Ambre Fétiche

As per the notes above, this wonderful fragrance from the house of Annick Goutal is an elixir of amber, frankincense, labdanum, styrax, benzoin, iris absolute, vanilla and Russian leather. Very interesting scent pyramid. I sprayed it on for a "review" - one spray on my wrists and one on my neck. Great warm, smoke-infused amber fills the air. A nice diffuser of styrax sits on the table in front of you...wafting notes towards your nose. Incense lurking underneath all of this, but not heavy and definitely an amber & vanilla/frankincense blend - like one I have that I burn around the holidays. Resinous and balmy...very nice. Soothing. Comforting. Expecting even deeper and darker notes to come, this surprisingly turns slightly toward Myrrhe Ardente about 30-40 minutes in - sharing a light "sweetness" with the labdanum, benzoin and vanilla combining to create a "creamy" texture for the nose, with a nice light smokiness now underneath. No beeswax or anything carmelized here at all - the warming amber begins to start resonating on your skin. Turning back again to a dusty vibe with a balmy undertone (hard to describe, because the accords interplay so intricately). As others said - not cloying at all. The resinous warmth still there, the smoke is clearing, but there are still very nice plumes wafting up from my skin...and we are moving towards the drydown. However, as Myrrhe Ardente is honeyed and you can almost feel benzoin crystals forming on your skin (just short of cloying - although that is part of its own beautiful nature), the iris absolute note here in Ambre Fetiche creates a nice lifted, powdery accord...which leads to a slight touch of deep, warm suede leather. It is faint - but creates a stage in the drydown (you will find it if you 'look' for it). I also notice the nice patchouli note blending with the composition, which is dark & earthy here - perfect harmony with the warm, resinous and slightly smoky amber that is still glowing with the benzoin. What happens is nothing short of beautiful...an experience in fragrance, not something you just spray. This is for connonsieurs and lovers of unique and true perfumery (as all Annick Goutal bottlings are). I try to mention that point in every review I do for a bottle of this house's work. This is niche, artistic and created with true imagery - not marketing in mind. The idea is to transcend the wearer (and those around them) to another place. This does for me, along with virtually every other Goutal I've ever had the joy of trying or owning. I adore this as a fragrance as well as respect it as olfactory art - it is a wonderful, unique, smoky amber scent and clearly unisex. Myrrhe Ardente is definitely far better on my wife's olive skin than my own. I think this will be as good or better on her as well, but I so adore it on my own and there is a connection here that I feel is deeply spiritual. The potion that Ambre Fetiche is in a bottle is truly wonderful - it is meant to worn and adorned. Not a casual fragrance, but definitely one I will reach for on special occassions and when I want to radiate warmth and feel serenity. Again, I don't give ratings to Goutal's work...the house creates art, so a quantitative rating is not apropos. I really, really admire this. Fantastic. **Update** - As I wore this again today, in a full wearing on my neck, wrists and backs of my hands - it showed incredible. I edited my review above and thought more about the late drydown (as this scent can last for well over 8 hours on skin with nice radiance and for days with a single spray on fabric. In the end, the glorious amber is what stays, albeit just slightly smoky. Instead of reapplying a couple of shots, I thought about the notes and what incense composition could "add" to the wearing. I reached for a sample vial of Comme des Garcons 2 Man...with its wonderful white smoke, wood, and vetiver. I felt two nice dabs on the backs of my hands would show well and it did indeed! The Goutal juice actually accentuated the projection of CdG 2 Man - making it more of an aura scent...a wonderful feeling. You don't lose the amber, resinous benzoin and vanilla, but instead refresh some top and heart notes. Very light application recommended. I didn't even spray it on from my CdG 2 Man bottle as I wanted to focus on enhancing the wearing of Ambre Fetiche, not overpower or dominate it. Highly recommended to try. After 3-4 hours, the light touch of CdG 2 Man faded and I refreshed the entire wearing with a couple of sprays of Ambre Fetiche and let it dry on the back of my hands for about 15 minutes. I then applied two more dabs of CdG 2 Man much earlier, while the Goutal was much fresher. Interestingly, there was very little conflict - they wore wonderfully together. Again, just two light dabs of CdG 2 Man. It still smelled fantastic - so, not just a scent one could "add" to a wearing at drydown, but actually blend if they so choose. Very impressive.

