Perfume Review – Amouage Fate (Man)

Corsica is usually associated with its rocky cliffs, Napoleon, and the Mediterranean sea, but I think Corsica has a special smell, especially inland: slightly dusty, dry, very woody, and sweetly floral. In parts (namely those where I was clambering up rocky mountains like a dying billy-goat), it smelled strongly of immortelle, a flower which is very common to the island, sweet woods, dried greens, and dustiness. So it is Corsica which comes to mind when I tried Fate (Man), the dry, woody, immortelle-based fragrance that is the latest release from the royal perfume house of Amouage.

Corsica. Photo by: Rolling Thunder. Source: Trailjournals.com http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=393192

Corsica. Photo by: Rolling Thunder. Source: Trailjournals.com
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=393192

Fate — in a dual Men and Women’s versions — was launched just last week in Oman, and will be officially released worldwide in July. A reader of the blog, “Dubaiscents,” whose generosity is only surpassed by her thoughtfulness, sweetness and kindness sent me a sample of both fragrances. I thought I would start with Fate for Men (hereinafter just “Fate”) which was created by Karine Vinchon-Spehner, and which Amouage describes as follows: 

Fate for Man is a spicy and woody construction parodying the force and power of the inevitable.

Top notes: mandarin, saffron, absinth [wormwood], ginger, cumin.

Heart notes: everlasting flower [Immortelle], rose, frankincense, lavandin, cistus, copahu.

Base notes: labdanum, cedarwood, liquorice, tonka bean, sandalwood, musk.

Source: CaFleureBon

Source: CaFleureBon

There is a detailed backstory in the official description of the fragrance about how the “Book of Fate is opened by the mysterious puppetmaster and the carousel, symbolising the wheel of fortune, is set in motion.” There is also talk about how “’Fate’ for man and woman explores the uncertainty of the future and the universal principal [sic] by which the order of things is inescapably prescribed. In his latest conquest, Amouage Creative Director Christopher Chong proclaims a finale that parodies the force of the inevitable, veiled in the mysticism of the unknown.” It’s lovely prose, but it’s not what comes to mind when I wear the perfume. I simply see sunny Corsica.

I tested Fate twice and, while the openings were largely the same, the nuances were slightly different. The first time, Fate opened on my skin with a split second burst of citrus that was quickly replaces by loads of ginger and flickers of dry cumin powder. The scent was simultaneously sweet, pungent, sharp, and slightly dusty in a dried, herbal, powdered sort of way. Immortelle soon followed, and it was my favorite manifestation of the note: the dry, floral aspect where you can smell the flowers as well as the slightly herbal stem. Underlying the whole thing was an amorphous woody base that smelled sweet but dry. The focal point of the opening minutes, however, was the ginger which felt pungent, spicy, biting and a little sharp.

Immortelle, or Helichrysum in Corsica. Source: Wikicommons.

Immortelle, or Helichrysum in Corsica. Source: Wikicommons.

iStock photo via Wetpaint.com

Ginger. iStock photo via Wetpaint.com

The second time I tried Fate, it opened with that same fleeting citrus element, but the main thrust was immortelle. There were flickers of abstract woodiness, ginger, sweetness, and the same subtle hint of cumin powder, but it was the immortelle that really dominated the show. This time, it was beautifully infused with a honey nuance which I assume stemmed from the labdanum in the base. The ginger was much less powerful, and it had different undertones. It was simultaneously like sharp, fresh ginger, but also a little more like dry, ginger powder, and lightly sugared, crystallized ginger as well. This time, the herbal element was also different. Instead of some nebulous “dry green” note, I smelled something that was just like dried tarragon with its anise-like undertones. I know licorice is one of the elements in Fate, but, to me, that has the aroma of the chewy, black candy with its sharper, darker characteristics. What I smell in Fate in the opening hour is something much more like herbal anisic facets of dried tarragon.

