Portrayal Man
Eau de Parfum, Amouage (2019)

As Jenson has pointed out, this fragrance gives off a vibe reminiscent of a lighter version of Narciso Rodriguez for Him, sharing a common violet leaf note and that concrete-like aroma. However, this scent exudes a livelier and more transparent quality. The bottle design harmonizes well with its ozonic and subtly green characteristics, mirroring the fragrance itself. Performance-wise, it holds up admirably. I would recommend giving this a try if you're seeking something a bit different from the rest of the line.

Childhood.... Carefree years when time was perceived totally differently than it is now. We only knew when it was time for lunch and when it was time to sleep, and that would be it from the concept of time. My mother grew many flowers, the fragrance of which could be felt all over the yard of our family home. At that time, there was only one mission, and that was not to destroy the flowers with a ball 😊 Mother was constantly tinkering around those flowers (which she still does today 😊) and she often knew how to pick a flower and bring it to my nose with the question "smell it" hey, isn't it nice?" "Yes, mom, he's beautiful," I would say then just like that, and continue running after the ball. However, today, after 30 and a half years since then, I realized that it was from that time that the love for the smell of flowers was born. Portrayal takes me back to my childhood.... Smelling it, it reminds me of a memory from that time, of the sun breaking through the thin canopy of an old apple tree in the yard, showering its rays on the mother flowers and green lush grass... I feel fluffy, sweet , carefree... Christopher Chong described Portrayal as a time travel to the 1920s. It didn't take me back to the 1920s, but it certainly did in the 1980s. Violet, fresh, green, sweet and potent, on a breeze of light vetiver, leads this perfume on our joint journey into the past, traveling through a multitude of fragrant notes, this, just the appearance of a simple perfume. Because he is certainly not that, but a complex idea of ​​an excellent Maestro.

Narcisco Rodriguez light? Has a vegetal, floral, dense approach. Notes almost tingle your senses. reminds me a lot of narciso's classic concrete note.

It's an abstract scent. The only occassion to wear it, is for yourself. It's that good :)

A beauty and a beast of a fragrance

Somewhat hard to get my head around initially, but then I wore it out and received a lot of compliments. Not one for people who love cheap designer perfumes, it's strong so use sparingly.

What I get are green woody notes then a lovely sweet soapy quality thats gets more addictive in the dry down. One I'll be using on a regular basis.

Well I dont understand all the negative comments on this.
If you like Violet, this opens up with a very potent Violet Leaf..... I absolutely adore this.

If you like Fahrenheit... this is quite similar to the original one back in the early 90s.
I am sure given time this will catch on and appeal to the more Niche noses.
Fantastic Frag this one. Prob in the top 5 of my amouage collection, deffo worth going trying this one.


Overall 9.0-10
Performance 9-10
Sillage 10-10
Longevity 9-10

Uplifting

Portrayal is very strong for the first hour. It opens with the sharp, bracing, soapy bite of a huge violet note. Violets can come across three ways to me: green and leaf-like, with damp, watery, plant-like qualities; purple and somewhat spicy-sweet in the manner of violet candies, almost how pink pepper is spicy- sweet; or gray and almost dry, bitter and somewhat soapy. In Portrayal, the violet consists of all three varieties. It's a robust, multi-dimensional violet and is absolutely the star of the show. But that's not to suggest that it's the only note at play. Perhaps its the spiciness of the purple violet variety, but there also seems to be some kind of cloves or pepper working here, embellishing Portrayal with a distinct piquancy. It could also be interpreted as geranium, whose cold, spiciness is also marked by a nearly edible sweetness. I'm also almost positive coriander shows up for a moment, or maybe to a lesser degree, cumin, layered near the bottom, because there is a very subtle sweaty funk simmering below, which fades out early in Portrayal's development. There could also be oakmoss, as a certain part of Portrayal reminds me of popular 70's and 80's powerhouses like Antaeus, which used oakmoss in part with animalics like castoreum to create this clean-but-dirty contrast. This smell is captured completely in the relatively new Slumberhouse release, New Sibet. But it's also here in Portrayal, supporting its huge violet note. It gradually recedes in the first hour until it's barely perceptible when Portrayal eventually reaches its heart. I don't smell "cade" anywhere, if cade is supposed to smell smoky, like wood burning, or tar (it's possible I'm just not familiar enough with cade as a note, but I don't detect any kind of smokiness in Portrayal). And I definitely do not smell vetiver. If it's there, it's been submerged into obscurity.

After about an hour, much of Portrayal's dynamic, and at times, aggressive beginnings settle in. The fragrance becomes calmer, more singularly focused and with less activity than before. It's as if the various aspects and styles of violet that were branching out earlier have now been reeled in, and instead of three different violets, each doing their own thing and making up different dimensions of the scent, there is now one singular violet serving its center. Furthermore, the flashes of cloves and coriander, the spiciness and hint of sweat, are completely settled in, barely detectable. And it's exactly that violet that comes together after some time that has the "Fahrenheit smell." Granted, nothing about Portrayal reminded me of Fahrenheit until a full hour after wearing it, and even then it's quite different. The violet that smells like the violet in Fahrenheit, is surrounded by a much more dry, bitter green element in Portrayal. It's soapier with more whites and greens and grays than Fahrenheit's swirling reds. Looking at it from the perspective of percentages, Portrayal is maybe 20% Fahrenheit, so it's really not much like it at all. For what it's worth, I enjoy Fahrenheit much more. It's a masterpiece with an unforgettable character both bizarre and charming. Portrayal isn't much of either. That's not to say it's bad in any regard--it's actually a decent composition--but at least as far as I'm concerned, it lacks that certain something to really win me over and want to keep coming back for more.

Portrayal is not an easy scent to pull off and I can't see it going over very well with many young audiences, especially young Americans. Though it softens up after some time, it comes out of the gate with gusto, reminding us in some ways of past powerhouses and a style that was popular decades ago. Its violet note is loud and powerful, almost aggressive, and extremely "soapy" at times. But it's also interesting, and substantial. Not until it settles in does Portrayal become a more relaxed and easy-going wear. By hour 2 or 3 it's moderately pleasant, the sweet, aromatic, Fahrenheit-like violet note wafting softly around its clean, bitter-green environs. But it's a challenge getting there. Final rating, 6/10, worth sampling only if you love violet.