Ambre Papier

I received Atelier Materi Ambre Papier as a free sample in an order and I couldn't be happier, because it was not on my radar after already trying others from this house. It smells saffrony, musky, sweet and a little spiced, but not in a cinnamon or thankfully black pepper way although listed as an opening note. The spice feels a little metallic from the ambroxan, but still smooth because of the saffron. Not remotely similar to the rubber tire saffron-leather accord in Rosendo Mateu No 5 imo, nor as heavy and sweet as YSL Babycat although similar in warmth once Ambre Papier dries down. The amber here feels more balmy and translucent from the benzoin, brightened by the myrrh resin. Ambre Papier is really addictive even after becoming a bit of a skin scent after 5-6 hours and anyone can wear it. If this is what people were smelling in RMn5, then I now understand why that was so hyped. I can see the comparisons with Ex Nihilo Amber Sky that starts off less sweet, more clean geranium, and saffron. However it dries down differently as a lighter MFK Grand Soir which veers dry and masculine. The molecular saffron is also not a bomb like Matiere Premiere Crystal Saffron Extrait which is more clear in texture rather than warm, cutting like crystal; an invigorating, clean leather musk that lasts and projects more beastly than this. Ambre Papier is actually most similar to Jusbox Cheeky Smile to me with its amber sweetness added to ambroxan molecular musk. The myrrh and benzoin masterfully and subtly added in Ambre Papier takes it to another level though. It also doesn't play anosmic roulette like Cheeky Smile does with me lol.

Going through samples of the extrait collection. Wow, this is such a surprise! I honestly am a little sick of ambers, they tend to be a little redundant and the circle around the same accords a lot of the time. Then, once in a while comes one that throws a curve ball at you. I've had it happen from Landscaster World's Amber Stone and now it happens again here. This has the familiar vanillic profile but it is tweaked by a peppery aromatic twist that then goes very balsamic and resinous. I definitely get the burnt paper/old book vibes here but to me that's not what stands out. It's that deep, balsamic drydown that has me addicted. It's a same the longevity is kind of so-so on my skin (especially for this kind of profile) because it's a stunner. I get maybe 5-6 hours max, which is a shame. Still, definitely a beautiful twist on the classic amber profile and my second favorite of the extrait collection so far. It'll get a few wears come autumn and may end up a full bottle, we'll see.

Ambre Papier is a term to describe a specific fragrance composition inspired by the tradition of burning benzoin resin, as practiced in “Papier d’Arménie” (Armenian paper), a scented tradition for perfuming interiors. That’s exactly how this smells, but in a more modern way. Really nice cozy smell. Perfect in the colder days. I like to layer it with Bake by Akro, to make it a little bit sweeter.

Smells like luxury (especially on skin). At the Dubai airport they have Marhaba Lounges. This fragrance reminds of the leather seats, the cushions and the assortment of fruits and pastries at the cafe

Ambre Papier was a love at first sniff for me. A peppery resinous musk. Very nice!

A nice, warm, round spicy fragrance. The dominant notes for me are the resins, tonka, and vetiver, in approximately that order. I might get a little saffron and a dash of jasmine, but they're light enough that I am unsure. I don't get any of what should be some pretty punchy top notes of black pepper and mandarin, except maybe a whiff of mandarin very occasionally. I think overall there is something of a warm but effervescent cola accord to this that I am enjoying. There's something a little perfume-y about this, in that I think I can also smell the base. It's a little alcohol-y in a not-unpleasant rubbing alcohol kind of way. I know that sounds gross, but I sort of like it here. It's not overpowering and not always present, but when it is, I think it lends a perhaps unintended punch of acid that I'm missing from the mandarin. It speaks perhaps to a bit of a lack of finesse in blending, but I don't hate it. 8/10.

