The 11th volume of the Library Collection, Amouage Opus XI has an “of the moment and of the past inspiration”. As is Creative Director Christopher Chong’s purview since 2007, he often explores themes that are relevant to him and to the heritage of Amouage. In my interviw with Christopher in 2011, he told me the importance of the Library Collection, "I want a collection that gives me the freedom to explore. With the main collection, there is a signature Amouage accord. In the 'Library', I want it to be a collection that is inspired by the art of living with the freedom to develop and to challenge knowledge."
In the latest creation, Opus XI, Christopher Chong traces the origins of “fake news” to the Occidental exploration of the Middle East and Asia in the 18th and 19th century, as lands of mystery and exoticism.“Modern-day society is constantly bombarded with information. Not always genuine, this barrage works against us to believe the inaccurate. A bold rarity, this fragrance sheds the unnecessary falsehoods we are constantly exposed to throughout the world and instead is a manifestation of a genuine and timely study of Orientalism. It expresses the inextricable relationship between artistic representations and contemporary history,” explains Chong.
In Amouage Opus XI, Christopher Chong evokes modern Orientalism by combining real Oud with ingredients that project impressions of Oud to create “an illusion of reality”. With rich dark opaque attributes, top notes of Marjoram are mixed with heart notes of Oud and Styrax in the base to create an intoxicating natural vegetal Oud facet. The addition of Wood-leather gives this commanding and enlightening fragrance a smoky and powerful animalic sillage.
Inspired by the shape of a small book, the royal blue Amouage Opus XI bottle is made from the finest glass crystal from France. It is adorned with a simple gold label and crowned with the regal and distinctive Amouage shield. The box is reminiscent of a tome covered in a floral oriental mosaic jacquard printed on a silk-like fabric.
Perfumer: Pierre Negrin of Firmenich
:$290/ 50ml and $375 /100 ml www.amouage,com
Fragrance Family: Wood
Olfactory Notes: Marjoram, Oud, Styrax, Wood, Leather
Via press release and my own synopsis
Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief