The Midnight Flower

Bracken Man 2016

Bracken Man by Amouage
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8.0 / 10 443 Ratings
Bracken Man is a popular perfume by Amouage for men and was released in 2016. The scent is spicy-woody. The longevity is above-average. It was last marketed by Sabco Group / Oman Perfumery.
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Main accords

Spicy
Woody
Green
Fougère
Earthy

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
Provençal lavenderProvençal lavender CloveClove CypressCypress NutmegNutmeg BergamotBergamot LemonLemon
Heart Notes Heart Notes
CinnamonCinnamon CedarwoodCedarwood GeraniumGeranium SandalwoodSandalwood
Base Notes Base Notes
PatchouliPatchouli MuskMusk

Perfumers

Ratings
Scent
8.0443 Ratings
Longevity
8.4405 Ratings
Sillage
7.9405 Ratings
Bottle
8.7395 Ratings
Value for money
6.9152 Ratings
Submitted by Michael, last update on 24.03.2024.
Interesting Facts
The fragrance was part of the collection "The Midnight Flower".

Reviews

16 in-depth fragrance descriptions
10
Bottle
9
Sillage
9
Longevity
9.5
Scent
SirAddy

6 Reviews
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SirAddy
SirAddy
Top Review 25  
If you can't see the forest for the trees...
This comment has a long history that I personally found important, because it also reflects the complexity of Amouage fragrances. It was also my first fragrance in the luxury segment to be consciously bought by me. It's a very personal thing for me. If you are not interested in all this, jump directly to "Dufteindruck".

Background:

I wanted to treat myself to a really great and noble fragrance for my final thesis. I had my first contact with Amouage at a very nice perfumery in Bielefeld. There are almost exclusively niche fragrances and many classics. I honestly have to admit Amouage didn't make it easy for me at all. Several fragrances were presented to me that day by Interlude, Jubilation XXV, Epic, Honour, Gold and finally Sunshine. Actually I have a good nose (especially because of my whisky hobby) but already after Interlude I only smelled oregano, incense and ash. The complexity and power of these fragrances overtaxed me to such an extent that I rejected them gratefully at first. I finally bought Habit Rouge from Guerlain that day. It's fantastic, but now it's more of a standard fragrance that every well-assorted perfume man should have in his collection. It's a classic. To say goodbye the nice and experienced customer advisor gave me a sample of Bracken Man, which I put completely uninterested in my backpack
Again and again, looking at the ratings at Parfumo, I went to the perfumery several times a week to try out various Amouage fragrances. I was so fascinated and at the same time deterred (perhaps also overtaxed?) that for a long time I could not even decide on a fragrance. Tests on the skin, more samples and even fillings here via souks. Nothing helped my "I-Want-Amouage-But-Not-What-What-What-Phase". Bracken, although there was a bottle in the perfumery, remained untested. Looking at the prices of the Amouage fragrances, the following thought occurred to me: "Perhaps the decision is so difficult because you simply don't like anyone so much for the money? I talked about it with friends and acquaintances. They looked similar. I'm supposed to try something else. So I gave up Amouage and didn't look for other alternatives.

Now a somewhat clichéd twist follows for which I am not ashamed, but which I find somewhat embarrassing retrospectively, since I am an absolute Fougère fan. About six weeks later, while cleaning up, I notice the completely ignored Bracken Man sample. When I opened the lid of the high-quality sample, I immediately felt like I was back on the first day in the perfumery. Due to the jerk on the lid, the first load of lavender came so energetically towards me that I first thought I had pulled off the lid with the sprayer and distributed the contents in the booth. But this time we were in my territory. I consciously read time, smelled and smelled and smelled...like a good whisky.

Fragrance impression:

Lavender and clove, green-fresh and with a cleanliness - I can hardly describe it any other way. The prelude has a naturalness that I miss in many other perfumes that go in a fresher direction. I wouldn't say the scent's soapy. Definitely I associate with Bracken Man but purity and contrary to that raw nature. Imagine being freshly washed and shaved, ready for great deeds, stepping on a forest floor covered with fern. In addition, there is a very beautiful floral-woody note, especially in the heart note, which is really fine due to the spices. Cinnamon is really perceived very discreetly, which is probably due to the patchouli in the base and the cedar wood. The latter in particular adds a fresh, woody note that slightly covers the spices. The basis one might suspect would be somewhat difficult, but this is absolutely not the case. There's really been a lot of work done here. The patchouli and musk are very well balanced in Bracken and so well integrated that they hold the whole composition together and round it off beautifully.

Sillage and shelf life are very good with this fragrance. I personally don't notice Bracken after about 1-2 hours, but after 8-9 hours and generally throughout the day, I always get a glimpse of this very elegant Fougère. Especially with authentic and natural fragrances, this is completely normal, as the nose simply gets used to it. Several people have already confirmed to me that they can smell the "liquid fern herb" on me from a good distance. Not space-consuming, but not inconspicuous either. Somewhere in between. So far I have only received compliments.

Conclusion:

The Fougère theme has been skilfully implemented by the Amouage perfumers and adapted to modern times. A perfect all-rounder who can certainly surpass himself at milder temperatures (spring, autumn). An absolute masterpiece. After this revelation I was really annoyed that I left the sample lying unnoticed in the corner for so long.
9 Comments
10
Bottle
9
Sillage
9
Longevity
9
Scent
Anarlan

21 Reviews
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Anarlan
Anarlan
Top Review 27  
These precious days I'll spend with you.
Although I have spent far more than half of my life so far in large cities at home and abroad, I cannot speak freely of the strangely irrational, ambivalent, mystical longing of the Germans for "their" forest. Even when I think of scents, I regularly go into raptures over woodland echoes, and I suspect that this theme could come to me even more extensively. That I would feel the same with Bracken Man was a real surprise in two respects.

Amouage is, with a few exceptions, not one of my brands, which is due to the fact that oriental opulence in fragrances leaves me rather cold under the aspect of "wearing it myself". Amouage, however, would no longer be counted among the authentic Orientals, and besides, it's also the untypical, i.e. non-oriental Amouages that I like to call everybody's darling Reflection Man and -respect, Fougère, even if not classic Sunshine Man. Whether I am a clichéd representative of western fragrance or simply not yet mature for the olfacto-cultural appropriation of animal, heavy ouds and balsam and spice bombs, I leave to the wide field of the future.

In addition - the second unequalled class goal - classical Fougères are not necessarily among my identity donors. This is due to the firm neck grip typical of Classy Fougère, which is often too abrupt, too Y-chromosomal, too soapy-sweetish-mossy-groupy and uncharming. A classic Fougère doesn't smile charmingly and slyly, but sometimes grabs with clenched teeth and hurts a bit. But everything has its time, as we all know
Bracken Man actually belongs to this Art Fougère. Actually. But.

But one at a time.

Last September, as the month came to an end, I went on a short visit to the area where I was born. There are vast mixed and coniferous forests far away from the background noises of civilization, and I had set my mind on introducing my city plants to the magic of the forest, as I remembered it from my childhood days of picking blueberries. So I packed the children and the man into the car and into the golden green of late summer, hoping to find untouchedness dripping with romantic moss and lichen mysticism.

The weather was autumnally cool, in the morning there was Droste-Hülshoff-like dense fog, but the afternoons were crystal clear and sunny. The September sunlight fell through the treetops like in a fairy tale.

Golden days.

As we climbed over rotten, decaying wood, sank into thick green cushions and sank deeper and deeper into the forest of my childhood, the usual moaning and clamouring of the brood, which had been dawdling behind me for some time, ceased and it became increasingly quiet. In the precious moments of the collective shutting up, one could perceive every branch crackling that one produced when walking across the moss floor, strangely amplified and reflected by the proverbial forest echo. And before we knew it, we were swallowed by the strange physics of the forest.

The magic was happening.

In front of us lay a barely manageable clearing, covered with a man-sized colony of green, feathery leaf feathers, which sprouted from thin, yellow-golden overhanging stems. The afternoon light fell through the roof of fern fronds to the ground, which was covered with a dense carpet of tall, star-shaped moss in the most unlikely shades of green. If you bent down, you could partly see under the fronds, and I wouldn't have been surprised to spot the seven dwarves on their way somewhere further ahead. What grew here in such a stately manner was bracken
The Bracken Man bottle is decorated with unfurling golden fern fronds of bracken. When I smelled the fragrance consciously for the first time a few months ago and inspected the bottle from close up, I immediately remembered this special day and our encounter with the vegetable "Bracken" deep in the forest.

Bracken One conveys this golden autumnal forest atmosphere. The fragrance is decisively influenced by a fougère-typical soapy spice, which oscillates with an earthy, forest-like impression and a crystalline sweetness, without ever appearing musty or composty. How this works in terms of fragrance is fascinating to observe and a mystery to me.

