Looking for the Best Classic Amber Perfumes: Help!

[fanny]

Big +1 to L'Ambre de Carthage and Labdanum 18.

Not sure if it has been mentioned (I read almost every post), Ambre Loup by Rania J deserves a place on your testlist.
For an extremely powdery floral amber I recommend testing Soavissima by Profumum Roma.
And last but not least Bourbon by Hendley, a woody oriental.

 

[khanada]

Big +1 to L'Ambre de Carthage and Labdanum 18.

Not sure if it has been mentioned (I read almost every post), Ambre Loup by Rania J deserves a place on your testlist.
For an extremely powdery floral amber I recommend testing Soavissima by Profumum Roma.
And last but not least Bourbon by Hendley, a woody oriental.

These all sound fantastic. I’ve been eyeing Ambre Loup for a while, but, I think, I read somewhere, that it has a lot of woody amber base, that awful raw alcohol scent that’s supposed to smell like ambergris, so I have been leery, even unto adding and then removing it, from my sample orders. I adore Soavissima, and I plan on having bottle soon. I don’t think I have met a Profumum Roma that I don’t like. Bourbon sounds lovely too. I’ll probably do another round, or two, of sampling ambers before I have to cut myself off, and then, start thinking about spring and summer again. I try not to be slavishly seasonal with my perfume, but amber = autumn and the holidays, for me. Thanks for the suggestions!!!

 

[Harleyrider]

Hello all, and excuse the rather long post. I need some help with amber perfumes, and I want to explain why.

Even though we are now at the very peak of summer, and most of us are roasting,, I am starting to plan, and allocate some of my budget, for autumn purchases. I always go on an amber jag in the fall, but I haven't been as organized as I should be. I think I need (“need" haha) some more amber perfumes--true amber perfumes (not ambergris), that are pure, vanily, resiny, goodness. I already have a handful of classics, and I also have quite a few floral perfumes, thatt are largely amber, and I also have some perfumes that I think of as ambers, like Dune and Krazy Krizia, that overlap with other types of perfume, or that are in a class by themselves

t I want to sample, and explore, in some kind of orderly fashion, the best classic, old and new, amber perfumes, and then make some choices. My goal is to fill in gaps in my knowledge, and, to fill in gaps in my collection. For some reason,, I am much better at sampling florals, and I want to acquire the same facility with ambers. Can I get some recommendations from you guys?

My “tried” list is not completely up to date. But, even with many of the ambers I’ve tried, I probably need to revisit a lot of them, so I’m going to keep them on my test list. Even though I want to focus on Classic, middle of the road, ambers, I am also interested in trying amberesque perfumes, like leather, or gourmand, or incense (for example) perfumes, that are primarily ambers, that I have missed, because they don’t include amber in their names, or because I’ve never heard of them.

This isn't about finding the Holy Grail amber, or the top 10 ambers, or anything like that. I really want to increase my knowledge, and try as many good ambers, and make smart buying choices..

I've already created a little taxonomy of ambers. I has helped me wrap my head around my current collection of ambers, and it should also help me understand the ambers I sample in the future, and help me figure out if there's a place for something in my collection. I don't know how other peoplle think about ambers, but it has helped me.. There is, obviously a lot of crossover, so I am listing some in more than one category. (oh, how I wish for the skills to actually make a Venn diagram. Excel generates beautiful graphs, and I am an Excel Queen, so I might try to do that, sometime in the future..

Here's a list of ambers that I already own, or have samples of, or at least have tried and already liked, and remember well enough to put in categories. Names in bold are perfumes I already own. I have asterixes next to the perfumes that are, currently, on the list to buy, either in large decants or full bottles.

Amber Ambers--just the ambers ma'am
Profumum Roma Ambra Aurea
Ambra 114*
Ambre Sultan*
MPG Ambre Precieux
Tom Ford Amber Absolute

Herbal Ambers--ambers with herbs (duh):
Ambre 114*
MPG Ambre Precieux (oh that lavender!)
Profumum Roma Ambra Aurea (I smell herbal in here, even though it appears that nobody else does. It has also been a long while. I think, that it is similar enough in style, to Ambres 114 and Sultan, that I will likely resample it later, if at all, only because they are on the expensive side. However, they also offer travel sizes now, so I might reconsider).

