Fate Woman

I really dislike stepping into echo chambers and adding my voice to the din and drone, but it’s hard to not do that with Amouage Fate Woman. Amouage is not a stranger to the lands of classically Western/French perfumery, a place where they’ve veered fairly often - but Fate Woman isn’t veering, it’s destination is classic French and it gets there with the speed and force of a train. Yes, there is quite a bit of overlap with the juggernauts of Opium, Shalimar, Cinnabar, and on and on and on - and that’s where the din and the drone of the echo chamber becomes quite funny to listen to: many will quickly deride Fate Woman for being too much like any of those other perfumes, but not a single din or drone is being critical of those other perfumes for being like each other. Why are we picking on Fate Woman? Because it had the unfortunate timing of coming after many other massively popular Oriental ambers? It is lost on a lot of people just how rare it is for something truly novel to be composed in modern perfumery; nearly every perfume in existence is a close if not exact facsimile of some other perfume, intentional or not. The little details will make outsized differences. So, I plead, give it a rest folks. What are Fate Woman’s little details? Claws. We’re told to go looking for the sharp little edges in the perfume right from the beginning, when Fate Woman opens with spicy and slightly vegetal-fruity chili peppers. It’s quite intense, particularly with the amplification provided by bitter, oily, and sour bergamot and a completely parched and woody cinnamon that wants to make your lungs collapse. The spiciness is real, but not so real that you’ll begin sneezing or tearing-up, but be ready nonetheless. After the opening dispenses the sharp edges become quite a bit harder to find but they’re still there, quietly nestled. In the heart you’ll find the claws in the narcissus note being presented as a slightly sharp green edge, and a rainbow peppercorn type facet. Finding these two little claws is not particularly easy since you’ll have to dig through plenty of rose, labdanum, and incense to get to them. To that end, the heart of Fate Woman is classically Oriental floral amber: elegant and rich red rose, a sort of standard frankincense smoke, and warm and slightly sweet balsamic labdanum. The claws get even harder to find in the final dry down to the skin scent as Fate Woman goes completely warm balsamic amber. You can find them in the peppery facet of the patchouli, but it doesn’t feel like claws since this is a pretty bog-standard amber: pleasantly sweet earthy, leathery animalic, vanillic, balsamic, and a bit of damp green woods from some moss material. Fate Woman is beautifully done. Excellent materials, excellent blending, excellent performance, and it smells excellent too - all the things we hope and expect from Amouage. An unusual characteristic of it for an Amouage is how weightless it feels. It is very rich, and very diffusive - make no mistakes about those - but it is also very breathable, light, and airy to the point where it almost feels like it doesn’t exist. It just hovers in the air like an imperceptible cloud or a spirit presence.... Ok... fine... I’ll go back to the echo chamber for a second: is it a redundant amber - not sufficiently different to justify its existence? About the only criticism I can levy against Fate Woman is that I wish it was more “Amouage” and less French. The storied Omani brand has a style and a voice uniquely its own, particularly when it was under the guidance of Christopher Chong, but that style and voice is mostly missing from Fate Woman. I wish it was bolder, more Arabian, maybe a bit pushier or edgier, instead of being very pretty in the classically French style. That said though, yes I do find it to be different enough from its predecessors to stand on its own, especially that feeling of complete weightlessness that is so very rare in this genre. Different enough that I purchased a full bottle of it, and I find myself wanting it at different times and for different reasons than any of my vintage or new Shalimar formats, or my 1986 Opium, etc. The doomed fate of Fate Woman has already been delivered, today’s Opium is a total mess, Cinnabar has been neutered and Musc Ravageur is a shell of itself (thanks, Lauder), but thankfully Shalimar is still in pretty good shape (particularly the extrait). The old guard, and even some new guard, that Fate Woman is routinely compared to are starting to fall, so maybe what is considered derivative about Fate Woman should be celebrated; if it wasn’t discontinued, in several more years’ time it very likely could be one of or maybe the last still standing.

