Continuing to unearth new discoveries in perfumery, Amouage has released its latest olfactive tale. One of knowledge and aesthetic pleasure, Opus XIV – Royal Tobacco is a fragrant journey along the Tropic of Cancer from Oman to Cuba, connecting Royal Frankincense to Regal Tobacco. The perfume references the tradition of ‘El Lector’, whose role was to read to cigarmakers in Cuban factories, captivating them with riveting novels like Les Misérables by Victor Hugo and works by Honoré de Balzac, Stendhal, Edgar Allan Poe or Herman Melville until it became an honored ritual as synonymous with the rolling floor as the scent of tobacco. Interpreted by renowned perfumer Cécile Zarokian, a unique accord of Frankincense and Tobacco bursts alive in a novel and rich sensory experience.
As the 23rd parallel north unites the sundrenched shores of Cuba and Oman, Opus XIV – Royal Tobacco weaves as one their iconic treasures, Royal Frankincense and Tobacco Absolute, hence bearing the name of Royal Tobacco. Both fumigated since the earliest days of recorded history, their vertical signature imprints the entire evolution of the perfume, each enriched with supporting notes that reveal and sublime their complex personality.
Aromatic flashes of Cardamom and Elemi light up a voluptuous heart shining with many facets of flowers and balsams casting their reflections upon the Frankincense and Tobacco duo. Emboldened by Benzoin, Labdanum and Myrrh, ambery notes of Vanilla Absolute and Tonka Bean echo the coumarinic depth of Fenugreek while graceful volutes of Prunol, Bulgarian Rose and Osmanthus Absolute evoke the fruitiness and floralcy of high-end cigars. Supported by Anise and Basil, the typically treacly burnt molasses notes of Liquorice act as a link with the choral finale of smoky Birch Tar, Vetiver and Guaiacwood amped up by the glaring animality of Oud. Opus XIV – Royal Tobacco is a daring, lavish, deep and modern creation fit for men and women alike.
Royal Tobacco is a heady tour de force, inspired by the evocative accord of Tobacco and Frankincense and the cultural innovation that led to new paths of knowledge. Staying true to the Library Collection’s original ethos, it chronicles the one instance in the modern era when tobacco (smoke – fūmus) and reading (knowledge) were linked in a collective setting.
Renaud Salmon, Creative Director and Chief Experience Officer at Amouage.
Joining the reshaped Library Collection as a true testament to how the search for knowledge transforms our existence, Opus XIV – Royal Tobacco reawakens the legends and cultures surrounding Cuban tobacco – its factories roasting in the summer, its hand rolled cigars, the Lectors’ thundering voice quieting the production lines, the heat of embers and the cold ashes – seeking balance through contradiction, to not only strengthen its qualities with warm, deep, and resinous ingredients, but also create a bright floral heart with a sense of aromatic relief. A Tobacco indeed, but a contemporary one and respectful of the nobility of the raw material itself; of the dried, rolled, veined, smoked and leathery leaf.
True to the roots of Amouage, Omani heritage and excellence, Opus XIV – Royal Tobacco is housed in Amouage’s iconic ‘Khanjar’-inspired flacons with an organic ceramic finish in earthy Truffle and Cashmere colours; a true reflection of the craft and authenticity of Oman. Original artworks created by Louise Mertens adorn the packaging and are an integral part of a series of analog art visuals shot by Valentin Abad, and movies shot by Thomas Savary.
Opus XIV – Royal Tobacco and the other fragrances of the Library Collection are available for purchase at Amouage boutiques, on their website, and selected stores worldwide. Come into the beautiful world of Amouage.
An homage to the beauty, nobility and wealth of the empires that gave perfume its first golden age, Amouage has released an ensemble of six Attars that reunite two schools of fragrance, the technical with the olfactive, to give birth to a new generation of perfume. The sublime and modern pure fragrant oils, from the minds (and noses) of Perfumers Cécile Zarokian, Dominique Ropion and Julien Rasquinet, draw inspiration from the Sultanate of Oman – its rich traditions, rare natural treasures and inherent passion for fine fragrance.
Attars have always been a staple of the House, previously only available in Oman. On discovering them, famous perfume author Luca Turin said, “I felt a mixture of pride and frustration at being in possession of a thing of beauty that few others could share.” Today, Amouage is reintroducing the world to the oldest form of perfume known to mankind, as it continues to push the boundaries of perfumery under the creative direction of Renaud Salmon.