Comfort Ambers--powdery ambers
Ramon Monegal Ambra di Luna
Farmacia Annunziata Ambra Nera* (also quite herbal, hence crosslisting)
Musc Ravageur*

Floral Ambers--floral hears but unmistakeably amber first. These usually involve rose. I would love to find some floral ambers that feature other flowers, like jasmine or osmathus, or of course, roses
Shalimar (the Queen)
Coco (I suppose this is more like a floriental, but I still count it in)
Profumum Roma Fiore d’Ambre*
Atelier Cologne Ambre Nui*
Dior Ambre Nuit* (tentatively. I can't decide, because the price is just so ugh)
Habanita
Habanita L'Esprit
L'Artisan Eau de Ambre*/Ambre Extreme*
Theorema (looking for vintage parfum to go with my edt and edp)
Youth Dew
Youth Dew Amber Nude (my signature, in case anyone is curious)
MAC Creme d'Nude
Teo Cabanel Alahine*

Spicy Ambers--warm or cool spicy, does't matter
Solstice Ambre Couer
Parfumerie Generale Cadjmere (PG has a lot of amberesque perfumes that I still have not tried, and is likely a goldmine of unusual ambers here, that I will end up purchasing)
Hermes L'Ambre des Merveilles
Prada L'Eau Ambree (the patchouli makes this one spicy to my nose)
Montale Blue Amber*
Montale Honey Aoud* (have a big decant of this one, that will probably last forever, but I would buy a full bottle at the right price)
YSL Opium (I have vintage, but it's not parfum, and I want some soooo badly)
Youth Dew Amber Nude
Balmain Ambre Gris

Gourmand Ambers--completely edible, chew off the arm ambers, either intentionally or otherwise:
Hermes Ambre Narguile* (tart tatin, so beautiful, and surprisingly light)
Parfum d’Empire Ambre Russe
Hermes L’Ambre des Merveilles

Leather Ambers--prominent leather note
Shalimar

Fresh/LIght Ambers--amber eaux and such:
Malabah
Prada L'eau Ambree
Hermes Ambre Narguile*
L"Artisan Parfumeur L'Eau d'Ambre*

Citrus Ambers—different from fresh, as they are grafted onto cologne structures:
*Tom Ford Rive d’Ambre (Orange inflected and beautiful)

Creamy Ambers--lactonic or milky ambers
Tokyo Milk Bulletproof
MAC Creme d'Nude (perhaps not a "true" amber, but close enough for me)

Green ambers:
CK Obsession (vintage parfum)*
Dune (I really want this to be an amber)
Krazy Krizia
L'Air du Desert Marroccain* (I like this one better than Couer du Desert)
Bois 1920 Vetiver Ambrato
Moschino (oritginal, vintage if possible)*
Ormonde Jayne Tolu*
Ormonde Jayne Ambre Royal*

Abstract Ambers--avante garde, weird, or loaded with Ambrox, but still Amber compositions:
Balmain Ambre Gris (Amber from Outer Space)

It looks like I have, mostly, floral ambers. I think herbal ambers, ambers that have leather or spice, and ambers that lend toward gourmand are poorly represented.

And, finally, here is a current list of everything that I hope to try: (some of these, I sampled years ago, but need to revisit, in light of my current collection, and sometimes fuzzy memories). I doubt I will be able to afford, much less sample, all of these, so I hope someone out there can help me edit this list, and/or make some better suggestions. I am not at all averse to desinger and value perfumes, so please don't hesitate to recommend anything you like or find interesting. It is a very long list, so maybe you can help me edit it, if there are some things I shouldn't even bother with.

