Like a Chinese dragon, Journey Man opens with a fiery roar filled with Sichuan peppers and bold spices in a golden, boozy flame. The peppers tingle and gently bite, while a richly fruited sweetness intoxicates you with a cognac note. It's a visual of gold and red, but darkness lurks all around, thanks to swirls of incense, an oud-like cypriol woodiness, and a streak of leathery resins in the base. Tobacco, a sprinkling of cardamom, and the juiciness of neroli orange are the final touches to a complex fragrance that grabs your attention from the start.
Journey is slowly transformed by a beautiful creaminess which tames the dragon's fiery bite. A smooth layer of tonka vanilla coats the peppers, dry woodiness, incense, and spices. The cognac booziness turns into ambered warmth, and the perfume lingers more softly on the skin. Over time, Journey turns into a creamy, tonka sweetness with woods, spices, and just a hint of fruit mingle together. It's a bold fragrance whose initial intensity gives way to softness in a rich mix that feels very much like an Amouage.
Sichuan pepper, Bergamot, Cardamom, Neroli Bigarade, Juniper Berries, Incense, Geraniol, Tobacco Leaves, Ambrox, Cyriol, Tonka Bean Abstract
Perfume rating 4.24 out of 5 on Fragrantica