Amber Teutonic

Odd but charming new twist on amber, which takes a typically offbeat D S & Durga approach by deciding to make it skew green, herbal and medicinal. While much (SO much!) milder and mellower than Amber Kiso, this is still an exhilaratingly outdoorsy, fresh-airy, botanical way to treat the theme and for my taste it works just fine. It's not syrupy-sweet at all, and while vanilla is there, it's been well covered with an earthy layer of resins and leaves, taking it a world away from the usual boudoir/luxe associations of amber scents. However, it's not nearly as cool-conifer as the mentions of pine and fir might make you think; for me, the really solid, warm foundation of opoponax gives it more of a dry comfort smell than a medicinal/cleanser ambience. (That sort of golden-sand smell which even creeps a little close to the delicious warm ambergris of Zoologist Squid, for instance, another scent where you don't expect to feel so warm or dry). Here, the scent relaxes your nose rather than perking it up as really sharp conifer resins often do. Weirdly, the other aromatic touches, on my skin, hint at immortelle and other herbs rather than cardamom and mandarin; but it really doesn't matter, as the whole effect is welcoming and wearable as well as impressive. There's a slightly odd tinge of wool lanolin, or some other bodily grease, but it doesn't get all the way to leather, and isn't strong enough to be horrible. Distinctive, then, but not nearly as weird as many others from the house. Longevity is absolutely rock-solid on skin - still there, though discreetly, up to 9-10h, and up to 48h (!!!) on fabric - though it doesn't project very far or assertively, unlike its downlike dramatic stable-mate Amber Kiso. Unisex, but certainly skewing more male than female... its air of rural integrity is so strong, it seems more right to say 'this is the smell of a good sturdy set of outdoor work clothes, not a trendy outfit for town'. It's more a matter of genre than gender. Somehow smells like a sensible, down-to-earth person who works with their hands, than any kind of urban art-school weirdo or glamorous man (or woman) about town. Still totally wearable by any gender and anyone who loves natural-seeming 'scent of place' fragrances rather than elaborate fantasy/luxury worlds. Solid, strong, welcoming - it's an admirable thing even if I don't find it that extraordinary or fantastical. It's niche - so of course it's expensive - but it's not often you find an amber with this level of honesty and so little sugar. I feel pretty warm respect for it, overall.

I like Amber Teutonic but it throws me for a loop because I don’t get any of the notes as listed on the packaging. No mandarin, geranium, cardamom or any specific wood or resin. I’m getting a very classic amber scent, a bit powdery. I do get some type of wood too, but it’s more like cedar to me than anything else. The base is extremely creamy and balsamic. More like vanilla to me than opoponax, almost to the point where it smells like coconut cream, which doesn’t bring me to Europe yet also doesn’t smell tropical. I don’t really know how to classify this fragrance! I guess bottom line is it’s a creamy, sweet, woody amber. I like it; at the same time I’m not certain it’s a keeper. It’s certainly a different amber from others I own. I tend to like very woody, dry ambers, like Ambra del Nepal or good ole Ambre Sultan. In comparison Amber Teutonic is a lot sweeter and creamier. Update: Now that it's hot and humid, rather than freezing outside, I returned to Amber Teutonic to try it again. It's like an entirely different perfume from before! Just smells nothing like it did the many times I tried it during winter. I was so close to selling it, but now I'm crazy for it. I now don't get any coconut, but it does start out fruity (maybe the orange). I finally get the gorgeous wood that others get. Again, not necessarily pine, and IDK what larch smells like, but it's a great wood scent that doesn't smell like chemicals nor cedar to me. It smells more dry and even a tad smoky, but just barely. It's also not as sweet nor as creamy on my skin as it was all winter long. So anyway, note to self: reserve for summer months.

Hi everyone. I have not smelled this fragrance but I just got notified that this fragrance is being discontinued. It’s no longer available on D.S. & Durga’s website... so if you love this fragrance, you may want to buy a back up bottle from another retailer ASAP. Edit: I ended up getting a sample after asking D.S. & Durga for one and it’s a really beautiful fragrance. It’s very similar to Ebene Fume by Tom Ford. Resinous, Spicy, delicious. A shame that it’s been discontinued. Edit 2: I keep coming back to edit this review because I am really into this fragrance and am really glad I was able to secure a sample of it. It’s so beautiful how it changes over time to reveal layers of ambery, creamy, piney goodness as it wears. The longevity on my skin is nutts. Like spray in the morning and smell the next morning upon waking up longevity for me. It’s strong but not nearly as potent as Amber Kiso, (which I don’t particularly care for). Anyway, I ordered a bottle and am glad I’ll have it in my collection. Edit 3: I keep coming back to edit this review because y’all! This fragrance is CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED! Like for real. It is insanely beautiful and is 100% my favorite of the entire DS & Durga line. My connection with this fragrance might be heavily swayed by the nostalgia I feel for pine resin, after growing up in the Rocky Mountains, but It is completely intoxicating to my nose. I urge you not to sleep on this fragrance if you like creamy, pine, balsamic fragrances.

Flat solid outdoorsy fragrance with cedar and musk at the forefront with a strong linalool presence as with almost all D.S. Durga fragrances as the backbone providing a soft pleasant therapeutic note like a medicinal plant would especially with the cardamom. I own almost all of D.S.& Durga fragrances, I don't wear them alot outside of my house tbh but they are among my favorite houses in perfumery. The reason I don't wear them outside alot is because I'm a bit shy and these fragrances from this house will cause people to talk to you because they've never smelled anything like this before. I was at their flagship store recently and I couldn't find anything I didn't already own, so I got car fresheners, so good btw. The word to describe David Seth Moltz and his wife in regards to the fragrance industry would be innovative. I smile everytime I smell a D.S. & Durga fragrance or just look at them sitting in my fragrance fridge. They make me happy and I don't know why, or should I say I don't know what(pun intended.)

This one feels as green as the color of the perfume which I like but its not a freshie sort of not that green vibe. Its more that forest smell together with mandarin at begin and I actually thinks on me mandarin is there also at drydown. I do not know exactly how but on me I feel most of the notes that are listed where the beginning as said gives green mandarin for me about half an hour before inbetween notes takes over and after about 2 hours the base note which then does not feel as strong (still some manadarin but most opponax and forest). This is classified by the majority as autumn, winter and spring but it should be good to use even summer evenings that are temperate and I appreciate it a lot because I like fir and pine which most people think is winter perfume but it is quite all-round and a bit special (at least for me). I will buy another of this when its empty. You should test it first.