Van Cleef & Arpels Ambre Imperial
Sage Amber
Keiko Mecheri Cristal d'Ambre
Ava Luxe Ambers (as many as possible. I like this house, and I should spend some money and effort on them)
Etro Ambra
Armani Ambre Soie
Atelier Cologne Ambre Nue
Annick Goutal Ambre Fetiche (is this discontinued? I'm confused. It's been hard to find, but some of the obscure AGs have shown back up)
Guet-Apens (long shot with this one, but maybe I'll find a way to score a decant. I can't even find any for sale on eBay. And i would gladly pay for some)
SHL777 Mortal Skin and O Hira
Narciso Rodruguez Amber Musc (I believe, there are at least 2 or 3 others, and I adore this house)
Narciso Ambrée
Hiram Green Voyage 2019
Comptoir Sud Pacifique Vanille Ambre (any other ambers herein are also probably worth trying. Great value from this house, always)
E Courdray Ambre et Vanille
Mancera Instant Crush (the list of Montale/Mancera ambers is neverending. Any guidance I can get, I will take)
Kilian Amber Oud
Clive Christian Amber Oriental
Dupont Royal Amber
TDC Majaina Sin
Neela Vermeire Mohur
Parfumerie Generale Peau d'Ambre
Creed Ambre Cannelle (do they have any other ambers?)
Annuci Femme
Profumi di Forte Ambra Meditteranea
Boucheron Ambre d'Alexandrie (sample coming!)
Dior Leather Oud (not an amber per se, but labdanum)
Aftelier Amber Tapestry
Yves Rocher Ambre Noir
Yves Rocher Voile d’Amber
Azzaro Amber Fever
Estée Lauder Amber Mystique


If you made it to the bottom of this post, congratulations! I really hope there are some more experienced noses, who find this post. Can any of you help me?

Thank you, so very much, in advance.

Love, love, love your list!!!! Yes, I love Narciso Rodriguez perfumes as well. I have bookmarked this post so I can refer to it!! THANK YOU!!!

 

[mi-hooked?]

Hello all, and excuse the rather long post. I need some help with amber perfumes, and I want to explain why.

Even though we are now at the very peak of summer, and most of us are roasting,, I am starting to plan, and allocate some of my budget, for autumn purchases. I always go on an amber jag in the fall, but I haven't been as organized as I should be. I think I need (“need" haha) some more amber perfumes--true amber perfumes (not ambergris), that are pure, vanily, resiny, goodness. I already have a handful of classics, and I also have quite a few floral perfumes, thatt are largely amber, and I also have some perfumes that I think of as ambers, like Dune and Krazy Krizia, that overlap with other types of perfume, or that are in a class by themselves

t I want to sample, and explore, in some kind of orderly fashion, the best classic, old and new, amber perfumes, and then make some choices. My goal is to fill in gaps in my knowledge, and, to fill in gaps in my collection. For some reason,, I am much better at sampling florals, and I want to acquire the same facility with ambers. Can I get some recommendations from you guys?

My “tried” list is not completely up to date. But, even with many of the ambers I’ve tried, I probably need to revisit a lot of them, so I’m going to keep them on my test list. Even though I want to focus on Classic, middle of the road, ambers, I am also interested in trying amberesque perfumes, like leather, or gourmand, or incense (for example) perfumes, that are primarily ambers, that I have missed, because they don’t include amber in their names, or because I’ve never heard of them.

This isn't about finding the Holy Grail amber, or the top 10 ambers, or anything like that. I really want to increase my knowledge, and try as many good ambers, and make smart buying choices..

I've already created a little taxonomy of ambers. I has helped me wrap my head around my current collection of ambers, and it should also help me understand the ambers I sample in the future, and help me figure out if there's a place for something in my collection. I don't know how other peoplle think about ambers, but it has helped me.. There is, obviously a lot of crossover, so I am listing some in more than one category. (oh, how I wish for the skills to actually make a Venn diagram. Excel generates beautiful graphs, and I am an Excel Queen, so I might try to do that, sometime in the future..

Here's a list of ambers that I already own, or have samples of, or at least have tried and already liked, and remember well enough to put in categories. Names in bold are perfumes I already own. I have asterixes next to the perfumes that are, currently, on the list to buy, either in large decants or full bottles.

