I’ve just bought myself a Christmas present, unwrapped it and am wearing it with abandon. And yes, if you read the title of the post, you already know it’s Lyric by Amouage. It’s my favourite scent from the luxurious Omani brand and it has been on my to-buy list for years. I feel like I have displayed commendable discipline by buying something that’s actually on my list, rather than getting distracted by shiny new stuff. That basically counts as saving.

Lyric seems to me fitting for the season, too. As I’ve said before, I’m not massively into traditional Christmas scents – I love the smells themselves, but not the recreations as candles or perfumes (there are exceptions, but not that many. Lyric isn’t your average holiday scent, but the festive red bottle and the comfortable glamour it exudes make it very holiday-appropriate in my opinion.

It is well known that Lyric is a rose-centric perfume, but I’ve never gotten that much rose from it. Considering that I don’t care much for straight-up rose, it’s a good thing. To me, it’s just creamy, sandalwoody, gently spicy (cardamom!) gorgeousness. It certainly includes rose, but to my nose, it’s very much in the background, adding some luscious voluptuousness. It’s a glamorous scent that somehow manages to be almost cosy at the same time. Among my other bottles, it falls somewhere between Neela Vermeire Mohur (more rose, more nuance) and Olfactive Studio Lumiere Blanche (no rose at all, but the same creamy comfort). It plays in a lower register than either of these though, and is very much its own perfume.

I see people claiming on the great Interwebs that Lyric has been reformulated and the new version is apparently inferior to the previous one (it always is, if you believe the perfumistas). Maybe so. I don’t have any earlier versions at hand, so the only thing I can say is that I enjoy the current take and when I compare my thoughts now and three years ago, they are almost identical.

PS I apologise for my absence, I have been battling a virus. This is also why I’ve had to use a picture by the brand, rather than my own as usual. I hope I’m back on track now, however, and have grandiose plans for Best of 2016 posts next week.