Colonia Ambra Acqua di Parma 2015 Eau de Cologne Concentrée

Scentrack
The Chemical Brothers - Dissolve

Although it is marketed as the celebration of the most precious and luxurious ingredient, Colonia Ambra is an ode to Ambroxan, a synthetic ambergris molecule. All I can sense on my skin is strong synthetic musky, salty and fresh odor. Nothing natural or rare, just one-dimensional musky odor with shady woody and oudy nuances. Like a slight, airy evolution of older Colonia Oud. I was really shocked that Acqua di Parma released their own version of Dolce & Gabbana Intenso. I expected some lighter, ambery gentleman's cologne. Colonia Ambra is one of my biggest fragrance disappointing. Simply, not recommended synthetic entity.

Rating 3/10

More on Scentimentalwords

This smelled so promising in the bottle and when first sprayed. Within five minutes on my skin, though, it turned into a horrifically sharp, burned rubber/petroleum smell, similar to the smell of fresh asphalt, but sharper and more of an assault on the nose. I had to scrub it off with soapy water and then alcohol immediately! I'm so glad I tested before buying! I hope this was a reaction to my skin chemistry, because otherwise I can't imagine anyone wearing it and thinking it smelled pleasant.

I believe this fragrance to be underrated. You just have to sit with it for a while!
This perfume is salty, soapy, flowery, followed by leather and a rubber-like edge. I absolutely love it. This one is masculinity pur sang. It’s rough, unpolished, powerfull and somehow has a surprising depth.
Very original release by AdP and I love that they went somewhere different with this one. Recommended to try for yourself!

Let s keep it short & sweet as always: Nice scent, with the rose & ambergris but for greatness something is missing. By the way it reminds me of guerlains encense mystique, but back to what is missing: an almond note not sweet maybe slightly bitter. That would make it more distinct and not so predictable;-)

My relationship with Frankfurt am Main can best be described as 'volatile.' You can actually live quite well here - even though I am regularly struck by the Frankfurt blues every two years, and I immediately want to go somewhere else - finally a real big city and not some Hessian village with a few high-rises in it - and then I end up staying here. And just when I have somewhat made friends with the city again, I usually discover something new that is really uncool. Like the Eintracht Business Ultras.

The Business Ultras are a fan group of Eintracht Frankfurt. The 'Business' is expressed in the fact that the Eintracht eagle on their flag wears a tie, and 'Ultras' - I don't need to explain that, do I? And I can see in my mind's eye a pack of drunken bankers with loosened ties (who probably couldn't hit a barn door from the penalty spot) with Cohibas and Veuve Clicquot in magnum bottles wreaking havoc in the VIP lounges of the Commerzbank Arena (formerly: Waldstadion). And I think to myself: 'Really now - is that necessary?'

'Really now - is that necessary?' was also roughly what I thought when I first sniffed Acqua di Parma's Colonia Ambra, the currently most mediocre among the overall mediocre 'brown' premium colonias from Parma. They all seem a bit like Frankfurt to me when I am on the verge of the blues - trying a bit too hard to play with the big players of the world, the top notes puffed up, the margin probably great, but - metaphorically speaking - still just a village in Hesse with a few high-rises in it.

Right from the top notes - and Colonias like to rely on those - it falls far behind its brothers: indecisively citrus-dull, it lacks the charm that Colonia Leather or Colonia Oud can at least somewhat mask the mediocrity of their further development with. It is followed by a dusty (rose) sweetness - not comforting and not gourmand, hardly a trace of amber or sandalwood - not really bad, but everything is so annoyingly mediocre that Colonia Ambra presents itself as the signature scent for the Eintracht Business Ultras: misses the barn door and is uncool to boot.

Conclusion: next time I will write nicely about 'my' Frankfurt again. And about the next Acqua di Parma too. Promise.