Amouage will launch the Library Collection, three fragrances meant to be “timeless pieces which are not subject to fashion”, in July.
Opus I ~ “This wonderful chypre scent by perfumer Daniel Maurel opens with delicate notes of Bigarade, plum and cardamom, which flow into an opulent floral heart with notes of roses, jasmine, tuberose, ylang-ylang and lily of the valley. The wonderful floral heart finally leads to a very rich base note with fragrance impressions of papyrus, cedar wood, guaiac-wood, incense, tonka bean, sandalwood and vetiver … a true feast for the senses!”
Opus II ~ “Opus II is a floral oriental [note: according to Amouage, Opus II is a fougère] fragrance composition by perfumer Michele Saramito. After a start with hints of lavender, absinthe, pink pepper and bay leaf, a heart unfolds with exquisite flowers (jasmine and rose) and spice essences (cinnamon, cardamom). With cedarwood, patchouli, amber, musk and incense, Opus II finally fades away solemnly …”
Opus III ~ “A floral oriental fragrance novel from the olfactory pen of perfumer Karine Vinchon-Spehn. At the beginning, Opus III wafts our noses with notes of mimosa, broom, clove, nutmeg and thyme, but they are just like a door opener to a floral heart of violet, jasmine, ylang-ylang and orange blossom essences. With an exceptional rich base note, the fragrance ends like one would expect from a true „Opus“: delicate fragrance impressions of ambrette, Musk, Papyrus, cedar, sandalwood, guaiac wood, benzoin resin and vanilla afterglow like a magical, never-ending sunset …”
Amouage Library Collection Opus I, II & III are 275€ for 100 ml Eau de Parfum, and can be pre-ordered from Essenza Nobile in Germany. (via shop.essenza-nobile.de)
Update: see a review of Amouage Library Collection Opus III.
71 Comments
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Oh, holy swoon! All of them sound amazing, but especially Opus III.
Save those pennies!
I’ll be scrounging for spare change any place I can get!!!
Ditto this, Ann!
OMG!!! I’ll try not to fall on you and Haunani when I swoon as well!!!
SWOOON!!!
quick! waft something really good under my nostrils to bring me around.
OMG! SWOOOON! (again)
Daisy, you are in clear and present danger : )
my WALLET is definitely in clear and present danger, that’s for sure!
The first thing I thought was, poor Daisy! (Figuratively and literally)
LOL –thank you dear….it’s good to know my friends are concerned about my well being…I did squeal when I saw the post…. seeing lavender listed for Opus II helped calm me a bit….then the price cooled me a little more….my breathing has evened out now….I WILL sample…and we’ll see if I survive that.
Goodness! The entire floor is littered with swooning perfumistas!
They do sound swoon-worthy though… (Trying to keep own composure in-tact.)
I know! it’s like a slumber party down here….let’s tell scary stories: …..once, on a dark and windy night…I went to spritz some Lyric and my decant was EMPTY! **GASP** settle down, it’s only a story….
These are going to be more expensive, but are being put in bland packaging with what seems like standard everyday fragrance notes that have nothing to do with the lines roots. I hope im not the only one who sees a problem with that.
The packaging seems like a good fit w/ the “library” concept, but admittedly it doesn’t look as “luxe” as the regular Amouage packaging. On the notes, not sure I’d agree — the house does not really have a common signature that I can see anyway, although many of their scents have incense or sandalwood (as do these).
I thought all of their previous fragrances included something rare and exclusive to the region of Oman, but perhaps i am misinformed.
Many of their scents (but not all by any means) do include traditional Middle Eastern notes (myrrh, frankincense, sandalwood, etc), as do these 3. The only fragrances they do in a traditional Middle Eastern style are the attars, the rest have been in the traditional European style.
In particular Amouage touts their Dhofar silver frankincense as ‘the most sought after’ since 1500 BC.
http://www.amouage.com/frankincense.php
I’m with you here! Those’ve lost me on pink pepper and never actually giving names of the books. And how about not calling yourself a timeless classical creation until at least 50 years have passed?
very true
I think Opus I sounds dreamy, and Opus II sounds exactly like the fragrance my friend is looking for. I wish I could afford Amouage. Maybe a decant.
I wish I could afford it too!
Most of us can’t really afford a FB of Amouage – I get the strong feeing these will be headed to splitsville when they come out.
My 10ml of Epic Woman didn’t last more than a few months. But agree that decanting is still the way to go.
Sounds like a perfect candidate for a 15 ml coffret! I don’t like the name, though; I know “opus” can mean a book, but I associate it much more closely with music.
