Amber & Sandalwood

Kuumba Made is a brand I keep coming back to, because in the market of Natural Perfumery, their products are vastly superior in quality. I recently purchased a 3.7ML Amber-Sandalwood oil-roll-on and the 200ML Amber-Sandalwood body lotion to go along with it for a very reasonable price point. Initially, Kuumba Made sent me a few fragrance samples in little square foil containers that contained probably 1ML of fragrance oil. A great way to do samples, in my opinion! Amber-Sandalwood was one of them, and upon opening and using the sample, I enjoyed it so much I purchased both the fragrance oil & the body lotion, to use separately or together. What I TRULY am pleased with, is that Kuumba Made did NOT use ‘Rose’ in this composition. Sometimes, it’s what you DON’T do...that makes a fragrance really stand out and shine ....and this is one of those occasions!! The Amber-Sandalwood Fragrance Oil is expertly-blended and formulated. Upon initial application, the carrier oil used to deliver the fragrance is smooth and clean and non-staining. It is thick and sits on the skin well and also rubs in well if you like to spread the application as I do, but still sits atop the skin working its magic. I love Sandalwood, and to my nose...it is the dominant note I experience when I wear it. The Sandalwood used is not the ‘Head Shop’ variety that turn so may people off of Sandalwood, but most likely a clean & pure Extract like EO, or an Absolute Extract or C02 extract...or some combination of. The Sandalwood accord is “Buttery-Sweet-Smooth-Slight Powder” ...all while remaining both “Woody-Incense” at the same time. Its a very good Sandalwood that works very well in this composition. The Amber is 2nd Chair, and Kuumba Made is LEGENDARY for their Amber Paste and Amber fragrance in general. In this instance...It is tempered down to allow the Sandalwood to shine as the dominant note. The Amber accord here is of the ‘Sweet-Resinous-Mild Spice” variety and works very well with both the carrier oil and the Sandalwood. Very well done! It is a ‘brighter’ accord and uplifts and brightens the entire composition. The 200ML Amber Sandalwood Body Lotion is wonderful! The base lotion Kuumba Made uses is non-greasy and the perfect consistency of thick/thin. It covers well, rubs in well, and smells devine. The Scent Profile of the lotion is near identical to the oil fragrance, but much more mellow and smooth. You still get a BIG KISS of Sandalwood & Amber when you apply it however it is not as intense as the oil fragrance (as it should be). If you have both like I do, you can modify it by a quick roll-on your palm before you put the lotion on....thereby increasing the fragrance but not changing or altering it in any way! Very Pleased with this! THE VERDICT Oil -Roll-On Fragrance: E X C E L L E N T Body Lotion: E X C E L L E N T

I adore this oil, I really do. When you first apply it the citrus notes are very strong and might smell like baby powder to some but if you wait an hour it settles down into this beautiful warm delicious scent which will last you a while. I like to let it stand alone but sometimes pair it with a mist as well. I always get compliments when I wear this and not just compliments but people will NEED to know what you're wearing. For such a good price point it's definitely worth a try!

A lovely, warm, smooth and almost creamy fragrance. It has a beautiful balance between the sandalwood and the amber and a pleasant sweetness to it. There are some citrus notes in the opening that brightens the composition and gives it a sunny and cheerful start. Towards the drydown, when the citrus fades away, the scent becomes more cozy and comforting. Longevity is about 7-8 hours and sillage is medium.

I've owned this for many years now. It's the kind of scent that doesn't necessarily get detected as a scent per se by others; the way it blends with my natural scent and lingers close to my skin makes others ask me not what I'm wearing, but simply comment that I smell really nice.

This doesn't really smell like anything else. It's very sandalwood/ambery but there's a good bit of rose and musk too. Sort of soapy and powdery. Makes me think of old times and antiques. Like old fashioned soap. Very unique. Very high quality for the price.

This smells almost exactly like Lorenzo Villoresi Musk. Citrus, rose, sandalwood, musk.. Powdery and beautiful.

This is a fragrance that blends with your body chemistry. It does not project ( most likely because it lacks alcohol or aldehydes). Your audience will note that YOU “smell wonderful!” rather than what are you wearing? I note that others have commented that they find the amber note evanescent, if they can discern it at all. That is not my experience. I can detect it throughout the day, as well as the sandalwood. This has a 70s-80s vibe but is much more subtle; you won’t smell like you work in a headshop!! Suitable for outdoor venues and office friendly. A good value for the price. Longevity is 5-6 hours, fading gradually.

Someone call Amber and tell her to get here ASAP! Seriously, though, I get absolutely zero amber from this. None. Sandalwood and citrus all the way. It’s still really pretty and wears really well! It’s just not as advertised. I’m thinking I might scoop up Kuumba’s Amber Paste to layer with this and create the fragrance I’d been looking forward to!

I definitely smell more of sandalwood than amber in this, but it doesn't bother me as much. I think the notes are spot on especially on my skin. It mainly reminds me of incense, like walking into one of those crystal shops. I pair it with a fruity musk perfume which makes it smell overall better rather than wearing it alone :)

Give this one a little time, and what's left is a sweet, spicy amber. Very rich and classic as ambers go, more spicy than their amber paste. It's strong, so only a little is needed, and it lasts all day. I prefer it over the Sage Machado Amber oil or the Auric Blends oil. Not expensive, it's a good deal.

