I've smelled almost all Amouage fragrances but have bought only two: Jubilation XXV and Gold Man. Most of the Amouage perfumes don't suit me; when I wear them, they make me feel "mature," serious, and their heavy-opaque feel and scents are uncomfortable. I don't think of myself as a careFREE guy, effervescing all over town, a giggle-box. I like sober scents, too, at times, but ones that float, like spirits. Amouage perfumes often sit, heavily, on me. (Yes, I've tried the Sunshines...no thanks.)
Amouage's new Myths Man has a promising mix of notes (chrysanthemum, orris, rose, rum, elemi, labdanum, vetiver, "ashes" and leather); its described trajectory, from chrysanthemum to smoke, sounds romantic and brought to mind images of flower and bird paintings, philosophers and poets from Asia.
Myths Man starts with medicinal aromas reminiscent of the odor of chrysanthemum flowers and leaves — love-or-hate scents. Chrysanthemum is bitter-sweet, herbal, with hints of camphor, mustiness, dried eucalyptus leaf scent. My stomach started to hurt in this first phase of Myths Man because the opening smells like a Chinese "elixir" I was given in Morocco years ago after I ate a ham sandwich (a HUGE mistake) on the ferry from Spain to Tangiers. The taste and after-effects of that medicine were worse than the stomach pain caused by spoiled meat! I can still taste the syrupy medicine with a flavor like crushed fresh daisies mixed with honey and bitter, moist tree bark with a splash of "turpentine" thrown in to make it all dissolve. I gagged for hours...I was afraid my eyeballs would pop out of their sockets. I remember telling my traveling companions I was sure the medicine was designed to distract from the original malady.
As Myths Man moves into its heart, things improve: there are subtle rose and orris notes mixing with elemi (the rose is cool and creamy and provides a plush "red carpet" for the lovely entrance of incense ash). Myths Man has one of the best (and most subtle) incense aromas out there; it possesses a perfect autumn smokiness. Too bad the extreme dry down smells like a stolid men's cologne of the 1960s (old-fashioned).
Myths Man's juice (which you'll never see unless you decant) — boy, that sounds sexual! — is a great shade of yellow-green (the color of many chrysanthemum teas) but Myths Man's packaging is strange; if there was ever a perfume that does not conjure bright purple, this is it! Myths Woman, which I enjoy MUCH more, does smell bright and vibrant, and if I had a bottle of Myths Woman, I'd wear it often. Aside: why do women always get the best bottles? I wish the Amouage fragrances came only in the bottle style used for women's perfumes.
Myths Man smells high quality/expensive, conservative and serious: I'd recommend it for undertakers, bankers, diplomats, heart surgeons and psychologists...it will not distract from the seriousness of your mission and presentation. Funny to say, but I'm more of a Myths Woman kinda guy whose missions and presentations strive to be fun and witty, even when the subject is weighty.
Amouage Myths Man is available in 50 and 100 ml Eau de Parfum ($265-330). For information on where to buy it, see the listing for Amouage under Perfume Houses.
Note: top image of a chyrsanthemum by Piet Mondrian via the Collections Database: Five Colleges and Historic Deerfield Museum Consortium.
I wouldn’t be surprised that anything even remotely associated with your Gibraltar Strait ham sandwich fiasco would leave a bad taste in your mouth, Kevin. I do agree, however, that Myths Man is quite an austere fragrance — rather in the classic powerhouse vein, although, as you say, subtle. A touch of floral colour keeps things from becoming too ashy.
Uday…the floral bits were really nice…but were fleeting on me.
I hope you (or someone else at NST) will review Myths Woman soon, especially because you liked it more than the Man.
Angela posted a review this Monday! It was a good read as usual.
https://nstperfume.com/2016/07/25/amouage-myths-woman-fragrance-review/
Thanks, I missed that.
Hmmm – I’ll try it when it arrives at Scent Samples. Late last year when I was first getting into this perfume lark, I bought the 12-scent Amouage Man discovery set (not cheap). And then I was astonished and disappointed when one after the other turned out to be just… nothing. Piddling little perfumes that disappeared after 30 minutes, not what the online comments were describing at all. (This is when I began to suspect I had odd skin).
The only exceptions were Gold (which lasted, but I didn’t care for) and Interlude (a great love of mine now). Epic, Memoir, Dia, Beloved – you name it, it failed on me, sometimes spectacularly by smelling of *nothing whatsoever* as soon as it hit skin. I liked Sunshine Man and got a full bottle, before I had understood that I will probably never again use 100ml of anything. So I will try Myths, eventually, but more out of curiosity than in hope, and if it’s very good indeed I’ll get a 5ml decant and be done with it. :^)
Koenigsbert: there must be some common ingredient that “blocks” your sense of smell with those! I just came across an entire line that does that to me…the moment I sniff I can’t smell a thing for several minutes.
Ok. I have to know, Kevin. Whicheck line?
gvillecreative: it’s a tiny niche house and I don’t want to say. They must use the same musk in all formulas. I do have a few of their women’s line that I’ve not tried yet…maybe they are different.
The main thing that following perfume blogs has taught me is how different everyone’s noses are: you find most Amouage perfumes heavy, I find them not at all heavy but rather delightfully rich, and to Koenigsberg they smell like “nothing whatsoever.”
I love and own Gold, Dia, Lyric, Homage Attar, and Beloved, but haven’t cared for any of the subsequent Amouage perfumes, especially not the Opus series. However, you and Angela have now convinced me to sample Myths Woman.
Noz: the Opus ones are so bland to me as well. Myths Woman is great…write back and tell us what you think when you try it.
I will pass along your tip about not eating ham sandwiches on the ferry to my siblings and sister-in-law as they are taking that same ride this October.
I have a sample of Myths Man but it sounds like I’m better off with Myths Woman!
hajusuuri: yes, tell them to eat before boarding to avoid starvation-temptations! HA!
I spent the day with Myths Man and still don’t know what to think of it as a whole. I guess the fact that I *am* even thinking about it is a commendation of sorts, although usually I don’t go out of my way to do so when it comes to perfume.
I didn’t like the opening which on me was an oily, murky Lemon Pledge with just a tinge of dirty ash tray. That started to dissipate within half an hour, and I got some vague florals and orris – that stage was intriguing and lasted about two hours, but I was hoping that I would get more of the same and it never quite lifted off. I then detected some leather, a lovely incense and more ash and it stayed that way for a few hours and I thought I was at the drydown and it was rather sedate but niceish. Wingtip shoes. Six hours in, it morphed into something much more floral, although I wouldn’t be able to pick those notes apart. That really surprised me, and I’ll have to give it another go, for science. I also intend to get my nose into some chrysanthemums this fall, because I always associate their scent with Japanese incense instead of the actual flower.
Great review, Kevin. I know just what you mean about scents that float like spirits rather than parking on skin.
Holly: especially smell chrysanthemum fresh leaves and stems. Wingtip shoes is a perfect description of that last phase on me!