Amber Ambers--just the ambers ma'am
Profumum Roma Ambra Aurea
Ambra 114*
Ambre Sultan*
MPG Ambre Precieux
Tom Ford Amber Absolute

Herbal Ambers--ambers with herbs (duh):
Ambre 114*
MPG Ambre Precieux (oh that lavender!)
Profumum Roma Ambra Aurea (I smell herbal in here, even though it appears that nobody else does. It has also been a long while. I think, that it is similar enough in style, to Ambres 114 and Sultan, that I will likely resample it later, if at all, only because they are on the expensive side. However, they also offer travel sizes now, so I might reconsider).

Comfort Ambers--powdery ambers
Ramon Monegal Ambra di Luna
Farmacia Annunziata Ambra Nera* (also quite herbal, hence crosslisting)
Musc Ravageur*

Floral Ambers--floral hears but unmistakeably amber first. These usually involve rose. I would love to find some floral ambers that feature other flowers, like jasmine or osmathus, or of course, roses
Shalimar (the Queen)
Coco (I suppose this is more like a floriental, but I still count it in)
Profumum Roma Fiore d’Ambre*
Atelier Cologne Ambre Nui*
Dior Ambre Nuit* (tentatively. I can't decide, because the price is just so ugh)
Habanita
Habanita L'Esprit
L'Artisan Eau de Ambre*/Ambre Extreme*
Theorema (looking for vintage parfum to go with my edt and edp)
Youth Dew
Youth Dew Amber Nude (my signature, in case anyone is curious)
MAC Creme d'Nude
Teo Cabanel Alahine*

Spicy Ambers--warm or cool spicy, does't matter
Solstice Ambre Couer
Parfumerie Generale Cadjmere (PG has a lot of amberesque perfumes that I still have not tried, and is likely a goldmine of unusual ambers here, that I will end up purchasing)
Hermes L'Ambre des Merveilles
Prada L'Eau Ambree (the patchouli makes this one spicy to my nose)
Montale Blue Amber*
Montale Honey Aoud* (have a big decant of this one, that will probably last forever, but I would buy a full bottle at the right price)
YSL Opium (I have vintage, but it's not parfum, and I want some soooo badly)
Youth Dew Amber Nude
Balmain Ambre Gris

Gourmand Ambers--completely edible, chew off the arm ambers, either intentionally or otherwise:
Hermes Ambre Narguile* (tart tatin, so beautiful, and surprisingly light)
Parfum d’Empire Ambre Russe
Hermes L’Ambre des Merveilles

Leather Ambers--prominent leather note
Shalimar

Fresh/LIght Ambers--amber eaux and such:
Malabah
Prada L'eau Ambree
Hermes Ambre Narguile*
L"Artisan Parfumeur L'Eau d'Ambre*

Citrus Ambers—different from fresh, as they are grafted onto cologne structures:
*Tom Ford Rive d’Ambre (Orange inflected and beautiful)

Creamy Ambers--lactonic or milky ambers
Tokyo Milk Bulletproof
MAC Creme d'Nude (perhaps not a "true" amber, but close enough for me)

Green ambers:
CK Obsession (vintage parfum)*
Dune (I really want this to be an amber)
Krazy Krizia
L'Air du Desert Marroccain* (I like this one better than Couer du Desert)
Bois 1920 Vetiver Ambrato
Moschino (oritginal, vintage if possible)*
Ormonde Jayne Tolu*
Ormonde Jayne Ambre Royal*

Abstract Ambers--avante garde, weird, or loaded with Ambrox, but still Amber compositions:
Balmain Ambre Gris (Amber from Outer Space)

It looks like I have, mostly, floral ambers. I think herbal ambers, ambers that have leather or spice, and ambers that lend toward gourmand are poorly represented.

