Beloved couldn’t have come to my mailbox courtesy of the wonderful Christopher Chong, at a more opportune moment. I was deeply in love with another perfume at the time, I had been wearing it non-stop for four unprecedented days in a row – another big, abstract floral, another quintessentially French perfume, Chanel N°5. So, already in a floral state of mind, Beloved was just what I needed to be reassured that something as beautiful and special as N°5 was still being made today.
Beloved was created by Bernard Ellena and includes notes of jasmine, rose, clary sage, clove bud, chamomile, cardamom, ylang-ylang, violet, everlasting flower, cistus, benzoin, olibanum, patchouli, cedar, sandalwood, castoreum, civet, leather, musk, vanilla, maltol and amber.
Beloved opens like a symphony orchestra – that is still tuning their instruments. But that tuning phase lasts a mere minute and then quickly, the conductor arrives and the opulent opening accords of a grand romantic symphony can be heard (smelled of course, but bear with me and my musical analogy).
The full orchestra is playing, a massive body of strings carrying the melody, the brass instruments coming on strong and the timbal is there too. Now and again an oboe solo (rose) weaves its way out, the clarinet (jasmine) joining in for a sweet duet, but mostly it is the full complement of musicians joining together in a magnificent symphonic piece of art.
The bass group is gaining prominence over time. The violins and flutes playing softer now, receding and fading, but only after a few hours, while the celli and bassoons carry on the melody and the trombones and tubas provide a steady background thrum.
Robert Schumann‘s Symphony No. 3 “Die Rheinische” in E flat major, Op. 97 seems to be an appropriate musical comparison, in its grand scope, its full romantic orchestration, not always comfortable flow and its ever changing moods are dramatic and emotional, but always beautiful and above all joyful.
Beloved is a big perfume, and despite the previous comments about its grandeur and drama, it is not hard to wear, actually I find Beloved particularly easy to wear, with a lovely, but not intrusive sillage and excellent lasting power (Do you know an Amouage that is gone in two hours? I don’t, and this one is no exception.)
Großer Musikvereinssaal In Vienna
Beloved is a wonderful perfume, it tells its story differently to everyone as the different reviews coming out here and there suggest, but all the reviewers agree on the fact that Beloved is a beautiful addition to the impeccably edited Amouage line. My only gripe is its limited availability and ambitious price.
That aside, I have fallen for my dearly Beloved and reveling in its enveloping, symphonic beauty, I feel the same inner movement like when I hear Herbert von Karajan gracefully conducting the Berlin Philharmonic.
Amouage Beloved is available in 100 ml Eau de Parfum. It is sold at Bergdorf Goodman, Harrods, Tsum and Amouage boutiques.
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Amouage is certainly having a fantastic year so far, with this release and Opus VI.
Have you ever tried any of their Attars ?.
They do!!! I haven’t tried the attars, I don’t have easy access to them, and for now I’m fine not to wake any sleeping lemmings. 😉
Birgit
When you come to London, you should try some of the Attars at the Amouage store in Lowndes street.
I would recommend these ones for you : Al Mas – Badr Al Badour – Ayoon Al Maha – Asrar – Al Shomoukh .
Thank you very much! I’ve written them down. Lowndes Street is on my agenda anyway. 🙂
Hi chris! Their attars are rich and gorgeous, just as you would expect. I find Tribute (very oud-y and green and STRONG) a bit too much for me to wear but Homage (spicy roses with backbone!) makes me a happy person for hours on end. Haven’t tried any of the ones that don’t get western distribution yet but I’m still looking!
Hi unseencenser
I don’ know if you are based in the UK or the USA?
If you are based in the uk, the Amouage shop in Lowndes street- London, has a huge selection of attars, where you can sample them in-store.
If you are based in the USA, best bet would be either the perfumed court or Surrender to chance. They have almost all the attars – including the latest one Al Mas.
Hi Chris, sorry to be so slow in answering this when you’re so kind – I am in the US but when I was in Spain I only saw Homas and Tribute too. I will eventually get a sample, at least of Al Mas. But Tribute makes me leery of tracking down many of the non-US-distributed attars. I’ll make a point of doing this in London someday when I get there again! Thanks for the pointer!
