American Amber

It is a very dark amber with strong earthy and nutty tone. I like it a lot. I don t smell anything really animalic in it.

One of the most animalic perfumes in my entire collection (although many say the animalic musky opening evaporates fast) , this is not for the faint hearted. The scent opens with slight florals and spices and goes into a deep woody heart comprised of amburana wood, oud and styrax. The perfume settles on a dense animalic base of real deer musk, castoreum and slight vanilla. The masculine leaning scent has strong sillage and lasts forever. The amount of real animal musk may make the inexperienced wearer a bit uneasy. Absolutely NSFW bold independent perfumery. Enjoy!

My first try from this Indie perfumer and I am torn as to if I’d purchase again. The cost is VERY high, and the product left a lot to be desired. It is very intensely animalic, metallic, and mineraly. Amber, I don’t smell much of, the oud is heavy and there is an odd mingling with the carnation/floral note. You’d have to be into very ODD scents for this to be for you.

I wanted to love American Amber. While it’s a great offering in the indie artisan scene it feels lacking compared to By and By. I know Jono wanted to create a new and novel amber perfume sans any traditional amber materials and utilizing all North American ingredients or rather mostly American ingredients. The result is something feels like a combination of Ensar Oud’s black currant laced floral DNA that’s found in many, many EO offerings and Josh Lobb’s elusive Rume. AA doesn’t feel unique in the same way both By and by and Sleepy Hollow are unique. The composition doesn’t offer anything that isn’t already available and while most people have not and will not smell Rume in their lifetime I’d be surprised if this was a wider release more people would make this connection. American Amber unfortunately feels one dimensional. On first spray what you see is what you get. The floral opening quickly dissapates and had it been more fully rendered and present it would make American Amber seem much more interesting. Instead this quickly shifts into the heart where a spicy, cedar plank accord blends seamlessly into the amburana. I can’t help but feel like a heavy touch could’ve benefited this fragrance. I wish it was just a little more floral, alittle less musky, alittle more ouddy and alittle more ambered. Instead as the warm woods and amber accord starts to dry down into the base you’re essentially left with what feels like sandalwood, Oud, and vanilla with hints of amburana’s core spicinessn Castoreum casts a slick, oily, and sweaty aura over the entire composition and the deer musk highlights the more indolic qualities of the aforementioned materials. Overall this is my least favorite offering out of the trio. It smells better than Sleepy Hollow however sleepy hollow is more interesting, daring and unique. American Amber felt like a greatest hits of several indie perfumes including The Night by Lost Tribe and Phronema’s Monoliths and Dimensions. I had high hopes for this fragrance and while it doesn’t smell bad it doesn’t showcase the immense skill and blending prowess Jono has given us since By and By. Whereas By and By feels decidedly Niche in all the best ways possible American Amber feels indie. It feels raw. Some may love this and find value in a non traditional amber however for the price it’s in a steep category with much more interesting fragrances at a fraction of the cost. I still give it a 7/10.