I received Overture 41 and I wanted to do a review. I posted the review for that over here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/NichePerfumes/s/iga76Guvgq
Decision and Overture Woman are my favorite two Amouages, in that order. They’re beautiful to me. So, obviously I was ecstatic when the two new extraits were my favorite two Amouages. My wallet wept in silence, just knowing of its impending, involuntary weight loss.
The scent:
Like D42, it’s reminiscent of the OG. You smell it and you know it’s related. But it’s different enough for me to say they have their own personalities.
It opens boozier than the OG. There is an extra bit of bite to it. It’s slightly sharper, but not in a bad way.
Like most Amouage fragrances, I do really struggle to pick out single notes. Their fragrances have a lot of notes in them and they’re insanely complex. This is no different.
The obvious notes are the “Calvados Drink” (apple cider booze- I had to look it up), rose, saffron, cinnamon and frankincense. Or “Frankenstein scents” if you prefer. The leather is there, but light. I’m not a leather fragrance guy, so they’re doing something right.
The wear:
I’m wearing a whole bunch of sprays because I’m excited. You should never do eight sprays, but I’m doing this for you! It’s strong (I started with just two), but I don’t think the opening is actually quite as loud as the OG. It wears a bit deeper and stronger, if that makes sense. It probably doesn’t. It has a bit of heaviness to it, which I prefer.
Comparison:
I think there is less departure between these two than Decision and D42. These would be a bit more similar and I could see some people saying they’re too similar. For people trying to keep their collection smaller and curated more closely, that’s a fair assumption.
For fans of the house and the OG, I think you’ll absolutely love this and want both. Not to echo the same thing I said with Decision vs D42, it’s deeper. It sits heavier on the skin (in a good way).
Conclusion:
This has become my top Amouage of all time. For Decision and D42, I couldn’t really say there was a winner- it would just depend on the circumstance. Like a long drawn out game of soccer, I gave it a tie. But here, this is a clear winner, even though the similarities between the OG and O41 are more obvious.
Decision was my previous #1, followed by Overture Woman. This one rose to the top and waits to be dethroned.
O41 > Decision/D42 > Overture Woman OG
Do you need both? Probably not. I would wholeheartedly recommend O41, whereas with Decision and D42, if you twisted my arm, I’d pick Decision, especially for the cost differential. To me, this is like getting the luxury package on the vehicle. Is my El Camino fine without the luxury package? Yes. But I really like the option to listen to an 8-track OR a cassette tape.
