If the name The House of Amouage doesn't say 'luxury' to you, I don't know one that would. For those of you who aren't aware of them, Amouage are a perfumery brand owned by the Omani Royal family (who are very interesting, see), most remembered by me for their absolutely beautiful bottles (as seen at Harrods).
One of Amouage's newest offerings is Honour, inspired by the "elements of love, betrayal and reconciliation" in Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and packaged in the beautiful pearl white bottle above, with a gold-plated cap encrusted with Swarovski crystal.
According to the brand's Creative Director, Christopher Chong, the scent aims to tell a story, with each note representing a different piece of the tale, "Tuberose is used to represent danger. Jasmine is attachment. Gardenia is secret love," he told Ca Fleure Bon.
How cool is that? I love the thought that went into putting that together! Along with the notes of tuberose, jasmine and gardenia, there's pepper and coriander, which I got with the first spritz, which I have to say overpowered me slightly. After a few minutes however, the scent settled into a much calmer fragrance with jasmine and lily-of-the-valley, and finally amber, frankincense and leather. All in all a lovely, long-lasting and warm scent for fans of deep, non-sweet scents with a bit of personality, and of course, a nice story to go with it.
Top notes are coriander, pepper and rhuburb;
middle notes are carnation, jasmine, gardenia, tuberose and lily-of-the-valley;
base notes are vetiver, opoponax, amber, incense and leather.