Let's get something straight about RBalkris' review below. I strongly disagree that there's other rose perfumes on the market even at a fraction of the price. Respectfully my friend, that is bollocks! Sure you could get yourself a Montale or a Mancera or some Arabic brand for cheap but it wouldn't even come close to this. Now call me a Les Indemodables fanboy but I don't care, this is an earth shatteringly good, rose perfume!!! As much as I love musc des sables, Rose de Jamal is my favourite from the line. Simple. It's monumentally subtle and nuanced, seemingly quite cool and minimal too, not a full bodied rose plonk, or searing jammy sweet thing. The most peculiar thing about it is that I tried it before and didn't quite have this response. I don't know if my nose was fatigued or what but I enjoyed it, thought it was a very decent rose but didn't understand it properly, until sampling again a few months later. Not meaning to be reductive but if you like Lyric Man by Amouage I believe this will blow your mind. It will. The magnetic cap Lyric Man I have is not quite as good as the old original formula I remember but I think this is the ultimate example of that sort of vibe and despite the comparison, this is a highly original and cliche free rose perfume. It floats on the air with an effortless smoke trail to it, reminiscent of lightly spiced incense but at it's heart it's sweet, gorgeous rose, rounded and complex like a true otto, the body of this perfume is musky and milky pale, but also green, lush, fresh and energising. My favourite part is the discrete powdery feel throughout, giving nods to classic talcum powderish perfumes like a Caleche or Derby (perhaps bad examples but they came to mind) The best thing is that the Moroccan rose absolute is dosed at a perfect level to bring it's character to the table and Antoine Lie has expertly crafted a rose accord & perfume around it. I absolutely adore the stuff and a bottle is on the cards for me for Christmas.

Antoine Lie is renowned for a certain style to my nose at least, and I'd describe it as, creamy weirdness. However, this isn't creamy or weird it's yet more exemplary perfume from now undoubtedly, one of the best niche houses around at the moment, everything is a joy and Iris Perle is no exception. This is much more of the iris than it is orris, in that it captures the floral aspects primarily but has that fleshy, cosmetic orris, but arriving slightly later on. The opening reminded me of hyacinth or wet floral smell and greeness you get from jonquilles absolu or Narcissus but with that twist of mild violets, giving the iris flower illusion. It is simply stunning. Really good balance between powdery orris and bright floral, zing! Opens out to a subtly beautiful, lightly leathered orris. I love it.

This doesn't resonate with me, the name I mean. Black tie. Office? Sure, spent a fair amount of time in offices. Date? I've been on a few dates in my time. I don't think I've ever been to a black tie engagement? No...in fact, I haven't. Then again I am a scruffy bastard and not like Jezza, rubbing shoulders with the elite and beautiful people, I'm just a pleb at a keyboard, slagging off his latest creation because it doesn't 'relate' to me... boo hoo. Well too bad!!! Why would you aspirational, Fragrance army types, want to be a loser like me anyway huh? You wouldn't. You want the Tom Ford suit, the massive watch, the Ferrari, the abs and to so knee deep in dropped panties you can barely move an inch! That's the life. That's what you want. That's BLACK TIE.

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.

So to start out... Meander is a perfect name for this perfume, the vibe is a meandering one. I've followed perfumer Mackenzie Reilly on social media for a few years now (I think?) and it's good to finally see/smell her work coming through and certainly for such a high profile brand as Amouage, to be honest she's really made two fantastic perfumes for the Renaissance collection, Meander being my favourite. I saw a couple of reviews but they were from the usual brand sycophants who may have been sent free product so their positive view is met with scepticism. I shouldn't have been so cynical though, but it didn't sound like my bag, or like quintessential Amouage. I blame the reviewers. I think Meander falls more inline with Imitation or Portrayal than it does with Interlude or Epic (all the Man ones of these BTW) which is that it's a floral scent at heart, but surrounding by a swirling, changeling sort of vibe. The opening to me smells very airy, slight and mineral, misty olibanum, and that watery papyrus note you get, by immediate thoughts were... BE GONE THE SPECTRE OF SANTAL 33! YOU'RE NOT WELCOME HERE! Glad to tell you that effect only lasts for a few seconds before everything starts to build, but in a super gentile, civilized manner, Meander is the whimsical antidote to Enclave's full on woody, amber and Amouage Incense thickness. This only lightly nods in the direction with a lemon and pine tinged olibanum, but it's so veiled, vignette in the fabric of this scent, it's barely there at all. A transient, plastic, saffron twang at about the 5-10 minute mark is then gone just as quick. Orris or carrot are listed here in the notes and I'm not sure I get them from this a vague first impression but there's definitely a powdery, sweet element to this perfume. Then the knotty, earthy but fresh tentrils of a rooty vetiver perhaps? start to ground this fragrance. As it progresses it gets nicer and, nicer, a mixture of cool and aloof and warm and cuddly. I guess all this contrarian talk means that Meander performs a successful balancing act which is really what perfumery is all about, balanced harmonics. I hastily wrote this review without properly wearing this perfume at least once. I judged it on a single spray on my wrist but I think I can make something of an evaluation based on that and say that this is very good. To the point I'm tempted to get it. The colour of the bottle is Celadon or Baby Yoda green which is really lovely too.

