Amberland

Happyland Amberland is one of my favorite perfumes from this Ohio-based independent house of many hits. Its dominant orange blossom note is rounded by citruses, resins, sandalwood, vanilla, and patchouli, which is more or less the full list, the result being a great mix of sharp, sweet, citrus, hearty, resinous, and just a wee bit spicy. It’s refreshing yet bold, something that wakes me up in the morning and feels safe enough while still being noticeable and provocative. Like the rest of the Happyland catalogue, the pricing on Amberland is very reasonable, at $55/42 for 50/30ml, and it performs very well, maybe not the very best of the house (I might get the best performance out of Se7en, myself), but outstanding, regardless of price. And, like several other Happyland releases, Amberland is quite versatile, bold while still feeling year-round appropriate, comforting yet invigorating and provocative, a sort of unisex modern niche signature scent that somehow still demonstrates an awareness of the classics. Se7en remains my favorite from the house but together with Happyland Signature, Amberland is a close second. It’s an excellent release and one I’d recommend that everyone try. 8 out of 10

I have owned this for quite a while now. At first, I thought it smelled good, but was overly sweet. I am not sure if my bottle macerated or if my nose adjusted, but now I find it absolutely amazing. It smells more complex and interesting than the note breakdown suggests. There is definitely sweetness with a powdery honey amber feel and a jammy rose, and the best vanilla I own. The grapefruit accord definitely breaks down the heavy amber and rose lightening up the blend a bit. This is an incredible scent. I was traveling with it in my bag, and the bottle (as HappyLand bottles are known to sometimes do) leaked a little bit in my bag. Now, months later, my bag still smells so good every time I open it. I see the comparisons to Ambre Nuit and Grand Soir. I don't own Ambre Nuit, but I get the Grand Soir comparison. However, Amberland is MUCH more complex and interesting. I would pick it over Grand Soir almost every time.

I blind bought this because the Fragrance Apprentice was really admiring it and usually love what he loves. Someone below said this is very masculine- well I certainly think it would be wonderful, sweet, warm and sexy on a man but it is all that for me too. It is nice and strong as well! I think this would last more than 8 hours. It outlasted an oud fragrance by Lorga Parfums I was testing on the other hand. Now I am freshly bathed and decided to rock this as my evening fragrance because it really is gorgeous. I am not sure what to compare it to- it is different than something like Ambre Précieux or Ambre Sultan- I believe it is lighter on labdanum- but it is still very ambery. The bottle is cute as well with a fun aesthetic to the brand. It has a fantastic, pressure contolled sprayer. I love it! And the drydown gets more and more sublime..

Best ambers of all time, I recently sold most of my ambers since I only used this one. Resembles grand soir in a way that both are ambers and nothing else. No similarity to 40knots. Its a fresh and artistic representation of a resinous and vanillic amber. I love it.

E.J. is the man. This is like Ambre Nuit and Grand Soir had a baby on steroids. Slightly powdery, very faint hint of rose perfectly blended, and syrupy sweet vanilla dry down. Absolute perfection in every way. Perfectly unisex and elegant, I'm in love with this.

It grew on me didn’t like it at first but now I love it

Wow, this one is heavy and fills a room, only 1 spray is needed. Starts off with a very powdery and amber feel all thanks to the labdanum. It is well-balanced, however, just like EJ's other offerings. This one is rich and heavy, actually made me sneeze after I sprayed it. Sillage is great, will easily fill a room with only 1 small spray. I think any more than that and I would be overwhelmed! Like most other Happyland scents, I easily get 8+ hours on this one. This is a very nice scent, quite calming and bright, but just a little too powdery for my nose. Dries down into ambery vanilla, but still holds that labdanum powderiness. The citrus in this help balances it all out. Very interesting and quite nice. I can see this one working on women as well. Overall - 7.5/10 EDIT: This is Dior's Ambre Nuit, just a lot stronger.

A simple warm, creamy amber scent with a bright, effervescent orangey top. Has a modest medicinal quality to it that might indicate some additional resins or balsams. Moderately strong projection fades over 4-5hr, longevity 10-12hr. Reminiscent of a more vanillic Jo Malone Myrrh & Tonka, or a thinner and fresher MFK Grand Soir, more than Ambre Nuit.

Another take on Se7en, with resinous olibanum instead of incense. Can’t deny this house has a way with amber. VG

I appreciate this beast. To me, this is a fresh and elegant concoction that eventually dries down into a slightly edible, yet, still fancy vanilla/amber one-two. One of those fragrances that just makes me happy knowing I have it. The opening feels like a perfectly meshed grapefruity citrus and floral rumble, blended with a little spiciness in the mid-section. The entire transitioning all the way to the drydown is a fun experience. I'd call this a daring scent but daring installs a little fear in taking a chance. To me, this is a damn near safe blind-buy for fancy occasions. Perhaps even in a job environment where you're required to dress nicely. It's fairly unique and actually smells a little bit gourmand.

This is a moderate projecting amber that is syrupy and closest amber fragrance I've smelled to pure amber. The vanilla sweetens the fragrance up a little, but not by much. Fantastic all year around. The labdanum is there as a fixative, as labdanum is IMO the strongest fixative to assist with fragrance longevity. Simple, not complex, and an easy wear. Top 10 Fall Fragrance of all time. I've worn and enjoyed wearing Amberland in the summer, although I'm sure Amberland would serve better wearing in a more mild climate.

Starts off with a blast of amber and a touch of grapefruit. After the initial dry down, the amber, labdanum and vanilla accords all share the spotlight pretty equally on this one... ...Leathery, but the leather isn’t overdone. It’s spicy with that pepper note and a bit on the sweet side but doesn’t offend. A great fall sweater weather pick because it jumps off my skin in the cool air. This is a very masculine scent IMHO. Scent 8 Projection 7.5 Sillage. 7 Longevity 8

The longer I own this the more it smells like rose potpourri. It has a dry soapy aspect that vaguely reminds me of pink powdered bath soap from when I was was a child. It also cojures a memory of the bubblegum that used to be wrapped in wax paper with comics on it. The type that would get very hard and shatter when you bit into it. This used to be a creamy amber scent but now the rose pushes way too hard off my skin.

As soon as I sprayed this I thought Gaultier II. So I went and sprayed some on my other arm, so damn similar. I’m glad I found this because that’s discontinued.