Lyric Woman

So glad Lyric and I have met again. I sprayed this once on a strip and it haunted me for the few days that it lasted. I had never smelt a perfume that seemed so sumptuous and slightly 'strange' that it seemed more like a texture or presence. When I got hold of a carded sample, I recognised and liked it but it seemed flatter somehow, missing the initial magic. It dropped off my wishlist, although the initial memory didn't. Three years later and I spotted a very reasonable deal for the travel spray decants (August 2011 batch) and after some dithering, decided to go for it. Not wanting to be disappointed, I tucked them at the back of my perfume shelf for a couple of weeks until a few days ago. First spray on the skin, my heart sank a little as it was the (not unpleasant) but almost musty, slightly sourish woody floral note I recalled from the sample. I wouldn't call it spicy, certainly not sharp, but perhaps it is the ginger/cardamom/rose combination that has a strange rub. I agree there is a certain pot pourri aspect to these top notes, though that sounds more banal than it is. But twenty minutes later it blooms - rose but not in a dominating way, very creamy and balanced by other notes I cannot really pick out. The creaminess reminds me of something that happens with Santal Majascule and so I suspect this is the sandalwood. Mind you, it is a not a cedar-like, woodchips type sandalwood. The incense and spices are so well blended that it really just seems like a velvet cloud - nothing sharp or shouting for attention. The sillage for me is moderate but wafts keep coming, and it is especially lovely sprayed onto my scarf and a touch on my decollete where it warms up. This is the opposite of screechy, and I am not sure I would even call it a diva perfume because although it is sumptous and velvety, it is also cosy, never high-strung, striving for attention. If this is a rose, it is a rose in reverse: at first dessicated, brownish, mixed with musty spices then coming back to life where it teeters ripe, slightly overblown but creamed with wood and presumably incense to give it depth and ensure it is not sweet. It's not a girly rose but one that has lived, loved, holds secrets. There is an intimate, enveloping quality as well (and by that I don't mean it is a skin scent). This is in contrast to, say, Chanel fragrances where their refined elegance seems to partly come from a sense of standing at a cool distance. I will be looking out for a larger bottle of the original formula now (and what a lovely bottle it is that does justice to its contents).

Just like Epic, this Amouage perfume tells us the story of the Queen of Flowers. However, this is a completely different take on roses - the freshness and the spices of Epic somewhat overshadow the rose, while in Lyric the beautiful bloom definitely takes center stage. Spices are prominent in Lyric as well (the initial whiff of cardamon and cinnamon feels amazing!), but the whole blend is more rose-centered, it's soft and almost creamy thanks to the lovely musks and orris root enveloped in ylang ylang and sandalwood blend. Actually this is so well-blended that you really don't want to ruin the mystery of the fragrance by trying to pick the whole thing apart. It is a luscious rose scent, soft yet assertive. Makes me think of those flowers in the stained glass windows of gothic cathedrals. A blood red rose shining in the incense-filled darkness. I have to admit that it wasn't love at first sight...it was love at the second one! The first time I wore it I found it good but not exceptional, turns out I simply wasn't paying attention or wasn't in the mood since on the second time I totally fell in love with Lyric. This scent has a beautiful development and it is sure to impress you if you give it a chance. Try wearing it in different weather, Lyric is a real chameleon and it's so exciting to smell all of its faces! I wonder why are there so few votes for wearing it in summer, it smells really good in hot weather if you don't overspray. Seriously, I can't stand most perfumes with musk in the warmer time of the year, but Lyric simply reveals another side to you instead of becoming annoying or, erm, overly bodily. Lyric is somewhat demanding and I don't feel like wearing it casually, but hey, that's just my relationship with the lipstick rose vibe, these always make me think of extra classy ladies and normally I'm not one. However, I think it might be amazing to wear it with a casual outfit to surprise those who lean in closer to you and end up smelling Lyric in all of its beauty! It is long-lasting but the sillage isn't in your face, I'd call it moderate. I can see the reason behind its comparison to Rouge Nocturne - mind the lipstick rose vibe, I really do smell this kind of stuff here. RN has more powder though and it feels somewhat simplistic compared to Lyric. Don't get me wrong, I loved both ones but Lyric is the fragrance that I will buy again if I end up finishing the bottle one day (I don't really use more than two sprays of this).