This is an exemplary fragrance and restores faith in creative perfumery. I'm not overstating that, I think this is one of the most unique prospects of the renaissance collection which to be fair are all very interesting and faceted in their own way. So just to make it clear I wrote a separate review to this on Instagram before I'd read any notes but naturally I've been informed by the Fragrantica ones that there's So this has a spicy opening but it's somehow blunted (in a good way) and I'm someone who loves pink pepper in top notes, I go mad for it and it's certainly complimentary with rose. However, I can't say it's instant piquant nature comes across to me, this almost feels a little like licquorice but not licorice, It's very difficult to describe the opening of this fragrance, I struggle and I like that. This is a dry, volcanic, ashy, but not parched feel, it's kinda like an aerated volcanic rock, of a thing but becoming much sweeter with rose. I received compliments ranging from 'that's sweet I like that!' to 'you smell a bit like cola cubes' both of which I'll take. I think the rose starts to have a purplish hue as the day wears on and a definitive smack of damascones!!! Its a rounded rose accord complete with the velvety, lightly decayed feel of Bulgarian absolute. It's not a jammy or boring cliched rose, this has a subtle character. Musks chime in beautifully after several hours, giving a really warm, cosy, gorgeousness to this fragrance. That ambretteolde/Romandolide/musk ketone humming warmth. That's two modern roses in the space of a year or so that I think have completely flipped the script on modern roses, just when you think you'd seen all the perfumers trickery. Lovely stuff from Amouage and Bertier! Bravo!!!

So I get an opening of bergamot and green shoots which morphs into orange, first bitter (pith) then sweet orange which lasts into a very mild EDC type neroli orange blossom note, just peaking through what is a very mossy, pretty relentless chypre moss. It has a bit of an indy sensibility but the truth of the matter is that indy perfumes can't make a citrus as bright and enlongated as this. It's kinda a very fresh, eau de cologne, chypre hybrid. Very, very good. Solid and just what I expect from this brand. The sample was gifted by Les Indemodables but this has no bearing on my review whatsoever. I'd say it's a touch expensive but they all are really, and the naturals present are in quite small quantities, (although a few are overdosed) the perfumers get the most out of them.

I don't think I ever reviewed this before because I figured it was a pretty standard vetiver, and it is, but a very pleasant one. Refreshing that it has vetiver in the name and actually smells of vetiver, but it's a mild, non smoky, Haitian vetiver, with that sharp, citrus, nootkatone element enhanced rather than the dry, smoky, rooty, tendrills of a darker vetiver. It's no less authentic though and feels creamy in that sense that vetiver can be, and that saltiness is there, certainly in the top notes. It's lovely actually. If I consider getting another vetiver fragrances at some point, this might be on the shortlist.

As previous reviews will display I love Les Indemodables and their small but steady output is a perfect little collection of fragrances, restoring my faith in the industry and new, niche or boutique brands, not just existing for the sake of it. This opens with a sweet, fruity, floral accord laden with a beautiful osmanthus and resplendent peach fuzz and blackcurrant, lactonic, vanilla curds and a slightly funky, musk of the mildly pissy variety. Very, very restrained and low in the mix though and it does go. This is required as per the naturally occurring funk indole/skatole etc... and the juxtaposition of adding civet to florals in the classical sense. For me all this creates a pedestal to elevate the beautiful, natural floral materials even higher. I like the opening and what's been done here in a perfumery sense but I'm not really my cup of tea, taste wise, I think my mood today is a big factor in that though, because there's elements I love about this. I think it could be a grower, I might end up, updating this and saying I adore it and must have a bottle, it's one of those perfumes.

Caron have managed to make an iconic formula here but one which is mildly derivative of lots of common tropes and aroma chemicals etc... but combined in such a way as to make something that feels new to me. That's all I can ask of a perfume, we all know the common building blocks and 'tricks' or commonality of technique used by perfumers and I don't expect a completely original, ground breaking work of genius everytime I sniff out a new perfume, but just try and that effort will be reflected in the end result and that's what we have here. So vetiver being the prominent listed note is misleading for me, because it's not the smoky, earthy, dry notes I get from it. (wait for the contradiction in 5,4,3...) Despite having a creamy, woody, earthy, slightly nutty drydown (all descriptors I would also use for a complex vetiver oil) I DON'T think that Aimez moi comme je suis is in anyway a typical vetiver, nor do I smell vetiver in it really. Apparently the formula contains 10% vetiver oil which despite being quite potent can blend down into a composition or be easily subdued depending what else you put in. I think the way it manifests in this perfume is intriguing, the earthy notes are even slightly more reminiscent of patchouli than vetiver. So the way this opens is very...(I hate this word but it's appropriate) generic. What I mean is that I get that herbal, faux bergamot (bergamal, DHM), lavender, clary sage it's classically soapy but then there's this smoky element. Hold on Houdini!!! Woah woah woah, YOU SAID and I quote... "...This is not the smoky, earthy dry notes..." so what do you mean??? Well if you'd let me finish...(god I need to see a shrink! :) I was about to say that this has the lingering smokey after touch of cigarette smoke on clothing, not always a nice thing but in this context it puts the normality (if very well constructed) main body, of clean, men's shower gels and soap and such, into a whole new context. So you smell the opening and go...Caron? what's happening here this is a bit... Lynx/Axe deodorant like...then as it settles it starts to chime with lots of other notes and before you know it this thing is charming you. The name is also imploring you to love it, perhaps they know that this is the mental process people go through with it? Underwhelmed, mildly charmed, to fallen for...A true grower not a shower. The drydown really is beautiful, it has a certain modernity too with that kind of creamy, ambrox/woods and that nutty, depth. I think it's really, really accomplished, and harder than you think to create something more than the sum of it's parts & which doesn't smell old hat. I'd compare it to GIT or Cool water but also Terre d'Hermes or Fierce or CKOne, just in terms of it's place in the pantheon of great men's perfume formulas comprised primarily of very commonly used materials but brought together harmoniously.