I like the smell of Amber but for the life of me I can never describe it other than that Amber smells like, Amber. Is this just a me thing or do any of the rest of you have trouble describing this?
I too enjoy Amber scents. Nevertheless, like sandalwood, it has different iterations in colognes and perfumes. Sometimes it's smoky and other times it's sweet. It all depends on what is blended with the scent.
Liquid wood fire. Not (necessarily) burned wood/charcoal, what you would get if liquefied an actual fire. I love it!
Hiya, I went through an amber period a few years back.......tried a bunch of frags from niche type houses. Man.....that stuff is all over the board as far as varying interpretations. Very few seem to use just that one note in their creations. Austin is exactly right about what can be added to it. Powdery, sweet, resiny, smokey or woody........... an amber product can have any of those notes included in the mix, and some I'm probably forgetting. The truest and deepest single note amber scent I've sniffed has been the Tom Ford 'Amber Absolute' EdP. Whew, that stuff is intense......a dark woody scent with zero sweetness. There's a mellowness on the drydown that tempers things just a bit, but it's still very powerful. My other personal favorite would be i Profumi di Firenze 'Ambra del Nepal' EdP. It's grouped as a women's frag, but I wear it myself and see no feminine side to the scent. It's another deep and resiny amber, with no sweetness or powder added. Those are the two I buy when I run out........all the other amber frags I've tried didn't grab me like these two. Martin
Ha! I don't know. Haven't had that. I might have to see how that works as an AS balm I confess, the only amber scent I know the Kuumba Made Amber Paste "EO" (note the quotes) I got a Whole Foods. I like to add it along with sandalwood and/or cedar scents. I might have to check out some of the scents suggested on this thread.
I just ordered Amber aftershave from TSD. Thank you everybody for telling me what to expect as far as the scent goes when I get it. Liqud fire and wood sounds good. I'll find out!
"Amber" in perfumery terms could mean ambergris or an accord that has a similar scent to ambergris. Ambergris is basically vomit from a whale, usually a sperm whale. As it ages, the foul odor becomes soft and mellow, making it a valuable base note and fixative for fragrances. Thankfully, the scent has been synthesized. I was fortunate enough to smell some aged ambergris from a museum display several years ago. Even though the sample was over 100 years old, it still retained a bit of scent. To best describe it, I would have to say that it is at once dry and a little smoky; a bit musky, but a very nice scent. Now to confuse matters, there is a resin found in import shops also called amber. It is primarily made from the resins of benzoin and labdanum (rock rose) with essential oils and fragrances added to it, depending on the manufacturer. The fragrance has a definite vanilla undertone and the fragrance can vary from a sweet to a dry scent. The surface of the resin is usually covered with needle-like growths from either benzoic acid or vanillin. (btw: this is a good way to tell if that seller on Ebay is trying to pass off a chunk of amber for true ambergris--the sale of which is illegal in the United States)! Cat
Thanks for the info. I had no idea this was the origin of Amber scent, nor had I bothered looking to find out.