We are proud to be able to extend our Attars beyond Oman and share them with the world. Our ambition was to stay true to the Attars’ noble and precious reputation, taking advantage of their history while infusing them with Amouage’s own innovative creative approach. It is the Attars strength and their resonance that has allowed us to reinvent them for a changing olfactory landscape without denying their identity.
Renaud Salmon, Amouage Creative Director
He added, “Rare, precious, and unique, they are at once modern and ancestral, rooted in a truly Omani tradition and heritage. Derived from natural ingredients and radiating ethereal beauty, they are much more than simple fragrance, they are an intimate, authentic and ritualistic custom; a signature scent of connoisseurs, and a way of self-expression that has transcended civilizations.”
The application of the Attar itself is a profoundly soothing experience, gently smeared directly on pulse points – the wrists, below the ear, inside the elbow or behind the knee – where the heat generated by the blood flow gives the Attar the warmth it needs to fully blossom. A fundamental part of the ceremony of Arabian perfumery, they are best worn according to a traditional practice known as Layering. An art in itself, the custom involves combining several Attars and fragrances in order to create a complex and unique sillage every day; sublimating, rather than improving, the main scent.
Amouage’s six Attars have been skillfully created with this ritual in mind. Inspired by villages in Oman, from the beguiling delicacy of blossom-strewn mountains to the sacred aura of ancient settlements, ‘Orris Wakan’, ‘Rose Aqor’, ‘Vanilla Barka’, ‘Incense Rori’, ‘Saffron Hamra’, and ‘Oud Ulya’, adroitly capture the soul of each of these ‘hidden gems’ and translate them into lasting fragrances that are flawless when worn alone or layered with one another.
The Amouage Attar Collection available in 12ml flacons enclosed in a lacquered wooden coffret as well as a beautiful Sampler Set including all six Attars in 0.5ml. The entire collection of 12 ml Attars is also available in a luxurious coffret set. The Attars can be purchased at their website, Amouage boutiques and selected stores worldwide starting January 2022. Come into the beautiful world of online at Amouage.
Valmont has just launched Zafferano I, the seventh opus in the Swiss company’s Storie Veneziane collection. Zafferano I is an ambery-spicy scent with oud, composed by French perfumer Cécile Zarokian. A tribute to Venice’s San Polo Marketplace, the start of the spice trade where East meets West, Zafferano I reinterprets the opulence, generosity, and authenticity unique to the Moorish rites of sharing and camaraderie. The first merchants to arrive in Venice from the East, the Moors made the enveloping and joyful custom of a tea ceremony the centerpiece of the San Polo Marketplace.
Primary stage of the spice trade of which Venice once held a monopoly, the San Polo marketplace is the embodiment of the city’s oriental facets. An explosion of colours, an abundance of merchandise, a place where cultures converge and human warmth reigns, the spirit of goodwill sealed by the traditional tea ceremony.
This spicy floral extract is an illustration of this wealth of textures, scents, and sweet honey flavours. Its generous wake is an immediate invitation to visit lands afar and celebrate the authenticity of moments shared. Comprised of a warm spicy surge of saffron, the elegant bigaradier flower that marks the composition’s floral heart and oud essence, the noble signature of oriental scents, Zafferano I is a shared scent for both men and women that exudes a fiery spirit and joie de vivre!
Just like other scents in the Storie Veneziane collection, Zafferano I is characterized by a hand-blown Venetian mask that adorns the front of the flacon. Zafferano’s opulent golden flacon design of deep sienna Murano glass and dark caramel leather cap accentuate the rich variety of sumptuous materials overlapping in multiple textures.
Valmont Zafferano I is available as100ml in Extrait de Parfum concentration at selected stores worldwide. Come into the beautiful world of Valmont.
Pursuing its quest to push the boundaries of fragrance creation, Amouage explores the sublime union between ‘generosity’ and ‘time’ in a quartet of four ‘Exceptional Extraits’. Concentrated at the highest industry standards and aged between three to six months at the House’s Manufacture in Oman,’Honour 43 Woman’ (First Batch), ‘Epic 56 Woman’ (First Batch), ‘Reflection 45 Man’ (First Batch) and ‘Interlude 53 Man’ (Third Batch) each reveal hidden facets and depths that unfurl across every dimension, making them richer, more potent, and gifted with extended longevity. An aesthete’s dream born from a visionary mindset that challenges contemporary practices, the Amouage Exceptional Extraits are a rarity conceived without limit or constraint, incompatible with any approach within the industry.