The opening is really tough. I feel like I'm in a jiu-jitsu match, and the spice has it's grips around my neck. It never sinks in entirely though, although it's oppressive and aggressive for 10 minutes. Cold air helps. But thankfully it mellows out, and there's a touch of time that feels very powdery too. Why? I don't know. It's about 25-45 minutes in. I know there are some powdery aromachemicals or whatever in here. Don't tell me there aren't 🧐 The rest of this review is going to be long and possibly poetic. If you don't like that, why don't you bugger off now. K? ~ ~ I've been thinking about labdanum very much this year. If you research it's history, it ranges in depth nearly as much as much as the depth of aroma itself. Historians and aromatics enthusiasts actually claw at each other as to where it originated. It *seems* (don't shoot me) that it's as ancient (probably more) as the Bible itself, and it's birthplace is the near east, maybe even the area of the 3 rivers mentioned in Genesis. It's known as "rock rose", and it might be the "Rose of Sharon". Ancient Egyptians offered it in their sacred rites, and it's likely a key component in "onycha". It's integral in Arab perfumery, and still today is cherished by those of Islamic faith. It additionally has roots in Mediterranean/Grecian history, was the apple of Herotodus' eye, and is referenced in Greek mythology. Most likely offered to Aphrodite. Today, it's critical to amber accords, and naturally the French claim to hold the most exquisite essential oils, or CO2 extractions (of f*cking course they do, they're French 🙄😏). The Jewish of heritage and Judistic consider this flower a primary substance in traditional blends as well, snubbing other misuses and pagan applications (of which there are myriads). The Celts and Nordic even have their claim on it. Vikings allegedly sized aromatics and spices, and developed a taste for exquisite, exotic fragrances, not least of all, labdanum/cistus. I'm not about to debate the moralistic implications here...but still, it's important even in Scandinavia [How many people can I upset and offend here?! Pop me bruh!]. It's a massive deal in Morocco too, which is kind of known as a cultural crossroad. So, naturally I grow more and more inclined and fascinated by this unassuming little white flower as I dig into what is obviously only surface-level information on a global, and inter-continental scale. Everyone is griping that this...this is *THEIR* flower. Their peoples' flower. Their heritage. Christians, Muslims, Jews, Greeks, Egyptians, Celts, French, Spaniards, Norse... To make things even more engaging, labdanum varies in fragrance naturally as much as these peoples and cultures vary. It can be sweet. Resinous. Incense-y. Warm. Bitter. Mossy. Animalic. Leathery. Rose-y. Even powdery. And so as I smell this fragrance today, I think truthfully that it smells like labdanum entirely. But it doesn't smell like it even has lot of actual labdanum in it (that I can tell after owning 3 different bottles of essential oil, and testing it for years). It smells of plushy vanilla. And labdanum. It smells of spicy incense (a sweet kind, this one isn't crazy in the drydown). But also labdanum. It smells of warm leather jackets next to the fire. Yes. But again. So does labdanum. So what I'm trying to say I suppose, is that this smells of the notes listed, in some part (moreso a powdery incense to me), but in a way that simply echos the qualities of labdanum. It's as if they took facets if labdanum and highlighted them using other ingredients, but it all ties into this centerpiece of a flower (a flower of epic proportions). So regardless of what it is that you're smelling, you're actually just smelling a side of the rock rose. It's really quite interesting, and I wonder if the perfumer intended it. Probably not. But it's kind of like a mandala piece, or some sacred geometry that spins off from a central point, and the eye is drawn inward. This is the olfactory equivalent, and it's just a lot of framing around that central scent - cistus. You might not get *any* of this from this fragrance, and that's cool too. It's a very warm, sweet ambery incense with a powdery vanilla. I don't smell daffodil/narcissus AT ALL, or a lot of other other things. But that labdanum matches all that other stuff, and this well-blended. Great longevity, decent projection. It's delicious in the cold air! So. Umm...I want this. I'm going to save my sample like a junkie, it's gorgeous.

Fate is a conundrum. I purchased it, untested, a year ago, hoping it would become a sort of Future Opium for me—even the stunning bottle has a Luc Besson Euro Sci-Fi vibe, possibly the most gorgeous bottle of the millennium. Bottle aside, Turin related Fate’s structure to the original Opium, mentioning a minty note that the two share. I agree, as the warm accords of chilli and cinnamon are somehow cooled here, possibly tempered by the wonderful bergamot in the opening. It’s this freshness and brevity that keep Fate from being just another straight-forward oriental spice, like Cinnabar. Turin also dubbed Fate a “masterpiece”, but I don’t agree with him that often—it was really you guys and Kafkaesque who swayed me (Fate is a favourite of theirs) and so, drawn in by the siren’s song, I swallowed what turned out to be a bitter pill, by purchasing the pricey 100ml bottle. So, you can imagine that I was fairly miffed when Fate presented itself as little more than The Powder & Castoreum Bomb on my skin. I tried and tried, and couldn’t detect a drop of incense, vanilla, woods, much less a single petal of a yellow flower. There can also be soapy/chewable vitamin c/powdered lemonade drink mix accords lurking in Fate, during the opening stages, much like the citrus shampoo/aldehydes so often present in Channel’s fragrances. Some may find this stage of development difficult to bear, especially when anticipating a spicy, incense-laced floral Oriental. Anyway, I sold it (for less than half of what I paid for it. Weeping still) because I was mad at it. Nonetheless, I decided to try Fate again, and surprisingly, I discovered the fragrance that everyone is raving about, from top to base. In fact, I disassembled the nearly-empty sample atomiser, greedy for those last elusive drops, not able to bear being without it while I wait for my bottle to arrive . Face-palm, indeed. Golden, hazy light, swathes of gauzy yellow and mossy grey-green, courtesy of my beloved frilly ecru wonder, oak moss, cool puffs of cinnamon-bark incense abound...Jay-sus, I wish I’d kept that bottle, but no mind, I’ll reunite with Fate via a 50ml—even though the larger is a better deal— if only because we had a rough start. I do become anosmic to nearly every fragrance within a short period, yes, even to this heavy-hitter, but oh the few hours spent with Fate’s golden, gossamer-winged, flower-wreathed nymph. Fate is opulent and expensive, one of those fragrances that makes me feel undeserving of it: Never have I seen an association made with Fate and a 51 year-old post-menopausal woman in threadbare combat trousers, a ratty New York Dolls T-shirt and rubber gloves, on her knees, scrubbing the mouldy tile grout. However, regardless of myriad associations with the smouldering, porcelain-skinned, raven-haired Parisian woman, if I reserved my finer fragrances for special occasions, nightlife prowling and/or manhunts, salacious liaisons in French lingerie, they’d all spoil before even a few sprays-worth were missing. I wear fragrances to feel good, to enjoy, make life a wee bit better, so I’ll wear them as and when I like.. Christopher Chong describes Fate as a “loud” fragrance, and I disagree. Fate isn’t a heavy-hitter at all on me, which is unusual for an Amouage fragrance, but I love the wafts of the various accords passing through with every movement. While it would never be deemed a skin scent, I find it to be unexpectedly smooth, and so well-blended, it’s all rounded edges and no single accord dominates here, which can make it difficult to dissect, but not to love. Still, even if Fate were truly “loud”, this wouldn’t be a bad thing—after all, we don’t covet Amouage fragrances for their simplicity or subtlety, do we. In conclusion, if you own a bottle of Fate, and it morphs into the stinky powder demon on you, I suggest that you not only apply it with a heavier hand (the powdered, castoreum, chypre notes abound with a light spray that you walk into, the “Oriental” spices, woods, depth, abound with a heavier dose at once) keep it for awhile and try it during different seasons, weather—hell, hormonal fluctuations!—just don’t give up on it too soon, like I did. Life is too long to keep adding to the list of regrets, even if it’s a minor one, like giving up on a big, beautiful bottle of awesome.

