MrIDK

I am the most sought after, though the most despised. The one everyone seeks to come across, but gets ridiculed the moment they do.

Despite opening me with eyes of fear, there is always a glimpse of hope, even in the slightest.
But they are fools — it is forever the same.
Abandoning the store, leaving me behind, faces blighted with anguish,
yet praising everyone around me.

Ultimately, I am the winner.
They talk about me.
They Remember me.
They even recommend me.
And I cannot escape from it.

Blood, sweat and tears — the grounds of my existence have already been determined.

This fragrance isn’t about collecting cute, polite compliments. Overture Man is more about making a statement—making sure people know it’s you who's wearing it. The scent feels built to balance warmth and elegance with a sense of comfort in the best way possible.

The cognac makes for a boozy opening, immediately backed by a big blast of cumin, saffron, sandalwood, cardamom, and a touch of ginger. The initial spiciness, fuelled by the cardamom, saffron, and ginger, burns brightly but fades relatively quickly. Myrrh, cinnamon, and sandalwood come forth during the dry down, making an important part of Overture’s core. Combining that with incense shapes it to be woody, resinous, but still spicy. The cumin can be perceived as sweaty or slightly animalic to some people.

In terms of performance, it’s good. You can still smell it at the end of the day. In extreme heat, I get around 5 hours because my skin just acts very strange. The projection is great, making your presence known.

I recommend not judging it by your first wear, as I started enjoying it a lot after my third. It really is a must-try from the house of Amouage, truly an unforgettable scent.

Varanasi feels very funky to me — not “funky” as in overly animalic, but funky in the sense of being strange, unusual and quirky, in a way that’s intriguing and enjoyable.

There is still a hint of animalic character, especially in the opening. You’re greeted with ambergris, some leather and the “animalic notes.” I’m not sure I get much oud. Frankincense becomes more noticeable, especially in the sillage when I’m moving around. What stands out most throughout the wear, for me, is probably the ambergris. It gives a musky aspect that keeps the funk active.

The later drydown is somewhat unpredictable. Sometimes it leans warm, spicy and woody; other times it turns slightly sweeter, resinous or balsamic — perhaps thanks to the spikenard or the florals.

In terms of performance, it’s nothing to jump out of your seat by: I get around 8-9 hours, which is solid, though it loses its noticeable projection after 3-4 hours. It’s still strong enough to be detectable on my own skin.

I personally don’t mind its average projection, because the scent makes up for it. It’s honestly one of the most unique perfumes I’ve experienced, and I’m glad to have it in my collection. If you’re into scents that are unusual and quirky, definitely give this one a try!

This perfume is pretty much my true introduction to the house of Amouage. I had sniffed the caps of a few others before, but this is the first one I actually took the time to fully absorb. Right off the bat, I (kind of) didn't enjoy the opening. It smelled barnyardy and slightly fecal to me at first. Oddly, though, I kept wanting to smell more of it. Like there was something behind the big fiasco that I was yet to understand.

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”
- Albert Einstein

A couple of months later, I decided to get the house's library set, which, of course, includes this perfume. I sprayed it on and was met with that barnyardy opening once again. Mind you, since I last tried this, my nose has gotten more used to oud and other strong smells. This time, the animality was in perfect proportion: just not enough to make me feel giddy or overwhelmed. That animalic goodness is combined with smoky and sweet aspects. This gets more emphasised within the dry down (sweet spot starts around 2 hours after the initial spray), as woody notes, a slight caramel sweetness and creamy patchouli become more apparent.

“All things excellent are as difficult as they are rare.”
- Baruch Spinoza

Although this masterpiece is not very favourable to a lot of people when they wear it, I did notice that it smells excellent in the air to the public. It smells exceptional when you get that trace of smell from its sillage, it almost makes me assume the position cartoon characters take when they smell a nice, freshly baked pie.

“What we see depends mainly on what we look for.”
- John Lubbock

I now only have enough juice left in my sample for one wear, and I'm almost afraid to waste that last bit. To me, this is the magnum opus of Amouage and I would highly recommend trying it if you haven't.

“Originality is the fine art of remembering what you hear but forgetting where you heard it.”
- Laurence J. Peter

After all the buzz on the website about this perfume, I finally decided to get myself a sample of it. I actually tried it once about three months ago, and my first impression back then was that it smelled very, and I mean, VERY fecal. I'm talking the "Why would anyone want to wear this?" kind of fecal.

Anyway, fast forward to the present, because I don't think you want to know how gross it smelled to me three months ago. When I tried it this time, I was still prepared for the worst. I was scared it would overpower my nose so much that I wouldn't be able to smell for the next ten years. But I was caught off guard. It feels like a totally different fragrance now!

I could still smell that nice oud in the opening. It's still animalic, but toned down a lot since my last try. What I mostly notice now is fruitiness. I know that's quite different from how I described it before, but it's true! After about 15 minutes, that fruitiness sticks around but takes on a woody, ambery, smoky undertone.

The performance of this perfume is pretty good, but I would have liked it to be a little stronger to my nose. It may stick around for some time, but I have to try my best to be able to smell it 6 hours later. In my opinion, it can be worn all year round, which contrasts with people saying it's a winter fragrance. I don't get why some people compare it to Layton , probably just because it was made by the same perfumer.

This definitely deserves the title "King", as it smells like something a king would wear, and I'm glad I finally got to put my nose on it. I recommend trying it, but some friendly advice for those who aren't used to oud: smell at your own risk!