Oh me oh my, you should never utter the words limited availability to me. It is just as well I do not live anywhere near Harrods, I would be very poor but smelling great. On my list to try. 😉
You do live a lot closer to Harrod’s than I do… 😉 I wish it was not so very expensive, I looooove it so. Sigh.
I am not a huge florals fan, but your description is beautiful and the notes list is really tempting – argh – Harrods is a little too handy for me: I am just going to stick my fingerrs in my ears and hum to myself while pretending I haven’t read this…
As long as you don’t start humming Schumann you should be fine… 😉
ROFL! Just watched the YouTube video at the end. Too funny! (I am pretending I did not read the Amouage review because it sounds gorgeous and it is soooo expensive!)
What’s to see at the end? *gets nervous* I only ever listened to it without watching, since nothing happens (or so I thought) and now I can’t watch because I’m on my phone and don’t have the bandwidth… *worries*
Oh no! I guess that video at the end changes each time. I cannot remember what was there last time I looked, other than that it cracked me up! This time was a giggle too–a SWAT team goes after the 3 little pigs for boiling the big bad wolf alive, and then the piggies get prosecuted for insurance fraud because the wolf has asthma and couldn’t possibly blow down the houses of straw and sticks… Delightfully silly!
Hahaha. I must take another look when I’m back home.
😀
So I guess you’ll have to make the difficult decision whether to purchase this one as you’ll have the opportunity to visit Harrods very soon? Sounds like price will be a major factor.
I’d love to find my perfect Amouage attar one day. I think they’re gorgeous.
Thankfully my press sample is very generous, so I don’t have to worry about buying a bottle for a while…
Which attar is your favorite so far?
I haven’t tried many but only Asrar and Homage stick in mind. I think there is one that I will fall for completely though.
Good news about the Beloved sample!
I’ll make sure to try those two then.
Thank you for another beautiful review, dear. The symphony analogy is great.
I intend to review Beloved for next week but words are failing me. It is so rich, so exquisite…
BTW, have you ever tried Ubar? If not, I think you should.
Kisses,
Caro
I think Beloved must be totally up your alley, Caro! It seems very much “you”.
I look forward to read your take once you find the words (or they find you). 🙂
I must get out my sample of Ubar again, I might be ready for it now.
Birgit dear, it is totally “me”. As if Amouage had bottled or distilled myself. Even my dear husband, upon sniffing it without my uttering a word, was sure I would love it.
I am sure you are ready for Ubar. Please let me know your thoughts on it. I got a bottle a couple weeks ago and I’m madly in love with it.
Have a lovely weekend.
Oh, I wish I had my sample with me in the cottage. 😦 I hate when craving strikes and I’m separated from my collection.
Beloved sounds absolutely gorgeous — I loved your review! The price tag I’ve seen for this one is so steep, though, that I’ll happily stick to Amouage’s other fragrances. Opus I still owns my heart and will be my next Amouage purchase.
p.s. Thrilled to hear that you’re loving Chanel No. 5 lately, too. One of my best perfume purchases ever was a vintage bottle of the parfum. Love wearing it to bed … I can see why Marilyn did too!
Beloved is totally, totally your kind of perfume, Suzanne! (Sorry, but it is!!!)
I’m wearing No5 all the time now, I’m going through a massive obsession phase. 😉
Okay, I’m saying this in the most loving voice possible (in a whispery voice with sugarplums on the side), but I’ve got to say it anyway … Damn you, woman! You make my wallet ache.
❤
I’m so sorry. *slinks away shamefully*
Do you think someone who doesn’t care for Ubar or Gold – or Dia particularly – might like this one? I quite like Lyric after a couple of hours, mind! I usually shy away from big symphonic perfumes you see, tempting as you make this one sound! : – )
I think, despite the symphonic qualities it is very different from Gold, which I can’t wear (and frankly don’t like) at all.
It is intricate and multi-layered but not loud or heavy. It is very modern in maintaining a transparence throughout.
I’ll bring it to London and you’ll see for yourself.
Modern sounds good to me! I will bring this Brezza sample…
This is one of the first Amouages that I feel I *must* try (there are a few of the Opuses that I also desperately want to try). Something about the classical positioning of this one really calls to me. Of course, it will likely also be one of the hardest to find/most expensive! sigh.
I echo your sigh, Susan.
