Ambra di Luna
Ramon Monegal (2009)

Rich anamalistic amber. Not your typical stereotyped amber but a more natural rich amber.

A nice powdery amber (reminds me of ambre precieux) with light woods. On the initial spray I get a slight animalistic note (maybe castoreum). Has a boozy note in there as well.Definitely a quality fragrance. 8/10

For me this one isn't really about amber at all. For most of its duration, it's mainly labdanum with a subtle undertone of castoreum & animalic jasmine, & there's a sweetish, musky sandalwood in the base. lt stays quite close to the skin, giving off gentle wafts, becoming very soft after five hours or so, but still going faintly eleven hours in.
ln feel this is a soft, warm & fuzzy comfort scent, like a softer version of Musc Ravageur. The notes are not exactly the same, but it has that same "nuzzling against your lover's skin" kind of sensuality. Very nice.

Finally a Monegal I enjoy – this is the first one after a series of more or less complete fails from this house (to me, of course). Ambra Luna is a really peculiar and well-crafted take on amber, quite luminous, golden, tasty, slightly boozy, and with some fascinating chypre nuances on the base – musk, aldehydes, castoreum (synthetic, but bold and well-blended). I also detect sandalwood, cumin, vanillin, and a general slight but pleasant floral breeze. Pungent, aromatic, warm, vibrant, "golden" as I said above, as that is the precise feeling I get. A great harmony of dense and heavy notes with sweeter ones, and velvety, almost airy notes. I would locate this between Ambre Precieux for the same great sense of warmth and opulence, and Ambre Russe, for the same kind of boozy-musky vein. Really elegant, pleasant and cozy. Sadly the longevity is quite short and light – but it seems normal in nowadays' niche, so...

7,5-8/10

A very classy fragrance. Much Amber and animalistic castoreum, and a slight whiskey note. Dries down to a powdery sharp amber.

This is a must try for the lovers of the note of amber in my opinion, in particular for all those loving to feel over a clean and finally polished light floral amber with just the fair level of organic vibe. Yes, this is a fragrance of balance. What in here strikes the nose explorer is indeed in my opinion the real balance between the note of amber (which here is by soon barely candied or effectively slightly boozy and barely sticky and smooth because of a clever touch of cistus labdanum), the animalic faint patterns (yes a well appointed castoreum adding just a minimal touch of dirtiness) and the following immaculate touch of powdery/woody jasmine with its vaguely baby powder soapy feel which finally becomes secretly and silently exotic. The combination of elements arouses an incredibly affordable and contemporary aroma that could easily appeal all the lovers of the classicism but that doesn't slide inside the risky territories of the vintage, heavy and stuffy classic amber. A discreet unisex stuff which could easily be loved by the fond of the note of amber anyway unable to bear all those roaring dirty/beasty ambers circulating nowadays around. About me i appreciate a lot this juice (even if find it finally a bit too stuck) but tend to love something else, i tend to be prevalently attracted by the darker, bolder and heavier types of roaring ambery beast.