Heroic

Heroic opens fresh and spicy - crushed cinnamon and caraway over a delicate floral lift - the budget echo of Amouage's revered Epic Woman. The heart is a rich, slightly sour rose: damask rose with tea, geranium and jasmine, that complex, savoury-sweet floral character the original balances so finely. The drydown is where it earns its name - smoky olibanum, dry guaiac wood, oud, sandalwood and patchouli rounded by amber and vanilla, a deep spicy-woody-incense finish. Where the Amouage is famous for its slow, exquisite shift from fresh spice to smoky woods and stupendous longevity, this take reads flatter and more linear, the incense thinner and the oud simplified, projecting closer to the skin. Still, it captures the bold, mysterious, spicy-oriental spirit of Epic Woman - a statement scent for autumn and winter evenings and formal occasions - at a fraction of the niche price, even if the original's poised complexity is only suggested.