Top Notes 
Coriander
Orange
Heart Notes 
Jasmine
Ylang-ylang
Base Notes 
Ambergris
Frankincense
Patchouli
Siam benzoin
Tolu balm
White musk
Cedarwood
Vanilla
02/24/2015
ColinM
516 Reviews
ColinM
Very helpful Review
5
Creative amber
Finally one of the very few amber scents which tries to do something creative with this accord. A dry, smoked, camphoraceous amber rich in darkness and sour resins (like benzoin), with an indolic and dusty texture, perhaps provided by jasmine. Basically a sort of Donna Karan’s Black Cashmere with less spices (at least initially) and more amber: there’s quite some differences, but that (and other scents like that) came to my mind because of its dark, ambery thickness, almost harsh and pungent, which is one of the most interesting features of Ambra as well. The scent is really good initially, and much powerful too, with a palpable and charming feel of gloomy nostalgia, romantic and quite decadent (jasmine, benzoin, woods). Finally something different from basically almost all other warm-sweet-powdery amber scents – nothing against them, if there wasn’t dozens of them. This scents has almost nothing in common with almost any other amber: the note is there, but it’s austere, dry, sour and shady. Much velvety and mellow too, but in a sort of more sensual, “naughtier”, mature way if compared to the cozy, friendly warmth of the usual amber accord. On the very base I also get a balmy-woody accord, that too quite dark, dirty and smoked (almost like oud at some points), but with a brighter, more gently aromatic side of cedar. In my opinion, the downside here is a persistent “chemical” feel, something halfway metallic and terpenic, and the use of spices (which is a totally personal opinion, but it seems like they are there just to provide more substance and thickness, and after a while they get kind of boring to my nose). Apart from this, surely a remarkable take on amber worthy a try. One of the few Duchaufour I like!
7,5-8/10
7,5-8/10
