Amyris Homme – fresh and woody and unabashedly masculine

Photo: perfumeniche

For our anniversary one year, my husband and I decided to treat ourselves to 'his and her' fragrances. Since I'm the perfume blogger, my husband got the job of finding the perfect scents for us. It was a job he took very seriously. He did the research, sourced the samples, occasionally got sidetracked and when it came time to make purchases, the decision was easy: Amyris Femme and Amyris Homme from French niche line Maison Francis Kurkdjian.

Most niche line fragrances are unisex, but we wanted fragrances that were the same but with different variations: one for women and one for men. Amyris Homme and Amyris Femme fit the bill. Both fragrances share the same two key ingredients as heart notes: amyris, often used in fragrances for men, and iris, a popular feminine note. According to the booklet that came with the perfumes, amyris and iris' create the link between man and women interpretations of this vibrant scent.'  As well they have different concentrations. Amyris Homme is an EDT while Amyris Femme is an EDP, although both are also available as extrait de parfum.

We were both very happy with our same-but-different fragrances and very pleased with ourselves for being so clever to have bought them. But, every once in a while, I would sneak a  spritz of his Amyris Homme. Don't get me wrong, Amyris Femme is gorgeous, and I wear it often, but Kurkdjian excels at making fragrances for men. After all, this is the nose who created Le Male for Jean Paul Gaultier in 1995 - one of the world's best-selling perfumes. He is also the creator of one of my favourite fragrances for men, Eau Noire, for Dior. Smelling Amyris Homme on my husband, I realized just how alluring it is.

Amyris Homme opens with a vibrant note of sweet, juicy mandarin juxtaposed by a note of aromatic, piney rosemary. The balsamy aspect of the rosemary draws forth the piney, fresh herbaceous aspects of amyris. The amyris also has a gorgeous woodiness that stays right to the drydown, though in a more muted form. A note of saffron, a cousin of iris, ushers in the Florentine iris with its earthiness. The earthy, floral iris is the perfect counterpart to the amyris, making Amyris Homme both powerful and delicate at the same time.  At this stage, I smell sweet tobacco. It's the coumarin in Tonka bean. It lifts the entire composition, keeping it light and fresh.  Notes of modern woods at the base echo and support the woodiness of the amyris.

Amyris Homme dries down to an elegant, captivating all-season scent that is unabashedly masculine, but that doesn’t stop me from borrowing my husband’s.

I liked this idea of 'his and her' perfumes so much that I've been petitioning for it to become an anniversary tradition. My husband is less keen. Something about the fact that we bought a fragrance for each of us, but I got mine plus some of his. That’s when I remind him that we’re married, so what's his is mine, and what's mine is my own. So far, It's not flying in my house.

Check out Amyris Homme in our Shop.