Amir
Laura Tonatto (2000)

The myrrh and incense are the dominant force here. There is no harshness, just smooth incense as if representing an aroma wavering in the air above an Indian spice market. The absence of any harsh or peppery components is noteworthy.

Whilst I do net get any specific and separate phases here, the myrrhe is more dominant intially. As a myrrhe it is a bit generic but not badly done, although there are better myrrhe fragrances around, including Myrrhe Ardente. Later on the spiciness moves inti the foreground. This is a rather sweet spiciness, which has a slightly honeyed caramel overtone at times, and occasionally the sweetness pushes the rest aside.

A rather generic amber impression lurks in the background, but it never takes a leading rôle in the composition until the second half. There are synthetic woody hints - cedar and sandal - fleeingly greeting from afar.

I get moderate sillage, good projection and six hours of longevity on my skin.

A nice concept with an agreeable result most of the time, this wintery creation is a bit too generic to impress. Still - pleasant it is nonetheless. 2.75/5.

It's the "cosmetics" corner at an Indian convenience store. That mixture of incense sticks, sandalwood soap and hair oil all penetrating through their flimsy packaging. Very strong, soapy, sweet, ambery and - cheap. I personally love this store smell, perhaps as it's a childhood memory of exotic otherness, but as a perfume for the body it's rather extreme, except if you're dressing up as a joss stick for a costume party. I say this as someone who likes and wears Serge Noir, which is equally clichéd, but far classier :D.

Amir totally smells like very cheap incense sticks from india. Intoxicating (in a very bad way)!

I find Amir to be a very pleasant incensey amber, a touch of smoke at the beginning leading to a round, opoponax-laden amber. It's not very complex, but it's very wearable, and has good longevity despite its weak sillage. I'd wear it if I owned a bottle, but I'm not racing out to buy it.

Initially, Amir smells to my nose exactly like the opening of Tabu (vintage cologne). It is a bit dusty/musty - probably some incense notes in the mix - leading into a gorgeous amber. In short order Amirs' evolution veers away from Tabu completely, and really gets completely lost in rich golden amber. Just when I think the amber is going to maintain, I must take another whiff. It actually subsides and gives way to a minty sort of note...which I don't love, but it's not off-putting. At this stage of the game my feeling for this juice is that it would make a fabulous masculine. I ended up spritzing some Ambre Extreme over it - to revive the amber note, which worked out just fine. I will give Amir a thumbs up, but will not purchase a full bottle, because of the minty ending.

A burst of bitter herbal sweetness in the top notes, then extremely sweet, high pitched oriental notes. Nothing particularly bad about the notes, but it's painfully sweet and unoriginal. I might t be intrigued by this if I found it for less than ten dollars as a fragrance oil at some little hippy shop, but this is priced and packaged as a boutique fragrance and I don't feel it's worth the trouble or the price.