Fate woman was gifted to me. Firstly, I'd like to say thank you, I'm honored. I've taken a good three wearings now, in heat, cool, and heat again. I definitely have to conclude that warmer weather favors Amouage offerings, although they are nice, rich & satisfying in winter as well. On to Fate Woman itself. Fate begins with a conflicted opening, immediate opposition of bergamot, & chili pepper, backed by vanilla- which is disconcerting for a moment, as though one is experiencing a temperature change, or intense emotion. This simultaneously hot & cool juxtaposition is gone in about 15 minutes, and then benzoin, vanilla, cinnamon, castoreum, & soft, finished leather join together to create a warming effect not unlike the transition of an "icy hot" type of balm. (No smell in common, just the sensation.) That's why I got the goosebumps, the cool bergamot finally leaves the party! It felt for a moment as if I were in a warm climate wearing only silk, and was hit with an icy breeze! Back to the gorgeously rich heart, Fate takes a twist from the duality of what may have been, and into the realm of now, and here it becomes a scent full of warm, intense, and sensuous beauty. A memory of desert, a longing for warmth-Fate exudes this languorous warmth. It seems to play a small trick, the sillage around me will be floral, I will smell out of nowhere a beautiful jasmine & narcissus combo, but close to my wrists I can only smell the rich base notes (the ever present incense factor in most Amouage offerings gently adrift here) and the leather, always present for me. Not like Bandit, or Cuoio, something truly balmy, soft, finished & buttery, that you want to caress. I think the castoreum has an amplifying effect here to create a sense of being among luxury things or surroundings. And then that halo of divine floral flits about for just a moment, like a memory or momentary daydream which quickly evaporates. Patchouli, is here just to ground the scent, and does not become assertive as in Epic, Labdanum keeps it a bit in the narcoticly addictive and slightly forbidden category almost as in HdP Marquis De Sade's Leather & Labdanum combo. (once again just component comparison). Only in the very end do I smell any rose, or moss, and I think that this is once again, just a masterful blending, they seem to act as a team to keep this fragrance from becoming too sweet, and just overboard. That slight rose & mossy astringentness with the bit of patchouli grounds it all. The verdict, sillage, wonderful & billowy. Almost throws out a powder nuance for a moment, but it seems to be a more multifaceted & colored lift than the "vintage talcum" style I've grown to tolerate, and sometimes enjoy. Longevity is impressive, as is the appeal of the scent & development. I love a good story, and Fate will take you on a journey, through contradictory beginnings, a rich, rewarding climax, and end in a balmy, sensuous drydown, kept preciously close. It tickles my memory & pulls my heart strings-What a great perfume should do. In fact, it reminds me a bit of the Shalimar effect, as Fate creates its own mood & journey. Presentation is stunning. The photos don't do it justice. I feel like this is a fragrance for a woman who has both loved and lost. Not a frivolous fragrance, but contemplative and contradictory. Its truly beautiful, and I find myself craving a luxurious, languorous, cloud of it at bedtime. Which is fine with husband, who loves it, and it seemed to fascinate others who asked what it was. Its a scent that wants several tests to open up, rather in the moody manner of the legendary Mitsouko. Give Fate a chance, & maybe you'll find love! A quick edit, I wouldn't limit this to the Women, men who enjoy GPH2 and its warm, spicy siblings may really enjoy Fate Woman! Once again, thank you to my generous Perfume Fairy!

