Amber Sky

Okay, after a week of wearing this one I am finally ready to write a review. I will start by saying I am quite cynical when it comes to fragrances, just like most of us can be on here. I try to keep myself in check and keep a positive attitude. During my spare time I travel from one store to the next in search of fragrances, trying all the new ones, and every scent I can get my hands on. I have smelled them all it seems sometimes. And you know how you long for that experience when you try a scent and it instantly excites you and makes you think, "Wow, I love this! I have to have it!" That is the experience I had with this scent. It was an instant love. I became even more excited than usual because, I'm sure all you frequent sniffers understand how rare that happens wwith all the trendy perfumes. Ex: Iris, Ambroxan, etc. They all smell the same. When I first sniffed Amber Sky I instantly picked up on the leathery nuances, but the scent was also very sweet. But NOT in a Tuscan Leather sort of way. You instantly pick up on all the spices and ingredients that make it sweet. Vanilla, spices like nutmeg, tonka, the amber & sandalwood. Even though no leather or oud is listed, I picked up on the notes in a big way. The woody, leathery, sweet notes. I kept the testing paper and continued shopping. I am never one to make a rash decision and at nearly $700 Canadian dollars a bottle, this was not a decision to take lightly. I kept the paper tester and went home with the sales associates business card. A few days later I knew I had to have it. I could still smell the basenotes on the paper. I texted the associate to let her know I wanted to buy it since I still had her card. The customer service was top notch for Ex Nihlo. Once I took my new baby home, I decided to wear it all week. Another thing I love about this brand is the packaging, it was handsome and well designed. The spray comes out of the atomizer in a super fine and forceful mist. I just love their marketing and design. The logo, the bottle, the names of scents, the patterns on the bottle- all are truly unique and interesting. What I found truly refreshing was the modernity of the brand. There is no heavy baggage, like a long antiquated story about how they use to make perfumes for kings. Even though I love those brands, I am so sick of hearing such long puffed up histories from "perfume houses". Even my beloved CHANEL- too many youtube videos on their channel about their "history". Creed, Clive Christian, Guerlain, etc etc. Granted many of these histories are valid and warranted. (Many, not all). But to me it doesn't matter. It seems like every perfume house has to have some sort of history behind it, and I am just over it. They are all blending together. So you can imagine my relief when I researched the brand and found out it was established my three young friends in Paris, one an engineer etc. They are just three regular interesting people making perfume now, in 2019. Shocking isn't it? You mean their not using King Louis secret perfume recipe from 1800? <---- Sarcasm. During my research I found out Drake and Pharrell enjoy the scents, so that was cool. Then came my first day wearing it. I sprayed it and loved it. I had never worn it on my skin before, but judging from the testing strip I expected this to be beastmode sillage and longevity. (And also from the other reviews here). This is where the reality set in. What I found was quite the opposite. This gives the illusion of a beast mode fragrance. But the longest I could get out of it was 4-6 hours. I expected this to be beastmode performance like Mancera Aoud Vanille or something. Haha- Not even close. This performs like a John Varvatos or Jo Malone. After a few hours you need to reapply because it is GONE. The sillage cloud is definitely not more than a meter around you. This is a pleasant scent as it dries down and if someone is close to you they will say you smell good. You will be able to enjoy it, but don't expect it to make an entrance. Having said that, am I disappointed? Not at all. I still LOVE this scent. It is the perfect scent if you want to wear a beastmode type scent to the office and NOT get noticed lol, but still smell really good. It reminds me of a cocky guy I went to high school with. He use to brag a lot about how tough he was, act really macho. But when you'd go to his house his mother would tell you how she taught him to bake cookies, and how he cries during sad movies. He was still a great guy. This fragrance is that guy. Lol I have had a few experiences with Ex Nihlo like this. Although I found one that has beastmode performance, and that one is French Affair. I will say this one does very faintly stay with you after the 6 hour mark. But in all fairness I can't count that because I have many $100 Manceras that last well past 12 hours with one spritz. But I would purchase this one all over again because it smells so good. Like pure class and sophistication. If you enjoy sweet-spicey amber woody-leathery scents, you would enjoy this one too.

