Amber Wood

Your slumbery stupor wears thin as you find yourself nestled in warm herbal embrace of a monolithic tree. Still dull from what felt like a lifelong slumber, you begin to drink in the sensory feast that pulsates around you - the tree's branches are as thick as bridges and the heartwood is as intricate and massive as a small city. A gentle breeze carries the scent of apples and lavender from some far off branch, or maybe from the earth which must be beneath the thick cloud cover several hundred feet below. Curiosity begins to crawl into your muddled thoughts...you are compelled to climb. You drive upward into the heavens - the higher you climb, the lighter you feel almost as if the the majestic tree is aiding you. Each layer of atmosphere brings new wonder to your journey - as you climb, pieces of the trees bark and sap cling to your body. Over time you become one with the majestic wonder as your skin soaks in the agarwood and cedar essences while the sun, high above the clouds, ignites the prickly aspect of the patchouli that grows in lush waves. You ascend into the heavens coated in the thick essence of the wondrous tree - the air is so thin up here that you can hardly breathe, yet everything is weightless. A freezing wind rocks your delicate perch as you look across the sea of clouds and the continents below. You lose your sense of self in the awe of what lies beneath - no longer restrained by worldly fears or frivolity...you simply are. The cheerful chirps of nearby birds rustle you from your slumber. You blink the sun out of your sleepy vision - it was just a dream, yet you still feel light and full of life. A new day begins. 101 - Arborvitae Listening to: London Grammar - Interlude (Live) Notes: So, this was a sort of impulse buy as it isn't readily available in the US (that I can find) and I know of nowhere that allows one to test it. I know Ajmal is a decent brand and I was intrigued by the positive reviews the high end line was receiving. I saw this in an auction and went for it - I am definitely not disappointed! I need to state that this fume consistently lasts 18 to 24 hours on my skin and usually outlasts a shower! The opening is a sweet and tart apple with just a touch of herbal lavender, but this is brief as the heart of prickly wood and patchouli dominates completely after a few minutes. The wood note is quite intense and can be off putting of you can't handle agarwood and patchouli - I have received mixed feedback, but I personally love it so I won't stop wearing it! After a good 12 to 14 hours, the prickly wood note begins to fade and a warm, dry amber begins to shine through. It essentially remains a mix of the woods and a dry amber until it quiets to nothingness. Truly beautiful and magical if you favor these notes!

Update: So, I stand by my last comment on this smelling like Michael Malul Jet Black Reserve, but this fragrance opens up as it dries down, thankfully. The JBR on the other hand kept that rubberiness throughout the life but doesn't add anything to it, so that accord got annoying as time passed. Amber Wood starts to open up the apple in the middle opening and that's when this fragrance gets good for me. The amber in here is different from the one in Amber Povire, but just as effective. The amber in this fragrance isn't as warm, but more of a cool amber in temp and slightly dusty...which gels with that apple note perfectly. On the drydown, I picked up woods, amber, cardamom, and musk lightly wafting about. Last thing I'll mention here, is that this fragrance actually smells better in the air than skin. In the air, I actually pick up this orris in that powderiness that helps the sillage. The projection is good the first 2 hours. Longevity is clocking at 8 hours off skin. Also, keep in mind, I just got this fragrance last week...so it’s maturing. I was skeptical when I first tried it because it smelled like a fragrance I didn't get along with in JBR, but Amber Wood has a bit more going on in complexity and that has made a big difference. I sympathize with those that are having performance issues with this one, because the smell is really dope. This is my 4th Ajmal fragrance from this kind of line (W(ood) and A(mber)) series: this one, Haktora Wood, Amber Povire, and Amber Santal. The only one I'd strongly caution against is Amber Santal...sample all fragrances if you can, but damn sure sample Amber Santal before committing to a full presentation. The smell and performance just hasn't worked for me. Scent: 9 Sillage: 7 Longevity: 8 Price: 7 (I think at $60 this is a great deal) Versatility: 9 Seasons: Fall and Spring are best. Should hold up fine in Winters. Use something else in the dead of Summer. Occasions: Business, date night (not the 1st date though), casual, business casual, semi-formal. Overall: 8

