Amouage Sunshine Men / Glowing Immortelle Ember

by: Ida Meister

Christopher Chong [Creative Director for Amouage] has kindly sent a new sample, once more: Sunshine Men. I'm delighted with it [please, bear in mind that not all Amouages suit me], and am so pleased to share it with you.

The Amouage official copy describes this fragrance as “a spicy and aromatic fragrance expressing a retro-chic interplay of freshness and sensuality.”

I appreciate this description; it's truthful, but still leaves something to the imagination.

Amouage Sunshine Men Notes:
Top: lavender, orange brandy, immortelle
Heart: bergamot, juniper berry, clary sage
Base: cedarwood, tonka bean, vanilla.

Sunshine Men is clearly the felicitous complement/companion to Sunshine Woman—and in this particular case, less Orientalized as well [If one desires the more fruity, shisha-like, heady hookah effect, the women's version is the way to go].  

Go figure.

It's suave and delicious, wears like your own skin while radiating glamorous comfort and ease. Well, I think it's great to shake things up from time to time—and shake off expectations and preconceptions. Keeps us honest.

In order to better understand this perfume, I'm wearing both fragrances [on opposite wrists] and Dior's now-discontinued [and widely-lamented] Eau Noire.

First, the Sunshines.

I find it fascinating that the bases of our Sunshines vary: the women's is all about juicy, ripe, voluptuous opulence, the tobacco/hay nuance, while the men's sings of the piquant herbal/ immortelle glowing ember. One gleams brightly, blindingly, even—queenly regal as the other glistens, simmers more sotta voce-ly, not unlike the crushing of herbs underfoot under a hot, dry Mediterranean sky.

This feels like a first: male/female Amouages which share only their marvelous good nature, unlike the previous releases where one felt a very distinct common origin between the two [Epic, Lyric, Jubilation, Ciel, Dia, Gold, etc]. The Omani incenses many have come to associate with Amouage are nowhere to be found. As I've observed before, this may displease those who feel that deviation from the norm is unwelcome; I don't agree.

Now, the contrast between immortelle-driven fragrances, hence the reference to Dior Eau Noire. ;-)

When first I sniffed Sunshine Men, I immediately thought: “Aha! A cousin to Eau Noire!”
Close ... but no cigar.  ;-) It takes side-by-side comparison to tease it all out.

Yes, they share that unmistakable maple-syrup sticky resinous quality of the everlasting flower, no doubt—but Noire is noir, in the final analysis and Sunshine is not. Pound per pound, the Dior dries down with a whisper of menace, a stubborn murkiness of intent, drily herbal and more devoid of sweetness.

[I adore Eau Noire, by the way—and have given more decants of it to friends than I can keep track of. Ask John Biebel.]

In contrast, there is definitely a sweetness and light about Sunshine Men which endears it to me. It reminds me of the ever-so-elegant men who charm without giving offense, who make the color rise to your cheeks and inspire that smoldering warmth which is inevitable despite your shared desire to behave in a well-mannered fashion.

It's a perfume which will have its way with you so gallantly that you lose track of time, and your garments. Especially your undergarments.

Anyone who wears Sunshine Men is a Chevalier [go ahead, women—claim it for yourselves; I did ;-) ] Anyone wearing Eau Noire is a Rogue. ;-)

But beware knights, for they are well-known for their foibles: Sir Lancelot, for one.

In this sense, I'm feeling Amouage Sunshine Men as a quintessentially Sagittarian perfume [in my experience]: unbridled optimism, love of the natural world, adventure, noble aspirations—and the Boy Scout /Girl Scout with the wild, wild side.

Thank you, Mr. Chong, for sharing.