The central note that characterises the fragrance from my point of view is clove, which - watch out, fougère neck handle - immediately grabs you after a very short and somewhat shrill opening. However, this clove by no means evokes the feared sauerbraten or Christmas impression, but presents itself in a pithiness densely interwoven with lavender. In addition there is a slight pungency, I think of nutmeg - very difficult for me to discern, I interpret a slight pulling in the nose as typical of nutmeg. All this creates an astonishingly soapy and herbaceous impression, through which, however, earthy, forest soil and rotten wood shimmers again and again. Patchouli contributes unobtrusive woody and mossy ground contact, while one has the feeling of sucking in oxygen-rich spicy forest air.

Above this lies golden, sunny-looking sweetness, which, after the initial dominance of clove and lavender has at some point - and the duo takes its time with this - is then withdrawn in gentle noblesse, absorbed by a warm, mild, almost fruity spiciness. I suspect that cinnamon should play a major role here. According to the fragrance pyramid, rose geranium would still be in play, which also has a not insignificant soapiness. At the end, in the base, these impressions merge into a warm overall picture, the fern forest in the golden light from afar, so to speak, becomes blurred, but essentially retains its character.

As a classic fougère, the fragrance is extremely well-behaved, noble, modern, masculine in the most beautiful sense and perfect for the golden september days. Booked for the autumn...
7 Comments
9
Bottle
9
Sillage
9
Longevity
8.5
Scent
Turbobean

29 Reviews
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Turbobean
Turbobean
Very helpful Review 20  
A tailcoat at outlet price
It's a drama that oriental scents aren't for me. What a fertility this is! What a Sillage! What a shelf life! My favorites can't stink at all against that. I need 0.5 to 1.0 ml of my scents to get reasonably through the day. With this Amouage here only 0.15ml are necessary, so two sprayers, and everything smells all day long like a great mixture of 68er patchouli with noble lavender soap.

Bracken Man smells like a men's fragrance of the 80s. Hey Catch22 and DasguteLife and soul mates!! That's one for you! Wow, those were scented personalities back then. No IsoAmbrox stuff, no synthetic sweetness, but genuine, honest perfume trade with genuine, honest raw materials. Such one is also Bracken Man, although from 2016.

I am surprised that Habit Rouge is not mentioned here as a fragrance twin. It is also patchouli-embossed, and the heaviness of this fragrance is skillfully carried up by fresh, soapy notes. Oh yes: I can test elegance. One (n) is dressed like with a tail coat, which can be also times very beautiful. Just not in the office or in the subway.

About a month ago, his colleague Konsalik wrote a blog. "The rating problem." This is the dilemma I'm facing right now. I don't know how to evaluate the fragrance, because on the one hand it's a great composition with excellent performance, which, on the other hand, makes the fragrance a real bargain: two years of expressive and high quality fragrances for 150,- Euro. I think that's a good price. On the other hand, as much as I appreciate him, I would never wear him myself
A compromise assessment, let's say 7.5, would in no way do justice to the fragrance. He deserves at least 8.5, even though I don't use him.
2 Comments
8
Bottle
8
Sillage
8
Longevity
7
Scent
FFL

12 Reviews
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FFL
FFL
Top Review 21  
Boy, don't dawdle like that....
... my mother always said - lovingly meant, not rushing - when she roamed through the forest to pick lilies of the valley. As a teenager, I helped her out sometimes. Not because I had to, but because I enjoyed watching the lily of the valley bouquet grow in my hand. But perhaps I had already (unconsciously) appreciated the soothing, decelerating effect of the smell of damp wood, rarely found lavender and - for this perfume - fern (Bracken)
Now, as an adult, I am especially grateful for everything that decelerates, earths and lets you breathe deeply. Here comes Bracken Man, whom I perceive as green-woody, just in time. And so sometimes I catch myself applying it in the evening after a long working day before I pour myself a glass of wine. For the office itself, this typical Fougère fragrance also works, but should be carefully dosed, because...

...unfortunately not everyone likes it. It is too "strict" for my wife and I have to admit that - especially in the top note - it is dominated by a very spicy carnation, which in my opinion fits better as an ingredient in a mulled wine than in a perfume. As soon as this note subsides, the fragrance becomes smoother and closer to the body, almost cosy (probably due to the patchouli).

As a target group I suspect men of a slightly more mature age who like green, clean barbershop fragrances. I estimate the shelf life at 6 to 8 hours.

This fern herb (flacon design fits perfectly, by the way) presents itself as an innovative (and not at all Amouage-typical) European evergreen scent, which can touch, but also inspire. Maybe I should go wander through the forest of my homeland again...

