The Library Collection Opus VIII

Managed to get a sniff, skin sample and a 'dunked & doused' green ribbon from the exclusive launch in a famous London department store that just launched this 8th addition to the Library range. My first reaction was: WOW! What a milky floral monster! Absolutely magnificent! The bottle is opaque, pearlesque and "milky" with some golden glitter particles; so the exterior is already giving away some clues to the interior juice. And WHAT A JUICE IT IS! AN OPPULENT EXPLOSION! Those of you who love jasmine and neroli will love this fragrance for this is one heck of a floral potent blast. The obvious first impression from the opening is the "Sambac" jasmine of extremely dense and milky quality, together with he heaviest and richest neroli possible and I believe it is the oilbanum that gives it such a milky, ambery, vanillic quality. As an analogy, I would call it the "Milky Cousin" of REFLECTION (Reflection is a very wet, spicy and waxy composition of the same house). Saffron and Ylan-Ylang support the already strong and 'floral-peppery' nature of the potent neroli (orange blossom) and the ginger, gaiac wood, vetiver amplify this spiciness even further. The final dry-down is a close milky skin scent of benzoin and those recent memories of those floral explosions now slowly fading (very slowly and linear that is!). If there was anything negative to mention: the base notes only comprises of 2 notes (the lowest level of any Library range for they all have at least 3) and the West Indian Bay is hardly there. Having said that, the first two stages are so incredibly intense that they continue to linger on and on. It feels like you were cooking all ingredients in a big pot of fatty milk that starts to turn into a thick condensed milk, completely consuming all the ingredients and turning it into a beautiful tamer skin scent that almost feels like a body butter (in fact they should do one as well with this scent!) Final Verdict: 9.5 out of 10 only because there is not more base note development. A TRUE FLORAL MONSTER FOR A TRUE NEROLI/ JASMINE LOVER. THICK MILKY PEPPERY VIBRANCY. NOTHING SHORT OF SENSATIONAL.

Opus VIII is a beautifully balanced floriental made with high-quality ingredients as befits Amouage. Surprisingly more yellow floral than white, this is lush and heady, quite sweet up top and slightly indolic. Some soft spice and a prominent incense note add depth, and it is grounded by a woody-amber base. It is one of the more wearable Library scents, and feels like an elevated Alien flanker (while I dislike Alien, it shares a main woody-jasmine accord with OVIII). OVIII opens with slightly indolic jasmine, rounded out by sweet orange blossom. Ylang ylang follows, adding tropical creamy sweetness. A hint of spice adds a nice edge. It is deeply pleasant - sophisticated yet unchallenging. As it develops, churchy incense adds a lovely balsamic, smoky undertone, enhancing the florals beautifully and paving the way to the amber drydown. A rich, balsamic amber accord develops as it dries down, with soft woody notes emerging, complementing the aromatic spices that remain to perfection. It becomes slightly musky as it fades, with spices and incense remaining until it disappears. Sillage is strong and longevity is long-lasting. A simple composition by Amouage standards, OVIII is a beautiful amber-floral scent, classic yet modern in equal measure. Feminine-leaning in my opinion, it is boldly elegant, and is a rare year-round scent. One of my favourites from The Library Collection. 4.5/5.

I can smell here _maybe_ orange blossom and ylang-ylang but no other of those mentioned notes. If only there was jasmine! Or saffron, ginger, vetiver, benzoin! Well, maybe they all constitute to the outcome but are not distinguishable anymore. Benzoin possibly saves the whole thing for me for it not being too much floral-only (and giving it the Amouage signature), I really like this component everywhere, it can turn every scent perfect for me, similar with oud. Maybe olibanum also served the same purpose but I don't really know how that thing smells specifically. Still, I can smell orchid here, similar to one in Black and Velvet Orchid by TF, unless I mix this up with ylang-ylang, I'm not sure. Anyway, this is a nice and enjoyable slightly bitterish floral bouquet by Amouage and it is good! Better and more smell on hand than on shirt but it's good on both places. I have smelt ylang-ylang on some other perfumes and if it is too strong, I can't stand it but here it is in the background rather, nicely done.

Wow, I like this!! I bought myself a few niche samples, and this is probably the most expensive perfume I will ever wear! ;) I dabbed this on today (literally blind--it was dark so I didn't know what I grabbed) from a sample. My first thought was "oooooooh, it's like a lux version of" Whispers in the Library " [the only fragrance in the "reminds me of" that I have smelled]! I definitely had spice and benzoin coming up, right from the start. Fascinatingly, by the time I reached work, jasmine and orange blossom had come to say hello. Then the frankincense, guiac wood and ginger came for a visit. I have genuinely never experienced a perfume that took on so many different expressions throughout its life. IMHO, this is definitely worthy of the title "niche", and (unfortunately?!) is now something I will have to start saving for! I adore it! If you enjoy benzoin (because it's there throughout the life of the fragrance), I definitely recommend you purchase a sample of this, and try it for yourself! :)

Holy mother of all florals...THIS is a heavy duty floral fragrance. It's strong on the ylang ylang most on my skin. The initial spray isn't my favorite. But after about 15 minutes this fragrance blooms into the most gorgeous mix of heady slightly indolic spicy white and yellow florals. 2 sprays on the arm and it was still radiating after an hour. This shit is STRONG. Definitely don't overspray this one. If you're a fan of florals and want BOLD, this is worth a try! Edit: I just took a shower and sprayed this again on my arm and now I'm getting an aquatic vibe! This fragrance is so transformative and takes you on a journey. Amouage fragrances never cease to amaze me! Edit 2: Woke up and it was still on my skin! Mostly just benzoin, which isn't my favorite on it's own, but still. Great longevity!