Note: I’ve been meaning to let you know that the Long Lost Favorite Perfume series has been forced on a vacation due to my move. Most of my vintage samples are still waiting their shipment to my new home, so once they arrive, I will resume the series.
Since I posted about Hermès L’Ambre des Merveilles yesterday, I realized that it’s going to join a lineup of several other new amber perfumes for fall. Below are a few fragrances that captured my attention.
Maître Parfumeur et Gantier will launch Ambre Doré in August 2012. Created by perfumer Frederic Stalin, it’s described as “classical and mysterious.” The notes will include geranium, clary sage, styrax, oud, ambergris, coriander, saffron, myrrh, sandalwood, and vetiver. “The choice of amber was not by accident, as in this olfactive mix the oud needs to perform as is hoped for; control its strength and respect its role to bring harmony to the formula.” Eau de Parfum will retail for $120.
Another amber and oud pairing is available from Roja Parfums. Amber Oud includes bergamot, lemon, lime, jasmine, rose, ylang-ylang, fig, iris, cinnamon, birch, oud, patchouli, sandalwood, oakmoss, ambergris, civet, musk, and saffron. Available at Harrod’s, 30ml, £295 or 100ml, £495.
A Dozen Roses will add an ambery rose perfume to its collection. Amber Queen was developed by perfumer Irina Burlakova, and it features ginger, clementine, apricot, osmanthus, rose, tuberose, myrrh, amber, benzoin, and incense. Available at Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, 100 ml Eau de Parfum, $110.
Tom Ford Noir (by perfumer Olivier Gillotin) is an oriental with a rich amber accord. It includes notes of bergamot, verbena, violet, pink pepper, caraway, geranium, iris, rose, nutmeg, pepper, clary sage, styrax, leather, patchouli, vetiver, benzoin, opoponax, and vanilla. It will be available in October 2012.
24 Comments
Ines: I’m doomed! 🙂
Last winter all I wore were ambers and vanillas (some other orientals but these formed the greatest part) and it seems with these new launches, the same thing is going to happen this year as well.
I guess it can’t be helped… 😉 July 27, 2012 at 7:28am
Victoria: You’re an amber queen, what can I say! 🙂 I think that I also went through an amber phase last winter. Suddenly it was all I wanted to smell and wear. Imagine its sweet-smoky perfume wafting from your collar as you walk down a snowy street… July 27, 2012 at 8:07am
Ines: 😀
And then each night I put on Shalimar for bed. Oh, the joys of winter! July 27, 2012 at 8:13am
Victoria: Ok, so not only are you an amber queen, you’re also a temptress! Shalimar at bedtime sounds sultry. 🙂 July 27, 2012 at 8:16am
Austenfan: I am quite excited by the MPG. Their Ambre Précieux is gorgeous, wonder if this one will be as good. July 27, 2012 at 8:59am
Victoria: Me too, which is why I wanted to make a note to remind myself to try it. There are so many new releases, and right now is the time all of them are announced for the fall/winter months. Like you I enjoy Ambre Precieux. It’s smoky, without being too rustic and velvety without being too sweet. July 27, 2012 at 9:25am
Laurinha: I’ve had a bottle of Ambre Dore for a couple of years already; I was visiting the Paris shop on rue des Capucines and came across this fragrance which, I was told, had been commissioned by a rich Middle-Eastern client. They said there were only a few bottles remaining from what was effectively a very limited edition.
However, I’m not surprised they should have chosen to manufacture more and include it in their range: everyone seems to be surfing the “oriental” wave, these days, what with the plethora of ouds we’ve had to conted with…perhaps an oriental amber is the new oud? ^_^ July 27, 2012 at 10:08am
Victoria: Interesting! When I read about Ambre Dore, the name sounded so familiar, I was sure that MPG had it in the collection before. But it seems that if they did, it was very limited, and you got lucky with your purchase.