I wondered how Amouage would interpret fate. How is it so similar to Shalimar? - I remember, this was the first time I smelled Fate. Fate is a huge diamond from the East with dozens of perfectly faceted faces. Under the ruthless illumination of the showcase light, Fate at first glance is composed of pieces of cold white with no temperature on one side - in fact, Fate will flash with brilliance at different angles. Compared to the warm and affectionate Shalimar, Fate does lack some sensibility. Continuous "Boom Boom" plosives, and a prolonged hiss... The cool acid bubbles on the surface disappeared without a trace. That's presumably aldehydes at work (and possibly bergamot). ...I'm guessing there's an extremely subtle chemistry going on here. The Fate at the beginning was like sparkling water, with a clear texture. Bright mint tones, preceded by a layer of glass before the brilliant floral notes of eugenol, golden narcissus, jasmine and rose. Incense, pepper, and cinnamon pile up fat solid bodies. Difficult to define fragrance notes. Fate seen through the glass has no outline, but a mass of colorful colors. The sourness of bergamot neutralizes the pungency of the powdered spice, the labdanum melts the floral aroma, adds the almost imperceptible smoke, the fishy smell of animal glands (cumin civet beaver...), the dampness of oakmoss , the warmth of amber. A silent thunder. more art forms than other senses can receive. Fragrance is actually not as easy as I thought. Especially for someone like me who has no relevant olfactory memory, scent resonance is very difficult. Fate, it hits my heart right once. The majestic symphony of destiny! Fate, full of tension, is a world of its own in the cold wind. It accompanied me home, took out three Opiums of different ages and concentrations, and placed them with Fate. Take a deep breath. Scent of the orient wafts in the air. Carnations...? It turns out that the common secret of the two is eugenol. Fate is a rainbow across the sky. It has a sense of drama, structure, and the perfumer handles the conflicting turns between the elements, and it does a good job. Floral, spice, chypre (oakmoss), animal gland incense, incense, wood, the six categories of elements resonate and echo, which is very exciting. Perfumers should take into account the odor of each material itself and blend it, but also consider the nature of chypre and oriental. Perfect balance and unparalleled coordination. If I could only pick one Amouage, my answer would always be Fate. Bought a bottle at the end of the year as a birthday present for myself. I dare not say that I have smelled Amouage's Fate. But I know why, it has such a name. I understand that the changes in the perfume industry in the past 100 years are what Fate really wants to tell - destiny!

Starlight dunes ★★★★★ The soul and appeal of Fate seems to be about the fusion hot and cold notes. Peppery cinnamon is ever present from start to finish with tremendous intensity. The oily aspects of natural cinnamon aroma (noticeable in Potion by Dsquared2) are totally absent and the result is an embracing and warm puff of dry golden powder. It immediately recalls visuals of sand dunes, broken temples and buried golden idols. Using great quantities of cinnamon can easily lead to sharp angles and suffocating pungency but it is beautifully rounded out in Fate with a robust vanillic benzoin core enveloped by a layer of leathery animalic castoreum. Complementary to the castoreum, narcissus lends Fate a husky masculine voice that sounds its warm spicy and soapy retro tone not too far from Old Spice or Everlasting. The warm notes are all big, radiant and luminous yet elegantly diffuse without suffocation or harshness. The brilliance of Fate, however, is not merely the sun-dried cloud of spices but a serene coolness that croons in the background. Under that opulent golden mask are incense and oakmoss, which mysteriously stay out of the desert scenery, but spin the sundial from day to night. The sand dunes are towering high albeit spared from scorch. It is the moon and the stars that cast illumination on this desert vaster than empires, the indigo of the night meets the tan of the earth. Amouage absolutely nailed with the packaging, bottle presentation and the advertisement. Oakmoss in feminines often ventures into cold-hearted territory (Cristalle, Bandit) and incense in any fragrance usually stays aloof if not cheered up with other notes (most Comme des Garcons fragrances). In Fate, much like in many of the greats, they aren’t elementally indifferent and unfeeling - even at night, memories of sun emit heat from the desert sands breathing life into them with chests rising in ardor and purpose. Passion might look like a fire in the soul, but whenever embers are dying, they’re rekindled by hurt and moments of quiet. Without the night, how would the day break? There’s been lots of comparisons between Fate and Opium. They both share a warm-cool-balsamic theme and I don’t disagree: side by side it is indeed undeniable. However, Opium is even darker, vehement and mighty erotic. Fate is airier, contemplative and most importantly, emotionally available. Fate discusses, Opium acts. I consider Fate amongst the best of our time and a rare case where the homage is as succesful as its inspiration. Especially, considering we're comparing to Opium, this is the highest compliment one can give to a balsamic oriental. Bravo all the way! Soundtrack: Iasos - Angels of Comfort

