Ambre Esteban 2007

Ah November. November is one of those months when you are absolutely sure that autumn has truly begun. It’s no longer like in October when there are still days with temperatures climbing above 15 degrees. No, it’s cooler, darker, and wetter. But that’s okay! Because it also means that winter is approaching, and this, in turn, means, alongside possible snowfall (oh… that will probably be absent again *sigh*), that Christmas is coming. All the colorful lights on the streets, the beautiful decorations (which somehow still make you forget how commercialized Christmas actually is), and the generally lovely atmosphere are things to look forward to before, starting New Year’s, winter becomes rather dull, as there’s really nothing special happening until summer, somehow...

So, with this fragrance here, I had thoughts of Christmas. Not 100%, but it does offer some spicy notes that, together with the vanilla, smell a bit festive :)

**The scent:**
The opening is slightly sweet and also spicy-herbaceous. There’s nutmeg, pepper, and of course vanilla. But all these scent notes are initially overshadowed by the patchouli, which has a quite intense aroma here. Since at the beginning all the other notes are also shining stronger and seem to be a bit mixed together, the patchouli comes across to me a bit like anise, but gradually the actual earthy scent of this note crystallizes out.
Later, the main notes like vanilla, patchouli, and pepper smell somewhat equally intense, so that the patchouli no longer stands out. Now the scent has a sweet-spicy character and indeed reminds a bit of Christmas baked goods, as some have already mentioned here. The amber does gradually come to the forefront, but I still find the vanilla stronger. Through the spices, I find the patchouli to be more anise-like rather than earthy.
Even in the base, the scent is spicy, has sweet-powdery vanilla, and continues with this note that reminds me a lot of anise (while patchouli is now rather less noticeable). In the very late base, the scent, you might guess, predominantly smells of vanilla.

**The sillage and longevity:**
The sillage is quite okay. It’s not overwhelming, and not so strong that you would leave a huge scent cloud behind, yet it can still be smelled very well from a not too far distance.
The longevity is long, lasting more than ten hours, but as so often, it mostly smells of vanilla during that time :D

**The bottle:**
The bottle is rectangular and features this distinctive “porthole” on the front, which can be seen on many Esteban bottles. There’s no label; the name of the fragrance is printed on the bottle. The cap is black and cylindrical. A rope or cord has been attached to the top of the cap, ending in a gilded metal pendant,… somehow the cap looks like a fez hat with that :D

Hmm… so if I’m honest, Ambre by Esteban belongs to the fragrances that somehow smell different than one might expect from the listed notes. Especially the anise stuck in my mind, even though there’s supposed to be no anise in it. Nevertheless, the combination of some notes seems to make it smell (to me) like anise. I don’t like anise, but considering the overall package, the scent is quite okay. Others might like it better; you just have to test it out. It’s of course best used in autumn and winter. And for me, it has become more of a women’s fragrance rather than unisex.

So,… winter can come with such scents (well, for me there are nicer fragrances…)! And… I really shouldn’t be so lazy and finally take out all my sweaters and hang them in the closet… because there are still mostly T-shirts hanging in there,… but you know how it is: “I’ll do it tomorrow!” Mu ha ha ha :DD

…no wonder then that I’m slightly cold or have a bit of a sore throat and headache and had to cancel a party because of it *sigh* Alright, I’ll take all the sweaters out after all… first thing tomorrow morning! :DDD
In the meantime, I’ll drink a few warm teas… in a lovely cat mug that a very sweet perfumer gave me as a souvenir from their vacation :))