Inside the Second Chapter of Amouage’s Essence Collection, Inspired by Time

Line 618, Sequence, and Remain reaffirms the maison’s place at the pinnacle of perfumery. Requiring six months of ageing and an inimitable double-infusion, each exclusive scent celebrates the untold preciousness of time.

Helming a high perfumery house is no mean feat, especially when there is a legacy of best-selling scents to live up to. This is a challenge that Renaud Salmon, Amouage’s Chief Creative Officer, embraced with gusto when he joined the maison in 2019. Already boasting a suite of successful scents, 2024 marked a milestone moment, when Renaud introduced the Essence collection – three extraordinary fragrances crafted as an ode to the inestimable value of time.

For 2026, Amouage has unveiled the second oeuvre of the Essence collection; three further scents composed to explore the concept of time itself. “For the second trilogy of Essences,” says Renaud, “I wanted to consider time in an even deeper way – to think about how it is part of the very fabric of everything around us.” As with the collection’s first chapter, these fragrances are highly concentrated, containing 30 per cent pure perfume oils that marinade in a meticulous six-month aging process, doubly infused with Australian sandalwood chips in hand-made oak wood barrels. Much like a couturier might sew on single sequins for months, this unrushed artisanship proves patience is just as much a virtue when it comes to perfume.

The latest installment focuses on three geometric concepts: a straight line, a dot, and a circle. “If we accept that time is a genuine feature of the structure of everything,” says Renaud, “then it becomes relatively easy to see that it can be represented in terms of geometry – which is precisely what I wanted to express with the next three Essences.”

The first new scent, ‘Line 618’ is named after the numbers in the Golden Ratio – a geometrical concept that always delivers pleasing proportions. Crafted with master perfumer Nathalie Lorson, this bold fragrance riffs on black pepper paired with pineapple, complemented by heliotrope and pine. Finishing notes of sandalwood, patchouli and leather are intended to draw the mind towards an endless olfactory horizon, referencing how time and scent never stand still.

The second fragrance, ‘Remain’, pays homage to a powerful point, or dot. For this, Renaud enlisted acclaimed nose Pierre Negrin to bring the idea of a transformative single moment to life through scent. The intense pepperiness of Pimento berry is paired with mandarin, frankincense, jasmine, ylang-ylang and vanilla, making for a heady, all-enveloping aroma.

Meanwhile, ‘Sequence’, the final installment in the new trio, pays homage to the prevalence of circles in nature and the infinite evolution of endings into new beginnings, much like dusk inevitably turns into dawn. With saffron at its core, notes of rose, tonka bean, oud and ambery woods whirl with sparkling vitality – a unique elixir devised for Amouage by the renowned perfumer Julien Rasquinet.

All three fragrances are presented in the bespoke Essences flacon, designed to reference the contours of Oman’s desert dunes – which feels as exclusive and conscientiously considered as the perfumes themselves.

A lesser-known fact about the fragrance house hammers this preciousness home – originally you couldn’t purchase Amouage; it was a gift bestowed upon esteemed guests by the late Sultan Qaboos of Oman as a symbol of the country’s hospitality.

It was, at its heart, a luxury that money couldn’t buy; a treasured memento and aide-memoire that time is of the essence.

Lead Image Credits: Line 618 Essence De Parfum, POA, AMOUAGE

Photography: Vladimir Martí. Styling: Charlotte Marsh-Williams. Model: Kacie Hall at Premier Model Management. Hair & Make-Up: Aida Glow. Senior Producer: Steff Hawker. Photographer Assistant: Scar Salario. Styling Assistants: Thalia Matthey and Kareena Adlakha. Shot on location at Studio 152, Marsa Boulevard

From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s January 2026 Issue