Intense Amber

With all the hype surrounding Montale, you would think that most of their perfumes are very well known and talked about. Not the case with So Amber. For some reason that’s beyond me, nobody mentions this! I had the opportunity to visit Montale store in Milan last year in March and So Amber really surprised me. Very positively! I just tried it on a whim, and I was instantly hooked. It could be the misleading name that’s doesn’t draw the attention. Because So Amber has very little amber! It’s very much a sweet, fruity, powdery rose, smoothened by vanilla, sandalwood and musk. The usual combination of saffron and ambergris that has been made worldwide popular by Francis Kurkdijan is present in here and creates magic in the air! Yes, So Amber it’s mostly rose, raspberry and vanilla but the saffron and ambergris blend together so effortlessly and elevate the rose smell. And offers it power and warmth! I am surprised that it doesn’t contain labdanum or benzoin or amber, because it comes across very warm, resinous feeling and almost balsamic. Also, I suspect a honey note in mid notes, the way the rose is sweetened here makes me think of natural honey more than sugar cubes. Very rich and dense, but also extremely feminine and slightly gourmand. Even though it stays under the radar, I personally think that So Amber is a great fragrance. It’s really a beautiful scent, close to being mass appealing. That said, you need to love an intense rose smell mixed with raspberries, vanilla and saffron. As a side note, I own quite a few rose scents, but none smell similar to this. Rose is probably the most popular flower in perfumes, but here smells different. In a very good way different! The projection and longevity are both excellent. It lasts all day on my clothes and I get wafts of sweet roses every time I move. Spring, fall or winter appropriate. This is not a rose perfume for warm temperatures. Whit all these said, I am obsessed with this! Honeyed, powdery rose, that’s what I get from So Amber! So underrated and soo affordable!

Another sample from Neiman Marcus. Just lovely, a definite floral woody vibe. I give it a solid 6/10 for a potential full bottle purchase.

Looking to sell my bottle. Few sprays missing, comes full presentation. UK shipping only.

So I got a sample of this, together with a sample of Aoud Forest. These two fragrances have two things in common. For one, they both have misleading names. Secondly, they're sort of similar. Aoud Forest is basically a rose/oud fragrance with citrus and some aquatic notes. The oud is really subtle, almost undetectable. So Amber has a very similar vibe, but it doesn't have the citrus. It smells of rose and ambroxan. So, less aquatic than Aoud Forest, but still kind of aquatic. Now the ambroxan that I detect is probably the ambergris, it smells like ambroxan to me; salty and fresh. There's also a slight honey-like quality to So Amber, I'm guessing that must be the saffron, but I'm not sure. Vanilla, musk, raspberry, it might all be there sweetening up the rose scent, but I can't really point them out. The rose top note just doesn't ever seem to fade. Very peculiar. Longevity is really good. It lasted allllll day on my hair, and I still get wafts of roses every time I move. It's damn impressive, because nothing, absolutely nothing lasts this long on me! I can still smell it ever so slightly on my wrist, even. Amazing! My skin eats perfume, normally. I just don't see what this has to do with amber, just like I don't see what Aoud Forest has to do with a forest. That said, I quite like this! Salty rose, that's what this is.

Maybe it’s because I’m not so familiar with the smell of ambergris, but this smells minty to me in the top notes when I smell up close. From a distance, the rose is coming out. The rose surprisingly isn’t turning sour as rose generally does on my. It’s more waxy or creamy and is starting to smell like a rose scented soap. I’m trying this from a sample, and from the name this isn’t at all what I expected to be wear today based off the name. It’s not bad however. I think this would be more suitable as a spring scent, and I’ll probably at least use up the rest of the sample at that time. If I’m ever looking for a new rose, I’d consider this, depending on how the dry down turns out.