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The Bottle - a Painting: but can the contents keep up? A journey with many stops guided by the amber notes
A few months ago, I was shown Durra Ambre in a niche perfumery. With everything included, the bottle, the leather travel case, and of course, a test on the skin. I was hooked - until I found out the price: then I dismissed it from my mind…
A few months later, it was still haunting me, and after another skin test, I was spontaneous enough to buy it (I convinced myself that I wouldn't buy another perfume next month)…
Unboxing was truly an experience… really a 10/10, just like the bottle. But now to the contents: how does Durra Ambre smell?
With the flood of listed notes, I, like many others, am overwhelmed, and it is sometimes very difficult to perceive individual notes. Nevertheless, I want to do my best.
In the opening, Durra Ambre is very strongly ambered. I also perceive fruity, sweet, and slightly fresh notes. As individual notes, I detect amber, saffron, and a hint of grapefruit (at least I assume so). Then the fragrance notes all merge together, and it doesn't know which direction it wants to take. Slightly fresh-aquatic to floral-sweet to oriental notes. Very dominant are amber, pepper, and ambrette. This phase is actually the weakest of Durra Ambre. Everything is a bit too much.
After 30 minutes, all the fragrance notes have settled, and the actual journey begins. The strength of the amber is softened by aquatic notes. The amber no longer completely overwhelms you, but it is still close to the limit. A marginally lighter, fruity-sweet scent emerges and takes on an aquatic-fresh direction. Unlike many other aquatic notes, there are no salty notes present here.
In the heart note, the floral notes make their appearance. The rose is particularly striking to me. Alongside the rose, I think I detect a bit of honey, while there is also a hint of pepper. Overall, Durra Ambre becomes noticeably softer. The scent is still ambered, but now in a soft, enveloping, and very pleasant and well-balanced way. The rose additionally gives the impression of a very clean scent. Hard to put into words and definitely one of the strongest phases!
After about 5 hours, the base note comes in, and analyzing the scent progression and individual notes becomes even more difficult. In this phase, sandalwood, vanilla, and a slight leather note stand out. Nevertheless, the D.A. remains a clean scent; no note pushes itself to the forefront but rather they alternate beautifully. From this point on, the scent, despite its clean note, becomes very warm, slightly creamy - the term sensual probably fits best. Ambered in its best form!
As the journey continues, the slight leather note remains but stays in the background. Completely different from, for example, an Ombre Leather. The vanilla and creamy sandalwood create an ambered bubble around the wearer. Additionally, a slightly earthy, almost chocolate-like note comes through from the patchouli (I suspect?).
Even after 10 hours, Durra Ambre is still well perceptible, but it no longer fills rooms. The sandalwood, vanilla, leather, and occasionally the rose still dominate, creating a play of slightly leathery, earthy, woody, creamy-sweet, and yet clean accords. Thanks to the rose, everything remains very clean, and it becomes lighter, almost fresh. As I said - very hard to describe.
The longevity and sillage are outstanding; the sillage in the first hour is almost too strong for my taste.
At times, Durra Ambre can come across as too sweet, too overwhelming - not a scent for every day, but definitely a good choice if you want to stand out. You definitely have to like sweet ambered scents; these notes run through the entire progression. I actually find the opening and the first 1-2 hours to be the weakest phases, but it only gets better from there.
Overall, a unique scent that still flies relatively under the radar. Definitely not a blind buy, and it's better to order a sample beforehand. I’m a bit surprised that I’m writing the second review here. You can get it for about 400€/90ml… there are some Xerjoff’s that are significantly more expensive per ml…
For me, it's still not a 10/10; sometimes it’s just too overwhelming for me - but I love it, especially because of the bottle. I think I don’t need to say anything more and just hope that what I wanted to convey has come across.
Thank you for reading & happy sniffing!
A few months later, it was still haunting me, and after another skin test, I was spontaneous enough to buy it (I convinced myself that I wouldn't buy another perfume next month)…
Unboxing was truly an experience… really a 10/10, just like the bottle. But now to the contents: how does Durra Ambre smell?
With the flood of listed notes, I, like many others, am overwhelmed, and it is sometimes very difficult to perceive individual notes. Nevertheless, I want to do my best.
In the opening, Durra Ambre is very strongly ambered. I also perceive fruity, sweet, and slightly fresh notes. As individual notes, I detect amber, saffron, and a hint of grapefruit (at least I assume so). Then the fragrance notes all merge together, and it doesn't know which direction it wants to take. Slightly fresh-aquatic to floral-sweet to oriental notes. Very dominant are amber, pepper, and ambrette. This phase is actually the weakest of Durra Ambre. Everything is a bit too much.
After 30 minutes, all the fragrance notes have settled, and the actual journey begins. The strength of the amber is softened by aquatic notes. The amber no longer completely overwhelms you, but it is still close to the limit. A marginally lighter, fruity-sweet scent emerges and takes on an aquatic-fresh direction. Unlike many other aquatic notes, there are no salty notes present here.
In the heart note, the floral notes make their appearance. The rose is particularly striking to me. Alongside the rose, I think I detect a bit of honey, while there is also a hint of pepper. Overall, Durra Ambre becomes noticeably softer. The scent is still ambered, but now in a soft, enveloping, and very pleasant and well-balanced way. The rose additionally gives the impression of a very clean scent. Hard to put into words and definitely one of the strongest phases!
After about 5 hours, the base note comes in, and analyzing the scent progression and individual notes becomes even more difficult. In this phase, sandalwood, vanilla, and a slight leather note stand out. Nevertheless, the D.A. remains a clean scent; no note pushes itself to the forefront but rather they alternate beautifully. From this point on, the scent, despite its clean note, becomes very warm, slightly creamy - the term sensual probably fits best. Ambered in its best form!
As the journey continues, the slight leather note remains but stays in the background. Completely different from, for example, an Ombre Leather. The vanilla and creamy sandalwood create an ambered bubble around the wearer. Additionally, a slightly earthy, almost chocolate-like note comes through from the patchouli (I suspect?).
Even after 10 hours, Durra Ambre is still well perceptible, but it no longer fills rooms. The sandalwood, vanilla, leather, and occasionally the rose still dominate, creating a play of slightly leathery, earthy, woody, creamy-sweet, and yet clean accords. Thanks to the rose, everything remains very clean, and it becomes lighter, almost fresh. As I said - very hard to describe.
The longevity and sillage are outstanding; the sillage in the first hour is almost too strong for my taste.
At times, Durra Ambre can come across as too sweet, too overwhelming - not a scent for every day, but definitely a good choice if you want to stand out. You definitely have to like sweet ambered scents; these notes run through the entire progression. I actually find the opening and the first 1-2 hours to be the weakest phases, but it only gets better from there.
Overall, a unique scent that still flies relatively under the radar. Definitely not a blind buy, and it's better to order a sample beforehand. I’m a bit surprised that I’m writing the second review here. You can get it for about 400€/90ml… there are some Xerjoff’s that are significantly more expensive per ml…
For me, it's still not a 10/10; sometimes it’s just too overwhelming for me - but I love it, especially because of the bottle. I think I don’t need to say anything more and just hope that what I wanted to convey has come across.
Thank you for reading & happy sniffing!
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