Amouage Secret Garden
3/18/2024
The universe of Amouage has always encompassed a breathtaking variety of different landscapes. From the boundary-pushing territory of the Library Collection, to the complex realm of the Exceptional Extraits, each facet of the House’s creativity has reflected the numerous possibilities offered by the art of perfumery. The Secret Garden Collection occupies a singular position in this rarefied space. Since its inception in 2016, it has been an invitation to enter into the sublime uniqueness of the Amouage fragrance aesthetic. With warmth and openness, the perfumes of the Collection have captured the true spirit of femininity in the modern woman, rejoicing in all its inspirational intricacy. Now, having formed a distinct stylistic profile, Amouage’s Secret Garden has been re-imagined and revived, ready to embark on further journeys of creative exploration. To mark the occasion, a brand new composition, Love Delight, joins the Collection – a delicious creation that adds another alluring dimension to the quartet’s expression of womanhood.
The Temptation of Love Delight
From the moment they emerged, the aim of the Secret Garden scents has been clear — each Eau de Parfum has explored a facet of contemporary femininity by pairing a tantalizingly flavoursome accord with a distinctive floral note. “In the case of Love Delight, I absolutely knew I wanted to stay faithful to the idea at the core of all the Secret Garden perfumes,” explains Chief Creative Officer, Renaud Salmon, “but I wanted to push the olfactory vocabulary into areas we had not really explored before, to look for different sources of inspiration.”
To meet this challenge, Salmon turned to renowned Vice President Senior Perfumer Pascal Gaurin. Taking his cue from the refined richness of Arabian sweets — which layer generous quantities of delectable, crumbly pastry alongside nuts, orange blossom and rose water — Gaurin created an almost impossibly appetising accord that he and Salmon came to call ‘Honey Glazed Pastry’. Shimmering with golden temptation, and calling to mind the enticing gleam and texture of mouth-watering treats, it is exuberant and refined without ever resorting to simplistic sugariness.
For the floral facet of Love Delight’s personality, Gaurin turned to Heliotrope. With its unmistakable aroma of warm almond, as well as its suggestion of ripe cherries, it was a perfect fit with the addictiveness of the Honey Glazed Pastry accord. The result is the most enigmatically lustrous member of the Secret Garden Collection.
When the scent first reveals its optimistic, forward-looking personality, Ginger and Cinnamon project an effervescent insouciance – a glittering sparkle of joy. Adding to the light-filled effect is tender Rose Water, a material being used for the first time in an Amouage creation. As the perfume offers up further charms, the florals in its heart – Heliotrope, Jasmine and Rose – cast a knowing smile across the brightness of the opening. Finally, three precious absolutes, Vanilla Bean, Cocoa and Rum, unite themselves to Cypriol and the Honey Glazed Pastry accord to add an air of languorous ease, balancing the dazzling, solar elements.
Free-spirited and spontaneous, but also generous and open-hearted, Love Delight is an irrepressible tribute to the woman who seeks and finds all the pleasures life has to offer, whilst remaining grounded in every single moment she inhabits. It is, as its name suggests, a creation that is both full of love and full of delight.
A Garden Redesigned
All four Secret Garden Eaux de Parfum are now presented in re-imagined flacons, featuring a colour palette that emphasises a sense of the enigmatic without losing any of the Collection’s vitality. The hues have taken on a more matte appearance and the bottles’ soft-touch ceramic coating adds an enchantingly tactile dimension to the ritual of applying the scent. The texture of the bottles now calls to mind a fine, leafy down, which grounds the Collection in the realm of gardens and flora, while making it feel familiar, inviting and confidently contemporary.
Love Delight joins the three existing Secret Garden Eaux de Parfum to add an enticing new chapter to Amouage’s story of the modern woman. It takes its place alongside the powdery elegance of Lilac Love, which mixes Cocoa Bean with Lilac to explore the idea of classical femininity in today’s world, as well as the nectar-like seductiveness of Blossom Love, in which Amaretto and Cherry Blossom burst forth with unashamed romanticism, and the creamy headiness of Love Tuberose, where Chantilly and Tuberose conjure a distinctly female aura of heightened sensuality. While their presentation has been updated, the fragrances of these three existing creations remain unchanged.
