Amber Ash-Sheikh

“if you are a fan of smoky tobacco fragrances such as Jeke, Tribute, and Patchouli 24” Perfect description of this fragrance from one of My favorite and Highly Underrated fragrance review blogs. All credit belongs to: https://takeonethingoff.com/blog/2022/05/31/the-attar-guide-resin-reviews-0-a/ Amber Ash Sheikh (Abdul Karim Al Faransi/Maison Anthony Marmin) Type: mukhallat Amber Ash Sheikh is a potent labdanum bomb with the feral honk of freshly-pored road tar and hot ash. Subtle it is most certainly not, but if you are a fan of smoky tobacco fragrances such as Jeke, Tribute, and Patchouli 24, and want a current of sweet, molasses-like amber running beneath, then Amber Ash Sheikh is a must-try. On my skin, it is mostly a fearsomely smoky labdanum bomb. Labdanum is a resin from the rockrose plant that can read as ashy, tobacco-ish, and leathery, or alternatively, as wet, unctuous, and caramelic. The way the resin will read in any given scenario depends on the direction the perfumer decides to take it in. The direction taken here, with Amber Ash Sheikh, is firmly that of the ashy, dry leather. The opening is so parched it sucks all the moisture out of one’s mouth, but there’s a molasses note hiding behind the ash, bringing a bitter, tarry edge for depth and texture. It is somewhat like the play on ashy and wet seen in Soleil de Jeddah by Stephane Humbert Lucas. But unlike that perfume, there are no bright fruit notes in Amber Ash Sheikh with which to relieve the unrelenting dryness. Over time – and this is an oil that plays out on the skin over the course of a day or more if you don’t shower (heck, even if you do shower) – the bittersweet molasses note emerges from the shadows, imbuing the blend with a ‘black’ note pitched halfway between soft black licorice and buckwheat honey. The stickiness of this accord is leavened by sour, dusty wood notes, which have a mitti-like pungency to them. Later, the mukhallat smoothes out into a more traditionally buttery version of labdanum, nicely granulated with a gritty, bittersweet resin that recalls both the incensey amber in Amber Absolute by Tom Ford and the dried-fruit, copal bitterness of Norma Kamali Incense. Highly recommended.

If you love ambery scent, this is the pinnacle of this "fantasy note". Artistically complimented by exhilarating earthy nuances sometimes remind me of cold black tar, masculine yet somehow in control. Smell of a man in power! but graceful enough with subtle hint of musky, floral and honey on the sweet side. This olfactive harmony is keeping it pace throughout the day by the warm vibrating amber notes. To me this the true definition of an Oriental Ultra Male! Be careful however, this attar is is known to have next level beast mode on projection, silage & longevity.

This is another one that I’m thankful for it surviving the house identity change (from AKAF to MAM). The best earthy amber ever! Once some of the ash dies down it is incredible amber! I’ve been a customer of theirs for years and they are very consistent with quality, bottle to bottle, sample to sample, sample to bottle. When they do reformulate they make announcements, and usually it’s to improve the scents anyhow. All of their scents have great, strong performance too!

Starts off extremely impressive and powerful. A gasoline amber that’ll grow hair on your chest. Dries down to a green, spicy amber skin scent that reminds me a lot of Irish Leather by Memo with a bit more cumin. While it’s all very nice, it leaves me to wonder - is MAM a clone house? I have Oud Assam on my other wrist and, similarly, once you’re past the opening, it’s basically a dead ringer for Jubilation Man. What do we think, Fragrantica?

Renamed Amber Al Sheikh for esthetical reasons only (in arabic al sheikh is pronounced ash sheikh), there is absolutely no change in the composition. ( I am the owner of the brand)

This is powerful stuff! This isn't a soft, labdanum-esqu amber you might get from other scents; as someone else stated this is stuff that will put hair on your chest. I get a lot of woods and the earthy notes with just a bit of sweetness. This is definitely a "have to be in the mood to wear" attar, but still very high quality and interesting.

I am leaving my review here as the house have repeatedly blocked my negative review on their website. I was an avid collector of Anthony Marmin attars for over a year. In recent months, I have had problems with perfumes being different from samples. I often buy samples and only end up buying the perfume a couple of months later. First with FBI, then Islamabad, and finally Amber Ash-sheikh, the samples have been wonderful... but having then purchased the perfume (usually just 1/4 tola) there have been massive differences. Islamabad and Amber ash have had the biggest difference. The sample of Amber ash was smokey, slightly sweet, incense-y and resinous. Extremely thick and dark. It lasted a whole day, and often I could smell it after sleeping too. The dry down was wonderful and as the smokiness subsided, the attar became a more common smell, reminiscent of a high end cologne (think Gucci pour Homme). So it was a 2 in 1 for me! Individual and intruding at first, and ended by being SO wearable. Unfortunately when my bottle arrived, it was obviously not the same. It was much less thick, and a very slightly different colour. The smell was pleasant but was missing the intensity by a long way. The smoke was now in the background and a prominent honey note took centre stage. Within minutes, it fades to a whisper, and after about 2/3 hours, it has virtually disappeared unless you smell your skin directly. If you read other reviews, they all talk about the strength, projection, longevity... well that was the sample I got. Not the bottle. I left a negative review saying exactly this and they removed it. They sent me an email saying my review was incorrect and that the perfume has exactly the same composition. So I sent them photos of the sample and bottle side by side, showing the difference in colour and viscosity. No reply since. I was a massive fan of this house but they have lost my trust and all my future business. I am sure the difference is because they are made in small batches. But the difference is so great, it is not fair to customers. And their responses to me have essentially been “it’s fine if you don’t like it but they are the same as always”. I may not be a perfumer by self but having lived with a sample for a month, I know how it smells! If you look on their website you will not find any negative reviews. Now I know why...