Jamaican Ambergris Pinoy LTD Ensar Oud 2022

I’ll start like this - I have become cautious with Ensar Oud.
I am and remain a big fan of Ensar's creations, but the recent releases have mostly been "flops" for me, to be honest. Since "Siber Extreme," there hasn't really been anything that has truly convinced me. And as I have mentioned frequently by now, with the prices, a fragrance MUST convince 100%.

Due to this realization, I now force myself to sample every fragrance first - even if it means that the potential purchase candidate might already be "sold out" by the time the sample arrives. If in doubt, SOMEONE SOMEWHERE will certainly want to sell their bottle again.

In the case of JaAm, I was torn. On one hand, I really like ambergris, but on the other hand, I found it unbearable in Tigerwood PP. Some ingredients like Jambu or Massoia bark were completely unknown to me until now. Is that good or bad? It could be interesting. But it could also go wrong since with Ensar, in most cases, you have to rely at least initially on the note descriptions and your olfactory memory. But if you don't know certain ingredients at all... difficult.

By the way, Jambu is a plant native to Brazil, which not only serves as a spice for traditional dishes but also finds use in pain therapy, as the spilanthol contained in the plant acts as a natural painkiller.

The Massoia tree is a laurel family plant from Indonesia, whose bark is processed into "Massoia lactones" using steam distillation. The essential oil obtained from it has an intensely bitter coconut scent.

Another factor that I found both very exciting and very critical - "Pinoy LTD Edition." The Pinoy LTD. is once again one of Ensar's famously notorious Oriscent oils. I have had the opportunity to smell this Oud in its pure form and was extremely impressed back then, even though I knew that I would never spend $1500 for 3g of Oud. Pinoy LTD is a rare Filipino Oud with a very special character. On one hand, it smells very "blue," almost maritime, which is probably why Ensar chose this Oud as a complement to the also oceanic ambergris; on the other hand, it is also smoky and slightly powdery. A truly extraordinarily good oil. So was this claim an artistically successful move, or was it just another reason to drive up the price and generate hype, similar to the "Chinese Exclusive"? More on that shortly.

Let's first talk about the scent.
I really like the opening. After the first spray, an incredibly pleasant, exotic, tropical scent unfolds that actually reminds me of a Caribbean vacation. Somehow fruity, floral, but at the same time, you immediately perceive a very strong ambergris note. And that is truly brilliant. Slightly animalistic, salty-mineral - the scent of sun-dried sea salt on the skin. As if you were sipping a fruity cocktail right on the white sandy beach. In the background, the sound of the sea. So the name fits not only in relation to the ingredients but also in relation to the olfactory impressions in my mind. Strong!

However, in the middle, my initial enthusiasm was somewhat dampened. Somehow, the fragrance gradually develops into a very jasmine-heavy, sweet mixture that reminds me of red lollipops. Not just any lollipops. A very specific kind, but I can't quite recall the name. I think it was something with forest fruit. You can still smell the amber note in the background, but it is by no means as intense as at the beginning. I personally find that a bit disappointing. I like the slightly bitter opening of the fragrance by far the best. The longer the fragrance is on the skin, the more "mass-appealing" but also less spectacular it becomes. I would almost claim that JaAm is probably the most mass-appealing fragrance that Ensar has ever produced. The coconut note caused by the Massoia bark additionally creates a minimal sunscreen vibe. If I hadn't had the notes in front of me, I could have sworn there was also a decent portion of ylang-ylang in it.

But wait a minute... Where is the Oud? Where is Pinoy LTD? To be honest, if I didn't know better, I would almost say that Ensar forgot it. I don't even get a WHIFF of Oud here. Especially not from the special scent of Pinoy LTD. However, I am not surprised by this in hindsight. With 1.2 g in 50 ml, you can almost guess that such a complex Oud won't really come into its own next to all the other very prominent notes like jasmine, frangipani, rose, etc. Why 1.2 g and not 1 g or 1.5 g? I really have no clue. In terms of the valuable Oriscent oil, we are once again facing exactly the same problem as with the previously mentioned Chinese Exclusive. It simply gets lost and only makes itself known in the price. Ensar just knows how to make exclusive fragrances seem EVEN MORE EXCLUSIVE.

All in all, JaAm is a good, very pleasant, and high-quality, naturally smelling fragrance that personally convinces me especially in the opening. In the middle and in the dry down, it becomes a bit too heavy-floral, jasmine-heavy, and sweet for my taste. But that's more of a personal thing and shouldn't be taken as a negative judgment per se. The addition of such valuable Oud, which according to Ensar, is of course "on the house," could really have been spared in my opinion.

That is also the reason for the title of my review. "Twilight Zone." On one hand, I consider JaAm to be a good fragrance; on the other hand, the addition of "Pinoy LTD. Edition" has once again raised expectations too high. So why not just "Jamaican Ambergris"?

Longevity and sillage are absolutely fine for a 100% natural fragrance. You can perceive it well, but it is by no means intrusive or even overpowering; rather, it creates a pleasant scent aura. Absolutely unisex wearable! I also like it on my girlfriend. And she likes it too.