The Library Collection Opus III

I've had the set of Library sample sprays for a while, and I've had a sniff from a cap or little spritz on a wrist here or there without much thought, like a louche partier sampling random pills and pleasures without much memory the next morning. Well in the modern spirit of mindfulness it's time to commit and concentrate on each one in turn - sprayed heavily and fully worn for a day at a time. And so far, Opus I is good, II is OK, but III is where things get glooooorious. From the cap, I felt smugly sure this would be a simple violet bomb. But after spraying, the violet weirdly disappears, and out come these green and brown notes. What does Broom smell like? I don't know but I seem to like it whenever it's a note. And real thyme! You always see thyme as a note and it seems like fanciful marketing rather than an actual indication of ingredients, but here the thyme smells like you just squeezed your fingers down the branch to pull off the fresh leaves ... or more specifically (but obscurely) just like a Russian wild thyme tea they stocked at my local Eastern European grocer. On the off chance you've smelled such a tea, it's exactly what you get in the first hour. Then a creamy purple phase, violet and clove and vanilla/musk/ambrette. Extremely beautiful, slightly feminine but still perfectly wearable for me (at least as far as I care). The drydown is cushiony, cozy, heavy on sandalwood and vanilla on a soft white musk. Bedtime after the garden party. It's not a projection bomb or a longevity monster (though the drydown lasts a good long time). Just a beautifully balanced, deeply artful evolving journey. I know there's more good ones to come, but it's the first in the Opus series (tried in sequence) of which I’ll covet a full bottle.

Isn't that the most beautiful violet related fragrance you ve ever smelled!?? Go and sample this if you are a violet lover! For my nose it is the most fat, creamy rich violence fragrance in the world! Finally I found my violet signature fragrance:) But there is also soo much more in that thick layered fragrance: the smoky benzoine in the drydown makes me think of my beloved L'air du Desert Marocain in combination with the wonderful sweet gaiac wood and sandalwoody notes...it takes many times of applying this before you really can differ the ingredients: today I detected the mimosa in the opening!Gorgeous!! Yesterday it was yasmine in the middlenotes...wow!Violet and jasmine..could go perfectly well together!! Anyway its kind of a sweet fragrance but NOWHERE near a cloying sweetness as in Loulou or Angel or Poison..no a fine woody flowery sweetness that you can bear easily and admire even more...I even get a very soft vanilla tone today in the drydown and normally I do not like in my perfumes... What I do like best in this perfume is that you have the idea of wearing at least 4 different perfumes one after another! It really smells as a different perfume in the drydown..my husband had asked me three times yesterday:What are you wearing now? I smiled and answered: still the same stuff.. so I got myself the big bottle of it..luckily on ebay at less bucks...

This smells remarkably like Ombre Mercure, but like the "gourmand" version. Usually when I read "smells just like so and so" I take it with a grain of salt. In this case, it's very true. This isn't just a "slight reminder" it's like the same exact base fragrance tweaked a little differently to go a different direction in the drydown. I would have to wear them side by side to notice major differences in the first hour. The differences become more apparent in the second hour. III is a richer and creamier and has no rose, more vanilla, cedar, sandalwood and what smells like tonka. I'm absolutely in love with this scent and even though they smell extremely similar initially there is just enough difference to make me want all 3 (including Ombre Mercure Extreme). Mainly because I totally hoard anything I love and all smell alikes. But if price is an issue and you can only choose one, whichever you find at the best price would probably make you happy. Because if you like one of these, you will like all 3. This type of scent is my "powdery cosmetic" holy grail. I consider III the more indulgent and rich one. It's like gourmand meets powder puff. The gourmandish part may be too much for some people. If you find it a bit too indulgent, give Ombre Mercure a try. It doesn't have the gourmand edge.

This perfume is amazing !!!! All I want to wear is this and Ombré mercure as well as love in black . In the last few days I have only worn Opus III and it's so incredible , FRESH WOODSY sweet VIOLETS a touch of BENZOIN / VANILLA and a dose of ACETONE I also smell buttery IRIS and MIMOSA , it's just so fantastic . Classic but not old fashioned! Femine and timeless. LOVE !!! Update , I have mainly been wearing opus lll and ombré Mercure as well as insolence , just love violets. I find this one is the most old school out of the 3 and become my least worn in this cathegory as it's a little paculier and old school compared to the others. Still great but more nostalgic and specific , not as young as the others . Ombré Mercure is the smoothest ,buttery , woody violet out of them, balsamic and easy to wear. Just wonderful and resting happily on my top shelf. , insolence is the youngest and frutiest out of them. Oh and there is love in black and Misia , all in the same genere and all worth a try if you love this type of perfume. All centered around violets with a slightly different feel. Opus lll is definilty the most old school one out of them and something about it has a chanel 5 vibe , the powdery woody part with strong ylang ylang, the yellow flowers.