The Amouage Exceptional Extraits came to life from our ambition to craft the very best perfumes we could offer. They started as an instinctive experiment because, although Amouage has created Extraits in the past, none of them had been aged to this extent at such concentrations, containing between 43% and 56% pure oils. These Exceptional Extraits require both humility and patience. Humility is needed in the face of living natural materials which are the result of the work of both nature and man, with no guarantees about how they develop and what the result will be. Patience is necessary to reflect, to age and to question, to blend components, to go back and start again, to choose a better path or to wait those long hours before the perfumes see the light of day. Each Exceptional Extrait is released only when the perfumer and myself consider that it has reached a window of expression, telling us a story that is new and exciting enough to share with discerning perfume connoisseurs.
Renaud Salmon, Amouage Chief Experience Officer
The Amouage ‘Exceptional Extraits’ are the result of a succession of aging steps which progressively define their exquisite character. After five to ten weeks of Maturation, the concentrates reach a first plateau: they show promise, completeness and harmony. Everything is in place. This is when alcohol is carefully added and the slow Maceration stage starts: inimitable and irreproducible, it will last between three and sixteen weeks. The content of each tank is evaluated on a weekly basis, with every observation carefully noted. The perfumes progressively become more intense, precise and vibrant, energized by the transformation. A true metamorphosis: their universe expanded where all the components are completely integrated and the creations become more complex than ever…
For almost 40 years, Amouage has carved a renowned reputation amongst the select circle of leading high-end perfume Houses around the world. This recognition is the fruit of the House’s unwavering dedication to perfumery and a coveted portfolio of high-quality Eau de Parfum containing a generous 20% to 30% pure oils.
Amouage has a portfolio of high-quality Eaux de Parfum containing 20% to 30% pure oils. The four Exceptional Extraits, with their atypically high concentration ranging between 43% and 56%, now reveal a deeper story of some of the house’s best known perfumes. The number in the name of each new edition signifies the percentage of the perfume concentration.
Amouage Epic 56 Woman
As empowering as its name
Inspired by the legends of the Silk Road, ‘Epic Woman’ (2009) is Amouage’s iconic spicy, ambery fragrance that blooms under the mystical twilight stretching between China and Arabia. With the highly concentrated ‘Epic 56 Woman’, perfumer Cecile Zarokian displays her prowess for striking the difficult yet marvelous balance of extremes at a high dosage: 56%.
After almost five months of aging, the piquancy of the spices remains fiery and vibrant as it meets a deeper than ever ambery counterpart. Both extremes come together in a show stopping crescendo, revealing a faceted rose heart. Cold vibrancy meets golden warmth. Torn between shadow and light, ‘Epic 56 Woman’ is a synthesis of contradictions.
Amouage Reflection 45 Man
Fresh, floral and woody notes intertwine to evoke images of blossoming meadows
The quintessence of masculine refinement, ‘Reflection Man’ (2007) captures the seductive power of a man’s inner strength, expressing confident and enhanced sophistication. Given the gift of time and a generous 45% concentration of perfume oil, ‘Reflection 45 Man’ reveals an assertive character, delicate complexity and crystalline elegance.
Created by perfumer Lucas Sieuzac, this woody floral musk scent, aged for four months, presents an elaborate scent woven with freshness and floralcy. The composition juxtaposes bright aromatic notes, velvety orris and creamy floral notes with sensual and enveloping layers of vetiver, patchouli and sandalwood, combined with spices. Virile and unexpectedly soft at the same time. A luxurious modern classic.
Amouage Interlude 53 Man
To achieve perfect harmony, time is everything – rejoice in this elevation of the beloved aroma
A soul-gripping explosion of balsams and spices, ‘Interlude Man’ (2012) is a sublime display of a moment of harmony in the middle of the chaos. At the crossroads of extreme concentration and extended aging, ‘Interlude 53 Man’ is the exceptional extrait version of perfumer Pierre Negrin’s iconic creation. Formulated at a 53% dosage and aged for 6 months, this third batch reveals hidden facets and depths of its original form. But ‘Interlude 53 Man’ kept the same formula entirely.