And, finally, here is a current list of everything that I hope to try: (some of these, I sampled years ago, but need to revisit, in light of my current collection, and sometimes fuzzy memories). I doubt I will be able to afford, much less sample, all of these, so I hope someone out there can help me edit this list, and/or make some better suggestions. I am not at all averse to desinger and value perfumes, so please don't hesitate to recommend anything you like or find interesting. It is a very long list, so maybe you can help me edit it, if there are some things I shouldn't even bother with.

Van Cleef & Arpels Ambre Imperial
Sage Amber
Keiko Mecheri Cristal d'Ambre
Ava Luxe Ambers (as many as possible. I like this house, and I should spend some money and effort on them)
Etro Ambra
Armani Ambre Soie
Atelier Cologne Ambre Nue
Annick Goutal Ambre Fetiche (is this discontinued? I'm confused. It's been hard to find, but some of the obscure AGs have shown back up)
Guet-Apens (long shot with this one, but maybe I'll find a way to score a decant. I can't even find any for sale on eBay. And i would gladly pay for some)
SHL777 Mortal Skin and O Hira
Narciso Rodruguez Amber Musc (I believe, there are at least 2 or 3 others, and I adore this house)
Narciso Ambrée
Hiram Green Voyage 2019
Comptoir Sud Pacifique Vanille Ambre (any other ambers herein are also probably worth trying. Great value from this house, always)
E Courdray Ambre et Vanille
Mancera Instant Crush (the list of Montale/Mancera ambers is neverending. Any guidance I can get, I will take)
Kilian Amber Oud
Clive Christian Amber Oriental
Dupont Royal Amber
TDC Majaina Sin
Neela Vermeire Mohur
Parfumerie Generale Peau d'Ambre
Creed Ambre Cannelle (do they have any other ambers?)
Annuci Femme
Profumi di Forte Ambra Meditteranea
Boucheron Ambre d'Alexandrie (sample coming!)
Dior Leather Oud (not an amber per se, but labdanum)
Aftelier Amber Tapestry
Yves Rocher Ambre Noir
Yves Rocher Voile d’Amber
Azzaro Amber Fever
Estée Lauder Amber Mystique


If you made it to the bottom of this post, congratulations! I really hope there are some more experienced noses, who find this post. Can any of you help me?

Thank you, so very much, in advance.

Hello,

Hello again Khanada-

I love your investigative approach and classifications.

Don’t have much to add, except by way of cheering you on. Have your read Elena Vosnaki’s analysis of amber? She’s always so informative:

http://perfumeshrine.blogspot.com/2006/11/wonders-of-amber.html

I like to try to dissect an amber accord into its constituent parts. I enjoy labdanum, balsams, myrrh, spices, flowers, herbs and animalic elements. I require a light hand with vanilla, ethyl maltol, and sweetness in general. I do not like modern ambers where overdoses of ambroxan, Timbersilk, and other woody aromachemicals turn the drydown into an indelible sludgy monotonous drone. i feel that space and air needs to exist in between the notes, even in a heavier amber composition.

How about vintage L’Origan? I don’t think that has been mentioned yet. See if you can find a pre-Pfizer parfum—even a tiny one.

Do you think of Bal a Versailles as an animalic amber? I love BaV unreservedly, especially the parfum.

How about Tabu? This one is controversial! There is something in Tabu that makes it unwearable for me. I haven’t figured it out yet, but I keep trying vintage versions.

I admire Annick Goutal Ambre Fetiche very much. The balance of incense and amber is just right, in my opinion, and it does not become too syrupy. I have these older bottles.

View attachment 130332


Again, I will pitch Sonoma Scent Studios to you, Their Amber Incense is an excellent, all natural amber.

Hello,
I saw your post on ambers, and I too seek them out whenever possible. I found Malle’s Musc Ravageur when I’d been collecting a few years. It’s still my nbr 1 favorite because of the way Maurice Roucel has placed his master stroke on it. I also have a 5/6ths full flacon of 2011 vintage TF Amber Absolute. Most likely, needless to say, it’s another master stroke. I’m a 6’4” 290lb man and I also LOVE Theorems. YSL M7 is also very good and finally, I’d recommend B Boucheron.
I hope you find or have found what you seek.
-Glenn