Warm, fizzling (Or effervescent) fresh and just a hint of sweetness layered atop bitter and floral wood. Image: A dark night sky above the border Rub-Al-Khali desert and the western mountains. You and your party pitch your tents and start a a series of fires in the campgrounds situated far away between small and medium sized sand dunes and cliffs. An oasis and with a few tall trees is spotted a two minute jog away. As you pitch your tents, a few of your friends start digging a hole in an area of compacted sand. They lower freshly cut meat and vegetables wrapped in foil placed on a rack into the hole, after having set a fire pit within the hole itself. After tonight's dinner has begun preparations, a rug and tea are brought out and served. You smell some burning wood and spiced fruits. An amber tray is brought and lit as incense. You can smell its freshness, its sweetness, accompanied by subtle notes of stones, flowers, and fragrant woods. You feel happy, appreciative of the beauty of life and what it offers when the amber hits. You go to the oasis and savor every drop of the cool water. Once returned, you notice the aroma makes its way through the windless night, you doze off into a peaceful sleep, your tent overlooking a golden moon. I only have the sample version, 0.7 mL. It does go through quickly and lasts for days. It degrades quickly. On arrival, it lasted for around 2-3 and a quarter days. After spraying again after two weeks, longevity and sillage have decreased significantly. It ha become a skin scent, but has not lost any of its complexity. I quite like this fragrance. It is my first experience with what I believe to be oud and amber.

I discovered this fragrance long time ago on a duty free airport shop. I hesitate then to buy it and latter I regret. Now, after the winter holidays when I travelled abroad I rediscovered this fragrance. The price on the duty free is so high and I don't understand why. Anyway I purchase this one from a safe site and I can't wait to be delivered. Guys, if you want to know how angels are smelling then try this one. It's so smooth, soft, warm and cozy that it's very difficult to describe it using words. You have to smell it so you can understand what I'm talking about. If you know Angel Share from Kilian, then take out the cogniac from the ingredients and you will find a colser fitt to this one. And yes, as many other reviewers said the longevity is medium, about 6 hours, and the projection is moderate, basically it's a skin scent. But I understand the producer, if you want to produce such a nice and high quality niche smell, you must cutt from the performances. You can feel the high quality ingredience in this one, nothing hars or synthetic. I know why this one and Angel Share and Naxos from Xerjoff are not monstrous performance fragrances. If you want something powerfull then go to cheap synthetic perfumes such as Ameer al Oud or Badee Al Oud Amethist, where you cand find extremelly powerful scents, but not for everybody. Otherwise, for me, this is one of the most gorgeous smelling fragrance that you can smell, and buy, amongst Angel Share, Naxos, Layton, Atomic Rose, and Creed Aventus Absolute, pure divine.

Ajmal Amber Wood, while released by the UAE-based house in 2014, seems to be getting a lot of buzz currently, and for that reason, I picked up a decant. It's immediately pleasing, a cold-weather-leaning mix of amber, woods, patchouli, and iris, with subtle hints of apple and lavender fading quickly into the main blend. Amber Wood reminds me immediately of Mugler A*Men Pure Malt, but just a bit more powdery and sharp via the inclusion of iris, but the amber and wood with patchouli in Amber Wood more or less recreate the base of coffee and patchouli mixed with the booze in Pure Malt. Performance is great, well above average in terms of both projection and longevity, especially the former, since it seems to project well off of skin for 4+ hours. Retail pricing is higher, I imagine, but the best pricing I see for this is $140 on Finescents' eBay store and $185 on MaxAroma for a standard 100ml bottle. Overall, this is a nice perfume, one that I like a lot, but Pure Malt is reasonably close and done better, without the sharp, powdery edges that render Amber Wood a bit challenging. 8 out of 10