I can’t really add anything other than the fact that I agree with your wonderful review wholeheartedly!
Thank you, T! Beloved is a knockout, as you said so fittingly.
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Wow! What a fabulously enchanting review! I love your blog!! I am bookmarking as I post!! So lovely to find a world out there of like-minded perfume savours to share our passion!! My only regret is there aren’t enough days in the year to experience all the scents available!!
Hi Mary,
thank you for stopping by!
Perfumeland is indeed a wonderful place full of passionate and intelligent people. As for your regret – we will never catch up, but the fun is in the trying. 🙂
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Birgit – I just tested Beloved against Lyric, and OH MY – the leather absolutely pops out at me now. And then, dare I say it – Beloved even becomes a bit smokey and reminds me of leather and ever so faintly… cigarettes. Am I losing my mind? Everyone is calling Beloved a floral…and yet… While Lyric is all genteel femininity (in a good, plush, beautiful way as an oriental rose) – might Beloved be a very smooth, refined… Bandit? 😉 I don’t mean in precise notes, but in its intent. A Bandit for the modern era, that has gotten so very uncomfortable with animalics, leather, etc.
The leather is still quite soft compared to say, Cuir de Russie or heck even the handbag leather of Kelly Caleche, but it’s very, very much there.
Beloved is not nearly the projector that Lyric is – but even though it’s quieter, more soft-spoken and restrained – this stuff is tough! It has an incredible quiet strength.
I’m imagining a very chic New York woman pulling on her Italian leather gloves. She’s coifed, streamlined and impeccable – but definitely wearing well-fitted pants and some extremely chic boots. Elegant – always. But also confident and a touch dangerous, make no mistake! The idea of a steel fist in an incredibly well tailored and feminine calf-skin glove 🙂
What do you think? I’m curious because I’m not reading other reviews that talk about the leather much – but it positively leaps off my skin, especially compared to the more floral Lyric. You’ve mentioned it’s one of your current favorites from Amouage – so I’m curious how it wears on you.
Aha, and now in the far dry down it is indeed floral. I’m really puzzled by this one – it’s so complex!
Indeed, it is! The best perfumes are! 🙂
Beloved and Lyric are very different perfumes, I love both, but I wouldn’t compare them at all.
Beloved is very complex and not easy to “get”, but its mystery adds to the love, in my case at least. 😉
Leather is not totally dominant on me but perceptible, Bandit is not a bad comparison at all (although it lacks the beautiful floral aspect Beloved has), the idea and intention are somewhat similar. But I see Bandit as a hard-core wild child, whereas Beloved is much more elegant and feminine, but still strong and powerful. A modern woman. 🙂
Yes, a modern woman indeed! Still feminine, but quite powerful. It’s a lovely and intriguing fragrance. I’m still getting to know it.
I’ve heard from the source that Beloved will only be around for about three years, then it’ll be discontinued.
I will make sure to have a bottle before then…
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I adore Schubert too. The delicacy, the sensitivity, the warmth, the deep philosophical understanding, and the understated passion: in my top three composers ( with Stravinsky and Debussy)
Schumann not Schubert (at least in my review), not sure which one you mean, but I think you are more of a Schumann person than a Schubert. 😉
NO! You would think so, I know, but Schubert really touches my soul. In general, the Germanic Romantics, though I can enjoy a lot of their work, are just too….bombastic or sentimental or something. Schubert has a unique sensitivity: I play his impromptus and am doing a sonata with my piano teacher at present.
There is a simplicity, yet a profundity to his work..
And although he doesn’t encapsulate my soul (that would be Debussy, Satie and Ravel), Schubert is very important to me. I have never even LISTENED to, let alone played, Schumann!
What are your favourite composers? I imagine Vienna is amazing for classical music.
On the whole I personally don’t really like symphonies, as they are just so damn male, bombastic, and make me think of Nazis: hell for me would be Beethoven’s Pastorale.I much prefer quieter chamber works like late Beethoven string quartets (divine). If it is going to be orchestral I prefer ballets, like Stravinsky’s Petruschka and his Greek series such as Apollo and Orpheus…..
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Great review for a great perfume. And yes yes yes, I got the full bottle and am soooo happy with it! 🙂
Good for you, Gerda! Beloved is so worth it! 🙂
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