Amouage, the perfume house founded in Muscat, has added two fragrances to its Exceptional Extraits line: Decision 42 and Overture 41. Each is a high-concentration reworking of an existing scent, holding 42 per cent and 41 per cent perfume oil respectively, and each is aged for six weeks. Both went on sale on 1 September 2026, priced at Dhs2,365 per 100ml, according to Harper’s Bazaar Arabia.
The figures are the story. On Amouage’s own scale, an eau de parfum contains 15 to 35 per cent perfume oil, an extrait de parfum 40 to 56 per cent, and an attar the full 100 per cent. The two new releases therefore sit firmly in extrait territory, a good deal richer than the eau de parfum versions from which they are drawn.
For readers in the Gulf, where concentrated oils and attars are a familiar part of everyday and ceremonial dressing, this is a known idea in a new form: a regional house presenting concentration itself as the mark of luxury. Amouage was founded in Muscat in 1983, and frankincense, which is native to Oman’s southern region of Dhofar, runs through both formulas.
Decision 42
Decision 42 is described by Amouage as amber, woody and aromatic. The official notes begin with pink pepper, bergamot and cardamom at the top. The heart brings together juniper, frankincense and pine tar, and the base rests on patchouli, cedarwood, vanilla and labdanum, a sticky resin long used in perfumery for its warm, ambery depth.
The house credits the perfumer Quentin Bisch with the fragrance. Muscat Daily, in its report on the launch, names Renaud Salmon, Amouage’s Chief Creative Officer, alongside him. The Decision eau de parfum appeared five years after Overture Woman, and the new extrait now pairs the two in the same concentrated line.
Salmon spoke of that pairing in terms of character. He told Muscat Daily that the determination of the diva reinforces the stoicism of the tree, and the other way round, a reference to the way the two fragrances are meant to complement each other.
Overture 41
Overture 41 builds on Overture Woman, the eau de parfum Amouage released in 2020. It is classed as amber, woody and spicy, and the perfumer is Annick Menardo. Frankincense and saffron open the composition, Rose Centifolia and sandalwood form the heart, and vanilla, labdanum, patchouli and leather make up the base.
According to Muscat Daily, two details set the extrait apart from the original. The first is a resinous amber accord that the eau de parfum did not have. The second is Sandalwood Dreches Absolute, an ingredient made from upcycled sandalwood chips, which means it is drawn from material left over from other processes rather than from fresh wood. Salmon described Overture Woman, for his part, as a truly scene-stealing piece of work.
The flacons and the imagery
Both extraits come in a dramatic version of the Amouage bottle. The exterior carries artwork in a gold-dust shimmer by the Belgian artist Louise Mertens. Inside, the lacquer is seagull grey for Decision 42 and rich amber for Overture 41, so that each bottle takes the colour of the scent it holds.
The campaign imagery follows the same palette of gold and shadow. It uses real juniper branches, scorched and veined with gold, together with silk forms that resemble organza and are finished with gold leaf. The accompanying video is by Thomas Vanz, made with Wildvertising. The juniper is a deliberate link to Decision 42, where the same plant appears among the heart notes.
Why it matters in the region
Fine fragrance in the Gulf has never been only a question of the spray bottle. The oils, the resins and the woods are old companions of the region’s hospitality and dress, and a house from Muscat that places 41 and 42 per cent oil on the label is speaking to a reader who already understands what depth means in a scent.
It also shows a regional brand setting its own terms rather than following them. The Exceptional Extraits line makes concentration the headline, aged for six weeks, and builds the story around materials that sit close to home: frankincense above all, with sandalwood, rose and saffron in the supporting cast.
Practical details remain simple. Both fragrances are priced at Dhs2,365 per 100ml, and both are available from the launch date of 1 September 2026. For anyone who already wears Decision or Overture Woman, the extraits offer a way to compare the same idea at a far higher strength. For those new to the house, they are a direct introduction to the way Amouage works: resin and wood first, then spice, then a base that lingers.
Sources: Amouage, Muscat Daily, Harper’s Bazaar Arabia