Go Boo! Coffret! Coffret! Coffret!
Yes, coffret, please!!! It would be perfect for that, like the Hermessences discovery set..
Joining this chorus!
Yes, that would be perfect.
I associate it with the penguin in “Bloom County,” which isn’t an entirely felicitous olfactory association.
LOL!
Yes! Me too!! How funny.
Oh, Opus the penguin! I loved him! Yes, he had an affinity for herring, so if it’s smells anything like that…
Now I want to go dig out my old Bloom County books.
I have to get in on this coffret enthusiasm.
Oh yes….I’ll join the chorus too! Coffret! Coffret! but they’d probably make a set of minis prohibitively spendy…..
so I’ll stand slightly to the side and chant : Split! Split! Split!
(besides, I noticed the dreaded Lavender note in Opus II, and lavender will completely ruin an otherwise beautiful perfume! All you Lavender enthusiasts can just stop making raspberries at me now.)
I still think you should try it. I’m not a huge lavender fan, but sometimes it’s more floral and less herbaceous, and then it can be really nice (in small doses).
sheeeesh, I can hear you laughing while you’re typing “you should try it”
troublemaker!
LOL! Actually, no… I was serious. Esp since it’s Amouage and likely to be “good” lavender, you shouldn’t rule it out. If I were meaning to pick on you, I’d have said something like “I’m sure you’ll get a chance to smell it while you’re splitting 5 bottles of the stuff.”
LOL — yeah, that’s more like the sort of comment I had expected, oh snarky one!
The cost of these and all other Amouage fragrances is prohibitive for me. Yikes. I have to settle for small samples. I’ve tried both Gold and Dia for Women – both are beautiful. I also have a drop of Ubar in a vial that I haven’t opened yet. These Opus fragrances all sound wonderful…
I can’t wait! I’m saving already! I love Ubar, Epic, Lyric and Jubilation 25. I’m thrilled with the idea of smaller amounts of scent as a little Amouage goes a very long way.
oops – never mind on the smaller amount….
Oh, dear… they had me at “wonderful chypre scent.” Heaven help me.
Hweaven help us all!
*Heaven*
Hweaven, heaven… anyone who can help us, we’ll take it.
HellOoooooo, lottery!
That’d help me plenty.
At first I was excited about a new chypre scent, but where’s the oakmoss? I guess my definition is pretty narrow.
Well, I’m sure these will be extremely well done and smell marvelous. But I agree with the general consensus here – too pricey for me. I’ll be on the lookout for splits!
Mmmmmmm… but I’ll have to save for these as splits!!!
I and III sound really lovely, although I’m somewhat taken aback by the mention of “vanilla afterglow,” which sounds more breathless-mainstream-insert-your-idea-of-sexy-here than the usual serious Amouage.
(do note that the copy did not come from Amouage)
Hmmm. Whose copy is it – Essenza Nobile?
Yes. Amouage sent me their press release later in the day, or I would have used it to begin with. The notes are correct though.
There are sets of minis available in their men’s and women’s fragrances. You can get a set of Gold, Dia, Jubilation, Lyric, and Reflection (in either men’s or women’s), plus either Ubar (women) or Silver (men), 7.5 ml of each for $280 from either Beauty Encounter or Parfums Raffy. I know–$280 is a lot of money to me too, but that is 45 ml of EdP for about the same price as a regular 50 ml bottle, except you get six scents instead of one. I am seriously thinking about it, as I would LOVE a bottle of Amouage, but cannot decide which one (Gold, Dia, Jubilation 25, Ubar–I love them all). I will probably get samples of these Opus fragrances when they are available. The only thing I am afraid of is that I will love them too! HELP! The lemmings are coming!
Opus I sounds good to me, but I’d love to try them all, of course.
So these seem to be ~45€/$60 or so more than the regular line. Hmmm. I wonder if the price of the existing line will go up a bit soon too though.
Also, I predict Daisy pre-ordering at least one bottle in 3….. 2….. 1…..
:-p
Are they going to recruit a librarian as their corporate spokeswoman? I’ve always had a thing for librarians.
I would kill for sample vials. I can’t decide which one sounds more tempting…
These sound pretty good but I’m a sucker for descriptions that contain my fav herbs & spices. Cardamom, lavender, thyme, nutmeg and bayleaf.? I like that they all contain at least one culinary element. I’d love to sample these.
opus III sounds epic.
