I have to confess that I haven't been keeping up with Amouage very well lately. My interest in Luxury-with-a-capital-L fragrance houses, never too intense in the first place, has dwindled over recent years; meanwhile, Amouage's pace of new releases has been fast and furious. The fragrance duo of Portrayal Woman and Portrayal Man, in their matching iridescent white bottles, was launched back in April and I've just had a chance to try a sample.
Portrayal Woman, developed for Amouage by perfumer Annick Menardo, is "an olfactive portrayal of the 1920s cultural liberation" with a "playful refinement" and notes of jasmine, tuberose, "Craven A tobacco accord," elemi and vanilla. I don't know whether I understand the 1920s reference; I don't associate big white florals with that era as much as I do with the 1940s (Fracas, Billie Holiday with gardenias in her hair, etc.). In any case, Portrayal is a classical white floral, smooth and creamy and conventionally feminine. It evokes tuberose more than jasmine, to my nose. I rarely wear tuberose-heavy fragrances, since they just don't feel like "me," although I do like sniffing the actual flowers whenever I have a chance. Still, Portrayal is a pretty one, with just enough vanilla (and just enough lack of strong indoles) to keep it feeling contemporary and wearable.
I wish Portrayal would show a more rebellious side, since it claims to embrace the rule-breaking, bohemian spirit of the Roaring Twenties. All I'm getting is a gently aromatic edge of incense and some wisps of tobacco; nothing shocking. In case you were wondering, by the way, "Craven A tobacco" seems to be a reference to Craven "A," a cigarette brand established by the Carreras Tobacco Company in 1921 and named for the third Earl of Craven (a friend and customer of Carreras's owners). Too bad it wasn't named for some audacious young heiress; then it might make more sense for Amouage Woman...? I suppose the point here is that women were smoking more in the 1920s. However, this tobacco accord, whatever it's named, isn't intense enough to make me think of hot jazz, short hemlines, or any other daring tastes and trends of that decade.
Since Portrayal's launch last spring, Amouage has undergone some major reorganization: Chief Executive Officer David Crickmore and Creative Director Christopher Chong both have resigned. Meanwhile, three more new fragrances have been released. (See what I mean about the fast pacing?) I'm curious to see what will happen next. Who will steer the brand? What will the inspiration be for future Amouage launches? Will I ever be able to keep up with them again? We shall see.
Amouage Portrayal Woman is available as 50 ml ($255 ) and 100 ml ($335) Eau de Parfum. For purchasing information, see the listing for Amouage under Perfume Houses.
Interesting about the management change. ?
I’ve kind of lost interest in Amouage, too, but not any more than in many other brands that I used to love. This is probably mutual: I’m so, so jaded, and marketers are chasing a younger demographic.
Also, Jessica, I saw the fantastic Pierre Cardin exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum last weekend — wow! I wonder if you would know: I thought I detected a faint but appealing woody scent in the several rooms of this exhibit. Did the museum use some kind of ambient fragrance? Or maybe it was the ubiquitous Iso E Super or other aroma-chemical de jour in viewers’ perfumes…
I’d heard that Manhattan smelled like Le Labo Santal 33, but I thought that must be an exaggeration. Now I’m not sure.
Oh, the same — its not Amouage-specific, for me. There are so many niche and/or luxury brands that I feel overwhelmed trying to follow all the latest releases.
I’m so glad you saw the Cardin show! And I do have an answer to that: no, there’s no ambient scenting in the galleries. I’m guessing that some visitor was leaving a pleasant sillage for you to enjoy! lol
I hope you spotted the big fragrance factices on loan from the Cardin archives — really fun.
I particularly noticed the factice for Enigme, shaped like one of his helmets.
I’m old enough to remember the 60s and 70s, but didn’t follow haute couture. I always knew the name, and could probably pick one of his outfits out of lineup with Chanel and Dior, but I didn’t really appreciate how prolific and influential he was. For example, I had at least one (generic) pair of pumps with those broad, squared off toes. And of course, I watched Star Trek and the Flintstones but didn’t realize the connection.
