Gold For Men

I remember the first time I tried Gold Man, many years ago, which was during my first foray into Amouage's lineup at the time. I got a sample and remembered thinking that, one, I certainly wasn't expecting this perfume, and two, for a minute, I almost wondered if I got a sample of Gold Woman instead of Gold Man. Unfortunately, at the time I first smelled Gold Man it had already undergone a big reformulation that effectively sent the aldehydes to stratospheric levels, shrank the oakmoss into dried wisps, and made the florals less naturalistic, all of which I was able to confirm when a friend who I identified as having a vintage bottle kindly let me try his for a little while. Gold Man is powerfully floral and powdery. Anyone who thinks this is a straightforward 80s masculine couldn't be more wrong in the sense that it is certainly not a straightforward French or American masculine. Instead, expect the Arabian idea of an 80s masculine of an opulent and grand style. Well, I guess I shouldn't strictly say that. It is old school and definitely more Arabian than Western, without a doubt, but while it retains that old school vibe it has certainly been reformulated to better suit more of today's global market.

I was able to get a vintage sample of this and it is a beautiful fragrance. Unisex to my nose and it is something I as a woman would enjoy wearing. Upon first spray I get rosehips right up front. Which smells like a tangy rose. The LOTV is toned down and the incense is amped up unlike with Gold Woman which I appreciate very much. Softly smoky incense mingles with the tangy and tart green rose and blends into beautiful pillowy soft oakmoss and a creamy and musky civet. This is what I expected the Gold Woman to smell like to be honest. The Gold Man is muskier, bolder and less soapy than the female version. I've smelled vintage fragrances like this in the past but I can't think of their names. If you like vintage fragrances you will love this. Although I wonder what the current version is like. If it is missing the opulence that this bold musky incense floral has that would be a tragedy. I will enjoy wearing this, but my husband thinks it to feminine for him. The above accords are right on the money. Beautiful.

Or at least that's what they say. Yet in Gold Man's case, does that apply? It is still produced today, maintaining that vintage DNA of the original Amouage from 1983 - the house's first fragrance, also perfumed by Guy Robert. It was bottled in different flasks between the Ladies' and Gentleman's EDT, both featuring the same notes except for the Gentleman's EDT including patchouli and oakmoss too. There were also EDP and Parfum concentrations, not just EDT. Then the "Cristal" and "Gold" name rebrands came, with the "Cristal" designation being dropped over time, and eventually we got to the modern iterations we know today. However, ever since then, there's been plenty of reformulations which have diminished the potency and original expression of certain notes (lily of the valley, civet). And so, with that in mind, does the current modern formulation of Gold Man still hold up?

Gold man is a nicely done, chypr-oid animalic musk scent with hints of resins and white flowers. To my nose specifically it smells like the animalic floral component of Diaghilev, though it also reminds me of Kiehl's Musk and Musc Tonkin by Parfums D'Empire. Much as I enjoy animalic musks, with hints of jasmine and myrrh, I think I would opt for any of the aforementioned options over Gold Man. Diaghilev gives me much more as an overall chypre while Kiehl's has a beautiful, ever so subtly saline quality which makes it a very easy wear for me. Musc Tonkin and Gold Man, sadly, both start to grate on me as the hours wear on, as their stolidly white/yellow-floral-inflected animalic natures never really transit to anywhere interesting or different. Had Gold Man been an earlier discovery in my fragrance journey, I'm sure I would have been head-over-heels for it.

Gold Man from Amouage. This is my second favorite perfume from the house, only behind Interlude Woman. And while the latter is a conundrum of a scent that hints at the aesthetic of houses like Serge Lutens and Slumberhouse, Gold Man draws inspiration from vintage French perfumery (think Arpege), therefore not as unique, but adds in bold Middle Eastern elements such as Frankincense, heavy musks (mostly civet), ambergris, and woods. It feels and wears like a Roja perfume. It has that degree of sophistication and refinement that I have only encountered in fragrances such as Diaghilev and "M."