Musc Ambre Gris

***** 10/10 MASTERPIECE ALERT! ***** WOW! I must have died & gone to heaven! With how many people love a good ambergris, I cannot believe how "under the radar" Musc Ambre Gris has been. We should all be tried at the Hague for crimes against humanity! 364 days w/o a review.. Unreal! What seems like a fairly unassuming scent at first is actually a straight up HOLY GRAIL treatment of ambergris... I cannot get over it & I've definitely never even sampled a scent that makes me sniff myself all day as much as this does... Can't get enough!!! Absolutely brilliant structure & choice of ingredients, full stop! Musc Ambre Gris starts fairly light, but it twists & turns ALL DAY without ever losing the vibe you bought it for...it's got to be the best evolution of a fragrance I've ever smelled... The 2 main co-stars are definitely the truffle & black musk, which *flawlessly* compliment the ambergris... They come into play more & more over the hours as they react to your body heat - And I really can't stress this enough - You will have NO CLUE what this really is or does until you've worn it on your skin for 4-5 hours. Sure, a nozzle sniff smells great... But it's nothing compared to the song this stuff sings throughout a full wear. The beautiful musk & truffle come in strong & clear, yet never truly take over. While this shift is obvious, it comes off as a progression of different facets of ambergris rather than shifting focus. This aspect makes Musc Ambre Gris one of the most enjoyable fragrances I've ever encountered. With its musky, salty, & slightly fungal vibe... This precisely nails what I wanted from an ambergris showcase, better than I could have even imagined. I cannot recommend this highly enough if you are a fan of ambergris - You absolutely MUST try this! Even if you're not, I still say you must TRY & experience this. It may be a bit masc-leaning, but don't let that stop you from checking this out... I think it would drive me crazy on a woman! Even in my collection of Creed, Tom Ford, Nishane, Areej Le Doré, etc... This is instantly & indisputably in my Top 3 scents I own, if not #1. It's simply off-the-charts perfection. I *have to* sniff this even more than Areej Le Doré Baikal Gris... Read that sentence again. Yeah. It's like THAT. Even as I sit here raving about it, I must admit, my first sample wear was "lost in the crowd" of other samples & I moved on, not thinking much about it. 2nd test was by itself, just a spray on the back of my hand... BAM! Full bottle. Already considering a backup bottle, too. It's that good. Do yourself a favor & get a sample of this right now. I'd love to hear feedback from those who do.

The opening salvo reminds me faintly of a toned down version of Byredo M/Mink. It's slightly pissy musks mixed with the salty mineral ambergris. If you like animalic perfumerey this will be right up your alley. I find it mesmerizing and wholly masculine.There's also a nice earthiness (truffle?) running throughout that helps keep things grounded. Beyond that, this perfume perfectly mimics actual human musk/pheromonal vibe better than anything I've smelled in niche perfume. It smells like adrenaline, but at also like relaxing and having a beer with friends after a hard days work. I'm older now and sit behind a computer for work, so the days of hard labor are mostly behind me, but this is very nostalgic. To someone that can't relate to what I've described, another way I can explain it is that it smells like your male relatives when you were younger. They weren't wearing a cologne, just their natural smell. Confident, comforting, and safe. A must try for fans of ambergris and musks. Nearly flawless; I just wish it was 10% ambergris, instead of 5%. But other than that small gripe, this is perfect imo. ---------------------------------------------- Scent 99/100 Performance 80/100

This probably is the only ambergris-centric perfume that I own, and an ambergris-centric perfume that does not go down to floral or sweet route in development but fully exploring the earthy, seaside salty, slight metallic, bitter and animalistic facet that ambergris possesses. At the first spritz, it can be a bit overpowering, it does have an industrial vibe, but its true magic happens around 1st hour mark, when it’s warmed up by body temperature and blended with my own skin scent, it blossoms. It reminds me of some alluring skin scent after sweating, the “musk” scent from the back of my boyfriend’s neck, or nice smelling armpit, or worn underwear. Very sexy, raw, dark, alluring and captivating. Very unique and unusual. It speaks to the primal side in our brains. This is definitely not mass appealing, absolutely not blind buy safe, if you happen to like ambergris and skin scent, or you like Rose 31 type of scent and found it very wearable. I’d urge you to test it out, go light with the sprayer. I would wear this in winter when I put on my leather jacket.

I got a spritz and a sample of this at the Esxence show in Milan Mar 2018 and it is mightily impressive. It may because I am naive and unnacustomed to what an Ambegris-Musk combination should smell like but as a first impression to a relatively amateur nose this appears to be beautifully composed with good to excellent sillage and very good longevity. As for the aldehyde / synthetic / natural balance I afraid I simply don't know enough about perfumery to comment but it does smell very smooth with the vetiver and maybe patchouli notes just edging in with a little spicy sweetness. The theme of this product as part of the Affinessence Base Notes Collection is just that, no harsh or superfluous top notes whatsoever - straight down to business and what a lovely job they have done. I would be most interested to hear the opinion of an experienced and knowledgable nose. In the meantime - I simply adore this frag.

#1118 in my "Tour de Fragrance" This is an outstandingly rich musk and amber scent. The very best I've encountered. The mate and truffle notes make it uniquely earthy compared to the other musk and amber scents I've experienced. I'd put this in a class with Le Labo "Musc 25 Los Angeles" and "Oud 27", Liquides Imaginaires "Fortis", but this tops those. You can see from the "reminds me of section" that this singular fragrance reminds people of scents that are well outside the mainstream. I rarely buy full bottles of fragrances selling for more than $150, but I've previously made an exception for this line's "Cedre Iris" and will do so for this as well. Just too good to pass it by. (For the budget conscious I'd recommend Bentley "Infinite Intense."). Exceptional performance. A real compliment getter. I consider this more of a sexy date night scent, not business wear.