I would like to know what opera aria or "lyric" Christopher Chong used for the inspiration to Lyric Woman and Lyric Man. I had a very distinct impression of Lyric Man being the duskier and more dour version of Gold Man - if Gold Man was an adulated person parading through the streets amidst the screams and thrown flower petals from admirers, then Lyric Man was that adulated person in the quietness of their home feeling the weight and stress of such adulation. Lyric Woman tracks very much the same way. There is a bright, energetic, and gleeful high point in the very early stages that descends to dimly lit corners and emotional gravitas by the end. I've heard arias like this, that start off full of force and light and joy, and by the end of the song, by the time the story is through, the singer is despondent. Why the hell would anyone want to wear a perfume that does this to you? Great question. Perhaps you don't. I adore Lyric Man. It is one of my favorite Amouage perfumes ever created precisely because it takes me on a journey. I do not think the journey is as expansive, or the elevation change from high to low is as great in Lyric Woman but the common theme is inarguable to my nose, and I adore Lyric Woman as well. Woody aromatic spices, piquant ginger and bergamot, and powdery aldehydes adulate a blooming fruity red rose accord lying just underneath. There is a bit of citrusy green, white florals in the form of jasmine, and a good helping of exotic and tropical banana like ylang-ylang making sure the powdery orris and aldehydes don’t get too parched and too formal. But the rose never fully blooms; an unnerving angelica note adds a chemical and medicinal woody facet straight to the heart of the rose that makes it smell like it’s slowly dying before it ever fully lived. Gray and animalic musks with a damp mossy note begin to dim the lights lower and lower. The rose strains on, determined but futile and losing breath. A beautiful sandalwood begins to sweep upwards with tendrils of frankincense smoke and earthy woody notes. Stillness in the near darkness, a slight hum and vibration to the air as the aria ends and the stage exits begin. Whether or not you want to smell like a heartbreaking aria is up you, but it’s stunning, transfixing, and beautiful nonetheless.

I think very highly of Amouage perfumes, and Lyric is one of the very best. An opulent spicy-rose oriental with a chypre drydown, Lyric seems to tie in well with Amouage's Omani heritage. I enjoy a well-placed rose note, and the use of rose here is hard to beat: dark and rich; spicy instead of sweet; and unisex in typical Middle Eastern style. Rich and luxurious throughout, Lyric is a beauty. Lyric opens with an unmistakable cardamom note, joined presently by a sweet-spicy accord of cinnamon and ginger. It is peppery and warm, with geranium adding a fresh herbalness. This spicy opening serves as a backdrop for the warm, rich, dark rose note that emerges shortly afterwards, blooming on my skin. The rose is the centrepiece of Lyric, and is deeply beautiful throughout. A soft white floral accord emerges, bolstering the rose and adding some subtle sweetness, but the florals are balanced out by a herbal, earthy accord. Orris root adds some iris-like powderiness, but the florals are relegated to the background once the smoky incense note emerges. The incense is excellent - as I was raised Catholic, I love and appreciate a good, churchy incense note in perfumery. As it dries down, it becomes an ambery, woody rose scent, bolstered by spices and that beautiful Amouage frankincense. The sandalwood note is remarkable - reminding me of vintage Samsara. As it dries down further, it becomes mossy and veers towards chypre territory, thanks to the oakmoss and a nice hint of patchouli. Some soft vanilla adds a hint of creamy sweetness here, and it fades to a sweet/spicy musky-amber skin scent. Sillage and longevity are excellent, as is the case with Amouage scents in general. Feminine-leaning, but could be unisex. Regal, elegant sophistication, yet sensual and warm as a hug, Lyric strikes a perfect balance. It is like a marriage between the vintage Guerlain classics Samsara and Nahéma in ways. Classic yet modern, blending Middle Eastern tradition and French sensibility, Amouage has done it again. One of my favourite rose scents, but so much more than just a rose scent. 5/5.

Hands down, the most beautiful and sexy rose perfume I have ever smelled, in my entire life. I own a sample of this scent and every time I remind myself about it and decide to retest it I think to myself, "Huh, I guess it's not as special as I remember". And then it dries down. Once it does that I'm intoxicated, powerless, nose glued to the wrist for the next several hours. I'd say when it opens there's the prominent true rose, combined with a smokiness that I would've guessed gives off more of a clove/cinnamon oil vibe than incense, which often times smells sour on my skin chemistry. As it wears on, it becomes more creamy and sweet without becoming gourmand. This has just the right amount of spicy, sweet, powdery and floral elements to it that you'd never be able to put this firmly in one "category" of scent family, because it has just the right, tasteful amount of everything. There's a woody note, I would've guessed oak or cedar over sandalwood, and the rose never disappears but it certainly makes room center stage for all the other notes to beautifully blend and become one gorgeous aroma. I would describe it as if you were in a room full of red roses, at least 4-6 dozen in full bloom, the lingering smell of a spicy exotic incense you burned the night before in the room, and someone brings over a batch of freshly baked cinnamon rolls, dripping with cream cheese glazed frosting. This is the fragrance I recommend when people want middle-Eastern inspired perfumes. Ditch the exhausted virtue-signalling obligatory rose-oud trend that every fragrance house now offers and rediscover the multi-faceted, unapologetically sensual, mystery filled house of Amouage, and start right here with what is, in my opinion, the best "rose" fragrance on the niche market, and possibly their best (although they have many equally deserving) masterpiece to date. This is a must-try for everyone, and for me it's now a must-buy.