Epic Man by Amouage

While sample wearing Epic Man, I chuckled to myself about the "younger crowd" on basenotes; notably the ones who cry "Dated"!!! or "Smells like old man"!!! when referring to 1980 era classics that employ the inherent accord structures and notes associated with them.

I chuckled because from about 2005 or so, the incense influx and its indelible imprint will forever "date" the releases that are all the rage now. In 20 years ( maybe less) the youngsters now will be middle aged and putting up with the bellows of "Dated"!!!.....or "Smells like old man"!!! from novices that smell incense accords. Ah yes.......the human condition......such as it is........

Now.......on to Amouage's Epic Man. Incense you say? Why, of course my good man. Did you expect anything less than the House's signature note, accompanied by other notables, coupled with masterful blending? Is it Epic? I can't say for sure.......but I can say it's very well done and smells pretty damn good.

For whatever reason, I have been sampling quite a few fragrances implementing saffron. This has not been intentional and I can, without guilt, lay the blame on rickbr's doorstep.......since he's the culprit who sent me all these saffron-infused scents in our recent swap. He may be in need of Saffron Anonymous meetings.......and at the rate I'm going, they may need to dust off an extra chair.

Back to Epic Man.........Hhhhmmmm..........yes, incense of the very dry variety with a dash of pepper and the spicy aspect of cumin and saffron. After 10 minutes or so, I can really call this "Saffroncense" and it delivered an exceptional swirl effect when I stepped out onto our balcony for a breath of fresh air. The last time I had a memorable swirl effect was with Sonoma Scent Studio's Ambre Noir. I have to say the sillage is stronger than Jubilation XXV and a more prudent application is warranted.

Spices and leathery wood slowly come up from the bottom, but not before a well executed contribution from Geranium. The Nutmeg, Myrtle, Myrrh, Sandal and Cedar all do their jobs within 45 minutes and the drydown has a low key musky oud thrown in just for general principles. I guess this is all in a days work for the elves in Amouage's top secret mixing laboratory.

So.........is Epic Man bottle worthy? Yes indeed. Is it expensive? Do you need to ask? Okay then.......is it worth the $2.90 per ml.? If it was awesome to you while sample wearing it, then yes......it's worth the price. Hell, people are paying hundreds of dollars for 2oz. bottles of Jovan Andron that are probably fakes. Yet, the same sellers continually pull out bottle after bottle ( one at a time) of an impossible to find, extinct fragrance.....and people buy it like it's the last gallon of water in the region following a nuclear blast.

Anyway........my take on Epic Man is that it's very good and it allowed me to invent the word "Saffroncense". I would like to find a way to add this scent to my drobe, but my list is ever growing and my money is ever shrinking. If only those damn elves could send me a free tester bottle...........