"Opus III" is a masterpiece. The opening violet and mimosa combo is to die for, the papyrus joining in adds a twist - after the old book smell this actually turns to smell like industrial glue, nevertheless my nose was stuck upon the scent for the entire journey and I loved the smell. I got dozens of compliments wearing it, even though I did not think I smell pleasing, because - really? sweet mimosa and industrial glue? When it's been around three hours on the skin it starts to get even better, I love how this perfume changes, you get the sweet mimosa and then BOOM in few minutes you are thrown over by a dry vanilla/clove/sandalwood (similar to Mona Di Orio Vanille, but much, much better) just to be greeted by the same mimosa again later. The drydown though is the divine vanilla-clove-sandalwood dryness/sweetness, truly pretty. I've never before have wanted and not wanted something so badly. On the one hand - this is truly unique and top quality, but on the other hand - come on, industrial glue! I tell myself that it will not be a good investment, though I seem to be addicted to my wrists especially in the glue phase.

dal momento che la violetta e la mimosa sono due tra i pochi fiori che riesco a tollerare, ho spruzzato generosamente il piccolo decant di opus III: che bellezza!!! è un vero peccato perchè i profumi amouage sono per me inarrivabili, stante il loro prezzo assolutamente impraticabile. l'accordo è sofisticato e di gran classe: un cyphre floreale ben bilanciato che si inaugura con una prima meravigliosa impressione di violetta e, appunto, mimosa. il "retroodore" è lievemente polveroso benchè ancora fresco. contrariamente ad altri amouage che trovo francamente soffocanti questo è invece un bouquet discreto, primaverile, che pian piano si assesta su un effetto confortevole e resinoso a base di benzoino ma anche di fave di tonka, rimanendo vicino alla pelle senza strillare. la caleidoscopica piramide olfattiva è talmente ben costruita da restituire non già le singole note ma un effetto complessivo di estrema finezza. profumeria di alta qualità, sì. ottimo.

Oh my! This is the one that got away. I discovered this house way too late and all the samples I’m enjoying seem to be discontinued. This scent in particular is so classical like it belongs in a library! It reminds me of a few perfumes I smelled from the Guerlain Les Legendaires line - Samsara? L’heure Blue perhaps? I don’t know. But it is beautiful. It’s a tad different with a bit more bite to it, but still delicate in a way that makes it traditionally feminine leaning. I love this style because it smells cozy, soft, decadent and rich like an Indian bread pudding made with sweet cream, butter, cardamom, cloves and dust of sugar. Yum. Actually people who like Amouage Lilac Love for the powdery notes might like this if they’re looking for the same effect but without the lilac and cocoa notes. FB worthy to me. Too bad it’s discontinued and the used options out there seem outrageously priced. Why Amouage, why?

Opens up as a bouquet of flowers and thereafter moves over to quite distinct vanilla smelling close to marzipan, a combination of vanilla, benzoine and musk. Middle notes that shortly after the opening come forward are violett, jasmine and ylang-ylang which adds a pleasurable complexity. The basenotes that make this combination avoid turning into a fleeting mess and instead a sweet complex flower are the distinct woods mixing with the initially mentioned marzipan: cedar, sandalwood and papyrus among others that I'm unfamiliar with. I would describe this as a flowery gourmand. A luxury version of Maison Martin Margielas "By the Fireplace" that has exchanged smokiness for flowers. Like the smell that you could imagine eating a Michelin star vanilla ice-cream with edible flowers in the middle of a field of flowers and noble trees.

Patchouli anyone? While generally humbled by the enormous amount of expertise in this community I somehow found the courage to write this, my first review. It was love at first sniff and an instant buy, back in 2011. By that time I started realising my preference for powdery yellow florals. Opus III has been my signature scent ever since (gonna be needing more backup bottles in a while). First I couldn’t describe it other than utterly well balanced, super smooth, somewhat powdery, somehow especially gorgeous in the sunlight, ideal for spring and early summer here in Sweden. Now I can clearly sort out the beautiful violet taking the forefront early, flanked by various other flowers, gradually giving room for some creamy wood. Now this: Am I the only one finding patchouli here? In my little nose it is quite obvious. Male, 51

I am enjoying the violet playing up against the vanillic-resin of the benzoin, and it does indeed warrant further testing. I'm in the lower part of the 'maybe' range, so, I'm gonna need to decant the 0.4 mls or so I have remaining from my sample into a spray bottle and try spraying it on, so that I can 'live in it', as that's the only real way to tell if a scent is for you. As I said before, I'm thinking probably no, but I gotta at least try, you know...? ***EDIT*** Loving the violet, but the whole mix is too soft and floral for me. I wish there was a greater presence of woods or resin, it just comes across as too airy and floral for mine. Still stunning, just not amazing enough for me...

