Ambre Premier
Jovoy (2011)

Not my favorite amber, and not my favorite Jovoy, but still a workman-like amber fragrance. Leans slightly more feminine, I think, than I typically like for myself with ambers - and you can keep rose away from amber as far as I'm concerned, but I do like the dry-down here, which goes sweet and vanillic. For amber, I'll take Ambre Precieux or Grand Soir any day, and for vanilla, I'll take Jovoy's own Fire at Will, or Nishane's Ani first. So for the cost, I can't really find a place in my collection for this - but it's absolutely a pleasant enough fragrance. If you're into the combo of rose and amber, this could be the one for you. If you're on a budget - try Jovan's Secret Amber - another rose/amber combo that achieves roughly the same thing at a fraction of the cost.

A nice sweet amber with hints of vanilla and rose. Quality ingredients. Not properly my style but nice nevertheless.

A very nice take on amber IMO. The rose keeps this from being a beast amber. The rose and amber seem to fight for position. I enjoy every moment of this battle. The vanilla and patchouli play a nice background in this gem. Seems like this can be worn in warm weather without being a cloy monster. 8/10

After sampling this fragrance several times, I confidently purchased a 100 ml bottle of Jovoy "Ambre Premier." Thought I (perhaps) found ONE ADDITIONAL dark, exotic, slightly floral, complex, enigmatic, earthy fragrance I could actually wear on a fairly regular basis...and love. Could it be???

Uhhhhh...yeah...no. I think I was wrong! What happened????

Feeling a bit excited when I first experienced this fragrance, I thought I found a "new favorite," a new "signature scent." Hoping this was the "Holy Grail" to add to my very limited wardrobe of much beloved perfumes...Frederic Malle Musc Ravageur and Acqua di Parma Magnolia Nobile, to name two...I eagerly anticipated the arrival of my purchase. Gosh, I applied a sample of this concoction several weeks back and I loved it...loved it more and more with each passing moment! Thought this was a beautiful fragrance.

I am not a perfume expert by any means; however with my sample I experienced what I thought was a perfect and precise blend & combination of scents and notes, which made me fall in love with Ambre Premier. The notion of "beautifully blended" kept coming to mind as I wrote my initial review. Amber, citrus, smoke, incense, patchouli, vanilla, rose, woods...loved it all!

Surprisingly, my full decant of this fragrance opened with the STRONGEST boozy, spicy and fruity notes I'd ever imagined...fruit? Following an opening that I (originally) thought set the stage for the "best is yet to come," the intense opening notes seemed to last forever. After the initial almost harsh opening, the sweetest (almost cloying) scent of amber began to build...and unlike my sample, the amber built & built & built and built. By and large, I am NOT a big fan of predominant amber scents; however I do love amber when the right amount blends and balances with other exotic notes.

Unfortunately, the amber never pleasantly matched (as I previously experienced) with dark, dreamy vintage rose along with hints of patchouli & smoke. At one point, I thought I detected a wee-bit of rose but only as a mid-note...fleetingly, the rose was gone. Sadly, after loving the blend of notes and scents during my sampling, the amber notes (matched with a wee-bit of vanilla accord) just never seemed to balance out...or go away.

Again, I am NOT a huge fan of singular or predominant or solo scented perfumes...not at all. And I REALLY dislike solo amber fragrances, I really do. Feeling perplexed, I cannot fathom what went wrong. What happened to the complexly blended fragrance of Ambre Premier that I originally experienced?

In all fairness, I DID wear this perfume after a day of experiencing a sample of Frederic Malle "Portrait of a Lady." Did that sully the water, er...I mean the fragrance of Ambre Premier? Did I get jaded so quickly?

Eerily reminiscent of my experience with Parfum d'Empire Ambre Russe...uggggh! Very similar fragrances, IMHO.

For $200.00, this is sadly another sell on eBay.

Sweet, fresh, clean and pleasant amber opening with a sprinkle of refreshing citruses – my first thought was: nice, kudos for the attempt of making a "spring-summer" amber. Vanillin-rose base with powdery cocoa accents - the sweet side of patchouli, enhanced by vanillin. Spicy echoes. Close projection. And... I don't know, something "wrong", some plain clean synthetic feel I don't get and I don't like. Smells like the dull and untalented sister of Ambre Precieux. It is safe and wearable at also fairly pleasant, but still it does not smell right to me. Really short persistency, I could barely write my review and it's gone already (got Ambre Fetiche on my other wrist and still there burning and flaming!). Overall a bit better than other Jovoy's, but still I am afraid another "meh..." to me for this house.

6/10

A very simple Amber fragrance for those who may be seeking the ultimate amber scent. Ambre Premier literally open with Rose, has Patchouli in the heart and then dries down to Amber and Vanilla. All in all, you can 'taste' each note one after another. The patchouli is responsible for taming the Amber down. Vanilla gives sweetness and the Rose provides some aroma.
A bit too much for me, but I can see this appealing to others a lot. Amber is a popular note that I have never liked particularly much, but it gets a lot of love by others.
Totally recommend this if you are on the hunt for an amber-dominant scent.