The issue I have with this fragrance is that I absolutely adore the scent profile and development on skin, but it has virtually zero sillage and lasts something like 4 hours before smelling like natural ambery moisturizer. 10/10 scent, 3/10 value for such poor performance; it doesn't even stick on clothes more than an hour or two

Sigh, okay so it seems Atelier Materi has hopped onto the increasingly saturated "extrait/parfum/absolu" bandwagon, releasing a pricier trio of extracts. Among these is Ambre Papier, a scent that can best be described as rubbery sweet saffron dunked in sticky myrrh, spicy vanilla, and some dusty cookie dough. It wore consistently for about six hours, drying down to a slightly boozy edge, but the scent profile hardly evolved beyind that. On fabric, however, it overstayed its welcome, turning into a sickly sweet, bandaid-rubber thing that made me change clothes to escape it... There’s a distinct resemblance to the whole rubbery vanilla DNA that seems to got popularized post YSL's Babycat by Dominique Ropion. Ambre Papier feels like it isolates Babycat’s leathery saffron and dials it up. Yet, it definitely doesn’t achieve the full-bodied, mouthwatering vanillic decadence of Ropion's works in Babycat, Vanagloria and obviously nor Vanilla Barka. That said, as someone who’s a sucker for warm, resinous, rubbery and leathery vanilla profiles (no matter how overdone), I still found Ambre Papier pleasant...just not pleasant enough. The problem lies in its redundancy. With the countless other iterations of this vanilla-saffron-resins formula already dominating collections, Ambre Papier feels like an echo. Even compared to Lune Feline, Oud Save the King, or Penhaligon’s various recent vanillas, it comes up short and, dare I say, boring. Worse still, this release - alongside Neroli Hasbaya - feels like a calculated move to chase trends rather than break new ground. It’s as if Atelier Materi compiled a checklist of “what’s hot right now” and churned out scents to cash in. While not blatant clones, they kinda lack the originality and soul that would justify their elevated price point in my opinion. If my suspicion is correct, this strategy marks a disappointing turn for the house.

It’s funny, all my life I’ve searched for an authentic decaying paper/ old book smell. I’ve literally tried everything everyone always suggests (including but not limited to: Demeter (super synthetic smelling), CB I hate perfume (rubbery crayon), Diptyque (rice note as paper, really??) etc etc) without success. THIS comes closest. Only problem is the slightly chlorine-y leather and something super sharp, no it’s not saffron, I know what that smells like irl, it’s probably a woody aroma chemical because it smells scratchy sharp in my nose like ISO e, ambroxan and those of that ilk. My cat also gave it a hearty paws down. He gave me a look, tensed up then moved so he was facing away from me then moved again so he was as far from me as he could get on the couch lol. So I guess the search for my Holy Grail, my perfect old book/paper/ library fragrance, goes on...

Excellent but reminds me too much of YSL Babycat to justify the purchase. Still, it has a heavenly opening and lasts all day with the "rubbery vanilla" one reviewer mentioned below. Usually vanilla heavy resinous scents such as this are better in cold weather, but I wore this today during summer rain and it was lovely. Strong longevity, but the best part is the opening. The black pepper and vanilla meld nicely. This does smell more like an old book than anything else I have tried except perhaps an actual old book. I just finished a used (1987) paperback of Louis L'Amour's Education of a Wandering Man, which was yellow and had that old book smell, which is what made me want to try Ambre Papier. I have a lot of books but few with that old smell. Books now are usually on acid free paper and don't develop that good old vanilla smell!

This smells just like the SANTA MARIA NOVELLA CARTA D'ARMENIA PAPERS! I used to buy them from Lucky Scent but haven’t purchased them in a while. You light a paper up and the whole room smells just like this when it’s done. Or you can let some of the smoke into your top or sweater and smell like that the entire day! Incredible how they replicated the scent of burning paper that smells Iike lovely resins and vanilla. I love Babycat and this doesn’t smell like it too much; this on a league of its own. You can literally smell a burnt paper accord and it’s beautiful. I need to buy those papers again. This scent or gorgeous!

Black pepper galore, with myrrh, tonka, benzoin...I don't get the jasmin. The saffron is dominant. The tonka is mild and provides little sweetness. Unfortunately, on my skin the drydown is pure harsh amberwoods or a mix of ambroxan/Amberwoods. Really harsh on the sinuses. A sample is more than enough for me. This feels like spiced gasoline.

This perfume reminds me section is so true😂 this fragrance Crystal Saffron+No.5+Ganymade