Fate is another top-notch scent from Amouage - a warm, rich amber spicebomb in the vein of Opium with nods to the likes of Shalimar, Coco and Youth Dew throughout. Bold, dark and opulent, Fate is extroverted and glamorous. An excellent modern oriental inspired by the classics, it bridges the gap between tradition and modernity while delivering timeless, elegant beauty. Fate opens with a spicy accord, featuring the intriguing use of chilli pepper, bolstered with warm, sweet cinnamon and a slightly sneezy pepper note. It reminds me of vermouth at its early stages. Bergamot adds a hint of tart freshness, providing a nice counterpoint to the spices before the floral accord emerges. Polleny narcissus is initially most obvious to my nose, enhanced by the spices. Balsamic labdanum keeps the amber accord anchored firmly, while rich, sweet, powdery rose and jasmine notes round out the florals. A beautiful, smoky frankincense note - almost an Amouage "trademark" - ties it all together, perfectly enhancing the spices, florals and amber. I love a churchy incense note in perfume, having been raised Catholic, and no-one does it better than Amouage. After several hours, the florals die down, and the complex-yet-cohesive drydown begins. Dry, resinous amber notes, enhanced to perfection by softly sweet vanilla form the crux of the base (here, it is Shalimar-like), while dry spicy notes complement it. A beautiful, smooth sandalwood grounds Fate at this stage, paving the way for the chypre phase. Some oakmoss and patchouli make for a traditional-modern chypre accord, adding some earthiness, alongside an animalic leather note. The drydown is a lovely, cohesive marriage of the oriental and chypre olfactory families, but the amber accord remains king. It eventually fades to a smoky amber skin scent with a hint of lingering spice. Sillage is fairly strong, and longevity is almost day-long. One of the very best spicy amber perfumes I have tried, Fate is sublime: like vintage Opium, but better - novel instead of dusty. Beautifully composed, it is another opulent, regal beauty from Amouage. Extroverted feminine elegance, yet could be unisex. My Fate is sealed - I must get a full bottle. 5/5.

Second review: I was fragrantica-surfing,just looking around different perfume pages to read reviews.came to this page by mistake and was surprised to see Boucheron Jaipur Pour Homme and Opium Parfum,two fragrances that I adore,are chosen as the most similar fragrances to Amouage Fate,which was in my dislike list.this made me want to try Amouage Fate again,two years and three months after my previous test I feel like I'm going crazy but I LOVE it!!! and I don't mean just a simple like!I love it so much that I can say it's going to be among my top favourites from now on.if one day I decide to stop collecting perfumes,this could be my fall and winter signature. I remembered it as a dirty dry mess,shame on my immature nose,it's heavenly.a warm and smooth oriental,spicy,musky,smokey heaven.cinnamon,vanilla and benzoin are the strongest notes on me.they blend seemlessly with incense and a warm,cashmere-like musk.yes I can still smell it's skanky undertone but it's very faint and isn't it what makes this so inviting,alive and addictive?I can pickup something like immortelle which reminds me of L de Lolita.I agree that it seems to have some good genes from some great perfumes like Opium,FM Musk Ravageur,even Shalimar.it's complicated and multi-layered but it's also so well blended that doesn't seem too much.drydown is a pure powder heaven,smooth and delicious like a hot cinnamon pie Amouage Fate is warm,cozy,comforting yet so sexy,sophisticated, addictive,memorable,mysterious yet so familiar and nostalgic.it's heavenly.it's totally unisex IMO and can be supersexy on both men and women.longevity and sillage seem to be much better than what I remembered.rediscovering it is like meeting my soulmate.I want to bath in it's balmy,spicy opening and die for it's powdery drydown I had decanted and gifted away 80% of it to whoever I could so now there's just 20mils or less left in it's gorgeous bottle and it's price has tripled since the time I bought it so I'm in the mood of crying right now.but at the same time I'm glad to find such a masterpiece in my own perfume shelf.I have to save to buy another bottle as I can't live without it

Gorgeous, unforgettable, discontinued Fate Woman is one of my Amouages which has been waiting for its turn to be reviewed for too long time. I have to admit that even if I love so much different kind of challenging perfumes these kind of orientals where the spices meet the intense resinous base used to be the hardest ones at a time when I bought this blindly (not anymore though). In any case, I had something to look forward to, because Fate Woman is a sort of sequel to the fragrances inspired by Youth-Dew | Estēe Lauder (1953). In 1977 was released the extremely successful Opium (1977) (Parfum) | Yves Saint Laurent inspired by it. Those scents are not the same but they share the same scent category mentioned earlier. This fragrance opens with a bold, strong and even slightly pungent spiciness, where cinnamon plays the main role. Very quickly it joins the heart notes, of which I think the flowers never get to shine under the thick veil of Labdanum and Frankincense. It's funny to sniff my wrist afterwards in some sort of euphoria and wonder how on earth this could ever be a difficult scent. In this base, you can find almost everything essential, which makes the fragrance good. Incense here does not make this fragrance smoky in the true sense of the word, but it, together with the other base notes, strongly evokes the rituals in which it is burned. Benzoin brings the warmth and sweetness together with Vanilla, Castoreum sensual sexiness, Leather dark deepness and finally Oakmoss and Patchouli earthy and woody edges. The symphony of these notes is something infinitely beautiful and eloquent. The whole concoction seems to melt on the skin and if I had to choose a color for it, it would be golden. Fate Woman is absolutely breathtaking and glamorous, it has a character that connects to a time when people dressed elegantly. It's not a modern perfume and all its finesse lies in that. Thank you for reading, I hope my review was helpful. I would appreciate a lot if you want to follow me on IG and/or YouTube (English subtitles): @ninamariahperfumes It gives me a lot of motivation to write more. 🤗