Love the scent... but I have smelled it before... Penhaligon’s has not one but two perfumes in their Portraits collection, Sohan and Yasmine, which are basically the exact same olfactory profile as this one... The funny thing is that those two mention Laotian Oud on their compositions... strangely, there is no such note listed for this perfume on Fragrantica nor on Ex Nihilo’s website... it also smells a lot like Incense, another note that this perfume supposedly doesn’t have. Let’s move on to what the brand actually says it has... We will start with the Amber, yes it’s there, resinous and dry... it also has Nutmeg and Coriander, a lot of those creating quite an earthy accord... Tonka and Resinoid Vanilla, accounted for, forming a very sweet and delicious blend, which unfortunately is only noticeable on the drydown... Sandalwood, present but subdued... and finally Cedarwood, unnecessarily encapsulating the whole fragrance... Strange choices for all of the ingredients... the ones that they admit and the ones they don’t... In reality this fragrance smells like softened oud, with an incense aura, earthy nutmeg in the heart, and an ambery vanillic combo in the bottom. The name is very misleading, as amber is not the main note... definitely not a blind buy. Another similarity with Penhaligon’s is its poor performance... projection is intimate from the beginning and longevity is around 6 hours, although after the third hour it is only faintly recognizable... which is a shame because the vanilla drydown is the best part, much better than the opening... performance on this juice is a big let down from what’s expected from a niche Eau de Parfum. Amber Sky is a good scent, with better drydown, but terrible performance. Nothing more.

I purchased 5 x 7.5 Ml (about a 40ml) travel set for $140 which is a bit pricey but retails for $230. I wanted to try Amber Sky because my current favorite amber fragrance is AP Myrrhe Imperiale- which is currently selling for two months of mortgage payments on eBay -thus my desire to find a less expensive alternative. Since it’s in the “reminds me of section” and both were created by the late, great, Olivier Pescheux I went for it. Amber Sky opens up on the ground with a ton of coriander! I smell a lot of herbaceous (almost cumin like) coriander and cedar is what jumps out for the first hour. Especially when I smell it next to Myhrre Imperiale which is now a touch soapier smelling it next to Amber Sky. Amber Sky is very strong. It definitely give you your monies worth in performance. Around 2 hours, Amber Sky starts to diffuse and expand upwards- the coriander lets up and the sticky, resinous amber I experience from the beginning of Myhhre Imperiale is here and stays. This smells natural to me, nothing synthetic or unbalanced. Really beautiful and if I find a partial or full bottle at a great price, I’ll snatch it up.

Nutmeg dominant Amber woody spicy scent slightly sweetened by tonka and vanilla. This has a sandy texture to it that many spicy fragrances seem to loose later into the dry down. The texture usually starts to break down and bleeds into the other notes which creates a smooth finish. This one maintains all of it’s slightly sharp edges of nutmeg and coriander, I so appreciate this aspect. This isn’t a resinous Amber, it’s more of a dry and soft spicy type. Dry sauna cedar and sandalwood create a really strong woody base. The tonka doesn’t get powdery it’s well tamed and pairs very well with the vanilla which smells like the authentic bean, earthy and perfectly balanced. Nutmeg is an intoxicating note to my nose, it smells like some type of narcotic, with so many complex facets. I think you really have to appreciate this note because Amber sky is dominated by nutmeg. I’ve smelled thousands and this is my number two all time favorite scent behind Initio’s Rehab. It’s utterly divine floating softly in cool air, the scent trail is dangerous in the sense that it’s narcotic and sexual, but at the same time sophisticated.

It’s a dark, stormy night. While visiting her aunt and uncle at their small but charming English country estate (built in 1876), she creeps down the stairs to the English oak paneled library and discovers a leather bound novel she’s always been curious about. Not wanting to wake anybody, she digs around and finds a vanilla Glade candle and some matches with which to light it, eager to dig into the novel. Smells of old high-quality wood, amber, leather-like oud, even some rum in the beginning. Vanilla comes out increasingly in the later drydown. I’m not big on oud these days, but I think very highly of the oud offerings from Ex Nihilo, and I believe this is my favorite of the bunch. Pretty strong stuff, lasts all day, and I will be considering a full bottle. Update: I keep reaching for my spray sample (direct from Ex Nihilo), and sometimes I catch whisps of frankincense. Love this one! I really don’t smell any nutmeg. In any case I purchased a full bottle. This will be on high rotation come fall ‘23.