Eau de Mandarine Ambrée

So, after being utterly unsuccessful in aquiring a bottle of 24 Faubourg Eau Delicate, I decided to try the new kid on the Hermes block - Eau de Mandarine Ambrée. Normally, the amber is not my thing; it just does not seem to work with my chemistry. This one, however, is different - it plays very nice! The initial spritz was like a burst of fresh mandarin, fresh, invigorating and totally go-go-go (a good thing for procrastinators, like me). Then came the sweet stuff, or, should I say the sweat stuff... That was depressing. I thought, "uh-oh, another one of those great on everyone else, but utter stinker on me" perfumes... But, not a minute later, the fruity amber settled in, in a good way - cozy, with that personal warmth hint, and not at all overbearing, or straight out unbearable. What a relief! I will be wearing this one after all! And, I think, I like it even better than Eau Delicate (which was perhaps too heavy on LOTV on me). The only issue I have with Hermes scents is that they just don't project or last, at least on me. The Eau de Mandarine Ambrée's sillage is zero; after less than an hour, I have to shove my nose deep into my wrist to detect it. Longevity is just under 3 hours. Where and when to wear this? Everywhere and "everywhen"! It is a subtle fragrance, and every-day scent, safe for the office and the first date, any time, any age. And you know what else? I think, the stuffy socialites who have all the money but no class, should put this in their Social First Aid kit ;)

Eau de Mandarine Ambree by Hermes was one of my first citrus heavy perfumes, alongside Guerlain’s Mandarin Basilic. It is a perfume that I have purchased during a late spring trip in Seville, Spain, good years ago and every spring I wear it, it takes me back to Seville and the multitude of citruses, (not just mandarins) I have seen everywhere around that city. So it’s one of those nostalgic perfumes in my collection... Even though since then I’ve discovered so many perfumes and niche brands, I love Eau de Mandarin Ambree as much as the day I bought it. It’s such a simple, light, warm, sweet citrusy, tropical fruity scent and has that photorealistic quality that other citrusy forward fragrances in my collection don’t, because usually those focuses on a mix of citruses or have a strong citrusy character just in the opening and then become something else. This is a natural mandarin smelling perfume, very true to how mandarins smell in real life, exactly like when you peel a mandarin orange with a hint of passion fruit added, grounded by amber. That’s it, nothing more and nothing less!! And sometimes beauty comes from simple things! Yes, the performance of Eau de Mandarine Ambree sucks and I don’t think I would repurchase it for current prices, but as long as my bottle lasts I will be enjoying it during late spring and summertime and relive those memories associated with the time I had bought my bottle of Eau de Mandarine Ambree...

For once, Hermès' note listing tells the full story, or at least most of it. Knowing Jean-Claude Ellena, there's probably incense or some obscure spice bubbling in the background in addition to the succulent fruit and silky amber, but the main impression here is mandarin - not sticky or overly sweet, but realistically juicy all the same, with a layer of passionfruit to make the whole thing smell as drinkable as it is wearable. Eau de Mandarine Ambrée is arguably the least esoteric of the Hermès cologne line, an exercise in the beauty of simplicity and the uncomplicated joy of sweet citrus done really, really well. The lasting power is perfect - not as fleeting as Eau d'Orange Verte (gone in 60 glorious seconds), but not one of those modern Weekend at Bernie's citruses that hang around long after the soul has left the body. And unlike most colognes, I can see this working in any weather. Mandarin has shades of autumn in its smell and taste profile, being a kissing cousin to the Christmassy clementine, and the amber base offers a surprising amount of body for this type of scent. Familiar but unique, hard to dislike, and affordable on discount sites (as of this writing). If you love orange, you need Mandarine Ambrée in your life.

Eau de Mandarine Ambrée is sweet and citrusy with faint greenness, it’s very smooth and never harsh on my nose. Mandarin and passion fruit combo seems to me bit like sweeter grapefruit, if I didn’t know it was those two I would have thought of it as grapefruit with more sweetness and something else that I could not get my nose around. As time goes the faint greenness that I got at the beginning fades away and citrus mellows so that the amber can be spotted better. This is straightforward spring/summer citrus scent, but sweetness seems to extend scents range to slightly colder days I would think it otherwise could do. Mandarine Ambrée stays in my skin most of the day, but then again most scents do. Sillage is ok, I get wafts of this throughout the day. It’s not one of those “notice me” sillages, but people close to you will notice it. Overall it’s well done sweet citrus scent that is bright and uplifting though nothing new or original.

What a pleasant fragrance! I was worried it was gonna smell too bitter or strongly of amber, but I was pleasantly surprised when I sprayed it on my skin. It smells exactly like a mandarine, with slight hints of amber of passionfruit, and somehow there's a faint note of vanilla too. It's super refreshing and perfect for those hot summer days! The longevity is left to desire, however. It lasted about 3-4 hours on my skin, with a very intimate projection. However, when I went outside (it was very humid), I suddenly could smell it on me, yet I only applied it to my wrists. The value is pretty alright, and the scent is unisex. 6.5/10. The scent is amazing imo, but the value for the performance is not good enough. For that price, I would want something that lasts longer or projects better.