Amber & Lavender
Jo Malone London (1995)

It's got the basics you'd expect from the genre: sharp lavender over leathery patchouli and myrrh, over a minty, herbal chypre core.

Things that smell like this are usually much stronger and longer-lasting, but this is a fairly thin cologne strength, so it takes a few sprays to get much out of it and it doesn't have much longevity. It's also worth noting that this does the bare minimum required to be acceptable, but nothing more. It's perfectly competent, but doesn't do anything to make itself feel special. As such, it's fine and I have nothing against it, but I can't imaging reaching for this when, say, Derby is available and so much better and more considered.

Amber and lavender? High expectations that I had. But the mix ended up so dry, I couldn't differentiate the notes. It feels like any old male fragrance.

One of many Jo Malone scents that I had set out to test and review: Amber & Lavender was one that I had to take a sample home!

It's an aromatic-spicy-fresh-floral, with LOADS of therapeutic lavender and warm amber being dominant. Patchouli also stands out, accented slightly by the mint and cloves. Myrrh hits with its smoky, resinous touch.

Getting a chance to sample this at home, I had a chance to appreciate its notes in a different environment than the Nordstrom store where I had seen it. What I got overall is an herbal, clean, even soapy men's cologne. Feels natural to wear for casual daytime occasions.

First Jo Malone fragrance I've tried. It seems that most reviews agree that the designer tries to stick to a simple concept, however there's more going on than the two note name alludes to. JM Amber and Lavender opens with an airy light lavender balanced by a touch of citrus flower and a spice. You sense the amber laying underneath but it really doesn't come fully forward for at least the first 30 minutes or more. The heart of the fragrance is fully lavender, amber and a soft myrrh that keeps the fragrance on balance throughout. I don't get as much spice as other reviews note, but perhaps my nose is less sensitive. Unfortunately JM products are EDC strength, so as one would expect I got about 3 hours average sillage and an hour of skin scent. JM designs their line to be subtle and work friendly, but if it smells great why worry and just reapply with a atomizer later in the day. A&L is marketed as a unisex fragrance, but I think it's decidedly a gentleman's scent. A classy, wear anywhere fragrance. Thumbs up from me.

Amber and Lavender is one of three Jo Malone fragrances I own. I smell three simple ingredients amber, lavender and a little bit of patchouli. I use it during the Fall months and it lasts a long time on me. Very good quality fragrance and very classy.

Jo Malone Amber&Lavender is an interesting fragrance. At the beginning you feel the barber-shop vibe (a bergamot-mint-lavender aromatic accord, actually present throughout) immediately followed by a ostensibly incensey resinous sort of aura. I was almost sure about a frankincense presence for a while (and also now I wonder if a touch is included in the recipe) but I suppose that a resinous-dusty myrrh/cloves accord elicits this almost liturgical prickly effect in the air. I catch in the air myrhh more than (yet present) amber indeed. Anyway I detect a stout patchouli, resinous patterns and a sort of woody (piney) smoky undertone conjuring me for a while the Tom Ford Bois Marocain's woodsy-misty atmosphere (also Durbano Black Tourmaline jumps on mind). A fleeting lily of the valley provides a sort of floral melancholic undertone that counteracts barbershop and misty neutrality. The dry down is virile woodiness, lavender, soft amber and spices (finally drier). A more than decent shadowy concoction unfortunately (in my humble opinion) missing that "quid" to standout.