Scented Snippets New Fragrance Review: Amouage Sunshine Woman

by: Ida Meister

Loveliness is its own virtue.
And virtue is its own reward.

I hear the scuttlebutt about the latest Amouage: how “it doesn't feel like an Amouage,” for example.

What precisely does that mean? That Sunshine isn't frankincense-heavy? That it doesn't smell loud enough, rich enough, dark enough ... WHAT??? Enough, quoth I.

Surely there are a multitude of rosy, oudy, incensey Amouages from which to choose. Must every fragrance smell the same? Is the bride too beautiful? I don't get it.

I am a well-known lover of murky, smoky, mysterious perfumes which whisper “Kurt Weill” to you behind closed doors; everybody knows that. ;-)

I am enamored of Sunshine anyway. And I haven't yet encountered anyone who's smelled it on me and not murmured “mmmmmmm.” Or anyone that I haven't anointed who hasn't thoroughly enjoyed it, either.

Sunshine Woman Notes: Blackcurrant Liqueur, Almond, Davana, Osmanthus, Jasmine, Vanilla, Magnolia, Cade, Patchouli, Blond Tobacco, Papyrus—Luckyscent

Here's a classic circumstance in which the notes may not reveal the whole story. It's easy to look and think: “too syrupy for me,” or “too earthy for me,” “too boozy for me.”

Sunshine is an olfactory chameleon: sometimes I wear it and it's so lusciously juicy that I salivate. Other times it feels decadently boozy, as if I'd sauntered into Harvard Square's old Leavitt and Peirce tobacco shop and sniffed the lids of their succulent pipe mixtures. On some occasions [or intervals during wear] I smell apricot-y osmanthus and crème de cassis; another moment is greenly woody and dry when papyrus' plaintive voice becomes palpable. Blond tobacco weaves in and out, cade's intense smokiness is subtle and skillfully mastered. Florals glow within her heart, their presence fulsome and warm. Vanilla and patchouli toy with the nature of light.

Sunshine is a perfume of contrasts. I never know which visage she will reveal to me—but I relish experiencing that unpredictability, because all her faces are absolutely lovely and satisfy. Whether or not she is a typical Amouage is immaterial to my nose; I prefer to appreciate her for what she IS, not what I think she should be.

What she is, is a ravishing creature who rests on her own laurels, as is only fitting.

Comparisons are unnecessary