Amouage Beloved Man

Posse:  I present to you one of the loveliest, most lyrical, most romantic scents I’ve ever smelled.  Yet with all that romance and loveliness it is so much a man’s scent that, for a woman, smelling it is a breathtakingly sensual experience.

Amouage Beloved Man.   

Christopher Chong created this stunningly beautiful perfume with a loving nod  to the 1980 movie ‘Somewhere in Time’ with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour.  Mr. Chong said “it’s cheesy – but I don’t care”.  And neither do we.  In fact, everybody I know who’s seen this film loves it  – even guys.  Like El O.  Who would beat everybody to flinders rather than admit it – but I watched it with him and saw him fight back a sniffle or two.  It is a quiet film, focused on two great things: the great love between Richard Collier and Elise McKenna..and Mackinac Island’s Grand Hotel, one of the most romantic places on earth. 

Richard Collier (played by the young Christopher Reeve in this film), is an excellent muse for this scent.  I always thought of Christopher Reeve (the actor)  as ‘other’ – not quite of this space/time continuum  With his perfect looks and self-deprecating smile he was the perfect Superman – and, like Superman who was not from this time or this planet, Richard Collier seemed at his best in 1900.  Yet when I first smelled Beloved Man  I conjured a more modern, but no less romantic, hero.  Originally I told Christopher Chong I thought of Fred Astaire – and I did – but upon further reflection I realized that who really comes to mind is Gene Kelly.  In Brigadoon.  That incredible,elegant, modern man, filled with a longing that could only be assuaged by a woman from another time.

But let’s get to the scent of Amouage Beloved Man.  Well.  Wow.  It’s hard to describe.   The release states the notes as aromatically sharp top notes of Orange, Grapefruit and Elemi embracing an efflorescent melange of Geranium, Jasmine, Orris and Saffron at the heart.  Warm Cedar wood, Guaiac Wood, Leather, Patchouli, Vetiver and Musk are richly woven in the intricate and alluring base.    

Normally I don’t just reprint PR copy  but in this case, I can’t really do it any better.  It …well, it mostly smells Just Like That.   And I love it on me.  But it’s Amouage Beloved MAN.  So let me tell you persackly how it smells on a Man.   At least one man – so far.  This is not a town for spritzing random men.  I spritzed it on El O’s neck and wrists.  That first burst is pure citrus and that minty coolness of geranium.  I happen to love that combination and use it a lot in essential oil blends, so I was delighted.  But if it’s not your favorite, don’t despair.  The citrus doesn’t last as a ‘blast’ – in short order the grapefruit recedes and the orange provides a soft, fresh platform for the Geranium and Orris.  By ‘fresh’ I don’t mean the ‘minty-fresh’ or ‘laundry-fresh’ or any other of the scary ‘fresh’ we have come to fear – more… remember this scene in Brigadoon?

That scene, but on a sunny terrace at Hotel Splendido in Portofino.  All bitter orange and jasmine and sunshine – tinged with a touch of sex and a bit of melancholy.   That is the beginning of the drydown of this exceptional scent.  By that time I had that 275-lb man backed up against the wall and was actually scaring him, just a bit, with the neck-snufflage.  Yes, it really is that intoxicating.  By the drydown  he was pinned in the chair, my face was jammed in his neck and I was growling.

It has great longevity (good but not obnoxious sillage).  At Hour 5 the leather and cedar intertwine with the musk and take most of center stage but the geranium is still present, lending support to these warmer notes.  This is where the Gene Kelly image really comes into play.  He was always so chic, yet also so…..physical.  He was pretty, yes.  And I couldn’t ever really see him in anything really rough and tumble.  And a foolish person might look at that pretty face and cashmere sweater and think “oh!  I think I’ll roll him for his wallet”.  And that foolish person would be stunned to find themselves with their teeth kicked out and 5 ribs broken.  And there’s nary a smudge on that cashmere sweater – and just a little scuff on the bespoke oxfords.

And really, that’s the allure of Beloved Man.  It’s alllll man.  But a ‘real’ man.   A man who isn’t hiding behind some perceived ‘manly’ persona.  No strutting, no posing, no steroids or scary looks.  No bling.  He’s man enough to be comfy in nice clothes, or ratty work clothes and always in his own skin.  He is man enough to be comfortable with romance.  Or changing  a diaper.  Or helping an old man maintain his dignity.   He’s always man enough to do the right thing, quietly, without fanfare.  And, if the love of his heart is ……not readily available….he is man enough to cross the very sands of time to make it so.  And if he is wearing Beloved Man, he will smell exquisite.   Women, take heart.  You can wear it, too.  I wore it two days straight, with great delight.  It’s the warm yang to Beloved Woman’s yin and both smell beautiful on both sexes (if you recall I tried Beloved Woman on El O and on my friend Howard, both smelled gorgeous!).  Btw – it’s not fleeting.  I spritzed El O at 3p.  At 6a (yes, A. M.) it was still evident on his wrists and neck.  Funny, though.. he didn’t find that snuffling  nearly as sensual at 6am.  El O is mos’ definitely NOT a morning person!

Unless you can push time forward, though, you will have awhile to wait to try this.  It is due to debut in late February, at 100mls for $425.  When it does, though, I will have a sample to giveaway.  YAY!  So!  If you are willing to wait, please drop me a comment here, letting me know your favorite romantic movie/movie star or what says ‘manly’ to you (boys AND girls)….  I’ll have El O hit random.org on Friday 18January and I’ll announce the winner next week.  Then you’ll just have to be patient.  Or figure out a way to move time.  It worked for Gene Kelly and Christopher Reeve.  So you never know.  In any case, this is a perfume worth waiting for!

disclosure:  my sample came from Amouage.