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Amouage is no stranger to extraordinary raw materials, having previously found inspiration in heritage scents entrenched in culture. This time is no different.
Hamath Sall, founder of Hamaé, shared the Senegalese traditional root Gowé with the chief creative officer at Amouage two years ago. From then on, it has been a complex journey to fully develop the extract that will form the basis of a flagship fragrance from the Omani brand in January 2027.
Gowé is often used as incense in local rituals, but it is not an easy ingredient to source. The heroes of the story are a group of village women 400km north of Dakar who carefully uproot the plant before cleaning, burning, sorting and drying it. The technique is a local heirloom, passed down through generations of women whose key aim is to preserve the material’s integrity and their community’s shared legacy.
Knowing this, the partnership has been specifically designed with the women at the forefront, with a supply chain that guarantees the village access to water and electricity.
Once the women foundational to the process complete their part, the root gets transported to French company Eden Ecosystem to be processed. Through a series of trial and error, the lab has successfully designed a system that preserves the nuance of the ingredient’s odour through ultrasound-assisted extraction technology.
Their final product retains most of the original material’s notes – woody facets, hints of hay and immortelle, and resinous tones that tease qualities of plums and dried apricot.
With a nod to Hamaé for introducing the novelty to their perfumery palettes, the original scent will be created by a senior perfumer at CPL Aromas for Amouage’s Essence collection. The aim is to spotlight an under-represented continent in the luxury industry, proving their traditions belong on a global stage.
