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Post by Portia
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Hi there Frag Family,
There is no secret how much I admire Christopher Chong his curatorship of Amouage and think him excellent company. So when I first tried Journey Man, with its spectacular box and signature Amouage man bottle in ruby and gold I was saddened by my lack of instant and all moving lust. Expectation is a funny thing, sometimes I hype stuff in my head so much that they can never live up to the dream. It’s a bit of a killer actually so I thought it a good idea to grab a sample from my mate Nick at Libertine Parfumerie recently so I could revisit the fragrance with less expectation….
Journey Man by Amouage 2014
Journey Man by Alberto Morillas + Pierre Negrin
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Sichuan pepper, Bergamot, Cardamom, Neroli
Heart: Juniper berry, Frankincense, Geraniol, Tobacco leaf
Base: Tonka bean, Cypriol oil, Leather, Ambrox
Journey Man smells quite like a lot of other niche offerings for men, a hark back to the woodsy tobacco and smoke fragrances so popular for men in the designer genre. If GUCCI hadn’t forgotten how to make perfumes this could easily have been in their line-up and it sometimes through its life smells like it should have come from Tom Ford. I know we try to shy away from sexual mandate here at APJ but Journey Man really feels rugged, rough and ready yet smooth and cozy. Through the sharp and bitey pepper which tickles my throat just like it does in food, the tobacco that has a faintly green resinous quality and the brand new leather and woodsy burn the whole fragrance feels calm and unruffled. I can imagine a thousand would be lumberjack hipsters showering, trimming and combing their beards, moisturising, gelling, clear mascara-ing and spritzing from this uber glam bottle before dressing in their office attire in their walk through robes.
Photo Stolen Pixabay
By the time these imaginary hip gents made their way to work they would be a softly focused spicy tobacco that fades to lightly salted leather/woods throughout the day. By the time they hit the gym after work there will be a barely there, mixed with their own manly odours, whisper of the woodchoppers life left to entice the gentlemen gym junkies. Tired, pumped and freshly showered they would emerge like lumberjack butterflies from the gym to hang loudly and obnoxiously with a jar of beer at their local cruise and booze joint, eyeing each other off and making coded conversation till someone takes their physical fancy.
First line from intended? “You smell amazing!”
Below is my buddy Darren, he is EXACTLY what I’m talking about when I think of Journey Man. Darren is recently 100 days clean and his Instagram @bobbydazzler_ has photos and videos of him showing his joy at being clean and his abhorrence of wearing clothes. I swear 99% of the shots are him either standing or dancing in his jocks. Pretty freaking hot actually, go see.
What I’m left withof Journey Man next morning is a faded something, still woodsy and a little resinous. Very nice to wake up to. MMMMMMM
Further reading: What Men Should Smell Like and Non Blonde
Libertine Parfumerie has $445/100ml with FREE Australian Postage
LuckyScent has $345/100ml
Surrender To Chance have samples starting t $4/.5ml
Currently US$345 = AUD$495. That’s a saving of around AUD$50!
What is your favourite Amouage?
Portia xx