"History is a question of periodization", a statement entailing questions of continuity and discontinuity. History of perfumery has reached a breaking point: tons and tons of new releases every year, always more than the previous one and the slope of the trend is positive. And none of this new releases can propose the complexity and beauty of the past. July 2013. Fate Woman is a transtition within Amouage between a more classic French-inflected Middle Eastern perfumery and a more contemporary-experimental phase. The courage to re-invent the chypre genre making it oriental without recurring to an overdose of ambery components speaks volume of the audacity of Mr. Chong and his knowledge in re-writing the classics. And who would be better suited than Ms. Piot to realize a chypre-hybrid-oakmoss-and-leathery scent after her fabulous work with leather materials in Memoir Woman? Fate opens on my skin with a burst of yellow: fresh, crisp citrus notes, and the sunniest of daffodils. There is a momentary flicker of something sour that is soon replaced by spiciness, rose infused with patchouli, oakmoss, stirrings of a quiet, soft leather note, and a touch of musk. The oakmoss is a subtle swirl of nuances: fresh, green, slightly mineralized, and grey. The castoreum is smooth, warm, ever so slightly animalic, and sweet. As the rose note gains in strength, stepping on the center stage to share the spotlight with the daffodil, jasmine takes its place in the wings. An hour in, Fate starts to slowly strip off its formal, crisp, citric-oakmoss, chypre veneer to bring out its oriental undergarnment. Fate is lushly heady, potent, incredibly elegant, and slightly haughty, but reeking of sensuous stirrings. Fate evokes the most seductive of lingerie peeking out from underneath an elegant yellow dress. It is an example of how a daring and innovative perfume can be balanced. Fate is never never too sweet or too dry, never too indolent or spiced, never too charged by patchouli, musk, or castoreum. And it comes as no surprise that it is discontinued. Follow me on IG @alexolympia6

Received this today and I should confess this was a very risky blindbuy,I thought this may be too much sharp,spicy,too much Arabic or too mature for me It's a complex scent and not easy to expalin,to simplify it lets say It's a spicy,smokey vanilla/benzoin scent with a leathery,earthy base I'm not a fan of opening part,I can get lots of spices,albeit it's not that sharp or irritating as it seems,I can get cinnamon,pepper and incense and this has a very masculine vibe..after couple of minutes I can smell a very lovely scent,there is a touch of florals,not that much to put finger on a specific floral note,just a soft gorgeous floral,more important than this,some vanilla/benzoin appears as a miracle and turns that masculine spicyness to a soft,delicately sweet,almost delicious feminine scent with a spicy,smokey twist..vanilla/benzoin saves Amouage fate and rounds all edges very artistically..this middle phase is not very sweet,edible whatsoever,it reminds me xerjoff bouquet ideal with softer,more powdery vanilla and more cinnamon I was happy to find this wearable and cozy fragrance but unfortunately I hate the drydown,I can still smell cinnamon and smokey vanilla,but there are also leathery,earthy and animalic elements added to the blend and ruin it for me,I'd rather say this smells dirty and not use other words for describing it.I mostly blame castoreum here since I believe adding a soft leather or suede could add to cinnamony,smokey vanilla's elegance but this is a dirty mess here,maybe I should blame my own skin I'll give it more tries because I really like the middle phase..I believe this can easily pass as unisex It's a cold weather fragrance and not as powerful as I've expected..ofcourse longevity is very good but I have cheaper ones with more staying power,sillage is more than moderate but not too much,I think it's good in this case and prevents it from being overwhelming Something to add,I love the bottle

Imagine that you are in a dry, tropical country. Someplace like Egypt. You wake up in the morning, put on your moisturiser and tanning lotion. You go to the beach. You spend your day sunbathing, swimming, you play with sand and water. Your skin catches sunshine. You reapply your sunbathing lotion, maybe even some oil, just to give your skin that extra glow. You swim again. You build a sand castle. And then after few hours you go back to your apartment and just before you shower you sniff your skin. And you can literally smell the sun, and the sea water, and that body lotion or oil, you smell hot sand and the unnoticeable sea breeze, you smell your sweat, or maybe that's just the sea water? That's how Fate smells like. It's incredibly warm. Very close to the skin but at the same time its got good projection. It somehow seems to be dry. I like it a lot. It bugged me whole evening as I knew I smelled something similar to Fate. Got it: it's body, face and hair Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse OR (not a perfume, a shimmering natural body oil composed of 6 natural oils) Update 5/7/13 - two weeks later on a hot sunny evening. Revisited Fate again as even though I liked it when I first smelled it I wasn't sure if I could fall in love with it. I definitely can! I've never smelled anything like Fate before and this scent is so unique. And it's unique in a good way. First time I tried Fate it was on a hot, damp day, when there is just too much humidity in the air and its distorts sense of smell. But on a hot sunny day this scent blooms in the best possible way. It's strong, you can definitely catch its fumes slowly reaching your nose and yet somehow it seems to melt into skin and smells so natural. I will definitely get it as my 'hot day scent' as for such a long time I couldn't find anything that I could bear on hot day. Once again applause to Amouage!

