Ambre Cashmere Intense

Ambre Cashmere Intense is a lovely veil of scent that wears like a sheer scarf or a light silk blouse, with a transparency that depends not on fussy aromachemicals or plastic aquatics, but on excellent materials skillfully blended with a light touch and an eye towards real people who want real perfume for their real lives. It's graceful, and it speaks in a gentle murmer, whereas so many amber fragrances these days growl or even shout to make their presence known. I like a good growl, and the sexiness that entails, but I don't always want to broadcast my scent to the four winds, especially when I'm going to be in close quarters, at work or at dinner or shopping or just living my life, with people who may or may not be appreciative of perfume. The secret weapon herein is iris, which keeps the perfume close to your body but also lends it diffuse sense of elegance. It's a different kind of elegance than Daim Blond, another quiet iris perfume, which has a lot more discernable orris butter, so much so that it suggests leather, and an almost sunny osmanthus/apricot accord that seems tentatively cheerful when I wear it, lit with a soft but intense glow from within. With Ambre Cashmere Intense, the vanilla and hints of warm spices are diffused and diaphonous. (Lots of people, including Luca Turin, get pepper from this, but I don't, unless it's a slightly peppery aspect of what I think is violet leaf, which sometimes reminds me a little of arugula--no Parma violets or purple candy here). Oriental lovers of Shalimar will appreciate the scent profile--vanilla, perhaps a touch of benzoin, a soft labdanum that suugests skin rather than leather, and just a hint of sweet opoponax to contribute incense to the perfume's overall luxurious profile--and lovers of Prada's Infusion series, or of Penhaligon's Iris Prima--will recognize a kindred spirit, a perfume that murmurs but doesn't mumble, that can go anywhere anytime and which will only reveal itself to someone who gets very close. In this age of faceless crowd pleasers and highly specific (not to mention expensive and often crude) nichery, a versatile but still complex perfume made of good materials that also smells distinctive is a rare find and worth making room for in your collection. Consider that the retail price comes in below most mainstram fragrances, and that Nicolai sensibly offer a 30ml size for those of us who already know we won't ever wear all the perfume we own, and Ambre Cashmere Intense is a no-brainer, especially as the weather turns colder and we need perfumes that comfort without distracting. This is another underappreciated perfume from a terribly underrated house, and I urge you to give it a try if you're a fan of soft and/or spicy orientals and graceful iris-driven fragrances. On male skin, it reads as woody (but not metallic or aggressive), while its vanilla and incense accentuate femainine softness. Either way, it's discreet, refined and eminently wearable. Excllent work and another home run for Nicolai.

I'm going to be wearing this a LOT this fall and early winter. Just yum. Smoothly spicy, comforting, sweet, woody, and rich...this is a delight to wear. On my skin the pepper note is strong. STRONG. It's a long lasting top note, and I enjoy this part very much. It really smells exactly like freshly ground pepper from black peppercorns, draped over iris, violet, and clove oranges. After a bit a buttery vanilla shows up, and a creamy sandalwood. There's really a lot going on in Ambre Cashmere for a good hour or two. The pepper notes calm down a few hours in, becoming barely discernable, and the perfume becomes a lot smoother. It smells like labdanum, patchouli woods, resinous vanlilla, and faint spices of cinnamon and clove. It's so comforting and heavenly. The far dry down is a bit more ambery, lots more musky, and less spicy and woody. This is the ONLY part that disappoints me, I really wish that the base was a little stronger, say with an assertive sandalwood or something. Unfortunately, and oddly, the sandalwood only shows up in the top notes for me. The projection is only strong at first, and the life of the perfume is a luxury skin scent that others will only smell if they get close, and 3 good sprays will give you 8+ hours of wear. Actually this is even a little bit sexy in that way, if I smelled this on the skin of a lover I'd probably swoon, and me myself I do feel a little sexy when I wear this. This really is like wearing a warm long sleeved dress made of soft wool, or like cuddling on a couch with a clean, warm blanket and a hot tea. Very warming a comforting, but not too much in a foodie direction. This perfume has a wonderful "feel" to it that I really enjoy. Highly recommended, especially since, compared to other niche companies, they offer a reasonably priced 30 ml bottle at $65. My bottle will definitely last, since I only need to apply a few sprays at a time. Admittedly I do reapply at least once when I wear this, since I enjoy the beginning so much.

Another frabjous day wearing a newly acquired perfume from the house of Nicolai. The sun hasn't risen yet but I'm getting it's imminent radiance in the peppery citron and mandarin which Ambre Cashmere shoots up into molecular space. Within minutes this olfactory atmosphere is powdery with an elegant iris shot through with a delicate, oh so refined violet. This violet's too spicy to be shrinking, but it's not insolent either. I'm already loving the scent radiating out like the first rays of the sun, but when the labdanum, patchouli and amber surge up I'm engulfed in warm, luxurious tranquility. This is a good-vibes callooh callay cry assuring me all is well in my world :) Distillation: golden sun appears chasing the darkness away sings callooh callay

This scent is the embodiment of how I think spending a night under the stars in the middle of a Middle Eastern desert will be. Belly dancing ladies, crackling fire somewhere in the distance, a blanket wrapped around your cold shoulders, the fabric of it laced with the scent of spices. Somewhere to the side is a buffet, which sends wafts of vanilla and warm caramel towards your nostrils as you gaze upon the magic, your eyes feasting on the once in a lifetime experience. Longevity is bizarre, +12 hours. Sillage is very close to skin after 4-6 hours or so, but at times it can still carry upon a mild breeze. 10/10. This fragrance is heaven.

I love a well crafted amber and this is a smooth operator. Ambre Cashmere Intense stays close to the body, making me believe it was not projecting. About an hour in, I got a compliment from another teacher— a plus in my perfume loving world. Four hours in, pressing my nose to my wrist, Ambre Cashmere is very dry but still pretty. There’s citrus and patchouli in the opening, but the dry down is quiet and mostly woods, spices and orris. I think it’s pure class. Initially I was not impressed but the more I wore it the better Ambre Cashmere became. Office (or school setting) appropriate. Would not hesitate to add this to my collection.