Fate Man by Amouage (2013)

Nose: Karine Vinchon-Spehner

To my supercilious nose, Fate Man reveals itself from the very first minutes as one of the dullest and cheapest Amouage offerings for men, and sadly the evolution does nothing but reinforcing this impression. The opening is pretty much a mathematical layering of a ton of drugstore cumin with a fairly cheap Iso E-infused cedar-vetiver-guaiacol accord (we’re in the same territory of countless inexpensive woody scents here; I thought of Chopard Noble Cedar, Azzaro Visit or La Martina Secret Wood, but options are really infinite) and a darker, thicker shade clumsily emulating some favourite chords of several “dark Oriental” niche scents of the past years – an agreeable, albeit derivative and a bit nondescript blend of musk, rough spices and smoky balsamic-resinous notes (labdanum, mostly) with a sort boozy-tobacco flower note (immortelle – think of Histoires de Parfums’ 1740) tinted with a sort of oily licorice vibe and a robust base of something like birch tar with a hint of dry oud. So basically a moody Oriental rework of a conventional woody scent. All finally wrapped together with a polished, dry texture, quite on the dark-spicy side, and sadly (if that wasn’t clear enough) quite cheap too for me. By “cheap” I mean that I personally don’t get anything different quality-wise from several inexpensive designer woody scents, the woody notes smell clearly “average” with no nuances or richness or whatever may indicate a sign of a higher quality; and I also don’t get any other added value – nothing creative, or particularly refined. No surprises during the evolution as well. A really bland Oriental dry woody scent with a dark shade and a bit more thickness than usual in the unsuccessful attempt to bring Fate closer to a niche quality (if that ever existed). Still something you’ve to keep smelling to remember how it smells. It’s nice, but a true joke for the price.

5/10