Where Interlude was colourful chaos, the maturity of ‘Interlude 53 Man’ transmits completeness and more harmony. Every ‘Interlude 53 Man’ batch is ever so slightly different: the soul of batch #3 reveals subtle notes of resins in fusion, like candied honey pouring into a tumultuous flow of dark and smoky woods.
Amouage Honour 43 Woman
The opulent perfume will look remarkable in your beauty cabinet
Originally created as a Venusian ode to the fate of Madame Butterfly, ‘Honour Woman’ (2011) is a consecration of poetry, beauty and femininity. A decade later, presented in a concentration of 43%, ‘Honour 43 Woman’ is perfumer Alexandra Carlin’s elevated interpretation of Amouage’s heady white floral perfume.
Taking it to new heights, the white flowers – Jasmine, Tuberose, Gardenia, Lily of the Valley – have been taken through a slow yet active aging process, keeping each fragile note alive and bafflingly, insolently, youthful. The four floral essences continue to evolve and be magnified: aged and richer, yet more energized. This is the confounding paradox of ‘Honour 43 Woman’ and it makes the sensorial experience totally different.
Available in limited quantities, the ‘Exceptional Extraits’ come in luxurious lacquered 100 ml flacons adorned by the House’s signature ‘Gift of Kings’ seal and can be purchased today on their website, or at Amouage boutiques and selected stores worldwide. Come into the beautiful world of Amouage.
A small perfume shop M.Maugenet & E.Coudray was established in Paris around 1810. Edmond Coudray, a doctor-chemist, traveled over the world bringing back exotic raw materials. In 1837 the house of Coudray became the official supplier to the British Court. They later opened a small cosmetics and perfume shop called Maugenet & Coudray located at 348 rue Saint-Honore, Paris in 1882. The company produced many luxury presentations and won several awards. They won two silver awards at the 1882 Exhibition, one for their Eau de Cologne.
Edmond Coudray started to supply Eaux de Cologne, creams, soaps, salves and pomades to the greatest crowned heads. He soon began to concoct luxurious perfumes for them, such precious fragrances as ‘Rêve de Reine’, ‘Gants poudrés’ (glove powders)… for Queen Victoria of England he created the perfume ‘Reine Victoria’ and the famous soap with lettuce extracts. During the second Empire his boutique was a rendez-vous for the Imperial family, the Marshals of the Empire and the new nobility, who enthusiastically adopted his creations: Eau de Cologne Extra-fine, Bouquet Impérial, Le Bouquet de Louise et Marie.
The brand, with L.T. Piver, Lubin, Houbigant and Guerlain was among the five greatest perfume makers of the 19th century. On the death of Edmond Coudray in 1860 his son-in-law took over the company. Coudray Parfums remained a family business until 1908, untill it was acquired by Edouard Colmant. After the World War II the house was revived thanks to survived formulas of perfumes.
Early Coudray’s perfumes (before the war) includes Reve de Paris (1920), Nohiba or Tulip Noir (1922), Charme de France (1920), Onyx Noir (1930), etc. After the war Coudray launched Reve de Reine, Kamelia Iris, Givrine, Vanille, Vanille Coco, Jacinthe Rose, and the celebrated Aqua Divina, etc.
The modern history of Coudray began in 2002, with a new owner, who does care about the traditions and the image of the house of Coudray.
Almost all modern fragrances of Coudray are based on old formulas and even have the same names (Givrine, Jacinthe et Rose,Vanille et Coco the newest Nohiba).
The fragrances of the revived Coudray perfumery:
1935 Ambre et Vanille
1950 Givrine (relaunched in 2004)
1978 Nohiba (relaunched in 2009 and 2016)
1983 Jacinthe Et Ros (relaunched in 2003)
1989 Vanille Et Coco (relaunched in 2003)
2002 Musc Et Freesia
2007 Esperys
2010 Romantica
2012 Iris Rose
E.Coudray perfumes are beautiful fragrances in elegant, embossed glass bottles. A touch of luxury to stand proud on your dressing table.
E. Coudray fragrances were made in collaboration with perfumers Gerard Anthony, Evelyne Boulanger and Cecile Zarokian.
Yakymour 