Ambre Antique

Ambre Antique (Coty Infiniment, 2025) 5-stars for being a naive & original pioneer The key accord is amber absolutely (subtle animalic musk), whose style is much in line with 1900-1930. The top note (bergamot) is not prominent; instead, powdery florals (iris, violet, maybe carnation) are quite heavy. This part is very similar to L’Heure Bleue without almond and anise notes. Moreover, iris note is so pronounced that even reminds me of Iris Gris or Iris Silver Mist. Thinking of Art Nouveau, Alphonse Mucha, you‘ll understand its soft and romantic charm. It’s rich, compact, and dense, like a moist, creamy cake. ---------- However, compared to Emeraude (15 years later) and Shalimar (20), Ambre Antique is simpler and more naive in structure, lacking brassy, come-hither flamboyance. It smells like an unpretentious lady born in late 1880s, dressed in high-waisted Empire Josephine Dress, looking forward to breaking free from corsets and crinolines, while bothered by the strange looks from conservative people around. In other words, Ambre Antique is closer to L'Origan / Apres L'ondee / L'Heure Bleue for its timid, gentle and soft characters, rather than the fully radiant Emeraude / Shalimar. ---------- Finally, the opulent texture of Ambre Antique is exactly what the current Guerlain lacks in Shalimar / L’Heure Bleue / Apres L‘Ondee. In other words, Guerlain keeps the skeleton and soul now, but loses its richness, and becomes tanned and thin. My wild imagination suggests to spray some Ambre Antique over the current Guerlain to discover the ivory luxury, the warm skin, and the blurred nostalgia. ---------- There won’t be many surprises if you are so familiar with Spoturno 1921 / vintage Shalimar / L'Heure bleue. Its texture, however, is remarkably excellent to be a benchmark. If you only want "10 bottles of perfect perfumes" for a lifetime, then forget it. If you, like me, enjoy exploring the golden aura of historic perfumes, then Ambre Antique is a must-buy.

I just got this in the mail and sprayed it on a couple hours ago and overall the scent is good. It does have a vintage smell to it. It's for sure powdery and ambery. I'm not getting much citrus, but yes to the florals. It does smell slightly feminine tbh. I have every iteration of Shalimar and it does smell similar in the sense that it's a powdery ambery floral. I don't want to go on about Shalimar, but this doesn't smell as rich and sweet like Shalimar. There's no mega-overdose of vanilla in this. This is more of the powdery iris and a dusty vintage smell in a good way. My bottle is 14**/1900. It's somewhat pricy just over 400, but it's a parfum concentration at 75ml. Shalimar is a Parfum at 30ml and $300, but can be had second hand at 180, so the value is there, in my opinion. I don't think they will make this beyond these, but they may make an EDP to go with the rest of their new line of 14 fragrances. Those go for 290 for a 75ml EDP and from what I hear the projection isn't there. This for sure projects, so I wouldn't worry about that. Overall rating 8.8/10 which would be a 4.4/5 for fragrantica. The current 4.48 is appropriate. With my vote it's now a 4.5. I am willing to bet this will go down as the highest rated fragrance from the brand, which evidently took 10 years to build. They are a busy company working with so many oth high end fashion designers, and I do think this is their masterpiece created with a brief of their own and not one of another corporation. If this was not a well known brand, you would consider this scent niche like a Roja. If he made it it would be 1200.

OMG, Ambre Antique is AMAZING! What a piece of history and art.... My bottle is number 13/1905. It's very, very vintage (no surprises there...) and it really takes you on a journey... It smells EXACTLY as it would have done in 1905 (a few short years before my father was born). You get a blast of old-fashioned rose, jasmine and orris, with a soft vanilla amber at the base. It takes me back to the 1960's, 1970's when I was a child... It smells similar to something (I don't know what) that I would have smelled on my elderly relatives in France as a child (I have a great aunt who was born in the late 1800's)... It's not quite a Guerlain, or a Chanel, but something older still. What a privilege to have something so historic and beautiful! It has a touch of the Ernest Beaux about it... You can tell it's the same era as Chanel #22 But it's not soapy like 22, or aldehydic. It's hard to explain what history smells like! But somehow this is familiar, as if I have smelled it before, though I couldn't tell you the specifics. It really is incredible.

Ambre Antique is more minimalist and understated than L'Origan. The orris is so prominent it recalls Chanel 28 La Pausa and Guerlain L'Heure Bleue. At one point, it even bears a resemblance to Chanel Le Lion or Ambre Sultan. Subtle notes of bergamot and vanilla establish Ambre Antique's genetic link to Shalimar. The powdery orris is enveloped in a dense, soft jasmine-orange blossom accord, while the woody notes and amber have fused into one. Beyond amber, I suspect Ambre Antique also contains violet and carnation—essential elements of any soft oriental fragrance. I haven't smelled vintage Ambre Antique, but I find the re-release possesses only the “foundational structure.” Its floral notes are less pronounced than L'Origan's, nor does it share L'Origan's complexity and opulence. It's a fragrance aligned with early 20th-century aesthetics. Before Infiniment Coty reissued Ambre Antique, its original scent could only be experienced at the Osmothèque.

My first blind buy and I’m so happy with it. As a 26 year old, this definitely smells vintage but not in the typical “grandma” way, on my skin at least. On me, I mostly get the amber, iris, and vanilla, a combo that smells so elegant and classic but sweet/comforting enough to appeal to modern amber lovers, or the vanilla girlies of my generation. I don’t get any citrus opening(which always make me sneeze) and thankfully no aldehyde, which is what I believe makes other vintage perfumes smell dated and grandmother-esque. It fuels my love of vintage makeup and lipstick scents without being waxy or cold like other popular iris perfumes. Just overall a smooth, resinous, comforting cloud of amber and surpisingly fitting in the current fragrance scene, despite being made in 1905. I hope to preserve this and wear it till I’m in my 50s, by which they hopefully have released another batch.