Artemisia Absinthe or Wormwood. Source: Esacademic.com

Artemisia Absinthe or Wormwood. Source: Esacademic.com

Despite these subtle differences, the rest of the perfume’s development remained largely the same in both tests. Five minutes in, the wormwood (also known as absinthe or Artemisia absinthium) starts to rise to the surface. It’s sweet, but has a faintly medicinal nuance that smells a little rotten and that strongly evokes the “noble rot” of agarwood (oud). Flickering in the background is a light, muted incense. The cumin has completely vanished from sight — something that will undoubtedly be a relief to the many cumin-phobes out there. I’ve read a few accounts where people have said that they experienced quite a bit of cumin at the start, but the note seems to be a dry, powdered one on their skin, too, and nothing reminiscent of stale, fetid sweat or Indian curries.

As time passes, Fate settles down into its primary essence in this first stage: a dry floral arrangement of immortelle with ginger, sweetened but slightly medicinal wormwood, and frankincense. In the background, there are muted, ghostly flickers of a dry vanilla and warm, sweet muskiness that pop up every now and then. The interesting thing about the scent is the wormwood. It has a slightly oud-like nuance, but it is also sweetened and honeyed. The primary notes fluctuate in intensity, but the overall bouquet remains largely unchanged.

The odd thing about Fate was that the dominant facet seemed to depend largely on temperature. Given where I live, I have the air-conditioning set at very chilly temperatures, and the wormwood in Fate seemed to take on a slightly biting, sharp, bracing tone in the opening hours. However, whenever I went outside into the warm, humid air, the note immediately turned soft, rounded, smooth, almost creamy, and definitely sweet. All medicinal elements retreated, until I re-entered the house and was exposed again to the arctic air. I tried it a few times to see and, each and every time, Fate bloomed in the humid, night air to become significantly more floral and with a sweeter, less oud-like version of wormwood.  

Incense stick. Source: Stock footage and Shutterstock.com.

Incense stick. Source: Stock footage and Shutterstock.com.

Two hours into Fate’s development, the whole thing changes quite dramatically. Indoors or outdoors, Fate has suddenly become a very ambered, sandalwood fragrance that is smoother, warmer, and better rounded. The wormwood’s medicinal veneer has been replaced by a lovely coating of honey from the labdanum, while a lightly peppered cedar stirs in the base. My favorite part, however, is the sandalwood which is rich, creamy, and warmly spiced. It’s absolutely beautiful. Furthermore, to my surprise, the immortelle has remained as a floral element, and hasn’t turned into the maple syrup that I dread so much. The dried, green, anisic herbal note still lurks underneath, but now, it is also joined by black licorice that is lightly salted and sweet. A hint of creamy, slightly vanillic lavender wafts daintily about, while a sweet muskiness dances at the edges like a golden light. The entire thing is intertwined by tendrils of frankincense smoke which tie the elements together like a ribbon does a bouquet.

Fate remains that way for many more hours. The bouquet of notes softens and becomes a skin scent around the start of the fourth hour, but the scent lingers for much longer. Around the sixth hour, Fate turns quite abstract and nebulous: it’s now simply immortelle woodiness infused by a light, sweet muskiness. It’s so sheer, you may think it’s gone, but Fate hangs on tenaciously. In its dying moment, a little over 10.25 hours from its start, Fate is nothing more than a vague, sweet woodiness. Both the middle phase with its beautiful sandalwood amber and the abstract drydown stage are absolutely lovely. Fate’s longevity was good on my voracious skin, but the sillage was moderate to soft. I sprayed, not dabbed, so I actually expected something much more powerful from Fate (especially given Amouage’s usual full-throttled nature), but the furthest it projected was in its first hour when it wafted about 3 inches above the skin.

Fate is a phenomenally complex, extremely unusual, refined, sophisticated scent that initially takes a little adjustment, but which definitely grows on you. The first time, I was very intrigued, but not wowed. I have a tendency to prefer the Women’s versions of Amouage fragrances as they are generally sweeter and not as dry, but the second time I tried Fate, I definitely sat up a little straighter. There is something fascinating about the notes, and the heat definitely improved the scent, in my opinion, by smoothing out some of the more bracing elements of the opening. It also rendered the perfume slightly sweeter which is something you may want to consider when testing Fate.

