down, even when you compare it to a scent like Lustre which has a prominent resinous-woody-spicy structure. Beyond that, Reception is an example of Amouage's catalogue leaning in a safer direction under Renaud Salmon. While Amouage has been making mainstream products for years now under Salmon, I'd argue that in 2025, Amouage made their first steps into creating products that are even more mainstream, featuring little nuance and offering a performance package that is clearly on the safer side. For me, the scent clearly lacks a wow factor, the originality isn't there, and overall there's very little depth here for me to appreciate it as an Amouage product.
It's definitely Amouage, but in a way, I guess it's also kind-of not.
The review was adjusted to reflect a second testing in late November in sub-zero weather. In both cases, Reception opens spicy-sweet and slightly resinous. In the original review, I highlighted the contrast between oriental notes (labdanum, incense) and sweet-spicy notes (cardamom, cinnamon), but in the second wear, the feeling is that it very clearly borrows a note or two (or more) from 2024's hit release Outlands. Those Outlands-style tones are accompanied by woody-aromatic nuances, coming off somewhat designer-like with a touch of lavender mixed in. The structure doesn't come off particularly complex note/accord wise either: Reception feels fairly simple, largely driven by the scent pyramid and the easy-to-understand evolution.
While the scent does have overlap to Outlands, the final dry-down is more-so akin to the idea of Opus XVI - Timber: I'd say Timber is Amouage's interpretation of a sweet masculine aromatic fragrance with some comparability to scents like Nishane's Papilefiko and Penhaligons' The Blazing Mister Sam. With Reception, the final dry-down feels like a lavender-coffee fragrance, i.e. there's a very prominent sweet-creamy opposition to the spicy-woody aspects that were more relevant in the top. In that realm of fragrance, it is an awful lot like an alternative to scents such as Kilian's Intoxicated as well as Eight & Bob's Agneta. Relative to the original review, I'd say the feeling of cinnamon and/or cardamom that I got is indeed coffee since the final dry-down doesn't actually smell spicy at all, instead coming off sweet-woody-creamy.
Having now tested the fragrance in both summer weather and sub-zero winter weather, the performance is very underwhelming by Amouage standards. In 2025, Amouage released quite a few other products that also didn't perform well on my skin, incl. Decision and Opus XVI - Timber. I would rate Reception around 4 hours on longevity with arm's length sillage for the first hour or so. Harrods has this scent listed at €420 which is the same price that other Essences fragrances (e.g. Outlands) are listed at, but given the competitors this scent has, €420 feels a bit rich (note: actual listing is €450, but I suspect that's reflective of UK to EU surcharges/customs).
Final accords: sweet-woody-creamy-spicy-resinous
Lastly, where does Reception sit in Amouage's offering as a product? Within the Essences collection, the other 3 products released in 2024 have quite a bit more nuance to them and don't feel as simple in their dry-down, even when you compare it to a scent like Lustre which has a prominent resinous-woody-spicy structure. Beyond that, Reception is an example of Amouage's catalogue leaning in a safer direction under Renaud Salmon. While Amouage has been making mainstream products for years now under Salmon, I'd argue that in 2025, Amouage made their first steps into creating products that are even more mainstream, featuring little nuance and offering a performance package that is clearly on the safer side. For me, the scent clearly lacks a wow factor, the originality isn't there, and overall there's very little depth here for me to appreciate it as an Amouage product.
It's definitely Amouage, but in a way, I guess it's also kind-of not.
Updated on 12/15/2025
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