Best Opus XIV – Royal Tobacco by Amouage Alternatives & Similar Perfumes

‘All the soarings of my mind begin in my blood’

Rainer Maria Rilke

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A perfumed celebration of saints and superstitions, centred around a fierce fenugreek absolute note lavished with singed pyrazines, sacrificial myrrh and mournful molten honey poured over everything like amber rain.  Meadow blooms, sticky dark resins, pungent balms and ashen clouds of iris swirl like dramatic weather.

Enter the realm of dangerous flora, where flowers bloom hungrily and fatal nectar beckons. Beneath smooth leaves, sharp thorns await. This is nature’s exquisite revenge, where beauty becomes an irresistible danger. This fragrance opens with the peppery-lemon of elemi and bitter green artemisia. A bloody rose unfurls alongside its scent kin Egyptian geranium, their metallic facets softened by velvety osmanthus. Resin, incense and woods lends authority. 

Réserve en Afrique eaux de parfum feature responsibly sourced naturals, and are free from parabens, phthalates, UV filters and colorants. Their natural alcohol base is derived from beetroots, and they are a PETA-listed vegan & cruelty-free brand.

The floriental baroquesque parfum St. Paul's embodies an adoration and admiration to the spectacular era of Baroque. This style in architecture, music, art, sculpture demonstrates exalted movements, clear details, intense light and dark shadows, emotional exuberance, richness, extravaganza, which distinct baroque from other style. 

The English baroque represents iconic St. Paul's Cathedral, which dome has long dominated the London skyline. 

The perfume opens with the precious orange flower and jasmine absolutes with a hint of dried and juicy fruits, contrasting with the darker woody and balsamic base. 

Perfumer: Dominique Ropion

Master perfumer Dominique Ropion has an affinity for legible complexity, with creations that are deep without losing clarity. Here he offers a deceptively simple rose that plays with contrasts: dry into wet, crisp into voluptuous. In a bit of misdirection, a lean basil and mint twins with rose for an opening that suggests the rest of the journey will be straightforward. That’s until the gunpowder shows up, unfurling its metallic, cold and smoky facets. Geranium shores up the minty rose, while incense, vetiver and benzoin flicker between wood and amber. A dance of beauty and violence.

Kamel was the friend who entrusted Sora Dora founder Antoine with the secrets of the oriental olfactory universe, embodied in this namesake perfume. Built around the clean woodiness of Laotian oud, this extrait contrasts the dirty spice of cumin with sweet raspberry and syrupy rose. Smoky and spicy, Kamel Oud will enhance your next 1001 days and 1001 nights.

January 1618 A Japanese Galleon, the Pacific Ocean

Following a diplomatic mission to the West, a galleon carrying a delegation of samurai charges through dark ocean currents. Loaded with a rare and precious cargo, the ship’s hull is redolent of sweet-smelling tropical woods, heady Spanish leather, frankincense, fine black pepper and other exotic ground spices—the intoxicating spirit of a singular, extraordinary voyage of discovery.

A good perfume to visit if your are in a search for perfect true sandalwood,  smoky and a touch dirty. Arquiste carefully selected the companions for its sandal in this formula: tea and osmanthus, coffee, myrrh and stryrax and others to give it a dark, sensual depth.

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GQ US on Nanban:

"This is my signature scent. I wear it all the time. And let me tell you: I’ve never worn something that has gotten so many compliments—no sunglasses, no sneakers, no full-body rubber suit. People actually turn their heads and ask me what I'm wearing. And then they jot down the product name. Arquiste’s masterpiece introduces itself with Malabar black pepper and Persian saffron, gives way to coffee, sandalwood, myrrh, and Spanish leather, and embraces you all day with a blanket of frankincense, balsam, and cade juniper."

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Financial Times' resident perfume writer Victoria Frolova on Nanban:

"... approach coffee notes creatively. Instead of mimicking nature, a perfumer instead might fashion a blend that hints at coffee’s pleasing bitterness and heady richness. Such is Arquiste’s Nanban (£160 for 100ml EDP). The composition uses a plush backdrop of woods to frame the smoky, spicy notes of myrrh and incense, with an accent of coffee to lend the composition a dark, delicious twist. It teases with its smoky, nutty warmth, but keeps its presence mellow behind layers of sandalwood and leather."

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Cool herbs, the sweetness of anise, the warmth of a boozy flame at the bottom of a glass. Blue Flame begins in that glass. It opens bright and bitter, like lemon peel twisted between the fingers. Mint leaves and dry coriander seed steadies it. Then comes sambuca, the anise liqueur that lingers with chilly sweetness, shadowed by bitter/herbal Mugwort. Vetiver and cedarwood trace the outline of dry wood, and benzoin resin adds a low hum. Finally, white musk emerges, turning this cool customer into a warm, languid skin scent, its sweet herbs still held within.

Perfumer: Chris Maurice

From the master perfume responsible for most of the Xerjoff range, Moon Glade is a very unconventional take on lavender. The perfumer added a charred coconut shell nuance and poured sweet peach compote to the clean musky vibes of the herb.

Distant Hills in Silence is a meditative, woody-aromatic perfume inspired  by twilight on a mountain peak and the quiet whispers of wind through the pines. It opens with resinous frankincense and elemi blended with clean green leaves and clary sage, before shifting into a bright citrus clash of mandarin, bergamot and lemon. Chilly black pepper sharpens the feel, before a mossy and powdery fusion of patchouli and violet lends a cold shadow to the composition.

Perfumer: Maxime Exler