I think men will go quite crazy for Fate (Man), but I think a number of women will, too. Even though women will have their own version of the scent, Fate (Man) has such perfectly balanced sweetness in its undertones that it renders the fragrance quite unisex, in my opinion. If you like dry, spiced, woody fragrances or oud ones, and if you’re intrigued by the thought of Amouage’s signature frankincense combined with an unusual floral like immortelle, then I think you should definitely seek out a sample.

Fate Man with box.

Fate Man with box.

With Fate, Amouage continues its distinction of being at the forefront of original fragrances that abound with depth, nuance, layers and complexity. Honestly, this is not a perfume that you may adore at first sniff, but it will keep you thinking, sniffing, and trying to pull apart all those beautifully crafted, well-blended layers. And the more you sniff it, the more it seems to sink its elegant, little floral-woody-smoky talons into you. By the time you’re finished, and you set eyes on that simply spectacular iridescent bottle, I fear you may be quite hooked. Even if, at the end, it turns out that you’re not fated for true love, I think you’ll concede that it’s a perfume worthy of huge respect. Try it, and see what your Fate will be.

 

DETAILS:
Availability & Stores: Fate (Man) is an eau de parfum and is available in two sizes: 1.7 oz/50 ml which costs $280 or €220; or 3.4 oz/100 ml eau de parfum which costs $340 or €270. As of the time of this post, the perfume is not yet officially released beyond the Amouage website and boutiques, but it will be widely available as of July 2013. Unfortunately, the perfume is currently sold out on Amouage online, but I’m sure that will be remedied soon. I will update this post with retail links much later when the perfume is officially released and becomes widely available. 

21 thoughts on “Perfume Review – Amouage Fate (Man)

  1. Congratulations on scoring a sample. You’ve got some great friends out there!
    Even bigger congratulations for being faster (like almost always) than me. I got my samples courtesy of Quality Missala owners at the workshop on Saturday. Was planning to review them at the beginning of July, right after the anniversary.
    Great review.

    • Thank you, my dear. I will be very interested to see what you think of this when you get around to sniffing it. I was surprised by how much my feelings changed from the very first sniff, to the last one after the second test. It’s definitely a scent that requires effort and thought to understand its complexity. But then, I think most Amouage fragrances do. It’s one of the things that makes them such an astounding house, in my opinion. But back to Fate, I will be interested to see what you think of the wormwood aspect in particular. (So, get sniffing and let me know! LOL.)

      • All I know now is that I like Fate Woman better than Fate Man and I’m gonna take care of the female side of the duet.
        I know you love Amouage a lot and I don’t (another brand with Lutens syndrome?) Writing about Opus VII was extremely hard for me, really.

        • I really respect Amouage, just as I do Serge Lutens. I admire the complexity, depth and intellectualism of a lot of the scents, as well as the oriental influence. But I *love* Lutens! So, a slight difference there. As for Opus VII, that was extremely hard for me to write too, as the perfume was a true ordeal on my skin. What Kilian’s Musk Oud was like for you was a lot like how Opus VII was for me. But I think that, in all cases, Amouage reviews are complicated to write, simply because there is truly so much to each scent, so many layers that unfold, so many nuances. None of them are straight-forward, simple fragrances. And THAT is actually what I adore about them, even if I don’t like the scent itself. I don’t want some stupid 3-note fragrance that’s just Rose, Patchouli and Musk, for example. Bah to that!

          • Good for you. I prefer when my perfume is a little less complicated and complex than those A Amouage.
            I think I’m having a bad day today, having problems to put things into words.

  2. I am so very much looking forward to this release! In general, I tend to favor the Men’s half of the duos more than the Women’s, but I will obviously try both. You never know! In any case, it sounds memorably and captivating. Thanks for the wonderful early review, dear Kafka!

    • You’re very welcome, sweetie. How interesting that you always prefer the men’s versions. I know you love a masculine edge to your fragrances, but you also love the sweetness that is in many gourmands, so I had thought it may be the reverse. It will be intriguing to see which one of the Fates appeals to you more, because, honestly, they’re both good! (Testing Fate Woman right now.)

