Like the corner of..: Memoire Man by Amouage

By Tom Amouage is a house that I just can't seem to get my head around. The ones that we get here are very good, mind you. But I sort of feel as if they are treading ground that has been tramped by others and that at least some of that $225 for 50ML is going into the admittedly luxurious packaging. Personally I'm the sort that likes to feel the money goes into the juice and therefore on my skin; you won't find me buying a bottle of champagne in some special be-dazzled crystal bottle. In the interest of keeping the stuff fresh I keep my fumes in a dark closet so satin-finished gold caps and hand-blown artisanal bottles are wasted on me. Memoire Man is rather wasted on me as well. No fault of its own; the basil and mint opening is smooth and green, the middle lavender is touched by anise and the creamy woody base has real and discernible oakmoss. What's not to love? $225 for 50ML is not to love. Especially when there a little scent that's been around for over 100 years that's doing the super-suave French thing far better and is can be had for a quarter of the price (at least until it's reformulated, which might have already happened Grrr) I'm told that Amouage has some truly knock-your-socks-off scents that haven't made it here yet. I hope one day they do. Memoire Man is $225 for 50ML and $260 for 100ML at LuckyScent; $285 for 100ML at Aedes de Venustas. My sample was from LuckyScent. Mouchoir de Monsieur is available at various sources on the internets for less than $100. My decant was purchased at The Perfumed Court. I want to take a moment and thank all of the readers of this blog for all the kind support they've shown me over the years I've been contributing. I've enjoyed every second of it and look forward to continuing into the new year. Also a hearty thanks to Marina, who lets me whinge on and on here with nary an edit. Happy Holidays to you all! Image - from Guerlain's Holiday Greeting Card.