Ryder

#1756 in my “Tour de Fragrance” This is a nice scent! Got it as a spray sample from Luckyscent.com. They want $145 a bottle. I’ve found it on eBay for $99 which tracks. Very ambery like Lutens “Ambre Sultan”, but a tobacco scent like Lutens “Chergui.” I find “Chergui” too sweet for my taste and this is just right. There are scents out there very close to this like Mancera “Red Tobacco” and it’s clones, like Armaf “Hunter Killer”, Maison Alhambra “Signatures II.” This is a bit smoother and more ambery than the Mancera and only a bit more expensive. I actually prefer something sharper like “Red Tobacco” and prefer something more oudy like Montale “Oudrising.” I have all the above similars, so I don’t need this, but if I were on the prowl for an ambery tobacco scent, this would be a very good choice. This won’t offend in any setting. Probably best for cooler weather. Office wear or date wear. Reasonably priced. Good Luck and Good Hunting!

This is IT. This, in my opinion, is THE scent for the refined. This is elegance personified, or rather, olfactified. Yes, I just made that up. Sillage with this one is moderate, but it lasts for hours on skin. Ryder contains every note I love and they coalesce to form something amazing. It's classified as unisex, but leans more towards the masculine side of the spectrum to me. It brings to mind the smell of violin rosin in a study full of books, expensive leather chairs, and the faint scent of vanilla pipe tobacco in the air. The presence of jasmine is negligible. I hardly smell it. I only smell slightly boozy, resinous perfection. It goes on easy. This is not a heavy one that chokes the nostrils. It's smooth and mildly sweet. The amber really shines here. It doesn't evolve much, but it doesn't need to. It goes on perfect and STAYS perfect. This gets a 10 out of 10 in my book.

Elegant classy fragrance, in the same style as Roma's Ambra Aurea and Tom Ford's Amber Absolute, could easily be a cross of both scents. Ryder is a deep, dry, dusty and smoky composition that's rich on amber, incense, benzoin, with a prominent presence of labdanum, complimented by a hint of tobacco leaf. The dry down is softened up by ambery dark woods. Easily my favorite from the house. as I find the rest more on the feminine side and forgettable. Having said that, some might perceive Ryder as a bit monotonous, especially if already accustomed to amber compositions. To me, it surpasses all others due to its darker nuances.

I have been exploring the notes Tobacco and Amber during 2021. And this is by far the best one I have found. This has instantly become one of my all time favorites. The amber is sweet and well rounded. The tobacco note gets equal space in the blend. To me, the vanilla note is not to strong. I don't like vanilla, but understand that it plays a role in supporting the amber. And that's what's happening here. Over all it's amber and tobacco. Longivety is very strong. At least all day. Sillage is also good. If you like sweet "velvety" ambers, and like the tobacco note. Then you can't go wrong with this one.

It gets more Amber and resin as it drys down but just a first impression after having it on for an hour, this comes on (to my nose and on my skin) so much like Tom Ford's Tobacco Oud (one of my very favorote scents of all time) that it seems redundant to purhase this too. Except I probably will. Because dear lord it is magnificent. Ill update after a few more wears but honestly if it's between this and TF's T.O., I'm still reaching for Mr. Ford. I will also say that in the "CEO ultimate scent competition" this blows Roja Dove's Enigma out of the water with prejudice.