Hey there girls ... ladies, babes, wives, mistresses ...(maybe not teeny-boppers). WOMEN! If you are not wearing this... WHY ARE YOU NOT WEARING THIS!? Are you afraid to be this sexy? this glamorous? this mysterious? to make this big of a statement? are you afraid of... Fate? Or... okay, the price-tag I will understand, but any other excuse... I don't get, I just don't... Okay rant over. I will just say this one is stunning. Wow. The opening just blew me away with its beauty. An explosion of floral light... An exotic fragrant garden bursting into life...A yellow, floral, supernova! The flowers almost have a tropical feel to me, they don't smell like ordinary roses, jasmine, narcissus... perhaps it's the citruses and spices bringing them to life and imbuing them with a special quality. (Btw the narcissus here is nothing like the one in Myths Woman - that one was dirty, raw and rough around the edges; this one is brighter, tidier, prettier). Half an hour later, on my skin, this is a completely different animal. It's all powder, leather, and hot chilli spices, with just a trace of floralcy. Still totally beautiful though. The late drydown gets deeper, sweeter, warmer, and even sexier. Fate Woman has almost the reverse engineering of its male counterpart. Fate Woman opens warmly and benevolently, wrapping the wearer in a cocoon of warmth and light; later on it gets a bit edgier, spikier, with the chilli and slight animalic qualities coming to the fore. Whereas Fate Man opens all harsh, biting and angry; it's only in the late drydown that Man gets a bit warmer, sweeter, and friendlier. It's all relative though. Fate Woman overall is a much easier and smoother composition than Fate Man, with far fewer jarring elements. I would not hesitate to recommend this amazing perfume to any woman in my life.

A masterpiece of perfumery. (Chypre-floral-oriental) FATE, one of my favorite Chypres perfumes from the Amouage brand. In terms of its structure and in my opinion, Fate is a Chypre-Floral-Oriental, I find olfactory reminiscences of the vintage Extrait de Opium from 1977 and Shalimar Edp. And I will say that it makes a lot of sense, since they are two great icons of the Oriental olfactory family. The opening of Fate is aromatic and spicy, with accords of pepper, cinnamon and chilli🌶️in contrast with a fresh, citrus and floral touch of bergamot, but which in turn merge perfectly, gradually revealing a floral and incense heart, where the flowers (roses, jasmines and daffodils) are interwoven with labdanum, creating the transition from the classic Chypre, in a wonderful symphony. As usual, after the heart, the base is my favorite part of fragrance making. This one is surprisingly beautiful, where the warmth of benzoin, the exquisite sweetness of a somewhat resinous vanilla and the green and earthy character of oak moss emerge, intertwining with sweet and earthy patchouli woods with a more exotic and oriental character, all this under a halo of incense, along with other animalic accords such as castoreum and leather accord creating a mysterious and seductive composition in a perfect balance; imparting depth and sophistication to the fragrance. Substantivity on my skin is more than 12 hours, with excellent diffusion and sillage. This is a perfume that fascinates me for its beauty and elegance. Both the bottle and the packaging are of incomparable exquisiteness. Fate is magnificent, opulent, sensual and with the hallmark of the Amouage house. The noses of this perfume are Karine Vinchon and Doroteé Piot

This is very unique and exquisite. It has a spicy coca cola opening which is deep and rich but also soft and powdery. I am not a huge fan of powder in perfumes but here it adds a needed gentleness and femininity. Initially it reminds me of baby powder, coca cola and incense with a touch of pepper. I get the vanilla and benzoin shortly after opening. I'm really excited to keep trying and wearing this one. Can't decide if it's a like or a love yet but I can imagine this being perfect for pretty much any occasion and climate. It is sexy enough to wear on a date but subdued enough for the office or a formal meeting. It's cozy enough to wear at home but dressy enough to wear on a night out. I completely understand the comparisons to Opium but to me this doesn't exactly smell the same, although it is for sure in the same vibe. If you like Opium you will probably like this too. It's a mature fragrance, definitely not for a younger audience but I would say it is unisex, although it does lean feminine because of the powder. I can't actually smell the castoreum but the scent has an animalic quality and develops in a way that morphs with your skin to become one and makes you want to keep sniffing so I'm getting a pheromone-y vibe. It is not a skin scent and definitely projects, however it has a gentle silliage and if somebody got up close to you they may wonder whether you were actually wearing perfume or if that was just your natural scent. Very intrigued by Fate so far and I will come back to update as I wear it more. It was hard to find it in stores so I have blind bought a bottle online (at a very low price) and so far I am not disappointed.

This is very classy, almost seems more suited for a mature woman, although I still think anyone could wear this but it definitely has a mature vibe. Definitely seems more suited for cooler weather. It's opening is very spicy, it's also very powdery. The dry down felt very musky too. Spices throughout and a slight tartness, contrasting to the spices, especially in the opening. Pepper is strong. It's a very complex fragrance with so much going on but all very well blended and balanced. This projected like crazy for about 3 hours, just radiates off the skin, could actually feel it leaving a trail. Actually almost coughed a couple times it's intense. It did come in much closer and was intimate for another 3 hours. This one is nostalgic in a way that reminds me of moments in my childhood, I feel like I've smelled this multiple times before. I'm sure it being similar to some of these vintage powerhouse woman fragrances there were some older ladies in my life wearing something similar. It's a very very comforting scent to me, although I said to myself while I was wearing this at work this morning I can't see myself wanting to wear this, even though it really is a beautiful fragrance. I see it's compared to Jaipur, and I almost blind bought Jaipur I was so intrigued by the reviews, but I convinced myself I didn't need it. I think I really now want to try Jaipur if it's similar to fate woman. I do really like this scent, although I don't know if fate woman is really that special enough for me to justify having to have a bottle. Price is good though on discounters especially for an Amouage.