  3. I am so happy to read that you enjoy it! I completely agree that this tends towards mostly an immortelle scent (although that is much too simplistic a description for any Amouage) but, in the best way – no maple syrup. And yes, the frankincense really does weave itself throughout, tying everything together. I do usually love the Man versions of this line more than the Woman’s and this is no exception. I highly recommend everyone give this a try or two! Can’t wait to hear what you think of the Woman version.
    Oh, and thanks for the shout out 🙂 Sending you a sample is the least I can do for all the wonderful reviews you write!

    • I can never thank you enough, my dear, not only for your generosity and kindness but for the sweetness and friendship underlying the gesture! As for the Women’s version, I’m currently bowled over! Wowzer! As for the immortelle, I couldn’t believe that it didn’t turn into the dreaded maple syrup! It almost always does in perfumes, but this is one rare exception, thank God. I love the dry, herbal nature of its floral side, but it’s usually so fleeting in other immortelle fragrances. Not here! How much cumin did you get from Fate? If I recall, I don’t think you got a lot, but I may be confusing you with someone else.

      Also, just out of interest, what makes you generally prefer the men’s version over the women’s version? The fact that the women’s versions are often more chypre-like in focus? Or, the added dryness and the fact that some of the men’s versions can be spicier and smokier?

  4. Pingback: Your Fate has arrived | The Fragrant Man

  5. Mmmm, Kafka, you make this sound so good – and I say that as someone for whom Immortelle can be problematic. I either love it or hate it in a fragrance (love it in SL Chypre Rouge, hate it in Jeux de Peau, for instance). The accompaniment of ginger here really appeals to me, as I almost always adore ginger in a fragrance, and your description of the sandalwood base makes it sound like this has a beautiful finish to it.

    As gorgeous as this sounds, though, I usually prefer the women’s versions of the Amouages, so I’ll look forward to reading your review of that one! (Especially after your “wowzer” comment to Dubaiscents!) 🙂

  6. As Suzanne, I usually prefer the feminine version of Amouage’s duos but I will definitely try this one when I get a chance: I might just like it for my vSO.

    Enjoyed reading your review, Kafka. Aren’t these perfumes what makes us stick to testing more? 😉

  7. This sounds lovely, I like particularly the fact that it evokes memories of the Mediterranean which I´m so closely linked with. I can say that it has quite a few notes that I love, like sandalwood, incense and amber, however I would prefer the women version definitely, because I only wear female fragrances. On another note I had the opportunity to smell amber and ylang ylang concentrated yesterday and both seem to be lovely notes, and I particularly loved amber. I sometimes wonder however, why some fragrances fade so fast while others stay for what it seems forever, like D&G The One which honestly is capable of staying on me for about three days with daily showers included, without fading significantly. I mention this because I´m experiencing the same right now with Kenzo Amour, I applied it yesterday in the morning and right now while I´m typing this after I took a shower as well, I can still smell it perfectly! I wonder what gives this perfumes such great longevity seriously, luckily I like Kenzo Amour so no problem there 😀 . I´m really curious to know if niche fragrances can do the same, or if they can´t just because they aren´t synthetic enough…

    • Synthetics, my dear, heavy, heavy synthetics are the explanation for that degree of longevity. You may also have what some of us call “glue skin” which tends to retain fragrances. But something that you applied yesterday *morning*, took a shower, and is still going almost 36 hours later is the sole result of a powerful synthetic base.

  8. Pingback: Perfume Review – Amouage Fate (Woman) | Kafkaesque

  9. Pingback: Amouage – Fate Woman | The Fragrant Man

  10. Pingback: Amouage Journey (Man): Fiery Splendour Kafkaesque

  11. Hi Kafka, sorry for digging up an old post. I’ve just got a sample set of Amouage men’s perfumes and I’m trying them out and reading your wonderful reviews of them!
    I’m using Fate today and I got a huge blast of cumin at the beginning. The dry down kinda reminds me of Serge Lutens Serge Noire which is absolutely the most disgusting fragrance I’ve ever smelled (along with État Libre d’Orange Sécrétions magnifiques LOL). But I don’t hate Fate. For me it’s acceptable but I’m not a fan of it.

Comments are closed.