Dramatic Visuals for a Return to a Garden of Mysteries
Shot by Charles Negre, under the artistic direction of Jade Lombard, the all-new visuals for the Secret Garden Collection find inspiration in the striking work of Joan Miró. Placing a mixture of organic and structural shapes against a stark, all-black background, the compositions are an arresting array of surprising textures and hyper-vivid colours – a seemingly deceptive landscape in which proportions are almost impossible to gauge, compelling the viewer to be drawn into the deepest recesses of the images. Encapsulating the Collection’s expert combination of the carefree with the mysterious, the visuals are a true reflection not just of the mysteries at the heart of the Secret Garden, but also of femininity in all its varied, contrasting forms.
#Amouage #SecretGardenCollection #LoveDelight
#LilacLove #BlossomLove #LoveTuberose
Key fragrance information
The newly redesigned Secret Garden Collection, including Love Delight, can be purchased online at www.amouage.com, at Amouage boutiques and at distributors worldwide, starting from March 2024.
Lilac Love
Perfumers: Nathalie Lorson & Élise Bénat
Olfactive family: floral gourmand
Ageing: 3 weeks maturation + 3 weeks maceration
Concentration: Eau de Parfum containing 20% pure perfume oils
Top notes: Lilac, Peony, Heliotrope, Gardenia
Heart notes: Orris, Cocoa Bean, Tonka Bean
Base notes: Sandalwood, Patchouli, Vanilla
Blossom Love
Perfumers: Nathalie Lorson & Élise Bénat
Olfactive family: floral gourmand
Ageing: 3 weeks maturation + 3 weeks maceration
Concentration: Eau de Parfum containing 20% pure perfume oils
Top notes: Cherry Blossom Nectar, Rose Liquor
Heart notes: Ylang-ylang, Amaretto, Vanilla
Base notes: Tonka Bean, Sandalwood, Cashmeran
Love Tuberose
Perfumer: Nathalie Lorson
Olfactive family: floral gourmand
Ageing: 3 weeks maturation + 3 weeks maceration
Concentration: Eau de Parfum containing 20% pure perfume oils
Top notes: Tuberose, Gardenia, Jasmine
Heart notes: Chantilly Cream, Vanilla
Base notes: Cedarwood, Sandalwood
Love Delight
Perfumer: Pascal Gaurin
Olfactive family: floral gourmand
Ageing: 3 weeks maturation + 4 weeks maceration
Concentration: Eau de Parfum containing 20% pure perfume oils
Top notes: Ginger, Mandarin, Rose Water, Cinnamon
Heart notes: Heliotrope, Jasmine, Rose
Base notes: Vanilla, Cocoa, Rum Absolute, Cypriol
ABOUT AMOUAGE
Amouage is an independent Omani High Perfumery House renowned for creating some of the most finely crafted perfumes in the world. Founded in the Sultanate of Oman in 1983 to be ‘The Gift of Kings’, the House has redefined the Arabian art of perfumery and garnered a global reputation for bringing innovative modernity and true artistry to all its creations.
Masterfully paying tribute to its heritage, Amouage is a unique fusion of East meets West that defines avant-garde opulence. Today, it expresses the contemporary majesty of Oman, a historic trading center for frankincense around the globe, with arresting and alluring collections that speak to a sophisticated, confident, and well-traveled discerning clientele who seek something compellingly precious, extraordinary and personal, every day.
Amouage creations have charmed a global audience and are now available in close to 100 countries around the world. The House’s international presence encompasses 14 standalone boutiques including the recently opened flagships in Dubai, Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai and a highly selective network of approximately 1,000 of the world’s finest department stores, perfumeries, and airports.