Antique Ambergris

To date this is the best thing I’ve ever smelled. It’s a masterclass in blending and materials, educational for those seeking true ambergris and just the kind of treasure I long for in my collection. It is an investment but one for life as the solid perfumes are refillable. There is virtually no projection but I find the experience of using and wearing this perfume entirely personal and introspective. I cannot imagine a time in my life where this won’t calm and ground me.

This is.... one of the best fragrances ever made. I'd describe my interpretation of it as Ambergris mixed with sweet cream and cinnamon-like spices. I just absolutely love it. If I ever had t pick just one fragrance, it might be this one. A spray version would be even better, although I know that changes the smell, so maybe not. Finally, all natural scents usually don't last as long as I like, but this one actually performs great, too!

An extravagant ambergris/civet combo made cozy by coumarin and vanilla. Its warm,musky and well rounded like aged animalics should behave. A ghost floral,sometimes powdery, and marine nuance floats in and out like an apparition. Step back in time when perfumery used only the finest materials...and experience this for yourself. Gorgeous.

Made by Mother Nature . . . combined by Mandy Aftel. Like alchemists of yore, Aftel, virtuoso of natural fragrances, has carefully created a timeless perfume. Inspired by and using some of nature's hardest to obtain materials. It is such a treat to smell Antique Ambergris based on her 100 year old sample of ambreine! Using ingredients of antique ambergris, antique civet, and aged cypress absolute, she showcases their mature, full-bodied scent. Capturing their deep burnished essence, imbuing it with golden flecks of vanilla. Their comforting rich feeling is reinforced by this being a solid perfume. All the nuances of nature flicker in a warm caramel radiance. Growing up on the beach, I am completely fascinated with ambergris. Each piece smells differently, from earthy to musky to sweet. Age, texture and a myriad of other factors affect its aroma. Quality and value for use in perfumes is graded so that only the finest real ambergris is used. Older ambergris has the highest value since it has had time to cure, leaving only the most wanted attributes. The ambergris used in this perfume is some of the best, and Aftel's choice of ingredients to accentuate its eloquence is perfect . . . even to its pomade form. The solid retains all the buttery vanilla opulence and adds to the glowing sensation. This is an out of the ordinary opportunity to experience a rare, natural fragrance. Ripe and mellowed, lavish with complexities.

This solid unguent, literally composed of true ambergris, ...as well as a subtle nuance of genuine civet, is truly among the rarest unicorns of modern perfumery. I don't usually bother with solid scents, but I'd happily massage my whole body with this, ...if I could somehow make my minute sample stretch that far. Besides the complex tang of the ambergris, and the happily present yet underplayed civet, Antique Ambergris' other main note is a voluptuously gourmand tonka-vanille accord, ...which turns even this most exotic of wild beasts into a lovably pampered pet. There is also a noticeable aromatic note, like almond-peppermint. Perhaps a phantom created from an ineffable union of ambergris, civet, and cypress. I recall woodwind cork wax was once scented like this.