By the way, this is my first comment on this great platform; forgive me for not responding to some scents (which I just can't smell) due to lack of experience. My nose is still in training ;-)

Your Frankfurt Fragrance Lover (FFL)
4 Comments
7
Pricing
9
Bottle
7
Sillage
7
Longevity
8.5
Scent
Smoetn

30 Reviews
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Smoetn
Smoetn
Top Review 17  
Between Two Ferns
Even if the previous comments on "Bracken" are all consistently very successful, there was now but for pretty much exactly a whole year no comment more, so I thought that I let the fragrance in the form of a review once new attention.

Rarely have I smelled a fragrance that smells so true to nature and authentic to a particular theme, here "fern". The name "Bracken" translated into German means, by the way, exactly that, so fern. Thereby I find the name for German ears a bit unfortunate chosen, because this always reminds me of "brackish water". But do not worry, so the fragrance has nothing to do.

Fern - so Barack Obama or even Charlize Theron may have felt, when they were between two ferns of Zach Galifianakis in the brazen cross-examination. For all those who do not know this quite successful interview comedy series, is recommended to look at once "Between Two Ferns" on YouTube
But now to the fragrance.
"Bracken Man" starts directly very fresh and directly "farn'ich". To whom this says nothing, can optionally imagine dry straw, this goes in a similar direction. Forest associations also come up with me. But not all forests are the same. The "Bracken" forest is not a dense, dark, wet forest, but rather a dry, light forest. I imagine a lake at a clearing with ferns growing on the shore. It may also have just rained, but not very hard, more like drizzle, and the raindrops are now condensing off the sunlit fern. In the Opening, the fragrance is thus very green and Fougère -artig.

So the fragrance then also remains about two hours before then a slight sweetness dazugesellt. This is certainly the cinnamon, which slowly fights its way to the front. Also, the fragrance becomes a little darker with time, a little heavier, earthier, certainly due to the patchouli. As if the sun now withdraws a little more and it begins to rain again. Now the smell of the damp forest floor also rises to the nose and complements the dry fern smell. Here the fragrance then reminds something of "Rain Wood".

After unfortunately already about 6-7 hours, the fragrance then sounds woody, but has a quite pleasant and perceptible sillage in the first two hours; after that it becomes relatively close to the skin. As a fougère, the fragrance naturally fits perfectly in spring or early summer, but it can certainly be worn well all year round. The fragrance is well suited for men over 30, because he comes along a bit classic, but this in a modern way, so that he can also wear younger.

The bottle is Amouage-typically an eye-catcher and comes across very high quality. The drawn fern on the bottle is not one of my favorite motifs, but of course fits perfectly to the fragrance.

Speaking of Amouage-typical. Many like to call the newer Amouage fragrances as not atypical for Amouage and tear the fragrance alone. Personally, I think it's good that Amouage is trying to develop itself further and is also going down daring paths. The theme of incense has been sufficiently served with Interlude, Jubilation, Epic and Journey Man. Even if I don't like all the new releases (I know quite a few Amouage by now), there are also great, successful newer fragrances from Amouage. And "Bracken Man" is for me clearly one of them, even if it is not at the top.
7 Comments
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Statements

9 short views on the fragrance
BoBoChampBoBoChamp 2 years ago
7
Sillage
8
Longevity
8.5
Scent
Initially uplifting, yet rather spicy-sweet, a smooth and powdery, oriental spicy-woody Fougère, on a gentle earthy-woody base. Versatile.
0 Comments
MarkoPeekoMarkoPeeko 9 months ago
9
Bottle
8
Sillage
9
Longevity
9.5
Scent
Incredible fougere. One of my top 5 Amouage frags. Makes me feel a million dollars wearing this in Spring.
0 Comments
BertolucciKBertolucciK 3 years ago
9
Bottle
7
Sillage
8
Longevity
9
Scent
Bright and soft fougère. Spicy, slightly sweet, green, earthy and woody. I like the cypress and the lavender with the patchouli in the base.
0 Comments
EstbienlaEstbienla 2 years ago
7
Bottle
8
Sillage
9
Longevity
8.5
Scent
Very beautiful fougère of character with a lot of spices very similar to the Viride
0 Comments
ScottMcArronScottMcArron 26 days ago
10
Bottle
9
Sillage
9
Longevity
9
Scent
Classic fougere with a twist of big, dry clove making it supremely unique.
0 Comments
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