Amouage Gold  Man and Woman perfumes ad, image courtesy of Amouage

What does gold smell like? Well, if you have a sky’s-the-limit-budget to create such a perfume, no marketing execs to restrain you, and access to superb raw materials, it could be … well, a vulgar mess. But if you also have one of the world’s great perfumers to orchestrate it, it might smell like a lot like Amouage Gold Man. In 1983, master perfumer Guy Robert composed Amouage’s inaugural fragrance, Amouage Gold Woman, an aldehydic floral with a classically French structure superimposed over traditional Omani ingredients such as rock rose, myrrh and frankincense. Five years later, Robert signed her sibling, Amouage Gold Man. It would be Robert’s last perfume and one of his quintessential achievements. Considering that Robert was the virtuoso behind the near-mythic Hermes Doblis, that is saying something.

image of Guy Robert courtesy of Michael Edwards Fragrances of the World

With their crown of aldehydes and plush rose-jasmine hearts, Amouage Gold Man and Woman are kindred to Chanel No. 5 and Arpege and direct descendants of Robert’s own aldehydic floral classics, Madame Rochas and Caleche. While Robert himself considered Gold Woman his magnum opus, Gold Man more than holds its own against its illustrious sibling. Purringly animal underneath its man-about-town glitter, Amouage Gold Man is Gold Woman’s hedonistic doppelganger, her sensual twin.

The Al Alam Palace is a palace located in Old Muscat, Oman. It was used as a ceremonial palace by Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said. via wikipedia©

Amouage Gold Man is a symphonic composition of what is said to be 140 ingredients (though only a handful are listed on Amouage’s website). Like its alluring sister, Gold Man’s intricate notes are arranged harmonically; dark and glinting notes interwoven like a tapestry. Marked by Robert’s characteristic light, deft touch, Gold Man is opulent but never heavy, rich but not overwhelming, and a masterclass in how to go big without going overboard. There is nothing inherently masculine about this perfume in a conventional sense – no brooding, horsey or earthy notes to telegraph butch. Rather, it is masculine in the historical manner of kings and sultans: the most luxurious ingredients scored with the complexity and dexterity of a Mozart concerto to telegraph wealth and power.

Vienna ball, 1928, image via Flickr apped

Amouage Gold Man starts with a party. And not just any bash – this is serious dazzle. Think the Viennese white ball or one of Daisy Buchanan’s madcap soirees. Gold starts with a spray of 24-carat aldehydes swept aloft by citrus – I get bergamot and lemon and then soapy neroli. It is scintillant, sudsy and celebratory, the scent equivalent of a room full of old school champagne cocktails. After the cut diamond opening, the flowers come out to play. Lily of the valley trips along first, giggling and tipsy, followed by a beautiful satin rose and powdery orris. There’s some lightly spicy jasmine, too, which steps forward in its white satin gown as the aldehydes swell like clarinets in the background.

Amouage Gold Man, photo by Lauryn

The heart of Gold Man is its showpiece. As aldehydes and flowers continue to waltz and foxtrot around the rose-jasmine accord, a ripple of civet courses through the composition. Its role in the fragrance is like that guest you weren’t sure you should invite, but now that he’s here, you forgot your objections to his character. Soon, everyone is swooning at his feet. Smoky, woody frankincense swirls through the center alongside myrrh, adding balsamic chewiness and heft. The resins glow like topaz, slowing the tempo of the composition like a change in key. As wood notes filter in, I am struck by how lively the aldehydes remain, glinting the way motes of light do in a Sargent painting. The arrival of oakmoss is brilliantly timed; the addition of the bitter-earthy green acts as a counterpoise to the lushness of the rose and resins as Gold Man continues to develop. Along with polished sandalwood and cedar, it adds backbone and depth that allows the brighter notes to continue to gleam. An hour or two later, in the dry-down, everything stands in perfect formation like a corps de ballet: aldehydes leap and spin, frankincense and myrrh perform a pas de deux center stage, and oakmoss and woods stand en attitude at the sidelines.

In the morning, I awake with the cling of champagne still warm on my pillow and my skin remembers a party I’ve never been to.

Notes: Rose, aldehydes, lily of the valley, frankincense, myrrh, orris, jasmine, ambergris, civet, musk, cedarwood, sandalwood, patchouli, oakmoss.

Disclaimer: bottle of Amouage Gold Man generously provided by Europerfumes, U.S. distributor for Amouage. My opinions, as always, are my own.

Lauryn Beer, Senior Editor

Bottle of Amouage Gold Man, photo by Lauryn

Thanks to the fantastic generosity of Europerfumes, we have a 100 ml tester bottle of Amouage Gold Man for one registered reader in the U.S. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what strikes you about Amouage Gold Man based on Lauryn’s review and what your favourite Amouage fragrance is. Draw closes 12/7/2021.

To Test or Buy at Beverly Hills Perfumery

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