Amethyst Exquise

This one is more intricate than it seems at first. All in all, I would still define it as a clean scent, at it's core. But it is one of the most oriental and whimsical clean scents I can imagine. It is a clear and dark purple amethyst stone (much more like the actual dark gem than the original Amethyst scent is, I think). And to me, it smells like the stone is set in a piece of silver jewellery, in antique silver, not in gold. In the beginning, there is a lot of syrupy dark berry, but not sugary sweet kind. The berries aren't really decernible indiviually, the are just there in an intense, but still very loose and mysterious way. Like walking through a damp forest. You know there are berries in the undergrowth, a lot of them, but they are hiding their identity. Strangely, I smell a strong bitter almond or amaretto scent, too, in the first minute. There is a strong, dewy, dark floral scent from the start, too. Not like flowers in a well kept garden, it is all grown together here, flowers and thorny branches and hidden berries, on a moist and rich soil. The woody notes are very clean and have the synthetic Amethyst vibe to it, but not in the rubbery way the original can sometimes tend to be. There is luckily non of the generic and headache inducing, heavily sweet sandalwood, that seems to be omnipresent in perfume these days. The woody base here is what's keeping the whole thing clean (and dark silvery instead of golden) and cool-headed. The bitter almond / amaretto note from the start turns into something resinous and comforting. I also think there might be a little smokey incense in this with the woods. When it comes down to it, this perfume is very grounded and down to earth, nostalgic romantic, not head-in-the-clouds romantic. I like the picture of a long walk through a dark, rather cold and foggy autumn forest for this perfume a lot. It is a fairy tale in a bottle, but rather an original and sometimes harsh Grimm tale, not a Disney version. It has a grown up, silky and complex dry down. It's not a happy ever after thing. More like wandering for ever after, with happiness and loss and longing, all tied up together. I love it!

Well. This amethyst range continues to surprise me. Much as when I bought the first, this is different than what I anticipated. For the original, I wasn’t prepared for the herbal note- however it grew to be a favorite of mine. I just wished it lasted longer. Queue the Exquise. Boozy is the right word, as referenced many times below. Boozy berries. The base notes of the sandalwood, benzoin, vanilla, it’s giving me a cream note- that initially lead me to think there was coconut in here? Almost like the coconut I get in dolce and gabana the only one intense, but not as intense. Expensive farmers market Grape Jelly is another thought that crossed my mind when I first got my nose in the crook of my arm. Not the smuckers type, this jam has twine tied around the neck of the bottle in a bow. In a climatic turn...Carolina Herreras good girl, although this happens more on blotter paper than skin. They don’t smell the same but they could be distant relatives- both share a masculine edge. I know most who have reviewed say it’s a basic berry perfume, but I don’t have anything like this in my collection. This perfume is as thrifty as MacGyver hog tied in a tunnel. It surprised me, pleasantly. All season, day or night, moderate longevity. Love it!

Amethyst Exquise is such a great berries scent. It’s a complex and yet simple perfume. I love the berries in it but it has depth brought on by the woods, the florals, vanilla, heliotrope and the gardenia. It is my favorite out of the three Amethyst bottles. I used to have all three but only kept Exquise in the end because it has the most beautiful, complex, creamy and evocative scent. To my nose, it smells like dark and juicy berries that have been mixed with a bit of booze and topped with a dollop of sweet thick cream. Delightful! I love to layer it with Meliora by Parfums de Marly. It gives Meliora the depth and creaminess that she needs to shine. Call me sacrilege for doing it but they smell pretty darn amazing together! On its own, Amethyst Exquise has really good longevity, enormous sillage and projection and for a bottle of that price, I think you are getting a pretty good bang for your buck, personally. All in all, a great perfume to try out. It’s one of those Springtime ones that’s hard to refuse!

Lalique Amethyst Exquise EDP is the dark syrup of the bunch. This is the sweetest of the 3 Amethysts but this is not sweet in a juvenile way. LAE is exquisitely sweet, captivating, sexy and unique. There is still that recognizable Amethyst synthetic base which makes these perfumes feel more niche in nature. As dense and cozy as this perfume smells, it is surprisingly great in hot summer weather as well. There is no bothersome musk, no annoying amber, just clean, fresh, inviting sweetness. LAE is another in the line of Amethyst which is a must have for me. It is a great signature perfume that I can wear all year long. This is the most generally palatable of the 3 but remains unique enough to be appreciated by those who seek to smell "different." Recently discovered that this is very similar to Gucci Guilty Absolute Pour Femme. You don't need both but there is a smokey oud touch that comes out in LAE during the winter.

A successful blind buy. Based on the reviews, I expected something else, maybe something a bit more fresh fruity but nevertheless I'm very happy with what I got. It is fruity and sweet, yes, but more of a ripe, syrup-y sweet fruity, which is beautifully balanced with the woody base notes. A bit of a dark and mysterious scent, but this darkness is not a sharp, strong, black darkness that some smoky kind of fragrance like for example a TF Black Orchid have, but definitely a dark purple of the berries. A sweet and inviting darkness. I managed to get a 100 ml bottle of this for about $20, and for that price it is a steal. I find that after a couple hours it starts to become more of a skin scent, and I think the sillage is not so strong in the first few hours either. Overall, a very beautiful scent in my opinion.