Fire Amber Baby

I’m wearing this right now as I was lucky enough to be given a bottle of this fragrance for review a couple of years back. I haven’t worn it for a while, but the weather has turned cool this morning and it was the right time to dig it out again. Fire Amber Baby is a big, warm, generous amber. To my nose, it is floral and honeyed, rather than being spiced and crunchy. If someone told me that the perfumer used rose, ylang, vanilla tincture and beeswax in this composition, I’d believe them. It’s incredibly full and present with a sweet, abundant generosity. It reminds me of a 19thCentury oil painting of a Turkish city, complete with tobacco shisha smokers, roses climbing an ancient wall and honeyed tea being sipped from gold-painted glassware. There is not much incense here; certainly not enough for it to be offputting for anyone who dislikes olibanum or smoke; just a delicate hint. Enough to balance the sweetness. This is a remarkable, resinous amber with a beautiful labdanum dry-down - a thing of great beauty and something which makes me feel cloaked in luxury.

This is straight up resin -- not much else comes out from this, amber, benzoin and some honey-sweet balsamic resins. There is absolutely no time for top notes, we move STRAIGHT to the base and from here there is little evolution all day and it is MAJESTIC -- I'm not sure if it's in the pantheon of basey resins, but it's certainly in the next category below. It's expertly mixed and NOTHING is jarring in this. It's just a wonderfully resin-laden scent that will speak directly to fans of the genre. Great work from an Aussie niche house...

This is a stunning resinous amber right here. Not much sweetness, just pure, baseline resin. There is something dirty lurking in the background (labdanum?), and it has me pining for more! I wish it was more pronounced and more present -- I love it! There are references to a few other well-known amber-resins, though I think this one stands on its own. Wonderful winter scent...

A bottle or Fire Amber Baby should be handled with heatproof gloves, because this thing is smoking hot! This is for the Dangerous Dames who wear hats dipped over one eye while they seduce a down on his luck Private Eye, who drink liquor elegantly and dismiss nonsense with one perfect raised eyebrow, who own a pistol and are not afraid to use it, who can scheme intricate plans while looking immaculate in their pencil skirts and high heels.

A fragrance for kissing and being kissed. Coaxing images of fire, unbuttoned blouses and top shelf cognac. It is incendiary, saucy, bright but dare-devil. Use at your own risk.... it will take you places and invite attention.