Fate woman feels like an homage to the masterpieces of yesterday, a child from another era. I see from the mixed reviews that it's a love or hate fragrance, but to me it feels like a masterpiece on its own right. Fate opens on my skin with a crisp bergamot and powdery narcissus. It feels vintage but fresh at the same time. There's an underlying darkness that gives off a certain nostalgic vibe throughout, curtesy of oakmoss, leather and vanilla. As it unfolds, the florals become more prominent. It's all about yellow flowers on my skin, with a touch of jasmine; underneath I can feel the spicy core of Opium, pulsating on my skin with its floral spicy opulence. The leathery castoreum conjures Bandit, worn by a mysterious stranger in the night. And then comes my favorite part, the vanillic creaminess of Shalimar, with its bergamot opening and sensual musky base. The description looks simple and quite different from your standard Amouage; and at the same time complex and beguiling. That's where true artistry lies. I was prepared to feel just meh, and frankly I was surprised by how much I enjoy Fate. It's like meeting old friends that you've lost contact with and catching glimps of perfumery's glorious past. Fate woman is completely unisex, has a big sillage and amazing longevity. I feel it's a must try for anyone who loves vintage perfumes. I feel they've set the bar high and I'm looking forward to their next release. In my opinion it's a masterpiece and I'm slowly getting smitten by their line. Though I'm sure my wallet will argue! 5*!

...did i mention i was looking for a grown up vanilla? along comes Fate for women, and now i have a dilemma. a vanilla-dilemma. because while i do not like that opening -- being punched in the head by a patchouli monster or like the house of chanel got high on meth, or both -- i adore what happens next. i put a stopwatch on it, and after about 45 mins the fizzy-fizz dies away and we enter the incense zone, where dark interiors and toasty cinnamon play together; next drifting into a heavenly labdunum-vanilla phase, messed up by a touch of cat's pee – ‘cause we don't want to get too comfortable on this adventure. Chilli licking like a magic flame too, to keep us conscious. The next turn is to leather, like someone opened a valise filled with parchment and rosewood chips ... Then the last squiggle on me is towards the animal, a very clean horse maybe with sand in its hair and wind whipping its mane but still ... warm smoke and a touch of sweat. By the end i am spent with a smile on my lips, that scary beginning long-forgotten. Ugh. Fate is precisely what i want in the way of a complex vanilla, but i'm conflicted by the feeling of having to curl my toes and endure the first 45 mins every time ... so... i will stay with my decant for a while and try to figure out my feelings ... nice problem to have :)

Almost bought one for $600 like an idiot but the seller started harassing me to cancel my order and rebuy it on Mercari. So i got freaked out and cancelled it all together and told him he was being weird and I can’t trust him to not screw me. So he cussed me out and blocked me like he wasn’t the deranged one that texted my phone and called me to harass me into buying it off Mercari instead of ebay. His name is Mikelam9999 on eBay by the way. Total freak Anyways I’m glad he did that because it allowed me to step back and realize what a joke that price was. This was the first scent I ever knew I wanted to own but I didn’t think it would ever be discontinued so I wasn’t in a rush to buy it and I had a large decant. So I have this deep desire to own it as a landmark scent In My journey into perfume. But I bought a vintage bottle of opium and the secret du Parfum version. They are so similar it’s ridiculous. All it’s missing is the narcissus. So I mixed it with my bottle of Vernus by jorum studio and it’s literally identical absolutely no difference and I might even like it more! I’m addicted to this combo it’s amazing ! U can maybe get away with any other strong narcissus perfume for this maybe try the nemat one as an oil base before applying the vintage opium trust meeee

This is literally my favorite perfume I've ever come across, and it's one that has seemed to redefine my taste for the better. I was expecting this rich, bold resinous perfume when I first got a sample, and Fate Woman IS that, but it is so much stranger and more unique than that. It is, above all, a powder fragrance, which was NOT what I was expecting given the note pyramid. But this is no baby powder - not even close. This is a soft, wispy, mystical fragrance that, as has been described below, feels like a veil of spices and incense. It is one of those fragrances that, to me, feels close to magic. I'm heartbroken that Fate Woman has been discontinued, and I will be treasuring my half-bottle for as long as I can. Oddly enough, the only other perfume I've found with a similar magic (but not a similar note pyramid) is Nightingale by Zoologist, which has the same emotional, elegant beauty to me despite being a bit drier and airier. I really, really hope they revive this one some day. If you ever get the chance to smell or purchase this, JUMP! At the very least, there will be another devotee who will gladly take it off your hands.