Silver

The first time I wore it I thought it smelled like cheap toothpaste. While the mint note in the opening does have that chalky artificial smell, on skin this opens up into one of the nicest mint fragrances. In the opening you get mint, resinous amber, thyme and just a hint of moss. In time (longer than you'd think) you start to get nuances of florals like immortelle, lavender, and lily joined by styrax. deep in the base you can still smell the resinous amber with a gentle sandalwood, patchouli and moss. This fragrance is complex but goes from strong to light really quickly, on my first couple of wears I made the mistake of under spraying which is why it only smelled like cheap toothpaste. If you give it more than a couple sprays you'll really be able to smell all the notes. The longevity and projection is great. For me this is a perfect fragrance for the humid season, the notes stick to your skin for ~8 hours and with a rub of the wrist release more fragrance into the air. This is a great starting point for exploring Clandestine Laboratories, it has their signature reinterpretations of established ideas in fragrance, distinct fragrance composition and a lot of ingredients and accords you'll see throughout their lineup like blue water lily, myrrh, green peppercorn, and my favorite ambergris note (or at least the one I can most stand).

If you go into it expecting an "amber" scent, you will be disappointed - this is not that, not at all. It is made from fossilized amber, which is a completely different note than the traditional "amber" accord, which is a construct of things like labdanum, vanilla, benzoin, and a range of other accents. Fossilized amber is tree resin, not unlike the resinous form of tree resins like frankincense, myrrh, and others; I have no idea what fossilized amber smells like in isolation, but it is definitely not a labdanum-forward vanillic "amber" in the usual sense. What this IS: a blast of intensely sharp mint over a stew of brownish resins and light animalic notes (some kind of fur-like musk + ambergris). The first time I wore it, I wasn't ready for just how sharp the mint would hit; a few wears later, and I was craving this stuff. It's not a loud scent by any means, but it does have a persistently musky presence. Beautiful stuff all around.

Film Noir is probably my favorite scent ever and Silver is up there as well. I’ve chatted with Mark a bit and he’s incredibly, super passionate about perfume and puts a lot of heart into making this stuff, I highly recommend buying something from him. Unlike most “amber” themed scents, Silver uses real fossils amber, which coupled with the ambergris present created this ocean air feel, then the mint comes out which gives this unique almost medicinal wax-y scent, hard to place, it almost gives me Bag Balm vibes. After a while I start getting the myrrh, maybe a bit of pepper but I can’t tell. For the next several hours it turns a lavender vanilla scent but with that amber edge. Like all CL frags it lasts extremely long. According to Mike performance is one of the main things he aims for, second to unique smells. Unlike FN I’d say it’s def better for cooler weather

This was one of the last perfumes in the Clandestine Line to win me over. Initially I was intrigued by some of my favorite perfume writers talking about this minty amber scent, so I ordered a bunch of samples and this one struck me as too synthetic and less interesting than the others. I ordered ashes and film noir, then assam. But now it’s grown on me and I see the futuristic allure. It’s strange: the more time I spend with this one, the more I’m convinced it’s meant to become a classic. It has a ubiquitous quality. Great work.

Silver is a brilliant fragrance from an excellent new perfumer, Mark Sage. It wears well in almost any setting and smells wonderful while doing so. The main accords I smell in Silver are mint, ambergris, lavender, a hint of vetiver, and a hint of pepper. There is also an amber accord in the mix as well with a hint of patchouli. I love this fragrance and love it's overall accord and versatility. Top shelf fragrance and an easy reach for me.