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The sweetness and the mint can be a bit too much, but the dry down is lovely imo. thinking of buying another bottle of this. 8/10
I don't particularly care for the mint and pink peppercorn dominated opening but at least they are interesting. This dries down to an incredibly boring amber. Zero reason to pay Amouage prices for something you can get anywhere.
I’ve never been a fan of mint fragrances, it’s a note I very rarely get along with. If I’m being honest, Enclave is no different - if you like mint then it’s a good fragrance, but it’s not for me. It comes off too scratchy for me, there doesn’t seem to be much balance of refinement here. The mint is obviously the main player here, it’s sharp and refreshing, like toothpaste. The other big presence here is the Amber Xtreme, which unfortunately is responsible for that nasty scratchy aspect which I can’t ignore. There’s a hint of spices and pink pepper but the other notes struggle to make themselves known amongst the mint and Amber Xtreme. This simply isn’t a fragrance for me, which I sort of expected going into this because I already know I don’t like mint in perfume. But for those that do, it’s worth checking out. I don’t think it’s anything special though.
The Amber Xtreme almost ruins it, it's so dominant and designer-like. The only fragrance I've found by this perfumer that doesn't suffocate with Ambro chemicals is Russian Tea. This is like Geranium Pour Monsieur made by Mancera/Montale.
Being a staunch hater of strong amber bases, I hated this the first time I smelled it. But then I wore it for a day. What a marvelous perfume. It's now among my favourites. I reckon as woody ambers go, amber extreme is one of the least obnoxious and scratchy, despite the name.
I'm glad there's a down vote thingy on the smells like, I mean it's not new but it used to cancel the up votes rather than just tally both. anyway! It's nothing remotely like Enigma, I'm surprised anyone could think that. So when I heard that Rasquinet had been tasked with making a perfume for Amouage I pretty much thought it was a match made in heaven, thinking back to Moon, that gold one he did for HdP, Black Powder, and a couple of others, I reckon I get his style now. It's big, bold, bombastic, complex perfumery and fits with the Middle Eastern feel of Amouage. He's also a perfumer who isn't afraid of creating ballsy effects using vast swathes of synthetic materials. This one is relentless, especially at first and I tell you that after only minutes of development but I think the way it calms down significantly is testament to the perfumers balance. I actually shouldn't review a perfume so prematurely but this has a roguish, creamy spiced, piquant,spiked pink pepper which I completely adore. Enclave will likely be criticised for the driving force of woody amber which is brutally volatile at first gassing off all over the place. Natural & real connoisseur/Snobs probably won't dig it but the correct use of AmberXtreme or similar is very hard to get right and Rasquinet seems to manage it every time. The snob in me finds it a touch invasive (and snobs likely won't get Enclave) like somme other Rasquinet fragrances mentioned, but just as it begins to grate a little, it seems to retreat and just at the perfect time too. This is hefty, boozy, spiced, amber with incense leanings and to be honest the fragrance it reminded me the most of was another Amouage, that I haven't even smelled in years, (but this perhaps tells you how much of an impression it left?) it's Journey Man. I personally like it. I know how difficult amberXtreme is to use, it's brutally strong and used to bolster ambers and such in tiny amounts, I think there's a tendency to blame the presence of these molecules when it's a cumulative effect and after all the perfumer decided to use it as it brought something to the composition, I don't believe they just think, let's make this BEASTMODE!!! (Perhaps the brands request that though??? I don't know.) Overall I personally like it but I completely get why others would not. I think it represents the brand well, it's more in line with the complex, severity of an Interlude Man or something.
In my personal opinion it leans more to being the masterpiece of Julien Rasquinet than just a fragrance. it‘s the perfect blend of spicy warmth and freshness at the same time, meeting manly woody, leathery warmth and comfort. In that same way it blends oriental and western style fragrance in the most briljant way. It’s special but approchable, really present but not overpowering, it’s elegant, gentlemanly but also mystirious and hard to capture. It’s story of the enclave in Oman is a very good one, capturing freshness and desert heath really tells the story of it‘s duality in a very scenic way. Overall: a very versitile scent that you can wear in a suit in a boardroom, in shorts allong the italian or French coast or on a rainy cold day. To me, it will always bring a smile to my face.