Figment Man by Amouage

Great reviews are read, and they all converge on the predominance of the wet earth or mineral moisture accord. First, I’d say that, according to my appreciation, whoever finds Figment is someone who has a beautiful collection of scents in their closet (I’d say about 10 bottles). Therefore, saying it’s not usable doesn’t seem like a good statement; as a good aroma consumer, you can find the day, hour, and occasion to enjoy this particular fragrance. However, if it’s to the taste of others, I don’t know, and I think it doesn’t matter. I love it. The bold character of its composition, the result of its opening accords, and the story behind it are great. There’s not much news that Amouage delivers a true olfactory sensation and gets us used to debating whether their compositions are worth it. I think they’re always worth it, whether you want people to smell a certain way, what you want to project, or simply to enjoy them in the solitude of your home. Still, the question shouldn’t be whether you want to smell like wet earth, but whether you want to carry a different, contrasting aroma with enough personality to exploit it to the maximum. If they posed it to me that way, I would clearly accept. Figment wraps the animal accords well with the trilogy of earth, moisture, and mineral notes. The opening is very fun. Once it dries down, aromatic woods like Guaiac and the labdanum note give a very balanced sweetness, gradually clearing up the start. In my opinion, it becomes a bit more tame and conventional, although for many it might be the appreciation for a calmer evolution. My recommendations: dare and enjoy a brilliant composition.

Figment Man is probably one of the most artistic and curious perfumes one can smell in the world of perfumery. I tried it when I was just starting to delve into niche, and it was impactful, but over the years I’ve learned to appreciate it. An aroma that opens with a pronounced petrichor/geosmina accord unmistakable, wet earth in the truest sense, but which, as minutes pass, nuances with animal notes (sometimes very evident), woods, and spices, with the earthy aspect always dominant. It’s a super evocative, nostalgic, and poetic aroma, but I don’t see it as usable unless you really like the mentioned profile. It’s true that at the end it sweetens a bit, but nothing like to reverse the wet forest you can smell in Figment Man. If it reminds me of Bat, I think in Zoologist’s the wet earth is more balanced and the fruity aspect is more frequent, which I like more and consider more usable. Note: 7/10 (it seems notably artistic, but probably with better balance between its components it would be better, from my total subjectivity).

The scent could be the album Des Mysteriis Dom Sathanas by Mayhem. Figment Man smells more like figs than rotting tree bark and wet earth. It’s very organic and more Nordic than Oriental. No trace of a souk like in Jubilation XXV or Interlude Man. It’s not negative that it’s organic; in fact, I love the smell of dampness. The negative is the price for what it offers: it doesn’t evolve, no development. From start to finish, it’s a penetrating aroma of green notes, slightly musky and earthy, probably ambergris or labdanum. More than Oriental, it’s a fougère due to the wet forest accord. I love the wet earth smell, it connects me with nature, but investing 200€ to basically smell like that, frankly no. Longevity and sillage are brutal; this morning I could still smell it in the room tested yesterday at noon. Reflection Man and Bracken Man are the Amouage men’s scents that disappointed me most, not due to poor quality, but because the Oriental signature that characterizes the house gets blurred.

Figment Man by Amouage has a powerful opening. At first, geranium and soft citrus, nothing that reminds me of other fragrances. Then, in the first few minutes, the earthy and animal notes appear; from there until the end on my skin, which makes it linear, but I still like it a lot. I feel it warm, as if I felt the fur of a puppy or a kitten giving me warmth. Ideal for autumn and winter in areas with four seasons, or in winter and nights here. For me, it’s a great work of art, an eighties perfume with the seal and vision of Amouage. On me, longevity is moderate to lasting. Sillage goes from heavy to moderate. It’s a masterpiece. I recommend not buying it blind and trying it first, as it won’t suit everyone.

Using this discontinued Amouage gem today. At first, it hits you with the geranium and lime note, ending with the opulence of vetiver (which makes it smell like wet earth). It’s mentioned that it has animal notes, but what is that? I feel it’s more the combination of everything that makes it seem like that note. It resembles Bat by Zoologist (first formula), but the latter goes a more fruity path, while this one goes a more “earthy” route. They say it’s “unusable,” but surely it’s because people don’t step out of Voyage or Prada L’homme, or how boring commercial perfumery has become. If you’re looking for a masculine aroma that stops formality and power, this is it.

A magnificent, amazing, superb, and strange perfume, just like that. It’s a masterpiece of perfumery. I won’t delve into notes, I’ll just say what it evokes: imagine a cemetery in the middle of winter at 5 PM, it’s already sunset, it’s cold and it starts to rain. That’s where they buried someone; the atmosphere is one of pain and solemnity. It smells like mud, like earth, like dead flowers with frost, like planters overflowing with rainwater, and flooded flowers. This gray atmosphere of deep melancholy is what this wonder conveys. Longevity over 10 hours, an olfactory experience rather than a perfume to please. I love it!

First, a call to reason for commentators who want to shock: Figment Man is a magnificent perfume, clearly recognizable as such. It doesn’t smell like weird things or urine tablets, as some crazy English reviewers have claimed. That said, it smells like an earthworm wandering the roots of licorice by the banks of the Jarama. It’s not Encre Noire, but it has the note and the spirit of Amouage. My wife says it smells like wet clothes in the washing machine a few days later, but what does she know. To me, it’s a charming and totally masculine aroma, ideal for cruising on a BMW motorcycle through Navacerrada in October.

The most evocative perfume I’ve ever known. It awakens sensations and transports me to a forest in the middle of a dark, cloudy night, smelling of petrichor, animal, and slightly smoky at first, gradually giving way to that scent of wet earth without abandoning the darkness. It’s a true niche, wonderful for very few and shocking for many who will never find the occasion to wear it. Very long-lasting with moderate sillage, singular and almost a unicorn, discontinued for being misunderstood… a real shame.

I’ve had this perfume for months and still don’t know when to wear it. It smells like wet earth. It’s impressive how well it’s done and the quality is incredible, but… what was I thinking when I bought it? I haven’t used it. I love the wet earth scent, but not for dressing up. I don’t recommend it for blind buys.

Smells like a paint workshop, drying oil on canvas. I speak from experience: my grandfather is a painter, and my childhood smelled exactly like this when I visited. It’s a unique experience; it’s not made to please everyone, but for the personal delight of those seeking challenging and long-lasting scents.

Figment smells on me a lot like Paco Rabanne’s Teneré, which I also don’t like; it smells like old man urine. I’m not sure if I should give it more use, but it has seemed repulsive to me.