There are so many amber perfumes from which to choose. For someone new to this fabled accord of labdanum, vanilla, and benzoin (often with bergamot at the top to lift and a variety of incense materials, resins, and balsams in the base), it may be a bit overwhelming. Truth be told, amber can only be done so many ways and many scents out there that showcase it may rely more heavily on the sweeter vanilla and amber and avoid highlighting the more sensuous, animalic qualities of labdanum. There may be a tiny, wispy plume of smoke, a saturation of iso e super, or a dash of accessible fruits and florals. I am convinced that many green fragrance enthusiasts expect amber to always be quite sweet-smelling, almost gourmand. This would be furthest from the reality of the accord. Take this (rectangular bottle) version of Annick Goutal Ambre Fetiche. One of the more smoky and sultry ambers, any sweetness from vanilla is tempered by a higher ratio of benzoin that reveals more of its leathery thickness and a buttery, unctuous, labdanum. In fact, the ratio of the three weighs heavily on Cistus ladanifer, and with this the amber enters much more of an incense direction (labdanum is used just as much as olibanum in many incenses). It's also worth noting that there is a sizable dose of Styrax (Liquidambar styraciflua), a leathery resin with a profound fixative quality and its peculiar styrene top note that imparts this combustible quality that one would find in burning incense. There is just enough patchouli in its base to evoke a dry woods sensation in the dry down. I also wonder if fossilized amber absolute was actually used. Yes, even it is thought that the Amber accord was named as it imagines the scent amber resin would emit if it did have a fragrance, fossilized amber IS actually used as a perfume material! A tenacious material with fixative quality, it is a dry distillation that brings out a very smoky, almost tar-like quality, with elements of coniferous resins (as to be expected), and can be used in traces in a composition to lend some really striking effects. I have some in my possession, and could swear it was used, but perhaps it's just the styrax interacting with the other materials. One can imagine, though... A stellar amber that has unfortunately been reformulated to a rather tame version in the newer Goutal bottles, one should seek out a rectangular bottle to experience the intentions of Isabelle Doyen. A really spectacular amber to behold.

Goutal Ambre Fetiche (1069A/11, March 2021, 100ml. for USD 57) First impression Oh god, why? Why everything so far from Goutal seems done so right. This is my imaginary interpretation of Amber fragrance. Not too heavy but keep the spicy aspect there. This is quite reminded me of Ambre Sultan without heavy Aromatic component. Delightful and charming, somewhat smell like skin. Perfect, just perfect. God, I love this. 10/10 just 10/10 Please try, please people try this one. ===== Refresh note on December 16, 2024... A revisit this one like uhm.. 3 or 4 times.. uhm.. sorry people. But I am now think that Ambre Fetiche is not really "That" Beautiful. After few visit, I think Ambre Feitche rather unbalance. When the scent try to hold "Goutal-Estique" but working with heavy rendition. It result in slight lack-luster Amber fragrance... The incense is prominent, and it is the kind of incense that few like Brunt dark incense. (Not that kind of aldehydic incense) and the amber in this feel very blocky dark amber with modern material. that's majority that I can sense from this one. From 3 releases from Les Orientalistes, I think Musc and incense one go along really well with Goutal-Estique. Spicy aldehydic incense & Cozy Warm Woody Musk, this one easy to understand but it lack Melodia. It's just blocky amber all the way. My suggestion for alternative -> Patchouli Imperial (Similar blocky amber but the smoke is ethereal, smell like Church) -> Benjoin Boheme (For people who looks amber in natural stage) drop from assessment. Ps. jan 14, 2025 - it retest this just for fun and I think it somehow reminds me of Eau Lente by Diptyqye. This one is chuckier and mentol. I think I will give this a pass to declutter.

This stuff is amazing!! I was a little afraid of the smoke before trying, but as others have said it's not overpowering, because of the great balance it has with the Ambre, and other resins. I can definitely pick up the Benzoin, the Patch, and the Vanilla. None of it is overpowering. Can also pick up the flowers. Slight powder from the Iris, and slight rosey sweetness from the Geranium. This may be the most balanced, and well blended scent I have ever smelled. Currently my favorite amber, and I am still working on exploring this scent. Hint, hint. ;) There is an Edit coming as I have something that sounds special on the way. Something that also sounds too good to be true. Can't share about it until I actually have it in my hands, and have tried. Stay tuned. ;) Edit: Found a Amber Fetiche Parfume Extrait from 1981 at an online store, and ordered it. It is wonderful as you might imagine. Liquid is a darker and cloudy true amber color. It came in a beautiful flacon with a big capitol A on the front with actual bronze metal corners.. Very good performer. Labdanum is the star of this show. It is the luckiest and most prized possession in my collection. I think something like this probably happens for everyone if you are in this game long enough. ;)

Ambre Fétiche Goutal (9344A/11 2019-12-10) Ambre Fétiche has been around since 2007 and it used to be in a rectangular bottle (old formulation) which was well received. Current bottles are exquisite looking. The atomizer sprayer gives off a timed fine mist and you'll need to ensure a proper half second full press to disperse the fine mist with a good spread. It's a damn good sprayer. Juice is a lovely amber color. The opening blast was very pungent resinous balsamic, I think the notes of Styrax and Benzoin hits up my nose first so what I smelt was just a strong dose of pungent balsamic vinegar at the top but that's the Styrax/Benzoin. You'll need patience with this and do let it settle for minutes and the vinegar like balsamic settles and finally the opening is what it's supposed to be. Pleasant to smell, Very good Quality smooth Amber, with the Incense supporting it. There aren't many good Amber fragrances like Ambre Fétiche. This is a Airy, Rich, Warm, Sensual, dirty, dry incense Amber. Niche Quality. It's probably more suitable for cooler weather and is office friendly. It sits and settles on your skin for hours so it's pretty intimate too. Many ladies would love this.