What an experience Opus III is. Freshly crushed violets with silky mimosas, a soft dash of ylang-ylang, benzoin and nutmeg - that's what I smell. This is exactly an olfactory adventure, not conforming to trends, as Amouage states. Ombre Mercure was created by the same nose Karine Vinchon Spehner and they are reminiscent of each other. It doesn't smell baby-ish, makeup-ish, it sort of feels like reading a classic novel. The smells from the past, the art and skills, the quality. It kind of reminds me of the scent of wet plaster, just not so literal. Simply stunning and extraordinary. Since I love violets, I think, this is a must try for violets-mimosas lovers. +

Mmm...I'm definitely warming to this gourmandish mimosa beauty. I can see what others have noted. There is a similarity with Ombre Mercure but this sweeter, brighter and more powerful. It's truly a shape shifter. A big mimosa and violet opening. I could have sworn I detected rose geranium. I can smell that waxy lipstick smell. The dry down is much more vegetal, herbal and resinous but the mimosa and violet are still just about hanging in there. It continues to evolve with the sandalwood, wood notes and some spices becoming more evident. It has become a love. One of the most shape shifting beauties I have ever sniffed. Moderate sillage and longevity.

Briefly: it’s a masterpiece. I doesn’t really remind you of anything else because it’s so complex. Powdery and green at the same time. Not as suffocating and dense as other violet perfumes. Soft and strong at the same time. As most of Amouages not for every day use. Feminine, elegant, feels rich and expensive. You should try it before you buy. Update: be careful with it. It’s sophisticated and beautiful but after wearing it for a week it got really overwhelming, and I cannot stand it now just because I used it too much. Niche perfumery is not for every day. I don’t do it normally and regret I used this amazing perfume this way.

09 Dec 2017 I have been wearing Opus III for like 4-5 days in a row which is very odd considering my ever-changing scent preference and mood. There’s something about it that got me hooked! It’s very delicate, calming, relaxing, warm and addictive! Opus III is basically sweet, powdery, floral scent! Top notes lean on the feminine side but the dry down is what i like the most- woods and spicy soft vanilla! If you’re a bloke and you rock Dior Homme Intense, Carnal Flower, Sospiro Capriccio and the likes then you can pull this off as well!!!

Amouage copied 80% of "Balahe" when making "The Library Collection Opus III" !! "Opus III" is an almost exact (but sweeter/more" rounded") copy of "Balahe" edt (by LEONARD), which is discontinued. But "Balahe" can still be found for a good price on the internet !! AND best of all = you can get "Balahe" for a *MUCH* better price. And the black Balahe-bottle, with a silk red string is such a beautiful piece of art itself!! Oh, good I saved me some money by already owning this scent in Balahe! :)

this is quite the departure from common amouage 'punchy' scents. no bombastic, in-your-face, borderline offensive ingredients. this is more subtle, almost subdued and even mute. quite florally and woodsy. the balsamic quality provided from the resin (doesn't quite smell like benzoin to me...) adds a deep base to the scent, but for mine it's a little too un-amouage-ey. i'd expect this from l'artisan, to tell you the truth. look, it's nice, but it just doesn't fit that amouage profile...

I think this is what a French "Whorehouse" is supposed to (have) smell(ed) like. Alternatively, I am thinking Baroque Epoque with its ostentatious and OTT endless brocades and silk chiffons, row after row, frills after never-ending frills, golden lamee and more golden seams. Tassels and more tassels, everything in never-ending abundance, while Michaelangelo is painting the ceilings and the cherub angels are singing from high heavens, so bright and gay......in beguiling beauty.

Floral/ Woody Unisex MASTERPIECE! Think "L'Eau D'Issey Pour Homme" genuinely floralized, glamourized, luxuriorized and updated into the 21st century and you'll get this. It is MIMOSA heaven on earth. I will wear this on my wedding.....or any day you wanna make love to yourself especially early spring/ summer. Yellow cheer that wakes up your senses after a long cold winter. This and Opus IV are my favs.

I get so much banana. Synthetic banana, like artificially flavoured banana candy, is prominent in the opening but calms down considerably after 30 mins or so. Also violets and powder. Nice and sweet, though not cloyingly so. I like it! I love the banana! For when I crave sweet violets but can't deal with the fruity and candy-like Insolence by Guerlain.

This is trippy. From a distance I get sweet violets and mimosa - shades of purple, pink and yellow that are so quintessentially feminine and lovely. However, when I sniff up close, all I can smell is the most vivid, can-almost-touch-it old, leatherbound book. What a beautiful scent. Truly ethereal and magical.