Amaranthine Penhaligon's 2009 Eau de Parfum

Again a creature of Bertrand Duchaufour... Again a list of notes, that does not help you to translate the impression to ingredients.

Unfortunately I had no possibility to test this fragrance normally, blown, only donning, and I suspect that the result is different. Top and heart are almost inseparable: fresh, electrifying, tingly, a surprising and pleasurable experience. It reminds me to pine needles, but behind this dark green freshness I felt a gentle caress, the peaceful base unfolds under the fresh leaves as a mist in a valley. If AMARANTHINE would be music, it should be polyphonic.

Later on clove is in limelight, the slightly creamy and metallic scents surround clove as musical accompaniment.

AMARANTHINE was not durable on my skin, and it is also a bit shy, but I really like it. It is totally unisex in my opinion. I encourage the future AMARANTHINE owner, that sample it and test it minimum twice in different circumstances before buying a full bottle.

In 2009, when this fume came out, Penhaligon's tarted up the release with the idea that Amaranthine smelled like the inside of a woman's thigh...I believe Duchaufour was quoted to that effect. That was a tease to create a frisson of excitement, but it's not entirely baseless. The lactonic notes of the composition could be construed to connote female secretions, although the jasmine is a bit too clean to suggest a woman's crack. (More indoles please!) Not a bad perfume, although not a great one. For jasmine, i much prefer Samsara or VCA's Mumure.

Like Ostara, Amaranthine seems to have fallen victim to a cull of ‘old wood’ when Puig bought Penhaligon’s and L’Artisan Parfumeur from Fox Paine & Company. Perfumes by ‘star’ perfumers like Bertrand Duchaufour, who composed both Ostara and Amaranthine, were promptly kyboshed from the Penhaligon’s line up. A heartbreaking decision that probably only a CPA would understand.

Anyway, what a pity, because Amaranthine is my true North of two specific genres – the steamy tropical genre and the milk-custard genre. Though it opens on a green, almost fruity musk note (Galaxolide?), it quickly settles into its defining accord of what I would define as plant milk, frothed in a steamer, and lightly spiced with cardamom, ginger, and cumin, and cooled until it sets into a nutty vegan custard.

It’s the ylang brings the custard, of course, its banana-ish intensity ratcheted up a few notches by the way of an exotic banana leaf note, a condensed milk accord, and a feverish Casablanca lily impression. But overall, I think that the real sleight of hand here is in how the cooler-toned, crisp green tea notes have been feathered in to keep the creaminess from weighing the whole thing down.

The use of cumin here is also very well thought out. There is just enough to give Amaranthine warmth and intimacy – the slightly moist skin under your collar bone on a humid day – but not enough for it to smell scarily sexual. On the cumin scale of things, therefore, Amaranthine tends more towards Songes (Annick Goutal) than towards Jubilation 25 (Amouage), Femme (Rochas), Rubj eau de parfum (Vero Profumo) or even Al Oudh (L’Artisan Parfumeur). But still, the (female) sensuality factor is clearly present. Ylang custard, yes, but nothing near as innocent or as pure as Tasneem or Ylang de Mayotte.

Amaranthine is a scent with a history for me. When my friend introduced me to fragrance by showing her perfume drawer letting me smell each of them, Amaranthine, of all fragrances, was the one and only for me. I instantly fell in love with it and knew I simply had to own a bottle. Alas, it was already discontinued at the time, and finding a bottle proved very difficult, especially for a student with little money to spare. Fate was on my side and I managed to obtain a 100ml bottle. I wore it only on special occasions, but that has changed now, as I realize I should enjoy it as often as possible. Use the fine China, use your products "for special occasions" now, I'm begging you. Don't keep it in a drawer tucked away for that one special occasion that will never come.

Amaranthine is one of the few fragrances where all of the top and heart notes are noticeable to me. The banana makes it unique and is also what made me fall in love with it so many years ago. Amaranthine is spicy, but still sweet.

To me, it opens with mostly banana and cardamom, with a light hint of soapy coriander. Apparently even when coriander doesn't taste soapy to you, it can still smell soapy in fragrance. That's good. I'd rather smell like soapy coriander than like how it actually tastes to me, even though I love eating coriander. But I digress...

Clove is the main note in the heart for me, mixed with jasmine and rose. A spicy floral, but still a little soapy too. It makes it spicy and warm, yet also fresh and clean. I'm not getting the orange blossom, to be honest, but the rose is there and slightly overtakes the clove at some point, switching it up from spicy oriental to floral with a hint of spice.

The scent dries down to sandalwood with musk for me, with the jasmine, rose, and clove heart notes still present. I'm still getting a whiff of the banana as well, sometimes.

The longevity is great on this one. I spray it on in the morning and can still smell it the next day.

Amaranthine is not a scent for every day. It's a signature scent for sure, with its uniqueness. Apparently not everyone likes it, but there are few who despise it. Would I wear it to work? No. Amaranthine is for leisure time, relaxing, a day at home or a day downtown. She's for a slightly fancier night out, a dinner in a fancier restaurant, a theater show or a concert with orchestra. She's for going the extra mile, putting in a little extra effort.

This is once again a truly unique perfume that is timeless and has recognizability!
With Amaranthine, it is similar to the Etro perfumes!
It has a scent that suggests natural ingredients, which is why I think it is so precious!
After spraying, it smells very strongly of green tea, the precious cardamom absolute that brings a bit of sharpness and spice, and coriander oil that is sweet-sour and spicy.
I can hardly perceive the freesia in this scent, almost not at all!
In the heart note, green notes remain with clove aromas, the also very precious jasmine absolute, roses that seem to have a slightly harsher aroma, and ylang-ylang which has a banana-like and somewhat sweet character.
In the end, these ingredients unite with a hint of bitter musk, sandalwood, and the balsamic-sweet scent of tonka bean absolute and vanilla.

The longevity is already to be rated as very good. I can still perceive the scent in the afternoon when I apply it in the morning!

Definitely worth a test!