Let’s see how close it would be to the bottle you have. July 27, 2012 at 10:56am
Absolute Scentualist: Laurinha, what did you think of the bottle you have? Is the oud really strong? That is a difficult note for me so if it dominates the composition, I might need to adjust it on my must-try list. July 27, 2012 at 11:42am
Laurinha: The oud is definitely present, but to my nose, it is an animalic leather note that dominates the composition; this note reminds me of Montale Oud Cuir d’Arabie. But where the Montale was too much of the sheep leather pouf on my skin (luckily, it suited my husband’s perfectly) , this note is balanced out by the sweet amber in Ambre Dore, making it more wearable , although still packing a punch . Do seek out the current version: I’m curious to know how it compares. July 28, 2012 at 11:28am
kyahgirl: ooohhh, these sound wonderful. Winter is 7-8 months long here so I wear a lot of amber scents. July 27, 2012 at 10:45am
Victoria: A Belgian friend joked that the winters here are like pregnancy–9 months, so I will also need as many warm ambers as I can get. 🙂 July 27, 2012 at 11:02am
Absolute Scentualist: Recently, I ordered samples of Ambre Precieux, Ambre Sultan and Ambre Russe after getting back into an amber phase thanks to AG’s Ambre Fetiche. It was only toned down a bit due to the onset of a very humid and hot summer, but I can feel it just lurking under the edts and light fragrances, biding its time until I find myself reaching for those wonderful warm golden fragrances again. I’m quite excited about the new MPG and the Tom Ford. The latter can be rather hit and miss with me, but when it’s a hit, it’s a hit. July 27, 2012 at 10:50am
Victoria: Ambre Fetiche has made many a winter bearable for me. That combination of incense and amber is just irresistible. I also look forward to some of these new amber launches. I know that there must be many more besides the ones I mentioned. July 27, 2012 at 11:04am
Lucas: I’m impressed! I really like amber too (although I’m not a real lover of it, like I am an iris lover) so I should try at least one of them when possible. July 27, 2012 at 12:26pm
Victoria: If you want a gold standard amber, try Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan. It has hardly been improved on. July 27, 2012 at 5:12pm
civava: Roja’s color of the juice looks powerful. It reminds me of Estee Lauder’s Youth Dew. Not something you see these days. Nice! July 27, 2012 at 4:08pm
Victoria: When I saw that bottle, I immediately thought “Youth Dew”! 🙂 July 27, 2012 at 5:13pm
Little Red: All these ambers will have big shoes to fill for me since I think Ambre Precieux is perfection. July 28, 2012 at 1:48am
Victoria: Since there are so many ambers out there, I also think that any new one has a tough competition. But Ambre Precieux is wonderful. It took me a while to try it, but once I did, I fell in love. July 28, 2012 at 5:46am
Memory of Scent: I am very curious about Ambre Doré not only because Ambre Precieux is one of the few amber dominant fragrances I really enjoy but also there have been reports that Ambre Doré is a revival of the mythical limited edition Soir d’Orient, a MP&G special release for the Middle East. Do you know anything about how they compare? July 28, 2012 at 9:40am
Victoria: I haven’t smelled Soir d’Orient, and I’m yet to try Ambre Dore, but check Laurinha’s comment above. She smelled the original, and it sounds interesting. July 28, 2012 at 3:31pm
Isabelle B.: Dear Victoria,
I received one week ago the beautiful Discovery Set Les Féminins by Maître Parfumeur et Gantier (a wonderful set with 20 x 13ml fragrances!) and I’m testing Ambre Doré today. Because of the Oud note I was afraid to find it similar to By Kilian’s Amber Oud, but not at all.
Exactly like Laurinha’s description, Ambre Doré has a beautiful leather note (that is not listed by MPaG), animalic but not too much. To my nose it is a very balanced fragrance, with a leather note between amber and oud. Very warm, very sensual. On my skin it smells wonderful, and I’m sure it is beautiful on a man’s skin too 🙂
Have you tested it meanwhile?
Kind regards,
Isabelle September 30, 2012 at 11:05am
Victoria: Isabelle, that sounds wonderful! I haven’t tried it yet, but now I want to do even more. Thank you for your description. September 30, 2012 at 5:06pm