These sound lovely, particularly Opus II with the spices and absinthe note. Agree with all comments that the prices are prohibitive though. What would be lovely is if there was an actual fragrance library where you could ‘check out’ a fragrance for a short period of time then return it and move on to the next until you find a FB worthy one or even…gasp…the HG!
Adding my spirit to the pile of swooned bodys who are dreaming about a Coffret!! BTW, I notice that many of these ingredients are also Andy Tauer`s choice building blocks in his scents – maybe those who haven`t tried his works should!
Well anything from Tauer leaves swooned bodies laying around this place too!
Opus III: Karine Vinchon-Spehn of L’Eau de Jatamansi? I’ve been waiting for her to do something else! Very interested.
OMG, that’s the same person? No wonder III sounded the most interesting to me!
Guys/gals, y’all are teaching me the meaning of “lemming”! I’m swooning just based on the reactions going on here! I’ll have to have a split/sample before I could commit to a FB, but the thought of damaging my discretionary income has now been implanted in my mind.
I agree with a previous poster: the packaging isn’t all that. Sorry, I work with library books on an hourly basis, and they can be done “lux”. Those boxes scream of a bland set of “whatevers”. But….
now I’m thinking about arranging perfume by library classification schemes. Library of Congress or Dewey Decimal, decisions, decisions.
Looking forward to trying these! im a bit bemused today as i was in Harrods (battling through the sales – Amouage & Boadicea the victorious for £50 & some Bond No9′s for £30 – Nice work!!!) when i was chatting to the guy on the Amouage counter & he had about 20 bottles behind the counter which were in plain white boxes with the Amouage logo & ‘limited edition’ stamped on the front, inside was a 50ml plain frosted glass bottle with the Amouage logo on the front & a hand made lid & no other information at all on the bottle. He said that they had ‘found’ some vintage juice in the factory when they were having a clear up & had decided to bottle it up & sell it as a limited edition at Harrods only as there was such a small quantity p hence the white boxes & plain bottles. I didn’t recognise the smell as an existing Amouage scent so im bemused as to what it actually is?!!? Does anyone have any clue?
No idea, sorry!
*faints* 275? EURO?! Hello crisis – the germans still seem to have some euros to shell out. Not me, unfortunately, I am swooning over every free sample.
Sigh.
So much perfume to smell, so less money!
How refreshing and joyful to know that there are still perfumes being made that aren’t tedious / banal / pale-shadows-of-their-former-selves / cynical rip-offs etc etc…perfume can cause so much sadness and gnashing of teeth; horribly ironic given its “intended” purpose. Lovely to see so much anticipatory happiness.
Just got Opus sample pack from Lucky Scent. Cannot wait to try, esp 1 and 3. I cannot get enough Amouage and worry that these will be irresistible.
Opus 1 . you have to learn this one…so special so strange at first sight…but then its was love at first sight ! the combination smells almost like leather but ends so soft and sophisticated !
Opus 2 the fresh one but longgggg lasting and the combination of flowers and spices and the absinth is very good made. Not flowery at all.
Opus 3 A must have ! Its a woman in a bottle….very very feminine ! You have to capture is for yourself,its a experience to wear this..its like louboutin shoes….you walk a bit different when you wear this !!
The OPUS serie is not that middle eastern like the “normal”perfumes from Amouage.
I must say that I am overwhelmed after having tested Opus II. It is a magnificent, beautiful fougere. In short, it smells something like a cross between Rive Gauche PH and Fou d’Absinthe, the two not blended together but instead a new formula inspired by the two, created with an unlimited budget and blended by God himself.
The notes of Opus II may [i]sound[/i] generic but are woven together with such careful precision and subtlety that they literally dance on the skin in an olfactory equivalent of the glimmering iridescent display of light dancing across a most exquisite piece of abalone. This is a fragrance that is definitely greater than the sum of its parts.
You know that feeling of magic that sometimes washes over you during the winter season? There is an utter, almost eerie, stillness in the air, and all the earth is asleep, and the quiet and solitude do not leave you feeling alone so much as they magnify your own sense of self, your own awareness of life and existence? The way we rush from the car into the houses of friends and families to escape the bitter cold, and are met with the wonderful scent of chai tea or apple cider, christmas trees, bay leaves and mistletoe. The warmth of friendship. All of that; all of the wonderful and beautiful elements of winter have seemingly been distilled. That is Opus II.
Yes, truly a wonderful fougere that shimmers and floats above the skin, and will remind you, if you are so inclined to listen, that magic really does still exist.
One other thing to note: this scent is far less traditionally Amouage in a couple of ways. I actually feel that the Opus collection as a whole actually feels like it uses higher quality ingredients than the regular line.