Amouage Jubilation XXV as a more aromatic opening with soft, blurry orange and blackberry tea with undertones of smoky leather that are quickly joined by cinnamon and clove. Then honey and a rose-something-rather make their way in with the majority of the wear being a spiced, honeyed cedar and resinous scent. The drydown let the myrrh shine alongside spiced, drier woods.

It has the following notes:

• top notes: labdanum ciste, coriander, orange, davana, frankincense, blackberry
• heart notes: honey, bay, cinnamon, orchid, rose, clove, celery seeds, gaiac wood
• base notes: patchouli, opoponax, myrrh, atlas cedarwood, musk, moss, ambergris, oud wood, immortelle

It opened with soft, aromatic orange, smoky leather, and blackberry tea, slightly sweet, fruity, and aromatic. More spices–mostly cinnamon and clove to my nose–subtly sprinkled across the harmony of opening notes. After 10 minutes of settling on my skin, a slow trickle of honey started to come through, while an abstract rose offset by beginnings of dry woods accentuated by the cinnamon, clove, and frankincense. The orange and leather seemed to be deep in the background but there in a very nebulous way.

Jubiliation XXV became more honeyed with aromatic spices, dry cedar, and a hint of salty-sweet resin. The brand mentioned rose and orchid, but I didn’t find they struck me at any point as definable. The perfume was warm with winter spices over drier, more aromatic cedarwood and the beginnings of honeyed resins.

The myrrh came through more noticeably after three to four hours on my skin, and it weakened over time until it was soft, slightly vanillic blended with spiced, dry woods in the drydown. I didn’t end up getting a lot of shifts into the drydown and felt like a good portion of the base notes were so muted on me as to appear as generalized “woody” notes or perhaps never appeared at all!

Application

For testing, I used 1/3 of a 0.7ml sample vial dabbed to the underside and topside of my wrist area on my left arm. I used an unscented moisturizer prior to applying the scent as this is also my swatching arm (aka, incredibly parched at any given moment) as I found scent did not hold well here otherwise. 

I purchased my sample in January 2022; fragrances are known to be reformulated over their lifetime , so be mindful of when a review was made, e.g. a review from 2010 may not reflect what the same-named perfume smells like in 2022.

Longevity

It lasted for eight hours until it was a skin-scent and about 12 hours before it was quite difficult to detect on my skin. The sillage and projection were both more moderate with sillage getting closer after two hours and projection dropping a few inches above my skin after three and a half hours.

Personal Thoughts

I’m definitely finding that a tea note does some good for me–I like the way it tends to translate against other notes. I wish it lasted longer in this particular fragrance! It was a lovely scent but didn’t quite pull me, partially because it had a long list of notes and so many weren’t detectable–if it sounds like I’m going to be in for a journey, I want to experience it.

Available Sizes

• 50ml for $265
• 100ml for $360
• 0.7ml sample for $4

Where to Buy

• LuckyScent
• Saks

Amouage Jubilation XXV Perfume Review

Amouage Jubilation XXV Perfume Review

Amouage Overture Man Eau de Parfum spends most of its time as a myrrh-oud combination that opens with citrus, ginger, and aromatic spices of saffron, cumin, cardamom (and a little later, cinnamon). The cognac accord was thick, rich, and fruity with undertones of leather, musk, and smoky incense all accentuated by myrrh.

After the opening, it was it turned musky, more and more animalic, and was almost barnyard at times, but it was almost overripe with fruit and resinous sweetness. Even in the drydown, the animalic accord was noticeably apparent, even when blurred with vanilla and smoky incense.

It is described as an “arresting woody scent” with “potent notes of myrrh, sandalwood and smoky frankincense.” These are the listed notes:

• top notes: grapefruit, cardamom, cumin, ginger, nutmeg, saffron, cognac accord
• heart notes: cinnamon, lentisk, benzoin, ciste labdanum, patchouli, geranium, myrrh
• base notes: sandalwood, smoky leather, clary sage, animalic accord, incense

It opened with bitter grapefruit accented with fresh ginger and a thread of saffron before a sprinkle of cumin and whisper of cardamom joined the spice mixture; it went from bitter and zesty to warm and earthy, nutty, and savory. Within a few minutes, the cumin was absorbed by the juicy grapefruit, now a little less bitter, and truer in its grapefruit zing.

Myrrh powered up significantly, adding a deeper, resinous sweetness with a vanillic bent with a slightly musky, animalic undertone and a dash of cinnamon. It put the zing of the grapefruit into last position, just barely detectable on the fringes. After 15 minutes of development, it seemed boozier, thick and rich, with leather, light musk, and smoky incense. The cognac was full-bodied with spiced, slightly sweet and fruit components amplified by the intensity of the myrrh.

It became particularly musky and animalic, smelling of oud (though it wasn’t listed in the notes) — it was teetering on barnyard but with the heavy myrrh, it didn’t quite get there but there were moments where I definitely questioned the proximity to it. As the scent made its way to the drydown, the animalic facets diminished slowly, eventually being blurred with warm, vanillic resin and smoky incense.

Application

For testing, I used 1/3 of a 0.7ml sample vial dabbed to the underside and topside of my wrist area on my left arm. I used an unscented moisturizer prior to applying the scent as this is also my swatching arm (aka, incredibly parched at any given moment) as I found scent did not hold well here otherwise. 

I purchased my sample in January 2022; fragrances are known to be reformulated over their lifetime , so be mindful of when a review was made, e.g. a review from 2010 may not reflect what the same-named perfume smells like in 2022.

Longevity

It lasted for eight hours until it was a skin-scent and about 14 hours before it was quite difficult to detect on my skin. The sillage was moderate and lasted around two to three hours before the trail started to shorten, while the projection was moderate for nearer to four hours before starting to really drop closer to my skin.

Personal Thoughts

I wouldn’t say this was a challenging fragrance per se, but the fruity sweetness combined with the oud was one of those things that sometimes I enjoyed and sometimes felt like too much of a good thing. I wanted something more to join the duo (in a more noticeable amount)–more incense or stronger woods.

Available Sizes

• 50ml for $265
• 100ml for $360
• 0.7ml sample for $4

Where to Buy

• LuckyScent
• Saks

Amouage Overture Man Perfume Review

Amouage Overture Man Perfume Review