L'Artisan Parfumeur L'EAU D'AMBRE presents to my nose straight-up labdanum amber. Perfect for amber purists. I detect no "adulterants"--as an amber aficionado might characterize them. Smooth and creamy, this is a perfect wintertime scent for someone who loves amber for the sake of amber.
How does it differ from Prada L'EAU AMBREE? Quite a lot, despite the similarity in names. The Prada smells much closer to ambergris to me and was recently reminding me in intermittent wafts of Balmain AMBRE GRIS.
The two types of amber subsumed under the single label 'amber' smell very different to me. One is creamy and buttery, and more or less sweet: labdanum + vanillin. The second type strikes me more as a metal mesh and is not very sweet.
These days I'm smelling a lot of high-concentration ambroxan, which is intended to mimic ambergris, but when it is overused I do not like at all, as I find that it generally overwhelms the more subtle notes in most of the perfumes in which it figures. Neither Balmain AMBRE GRIS nor Prada L'EAU AMBREE is an ambroxan bomb, though both are definitely "ambergris-like". For an example of what I do not like, consider Le Labo ANOTHER 13 or Juliette Has A Gun NOT A PERFUME. I definitely agree with those names.
L'Artisan Parfumeur L'EAU D'AMBRE without question fits into the first, not the second category of ambers. As far as the sweetness is concerned, I'd say that this composition lies at about the midpoint of the labdanum ambers I've tried, being slightly but not overly sweet. I do not smell the alleged geranium present in this scent, nor do I believe that I detect any patchouli. To me this is a minimalist amber, so I am not surprised that it was composed by Jean-Claude Ellena!
I like L'EAU D'AMBRE and recommend this to all and only labdanum amber purists! To me this composition seems quite suitable for guys and gals alike, but only if they like amber for the sake of amber. Some people will no doubt find this creation boring, and may complain that it is the base of a thousand perfumes--which I do believe that it is. But it smells good nonetheless!
