In recent years, quite a bit has changed in terms of (niche) perfumes. Gone are the days when, alongside the "standards" of fashion brands, there was nothing to be found except in hard-to-reach cellar boutiques. Even in drugstores, there is now a wide range of brands outside of fashion labels, sometimes even brands specialized in fragrances. I don't want to evaluate this trend here (diversity, brand confusion of large cosmetics companies, uniformity in the niche, etc.), the forum is the right place for that.
However, this introduction was particularly important to me for the review of this cologne because:
Due to the development described above, there is now an unprecedented selection in the higher price segment. Everything is included, from junk to artistic ambition to beautiful compositions. That's why I find it all the more exciting to discover products that stand outside this "circus" and still manage to convince.
If you search for The Ambre Bergamotte online, you won't end up at ALZD or with the large providers that also lead in niche fragrances, but rather at Carrefour or the Nouvelle Epicerie.
In the "customers also searched for" section, the latest Frapin, Malle, Amouage do not appear. No, for me, toilet paper, disposable razors, and aftershave in the price range up to €2 show up.
For the sake of fairness, I must mention here that I only became aware of this fragrance because it was officially created by Aliénor Massenet. And since I don't only discover perfumes in the supermarket, she is of course already well known to me from other scents, such as Replica - Jazz Club.
The cologne itself initially impresses with its price. €6 - €10 for 250 ml is, I think, reasonable. Here, I am almost proud of this bottle in front of me: We Germans, always price-conscious, some would say stingy. But with perfume, and especially niche, it seems that cheap = bad = low quality. Really?
For me, we have an excellent example here that good fragrances do not have to be expensive. And it's actually so simple: Keep it simple!
Of course, we don't have a compositional wonder in front of us, and the so-called "performance" is not breathtaking (although I am really positively surprised by the longevity for a cologne). But in this case, it can simply be said: Just apply more. It doesn't hurt.
The scent itself is fundamentally solid and simply beautiful. It contains (and I deliberately do not say "starts with," because development, well, you already suspect...) an orange that actually comes across as very fruity, but never drifts into a candy-like territory. Here, I already suspect the trained hand of Ms. Massenet: The use of an Orange Blossom Absolute is not enough here; there is a composition behind it that brings the orange into a sweet direction, without acidity and only a very subtle bitterness. This sweetness harmonizes beautifully for me with the tea note. The addition of "red tea" in the notes is very important. I perceive a note that I have rarely encountered before, which leans towards rooibos. The sometimes slightly ethereal jasmine-like nuance found in many other tea fragrances is completely absent here. The base is, as the name suggests, an amber note that is not spectacular but soft and flattering.
Especially now that the days are (finally!!) getting warm, this scent is beautiful for me to get through the day with a light breeze and to dream of flowers, fruits, and carefree vacation times. It is absolutely unisex, even though all those who still cling to strict classifications would probably push it more towards feminine due to its floral aspects. And above all, it gives me another feeling that I haven't experienced in a long time: It is really fun to pour a bit of this cologne into my hand in the morning (there is no spray) and generously apply it everywhere. So instead of discreet spraying, it's more like "rolling" in the scent.
For anyone looking for the niche outside the niche industry, it's definitely worth ordering.
Amber
Bergamot
Orange zest
Red tea
Barometric Yarn
