Silver Man

(Review of the final release, the EdP from 2008, not the original Cristal version of 1998, or the Cologne of 2002 which people seem to be mixing up.) Poor Silver. It had a very difficult life. Its life experience is similar to Dioressence - always being misunderstood and not accepted enough, which led to it being severely mistreated over the course of its life. Silver was originally released as Silver Cristal in 1998, and you could think of it as a flanker to Gold but far more appropriate would be to think of it as an alternative to Gold for mass consumers in Europe and America, who didn't much care for the big, bold Arabian persona of Gold. Demur Western noses found Gold to be too floral, opulent, and operatic, and not familiar enough to the fashions and trends of masculine French and American perfumes of the 80s and 90s. Enter Silver Cristal, pulling back on Gold's massive and opulent florals and warm animalics, and opting for more spices, masculine-leaning florals (think carnation, and why that was popular in masculine perfumery in the latter half of the 1900s), cooler animalics, and brighter woods, giving the perfume a more familiar metallic sheen (silvery) like the popular French and American perfumes of the two decades as opposed to the massive, golden, sunny, hot Arabian glow of Gold. But Silver Cristal didn't tone down the grand and operatic nature it had in common with Gold and it was even more dirty/filthy with the spices. As a result, those demur Western noses didn't buy Silver Cristal either. Amouage then hollowed it out to the point of being unrecognizable to create Silver Cologne released 4 years later. The hollowing went too far in the other direction, causing the florals, indoles, and cool animalics to spike while the masculine body and richness, and its long-lasting diffusiveness, were toned way down. People didn't like the Cologne either for those spiked notes; it hovered too much towards feminine characteristics for those times. Four years later comes this version, the EdP, supposedly to sit comfortably between Cristal and Cologne, with a half-way richness of Cristal but less diffusive and operatic and dirty animalic, yet more full-bodied and rich and masculine than the cologne... but people didn't like this either. Silver wasn't appreciated in its time because no matter what Amouage did to it, it was either going to be too big and loud, or too feminine, or - in the case of the EdP by 2008 - too retro too late. At its core, in its DNA, it just didn't fit with the times' Western noses at any point. Unlike Dioressence, which is a shell of what it once was and is no longer recognizable, Amouage discontinued Silver rather than give it more electroshock therapy or lobotomies, which is preferred over what happened to Dioressence. Still, what a pity, and shame on us. It's an underrated and, as I said, misunderstood gem of Amouage's history. In the EdP, the gene-editing done to make the Cologne is far more apparent in the top notes than it is compared to Cristal. The EdP opts for the fruit and florals, as opposed to just the florals of Cristal, calling to mind orange and lemon zest shaved over currants backed by burgeoning jasmine, rose, and heliotrope rising up from the heart. There is hardly any sourness or juiciness to the fruit, like they've been slightly dehydrated to push more aromas from the skins than the flesh. Though the florals are growing, they are taking their time and not crowding the fruity top but rather gently yet firmly pushing them up. After a couple of hours Silver Man EdP has settled for the long-haul: relatively quiet and moderately diffusive, comfortably rich and symphonic as opposed to ear-drum shaking operatic, floral and musky and woody with a polished silvery sheen as opposed to a blinding golden glow. The jasmine is very indolic and dry, far from any citrusy sweet and white floral characteristics. What sweetness there is comes from touches of pink rose and ylang-ylang, which very nicely but very subtly pull down the fruity top into the heart. Heliotrope is the glue holding all of it together, providing some powdery French chic, and a touch of warmth with an almondy sweetness that locks hand-in-hand with the fruity aspects and the floral aspects. It's also the almond facet of heliotrope lending to the heart a metallic and silvery sheen. Very beautiful. Lastly, at the base, contributing a significant effort to this rich yet quiet and subtle symphony, is a hefty dose of extremely smooth and animalic musks that live very comfortably half-way between civet and soap. The civet-animalic side providing richness and striking magnetism, the soap-musk side keeping proceedings silvery clean and fresh. Green and earthy aromatics from vetiver and patchouli provide depth yet piquancy and levity. Subtle, creamy sandalwood, and cool frankincense tendrils, let Silver Man quietly vibrate at its base, like the vibration in the bones of your head if you were to hum an Eastern prayer. In the heart and base dry down the EdP, again, shares more characteristics with the Cologne. Where Cristal really amped up the spices and guaiac wood to create a big, dirty, spicy feel, the Cologne went the completely opposite route with florals and the middle-ground musks. The EdP leans closer to the Cologne with its florals and musks, but its civety-animalic and more energetic woody facets give a better body, better richness, and better depth - and certainly better durability - that calls to my mind Cristal. So, it's not a perfect middle ground between Cristal and Cologne, but perhaps close enough. Of course, we now know it wasn't close enough - but, indeed, nothing was going to be close enough to let Silver happily exist and prove itself over time. I am quite confident in saying that if Silver existed today as Cristal, the Cologne, and/or the EdP, it would be a good seller for the brand now that Western noses are more adept to Arabian perfumery styles, can recognize this more as a homage to Western perfumery, Amouage is now a by-word for exceptional quality and characterful perfumes throughout the world, and there is a hankering for perfumes of a retro bent. Silver was a victim of timing and the aggressively mediocre tastes of consumers, a failed attempt by an Arabian brand to make commercial inroads in the West - which, I guess, is not much different from stories still happening today, so who knows how it would truly do today. All I know is this: my heart goes out to this poor, brow-beaten, mistreated, and misunderstood character; it's a sorrowful pity it didn't have a place in yesterday's world, or in today's world, doomed to be an orphan from the start. It will always have a place in my heart and home though.

