FRAGRANCE | Amouage Memoir Man EDP: Solid, smoky, woody elegance

Amouage is perhaps known for its propensity for using incense in many of their releases, and Memoir Man is but one shining example. I was instantly drawn to the simple but elegant black bottle, which to me seems to suggest an alluringly dark fragrance.

The opening is, as expected, smoky but with an herbal twist dominated by wormwood, something that's used in absinthe. I think that after being acquainted with it in Franck Boclet's Absinthe, I now have, more or less, an idea on how it smells like in perfumery. Meanwhile, the smokiness at this point is more on the light and bright side of things. It's as if it's biding its time, allowing the wormwood and herbaceous accord to do their thing.

After several minutes mint comes in while the wormwood starts to relax. As the latter leaves, the incense becomes more pronounced. The smokiness intensifies, now darker with a woody undertone, suffused with tobacco and some leather. There's a pencil shavings vibe to the woodiness, with sandalwood being the likely culprit. But unlike Diptyque's Tam Dao, which also prominently features a pencil shavings accord, Memoir Man remains dark and dry.

About two hours later the smokiness backpedals a bit into lighter territory. The dry sandalwood is now more prominent, with hints of dried tobacco leaves sprinkled around the edges. I also caught a fleeting, deep-seated musk, although I had to bury my nose deep into the back of my wrist for that. As the fragrance transitions into the final drydown, a touch of sweetness joins in the fray, working in harmony with primarily the incense and sandalwood as the tobacco and leather seem to be lost in the blend.

Memoir Man is more of a mature scent that exudes class and confidence. Projection is moderate overall, and it starts to gradually weaken after maybe 4 or so hours. However, it is quite a long-lasting fragrance, and even if you don't respray, you can still catch random, soft bursts of it throughout the day. A very solid offering from Amouage! It's a must-try for me.