At first it smelled slightly soapy to me, but then it was just simply beautiful!! :) Great for layering to add complexity to a perfume. A little dab goes a long way.

Citrus note is very present in the opening. Not dominant but noteworthy. The sandalwood is soft. The amber and spicy are faint. It's a gentle, pleasant scent.

Not what I had hoped for. On my skin it comes across as quite a "biting" scent, thanks to the citruses and the spices I assume. I wish that the woodiness was considerably smoother. Also longevity is really weak, it stays for under 2 hours. I keep wondering if it has some layering potential but just can't get over the citrusy notes which make it smell almost rancid. There's no batch code on the small bottle so I can't check how old it is either.

The comments section for this oil is all over the place. There may be multiple musks at play in the perfume, and some of us are partially anosmic to it. For what it's worth, I'm one of the people who finds it sedate. Candied lemon, then a sticky sweet brick of benzoin overtop vanilla and soapy, powdery musks. The "sandalwood" is creamy and smooth, but not very... wood-y? As far as ambers go, I don't find it particularly spicy.

A little incensy, but in a much subtler way than their Frankincense & Myrrh. Also a little powdery, a little citrusy, a little resinous. Not getting much amber, as many have said, but that's okay. Definite potential for layering to create some sweetness... Will wear when I want to be like a hippie, but subtly and cleanly.

I honestly do not recommend this one. The citrus accord is a bit overbearing and the dry down is a bit better but there are way better fragrance oils.

I'm getting only the powder notes of amber from this. Don't really detect any sandalwood or resinous depth at all on my skin or sniffing the bottle directly. If there is sandalwood, it is completely consumed by the powder/amber scents and is undetectable. I think it is a bit too powdery and feminine for me so returning it to the store. I like the more benzoin vanilla and sweet resinous amber scents over pure potent powder.

Eeew this is not nice at the start. Why did they add the citrus note!. It does not work. I thought it would just be amber and sandalwood. Thankfully with time it does mellow and is not quite so bad. Its ok from a distance. Such a shame as I love the Amber paste. Quite delicious. This doesnt hang around more than an hour or two. Oh well I tried it. Thank God I didnt blind buy as I was tempted.

Predominately dry, powdery sandalwood with a bit of spicy warmth. I don’t pick up on much (if any) amber, and I find the sandalwood too pungent and unbalanced. Fantastic projection and, if memory serves, good longevity.

Dissapointing. Where is the amber???

I've been favorably impressed with the oils from this line, and this is no exception. But I was not expecting to like it THIS much. A balanced blend of amber and sandalwood with maybe just a little more amber than sandalwood. Lately I've been wearing Tom Ford Santal Blush with KM Amber Paste (gorgeous combination) so I thought I would try this and see if it smells the same. It really doesn't; the sandalwood here is very subtle and is sweetened to lovely effect by the amber. In my aforementioned combo teh sandalwood is louder and the amber more subtle. Maybe I do not have enough experience with amber but most amber fragrances I've tested smell the same to me. My nose cannot tell the difference between KM Amber Paste and Serge Lutens's, L'Artisan's and other houses' fine amber perfumes. So for now I'll stay with the very satisfying ambers from Kuumba Made, because they smell great to me and are so inexpensive it is almost criminal. Longevity is about two hours so of course in that respect the more expensive ones outshine it. But I don't mind applying more at various intervals throughout the day!

Was definitely expecting more amber and citrus, the powdery-sweet-citrus notes kill the richness of the amber and the sandalwood - after it settles in a bit less of the citrus thank god, i agree with the incense shop scent but vary vague, i'd prefer it to be more spicy. not totally disappointed, going to try layering this with more of my ambers to see what comes out. it's definitely nice and good quality smelling! would suit someone who prefers sweeter things but wants to try going the spicy route without much risk

Sweet floral (rose) with powder and soft woodiness. Comforting. Not as long lasting as some of these oils from Kuumba Made, and does not project. There is some citrus at the beginning, and the woodiness is strongest at the beginning too. Evolves into a rose and powdery amber scent. To my sensibilities, this leans more feminine.

beautiful citrus opening, and as it settles into my skin i get more of the sweet and woody notes. a good longevity, but not as good as some of the other kuumba oils. this reminds me of karma and lord of misrule from lush, both of which i love. definitely would be great for layering with other perfumes.

i really love this!! its sweet, woody, and powdery! perfect for when you want a perfume that doesnt smell too much like perfume and you want to smell naturally seductive, i love to layer it with dragons blood oil to make the amber note pop more

This one is very waxy in my opinion, big citrus element underneath the sweetness, but doesn't really smell (to me) of good quality. It's like a lot of the solstice scents where it feels like you spread on a thick waxy baby oil plus a few notes.

I found the citrus note in this very prominent. Unfortunate, as I do not care for citrus on myself.

Smells like a cola scent! Reminds me of a simpler Raghba Latafa minus the oud.