Peruvian Ambrette

This is a top 5 player in the men's fragrance landscape of the 2010 decade. I agree with previous comments that it plays in the top league and it is crazy that it is discontinued and not more hunted by frag fans... Who usually like oud fragrances will love this fragrance I totally get why ambrette seed oil is used as a substitute for animal musk, and there's an oud ghost in this perfume. I find some similarity with the drydown of LM Black Oud. In spite of those qualities, this is the only frag of the Zegna Essenze line that on top of being discontinued (together with Haitian Vetiver), has a lot of leftover stock (unlike Haitian Vetiver) and is thus now hard discounted (now ~$50 online instead of ~$160 originally for 2.5oz), the reason why I could afford it. Get it while you can! This fragrance is a real gem. Especially at the current price. (That said, performance is below average (moderate/soft projection, 4 hours total longevity), and should have been better for a fragrance initially priced at $160...). I currently have 30-ish perfumes, and I can tell you that this one has entered my top 3 at the first spray. I love it! 30+, formal office meetings and nights out, fall/winter PS: this frag is discontinued, check "Strength" of the new Elements of Man line that unites musk with an oud background! Edit: I now own 200+ fragrances, and can tell you that this one is still in my top 10%.

Oh lordy this is nice! The opening is such a powdery, musky, amber which is so smooth and warm it really does envelop the senses telling you that this is a real special piece of work. PA has a wonderfully natural amber and not an overly musky ambrette accord because as it settles down it becomes all about precious woods. I'm pretty sure I detect oud in here but nothing like the Indonesian Oud in the same Zegna collection, this is a smooth subtle wood. That combination of lightly spicy cashmere and darker Guaiac wood give Peruvian Ambrette a sublime drydown quite like a creamy sandalwood vibe, not dissimilar to Armani Prive Oud Royal. So....a stunning woody scent to add to an already excellent line from Zegna. Truly, these fragrances cover every olfactory angle and do so with a simplicity and remarkable clarity. I think £108 (although still expensive) is quite good value for 125ml's of impressive fragrance. Longevity and performance are good but it's not the strongest juice in the world the drydown stayed close to my skin giving me a warm, woodsy glow. I love this...Will definitely consider adding it to my collection.

I am currently using my second bottle of this fragrance. It is a perfect office fragrance that has uniqueness and elegance. It is not complex nor evolve in such ways but well blended overall. Earthy, mineral like, clean musk, bitter, and smooth with iris. It actually has orris(iris root) in this and it is nothing like dior homme that has lipstick or makeup bag vibe, no! It helps the fragrance to be softer, enjoyable, and crowd pleaser. This is a perfect James Bond 007 type of a fragrance. Clean cut, expensive suit, masculine, gentleman over 35, mysterious, sexy! However, if you are heavily into complex amouage, zoologist, oud leather luxurious fragrances, you will find this one boring and linear. Lastly, performance was moderate on my first bottle but my current bottle is much better somehow. It lasts about 8 hours with 2 hours of solid projection.

Discontinued - fairly rare but you can still find on secondary market. Ambrette is a pricey material with very low oil yield. Cultivation in Peru is very small and considered to be top notch. Imagine this: you distilled alcohol from ambrette iris, and orris root (which is also incredibly expensive and takes 3 years to mature with specific harvest times), and you aged this ambrette iris/orris moonshine in guaiac barrels. Now pour this unsweetened brew over suede, and you have this stunner. This ambrette was extracted via solvents which means it doesn't carry a sweet or powdery nuances. It's boozy (like congac), earthy, nutty, medicinal and grainy. I think it's a reference fragrance for a top quality ambrette absolute. Incredible. ×××××××××××××××××××××××××× Scent 99/100 ××××××××××××××××××××××××××

in the opening i can smell very heavy ambrette. ambrette note is all over the juice then orris note is quickly coming up to make it moist/wet. i love this part. it's remind me Chanel N019 Poudre in dry down.very strong and long lasting woody note, even after shower, i can smell the woody note. sound like weird or too strong but actually not. it was composing with balance. the only wood base perfume i love the most in my entire collection. furthermore, it is because no civet and incense. (civet and incense are combining together will make the perfume too earthy, dirty and poopy vibe....and i hate poppy note)