Tried another couple of Amouage today

Outlands: Syrupy-sweet vanilla, resinous spices, and a camphorous, earthy grit make for an opening that smells quintessentially Zarokian. It's dense and heavy, and when smelled up close, feels like an incohesive hodge-podge of citrus, spices and resins all battling for the spotlight, yet from afar, it's rather nice. To me, it's not the patchouli bomb that some claim it to be - the deep green, musty, forest-floor facets are buried too deeply beneath the sweet viscosity to really assert themselves. It feels more like a cooling medicinal balm than anything. Fresh incense wafts through, balancing some of the sweetness, along with an aged barrel woodiness (no oud!), but it doesn't change much and remains annoyingly candied until the late drydown. Its popularity speaks for itself, but all in all, it's not for me. 6.5/10

Lustre: I'm not usually one for associating pickles with sandalwood, but I certainly detect a sour, green, camphorous spice here. Alongside the creaminess of sandalwood and a tinge of powdery florals, the opening smells pretty unpleasant to me. The vegetal edge cools, the resins warm, and some vanilla enters the fray, taking things to a semi-sweet, woody, incensey place that smells a bit like spiced sandalwood lipstick. This part I don't mind. Now, I know there's no oud here, but after ~6 hours, the labdanum/cypriol/patchouli combination definitely gives off an oudish, leathery-hide vibe. It's subtle, but enough for me to quite enjoy where it eventually lands. I see lots of comparisons to Gris Charnel - it's one of my 9/10s - but Lustre feels entirely different. The sandalwood here reminds me more of Tom Ford's Santal Blush and Dunhill's Indian Sandalwood, two fragrances that I never enjoyed. The evolution makes it tricky to rate: I much prefer the first half of Outlands, but enjoy the final resting place of Lustre more. 6/10

This leaves only Elsewhere, Line 618 and Reasons to try from The Essences. Would love to hear your thoughts on these three!