New creative director at Amouage Renaud Salmon makes his first impression with the new Renaissance Collection. He decided to start fresh. There is the use of perfumers who haven’t previously worked for Amouage. There is also a different approach to the perfumes which is evident within these perfumes. Today I’ll look at Amouage Enclave and Amouage Crimson Rocks.
Renaud Salmon
For Enclave M. Salmon asked perfumer Julien Rasquinet to collaborate with him. The concept was to capture the sunset over the fjords in Oman. Now I know when you think of fjords the Middle East is not where you think to find them. If you travel to Musandam you will find warm weather fjords. What this means for a perfume is steep rock walls over crystalline blue water. The perfume reflects the contrast between those two natural features.
Julien Rasquinet
It begins with a unique accord to represent the water. It isn’t an aquatic accord. It is an aromatic herbal accord expertly constructed by M. Rasquinet. Spearmint and cardamom are the primary pieces. The cardamom interacts with the herbal mint in a way which forms an exhilarating effect as if looking at the turquoise water from on high. Baie rose and cinnamon add in a sense of the warmth of the breeze. It begins to shift towards a leathery heart where the earthy fraction of patchouli, incense, and rose are present. This is where Enclave begins to display the long-standing Amouage rose and resin which is a hallmark. I kind of wished the perfume stopped here. The choice to use AmberXtreme in the base acts as the moon does to the sun in an eclipse. It blots out everything. I know this is there for longevity, but I really wish they just went with something less overwhelming. What comes before the AmberXtreme exerts its will is quite nice.
Enclave has 24 hours plus longevity but that is mostly the AmberXtreme and average sillage.
Domitille Michalon-Bertier
Crimson Rocks is also inspired by Omani geography but in this case, I don’t find the connection. Working with perfumer Domitille Michalon-Bertier they design a honey soaked rose which drips with intensity.
Before we get to that we get a concentrated blast of cinnamon and baie rose. If you are familiar with the smell of the cinnamon candies called red hots this is exactly what the first moments of this smell like. I adore the smell of this. The candied cinnamon is its own unique perspective on sweet. A more traditional sweet comes as the honey begins to flow. In its way is a sturdy Damascene rose. early on the rose is powdery before turning a lusher spicier face towards the honey. It is here where the cinnamon provides a corona to the honey and rose where Crimson Rocks sings. This time they choose to use vetiver and oak as the base accord which allows the sticky spicy confection to find a new contrast.
Crimson Rocks has 16-18 hour longevity and average sillage.
Tomorrow I’ll complete the overview of the Renaissance Collection with Ashore and Meander.
Disclosure: This review is based on samples supplied by Amouage.
–Mark Behnke
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