Amouage
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The jasmine arrives first, syrupy and dense, carrying that characteristic headiness that sits somewhere between intoxicating and overwhelming. Almost immediately, tobacco leaf materialises beneath it, not as smoke but as something greener, more vegetal, lending an unexpected earthiness. The elemi's resinous pepper adds a subtle brightness that keeps the opening from drowning in its own opulence.
Here's where the vanilla becomes prominent, softening the jasmine's sharper edges and creating a creamy, almost edible quality that plays beautifully against the tobacco's bitterness. The floral element remains central but now feels more integrated, less confrontational, wrapped in that sweet-spicy haze. The elemi's citrus facets peek through intermittently, adding little sparks of freshness that prevent the composition from becoming too heavy.
What remains is a soft, skin-like meld of vanilla-touched tobacco and faded jasmine, the flower now just a whisper of its former intensity. The elemi's resinous quality provides a subtle warmth, whilst the tobacco reads as honeyed and slightly leathery, clinging to pulse points. It's intimate and quietly sensual, the kind of scent you notice when burying your face in someone's neck.
Annick Ménardo has crafted something genuinely unsettling here—in the best possible way. Portrayal Woman opens with jasmine so lush and full-bodied it borders on feral, the kind of white flower that carries the weight of indole and greenness alongside its sweetness. But this isn't a straightforward floral; the jasmine is immediately smudged with tobacco leaf, creating a contradiction that shouldn't work but absolutely does. The tobacco doesn't read as smoky or leathery—it's honeyed, slightly bitter, vegetal in the way fresh tobacco can be. Vanilla weaves through the composition like a golden thread, never dominating but lending a creamy, almost custard-like richness that tempers the jasmine's more animalic tendencies. The elemi resin provides crucial structure, its peppery, citrus-tinged brightness cutting through what could otherwise become cloying. This is a fragrance for someone who finds conventional florals tiresome, who wants their jasmine served with complications. It belongs to late nights in velvet smoking jackets, to artists' studios thick with linseed oil and old books, to anyone who appreciates beauty with an edge of decay. The name feels apt—this isn't a portrait but a portrayal, something slightly abstracted, viewed through a lens of memory and transformation. It wears close to the skin but commands attention nonetheless, the kind of scent that makes people lean in rather than recoil.
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4.2/5 (155)