It’s an amazing exhibit and so well-staged, with the different thematic groupings, video clips, music, and such a wide range of his work. I wish I could have traveled in time to see the Frida Kahlo exhibit, but this almost made up for missing it. Almost!
I’ve always known his name but didn’t realize how pioneering he was in the 60s! So glad you saw this show too!
I’ve smelled Santal 33 twice in the last few weeks in my city which is a continent and a hemisphere away from Manhattan. Obviously the stuff is taking over the world!
Both sniffings were in cafes full of young urban professionals. As you’d expect. Could not isolate the wearers but probably women.
It will stop at nothing short of world domination!
I couldn’t pin down this one, either. What is the point of wearing scent if no one can tell that you are the one who smells so good? Or perhaps plausible deniability is a plus these days? ?
Yes. S33 is almost part of uniform now. These were rooms full of people who all looked the same, so no surprise that they want to smell the same. ?
I’m so glad you said that. I was logging in to say the same thing. Especially considering the event was in Brooklyn. Santal 33 is loved by the hipsterati of that borough, in particular. I don’t get the love but everything isn’t for everyone, eh?
We’ve reached a point where walking into one of those environments wearing Chanel No 5 would almost be a radical act!
I can rarely get through a day without smelling Santal 33. It’s taking over Manhattan now, too…
Annemarie, I *have* been wearing No. 5 around Brooklyn…hah! Resist!
People I see in the ‘uniform’ are wearing clothing, shoes, jewellery, bags and accessories of brands that are recognized and respected by those already wearing or striving to achieve this look. Then comes the similar hair styles and colouring, makeup trends and tattoos. Because scent is invisible, most people can’t tell what someone is wearing, therefore they choose S33 because it IS recognizable. I recently was at my eye doctor’s office which is mostly staffed by 20/30 somethings. I was trying on the most gorgeous frames of different materials and colours, a lot of them from European companies. I said to the young women helping me “you guys have the most incredible selection of frames here and thanks to the internet, the world is open to you in terms of choice.” They agreed with me and I continued saying “then why do you all look the same… the nerdy, big horn-rimmed eye glasses and for outside, aviators.” The reply was “because it’s safe.” That made so sad. ☹️
Thank you for the review, this sounds like many of the recent Amouage releases – pleasant, but nothing wonderful. The last Amouage to appeal to me was Fate, released back in 2013.
Being ever optimistic, I’m still keen to try the new ones, and was quite excited when an email from my local perfumery advised that they had Portrayal, but my sniffing was thwarted because the tester had been stolen the day before I got there!
I was impressed by the ones I smelled when I first became acquainted with the house…Lyric, Epic, Dia. Then I liked some of the early Opus fragrances and I was smitten with Beloved for a while, but it was so $$$.
Shame on tester-thieves!! ugh.
I’ve never run across an Amouage counter so if only smelled about 3 of them. I liked them but I don’t know if any perfume would be worth that pricing to me. Sounds like more of the same!
They’ve always been an expensive line, that’s for sure! I don’t know that I’ve ever been at an Amouage counter, per se…I’ve just smelled various Amouage scents at places like Aedes and Bergdorf over the years.
Amouage has never been my favourite house though they have produced some of my favourite perfumes (Gold, Ubar, Beloved and Myths). Like a lot of commenters, I haven’t really been smitten by any of their more recent offerings and they seem to be coming out with them at a most alarming rate. I do want to try the Mimosa though, because I love the note. Their tuberose was a disappointment though.
I want to try some of those recent florals that I’ve missed, too. And I still woudln’t mind owning a small bit of Beloved.
I got myself a cheap bottle of that years ago. It is a stunning perfume.
I haven’t paid attention to Amouage in forever. There latest releases have smelled like a thousand other cheaper perfumes I have smelled before.
So much of everything these days! and it’s hard to do anything new, I suppose…
I need to backtrack to Beach Hut and Sunshine, but I doubt they’re “my” kind of thing. I’m such a diehard vintage-y floral lover…
I quite like the women’s Amouage Portrayal, it smells like what I wanted ELDO Jasmin et Cigarette to smell like. It is on my eventual purchase list.
Oh good! It’s really pretty…just not quite what I expected. I hope you’ll acquire a bottle in due time!