Opus XIV Royal Tobacco

Wow. This fragrance rocks. I was afraid to try it for the longest time. Reviewers constantly mention how powerful and challenging it is. I skipped the opportunity when I visited a shop that specializes in niche perfumes because I was so scared it'd be too strong and would destroy my nostrils. That was two years ago. Last year I bought a sample and wore it a bit. The first time I wore it, I just thought of used toothpaste until it began to dry down. Then I was like, "Holy cow... what is it with Amouage?" I absolutely love Interlude Black Iris and now Opus XIV Royal Tobacco. Those are tue only two I have tried from Amouage and I can definitely see myself wearing them daily. Nowadays when I spray Royal Tobacco, it starts off cold. Like you went into the dry storage at a kitchen and are looking for a specific spice and the room is just a bit cooler than the rest of the building. You think something is open, but you don't know what or where. You finally find what you're looking for after spending a bit too much time in there and the drydown comes in. This smells like it's some special chewy candy, but not sweet and sugary like most candies, it's more like a block of sap with a bit of vanilla flavoring you just took a bite out of. Needless to say, this is definitely a top 10 to me. Maybe a top 5 when I get my full bottle. Lasts abaolutely forever if you need it to. I don't know how it projects and I don't care how it projects. It can be a skin scent for all I care. Just as long as I get to smell it all day.

This is a quick note to people wondering whether a full bottle is worth it if you love the scent: I went through 2ml of royal tobacco before purchasing a full bottle, but I waited 6 months after finishing the sample before committing to the bottle. I did this because I was worried that I wouldn’t wear it enough for it to be worth dropping $225 on. I’ve had it for a couple weeks now, nearing a month, and I have used probably 3ml of it already which is a lot considering the amount of bottles and samples I own and the bottles and samples I have constantly coming in. The only thing I’ve noticed is that I have been spraying Royal tobacco on tester strips to sit with and enjoy a lot more than full wears. That’s not an issue because I’m still using the perfume, but it’s something interesting that I’ve noticed. I gave Royal tobacco so many wearings with my sample, and since I purchased it, I’ve only given it one full wearing.

After 3 months of coming back to a 2 ML sample i have finally pulled the trigger on a full bottle for 235 euro. it is so complex, so special just so unique, there is nothing you can compare it to. it is completely it's own thing, i know there is a dupe out there that comes close, but man looking at the 1 last spray of my tester i can not stand for the original. the amount of shine on my hand after one little spray screams high end. a world class frag made for a king. when i think RoyaL tobacco, i think a parfume that are actually made for kings. the highest end luxury you can get. the dry down changes several times even morphs into som,ething completly different. 12/10, not for everyone so sample first. but people will ask you what you have on bc there is NOTHING like it out there.

Got this sprayette from scentsplit.com. This is actually a milder scent than I've come to expect from Amouage and I'm not as impressed with the silage as some reviewers. It's a unique scent with good quality, but I get more from all the kitchen spices than from the tobacco. I'd say if tobacco is your goal this would not be in my top 50. Amouroud, Zaharoff, Tom Ford, Parfums de Marley, I could list dozens of perfumers with better tobacco scents. I would even choose bargain basement French Avenue "Tobacco D'Feu" over this for a tobacco scent. But, while this isn't a particularly good scent if you're wanting something tobacco focused, that is not to say it's not an interesting and unusual scent you might want to own just because it's a unique composition.

It is complex, interesting, and causes me to sniff my wrists for hours. In short, I love it. It definitely leans more on the incense, balsamic, spice and licorice notes than it does tobacco, but the tobacco is easy to notice. Its like an exceptionally well blended pipe tobacco before lighting it. The sweetness and spicy notes combine into an almost gourmand combination. I do not think I could pull this off on warmer days outside, but I can at my office which has plenty of space and airflow per worker. People always ask about it, because of how interesting it is. (and because they can smell it, lol)