I love this. I had my friend, who isn’t into fragrance, smell it, and he said, “It smells like Versailles.” I agree—but I’d specify that it’s Versailles in the current year. Just like another commenter below said, it smells like old money. I can agree with that as well, but I’d add the caveat that it’s the latest generation of old money: someone in their late 20s, obscenely wealthy, and aloof. My personal impression of Silver Man is that of a Y2K futurism aesthetic mixed with Frutiger Aero—Google it. I smell this and think of cityscapes made of pure, pristine glass skyscrapers: blue filters, lens flares, and Dutch angles from a low perspective looking up. It’s bright, cold, and detached, yet naively optimistic about the future. One neat trick that makes Silver Man stand out to me is the way that it uses florals. The way the orchid and orange blossom mix with the musk gives the impression of clean, starchy aldehydes. Yet somehow, this still feels masculine. I can’t quite explain how... Now, I hate to bring this up in a review for a fragrance I love so much, but this has definitely been reformulated somewhat recently. The reformulation isn’t a deal breaker in terms of what’s changed, but it definitely doesn’t make me feel good. I’ve gotten a sample of an older batch from the early 2010s, multiple carded samples from what I assume is the mid-2010s, and then my bottle, produced in 2021. My bottle is definitely reformulated—even compared to the carded samples—and for the worse. I’ll spare you a lengthy diatribe, but my bottle lacks a certain vibrancy that the carded samples have. The florals are a little less present, the plum is muted, and overall the scent is just a bit more “vague,” almost dusty, and it fades from the skin earlier than it should. Again, it isn’t a deal breaker, but it hurts knowing what I could have had. Maybe that’s part of why this scent reminds me of the Y2K aesthetic—an unanswered optimism, a longing for something that was taken from me before my time. Anyways, 9/10. 🙂

