Today, the postman came bearing gifts; specifically, the package of fragrance samples I bought from Amouage, the official perfumer of the King of Oman in the Middle East. They shipped from the retail boutique in London via Royal Air Mail and arrived far sooner than I anticipated.
My family came over and we broke out the Amouage fragrance box, going through each one and deciding which were our favorites. Some were not our cup of tea. Others were out-of-this-world amazing.
One of those we adored was Amouage Jubilation XXV. Katie Puckrik, a fragrance reviewer, was right on the money when she said it is a veritable treasure trove of expensive ingredients straight out of the Bible. It’s like King Solomon decided to commission a perfume for men and capture the essence of wealth, power, and wisdom in a single bottle. As a westerner, it is completely different from anything I’ve ever experienced, especially given I tend to prefer the high-end French perfumers such as Creed fragrances.
When you look at the Amouage Jubilation XXV ingredient list, it isn’t difficult to see the what Puckrik means. This list of notes would have been at home in Psalms or Proverbs. As she put it, this is the stuff that the three wise men may have brought to baby Jesus.
- Top notes: labdanum ciste, coriander, orange, davana, frankincense, blackberry
- Heart notes: honey, bay, cinnamon, orchid, rose, clove, celery seeds, gaiac wood
- Base notes: patchouli, opoponax, myrrh, atlas cedarwood, musk, moss, ambergris, oud wood, immortelle
Amouage Jubilation XXV Is Like Christmas and Cash …
[mainbodyad]My first thought when I put on the Amouage Jubilation XXV was “Christmas and cash”. It reminds me of giant pine trees, shopping in Bergdorf Goodman for gifts, with tens of thousands of dollars in your pocket, dividends rolling into your brokerage accounts, and investments growing in value throughout the world. That may not make sense, but it just made me think of wealth. Not gauche cash, but instead, sophisticated, confident, well-established review-your-real-estate-investments-as-you-wear-a-cashmere-sweater-by-the-fireplace-in-Aspen money.
Cost and Size Options for a Bottle
You can purchase a 100 ml bottle of Amouage Jubilation XXV for just shy of $300 in United States currency (the actual price is €220 so you’d have to factor in daily exchange rates). There is a smaller 50 ml bottle that retails for €180 but it makes no sense when you can pay an extra €40 for twice as much fragrance. Given the joy this has given me, I’m going to have to buy a bottle. (Note, the female version, Jubilation 25, costs slightly more but given how terrible it is, don’t buy it … I’ll talk about that in a few moments.)
Comparison: If Amouage Jubilation XXV Is the King, Amouage Reflection for Man is the Crown Prince
Amouage has a very similar fragrance, called Amouage Reflection for Man, which is lighter and younger than the Jubilation XXV. I think of it as Amouage Jubilation XXV being the King and Amouage Reflection for Man being the crown prince, just back from finishing university abroad and returning home to start learning how to run the country. If you find Jubilation a bit heavy, you may want to check out Reflection.
Amouage Jubilation XXV is for Men and Amouage Jubilation 25 is for Women
Something that needs to be pointed out for clarification: There are two versions of Amouage Jubilation. There is Amouage Jubilation XXV, which is for men, and then there is Amouage Jubilation 25, which is for women. They are two completely different scents. The men’s version, Amouage Jubilation XXV, is fantastic. The women’s version, Amouage Jubilation 25, is terrible (we’re talking cheap potpourri bad).
This glowing review is about the men’s version, Amouage Jubilation XXV. The good news is, the men’s version is so fantastic and … je ne sais quoi … it could be worn by a woman and no one would know the difference.