REVIEW - AMOUAGE SILVER What does it smell like? - A floral-clean and natural smelling perfume. Spring in a bottle. TOP - Amouage Silver starts very floral. Dry and floral. Almost every type of flowers start hitting you right from the off. On my skin,Orange Blossom and Heliotrope are the most common giving it a fresh dry floral opening that has only one feeling written on it - HAPPINESS. The top notes are backed by some musk which make the top smell very sophisticated too. MID - This is one of the most heart notes that I've ever smelled. It's the best part of this perfume and it comes quickly at you. 5-10 minutes into the fragrance and PLUM and JASMINE start hitting your nose. This accord here is so creamy, accomplished and pleasing. It feels very natural and familiar being unique at the same time as well. Drydown - The drydown is where you understand why this perfume is called SILVER. It gets metallic and aquatic. And idk how. It reminds me of Silver Mountain Water at this phase in a very vague manner. Some of it's by the plum,some by a sharp but very faint rose and equally faint and sweet and faint Incense note. The drydown gets creamier too thanks to the sandalwood. Feelings - This could be a perfect "Dad's perfume". It has some slight barbershop element to it initially thanks to the dry floral feel which I absolutely love. Feels very happy. Uplighting and natural. Clean floral. Performance - It pushes upto the 8 hours mark on my skin at times. Averaging 6-7 hours consistently. Siliage and Projection are both on the softer side. It close to skin after some good projection initially. Though it's very captivating and unique. So it's not the perfume that's going to be loud but instead whoever's going to smell this is going to stay close to you. Intoxicating. Usage - Unisex - Over 28 years. It's an Amouage and it's perfect for what it is. Somehow it has managed to stay lowkey and thus I call it a hidden gem and a successful unique discovery.

I find myself craving to wear this, especially when it's warm out. There is a little mystery in how this plays with my chemistry. I feel like the initial freshness is so sharp that it might be confusing to figure out. And I can 100% see how someone might find this reminiscent of baby wipes, or a common clean type of scent. It is a bit powdery, but I feel that hits hardest in the beginning. Those first 30 minutes are kind of a ride to be honest. But I like the ride, and the time spent with this is well worth it on my skin. I think the heliotrope and orchid accord are also quite prominent throughout much of this fragrance. The freshness is easy, and the muskiness is my absolute favorite part. It's so smooth on my skin. I love the sensuousness it wraps around me. The musk is light, fluffy, and almost cloud like. I find this aspect of the dry down fascinating. It almost feels like a second skin. There is definitely a "your skin but better" thing going on here. I also appreciate that this perfume goes through stages of development. It gets cozy. I wish this weren't discontinued, but I do understand why. It's not as stand out as some of other things out there. It's longevity is 4-5 hours so that might be a little skint for some people. All I know is that I really do love this. There is something intriguingly addictive about it to me. The fresh baby aspects of this go in two distinctly different paths as this develops. You do get the baby powder drifting through the air and settling into a more dusty cloud. Then it progressively becomes more herbaceous, and clean. Lighter and lighter, but the lighter it gets, the more I want to be cuddling with someone. It's a classy, fresh, posh, sort of baby vibe. Such a clean and comfortable, understated elegance. I'm all in.

I have the vintage one with the loose, ivory looking cap, and it's incredible. Strong, long-lasting and complex, I absolutely love it. The first two hours remind me of Tom Ford for Men but with way better ingredients and with the incense-floral amouage twist. It's less the smell that's the resemblance than the feel of the perfume (I came home and sprayed one on each arm and they're very different but of the same ilk). The drydown goes in a direction I wouldn't have seen coming save for some reviews here. It becomes fluffy and floral, with the creamy frankincense ebbing away underneath, absolutely gorgeous, and a credit to the perfumer because on card, I detect some sort of stinky synthetic just for a few seconds in the opening (not on skin) so this could easily have been one of the pantheon of perfumes which degenerate into some blah generic woody amber base. Here, it couldn't be further from that. This is beautiful, top-notch perfumery. It's eminently wearable in any conditions, unlike a lot of Amouages, so for me that's a real score too. Shame this 50ml will probably be my first and last due to how discontinued AF it is. It's worth noting that the pyramid above doesn't really represent the experience of smelling this perfume. All the notes are there, but it's very united, one exquisitely crafted scent, very old-school, no overload of any one thing like everyone does now.