Amber Noir

Blind bought from a box retailer. Upon glaring through the display, what stood out to me was the initial pull of the design; I was immediately drawn to the attention to detail on the bottle. It is heavy and beautifully crafted -- the feel alone is extremely premium in relation to the cost. Next, I saw the ingredient profile and immediately thought Santal 33 (S33). S33 is one of my favorite sandalwood profiles and a polarizing scent in the community. This scent must have been the default air of socialite NYC when it gained its prominence. So having a cheapie of S33 sounded good to me. I have to be honest: This is thrice as good as Santal 33. Sorry for whoever disagrees. There is this level of amber, and a stronger sandalwood present that rounds the profile out into a smoother character. My bottle has matured to have a dark, creamy, balanced depth that exceeds S33 for a FRACTION of the price. It can easily become -- like S33 -- a signature scent. The profile is not invasive if sprayed properly (and by that I mean conservatively) and gets a lot of attention. I have a hoodie that smells like this stuff from a spray I did two weeks ago. Sillage and projection beat out S33, bottle design is beautiful, and the price point is accessible. I highly recommend this frag if you enjoy S33 and its derivatives. Mixes extremely well with shea and cocoa butter moisturizers.

It’s strange to me with all the comparisons to Santal 33 that I don’t pick up the dill scent. I even get it with LV lovers, but not this. I get a beautiful dark woody and resinous vibe and the fig definitely hits, but it’s super dry and I would have found it hard to detect if I hadn’t been playing around in the fig space for the last couple of months. I do get a rush of pure alcohol at first but it dries down quickly and settles in to what I think is a fantastic fragrance (especially considering its price point) for those that enjoy a break from all the fruity nonsense that has been shoved down our throats for the last year or so. I’d give it a solid 8.1. The price, for me, is what tipped the scales into the 8’s. Reminds me of being in a large study at an old mansion with dark wooden book shelves from wall-to-wall and filled from end to end with old leather bound books. The only break in the shelves is to accommodate an oversized mahogany leather chair in the corner sitting next to a large antique lamp and a giant globe that contains crystal decanters of the finest scotch and two crystal glasses.

This is basically Santal 33 done right. I'd even compare to the very old batches of Santal 33 which were darker. I still have my 50mL bottle from almost 10 years ago that i bought in the west village, and this Amber Noir smells basically smells like a carbon copy. The slight differences with Noir is in the late drydown. Santal 33 goes for a more sandalwood, leathery dry down, whereas Amber Noir ever so slightly amps up the florals mixed with sandalwood. It's genuinely lovely. No dill pickle smell here. This is Santal 33 that's a bit more wearable, and I love it. Picture a home library with leather covered books, with a cup of whiskey on top of a freshly crafted night table that's sitting next to a leather ottoman. This is what Amber Noir smells like. It's masculine, performs like a monster, and will be a staple in my collection despite owning its purported OG. I'd even dare to say that I like this BETTER than Santal 33.

I definitely get the Santal 33 comparison BUT I do feel like this is a darker, warmer take on that scent DNA. While Santal 33 comes off a bit fresher and lighter, Amber Noir really feels almost like the nighttime version. The carrot in this is definitely pronounced and to my nose, layers well with the sandalwood and fig. I also find that Amber Noir is friendlier to layer with other fragrances compared to Santal 33 (which I ALWAYS have a hard time partnering with any other fragrance and feel it is no longer unique enough to wear solo). Given the price point, this is a no brainer.

I tried this fragrance today, tested it on my wrist but vendor just made a little spritz and was not accurate. More than 50% of the spritz went to the air. With that little amount of fragrance on my wrist it performed very well. I could feel the sandalwood while shopping and seeing clothes at the mall, I can imagine how will this perform if were more than one little spritz and also on clothes. The price goes around $68 and $85 for market edition. I havent smelled santal 33 yet but this defines so good the name sandalwood. Very pleasant fragrance.

I just started collecting and when I saw the comment below likening this to Palo Santo from Cremo, which is one of my favorite scents, AND I saw this is an EDP, AND it was available at Marshalls for $50, I bling bought it. Glad I did. Initial spray is a little off-putting but the alcohol smell goes away within a minute or two and what is left is that burnt ember and smokey scent from Palo Santo that I love, but with lasting power and great projection. highly recommend for anyone who prefers more darker, wintery, far east scents.

Incredible fragrance! I'm not sure what I smell except woods, fig, and powder but that's enough to make it smell so good and classy. Somehow still airy, and almost fresh even though it smells like an old room with lots of wood furniture and leather bound books. Very strong and long lasting, and easy to wear as well for such a beastly scent profile. I say it's all year wearable. This is a decent one for summer if you don't like traditional aquatic and freshies.

What an interesting fragrance, I have over 160 fragrances and I'm not sure if I've smelled anything like it. I'm reminded of all kinds of things and just get wiffs of different things. Like I get a hint of something that reminds me of liquorice, I get a soft creamy note, maybe a dark leather, some warm spices, very interesting, I even get a slight burning wood smell every once in a while, very unique

Haven't tried Santal 33, I have a bottle of Cremo Palo Santo and think it's a bit polarizing. This is lovely; not sure why it's listed for colder weather and night. Top is similar to Palo Santo, but not as harsh or "pickle-y." Dry down evokes a mild sweetness akin to LV Imagination or Armani Eau de Cedre (one of my personal favorites).

I’ve been looking for a woody, elegant and non-sugar fragrance for months, I tried many fragrances including Arabian and other niche fragrances, but all them were sweet before or after the dry down. Now I finally found it.

On my skin, Amber Noir is woody, green, piney with bitter citrus nuances, and bone-dry. I cannot comment on how close it is to Santal 33. I get the comparison to Encre Noire Sport. To me, It may be a bit closer to the original Encre Noire, but this fragrance is greener and more austere. Definetely mature, masculine, fresh enough for warm weather, beast-mode enough for colder days, and a love for me.

Got it for $30 in a gift set. I definitely have to let it macerate for a bit and come back to it. Straight out the box it does not smell good, almost kinda repulsive and headache inducing. But i will come back to it after a couple months and see. I can see this being awesome for Formal gatherings.

...this smells awful. Medicinal and screechy...very unpleasant aromatic scent. The carrot note is disastrous. I am so confused by the exceptional rating it received because it is far from exceptional...or perhaps it's exceptionally terrible. NOT BLIND BUY SAFE.

Dill. Fresh dill. But still, DILL. Nice for a salad or seasoning but I don't want to smell like herbs. Four hours in and dill is still the prominent note. This is weird in it's realism but ultimately completely unwearable for me. Review of foolish full bottle blind-buy. The notes listed sound amazing, just wish I could find them! NOTE I also get an unbearable note of DILL in Santal 33. It's a genetic response to a specific synthetic sandalwood chemical. It dominates the profile in frags that use it. I wish they'd give you a warning label so I wouldn't waste my coin on pickle scents.

Dilly sandalwood makes me angry! DILL. Obvious methyl laitone, some synthetic "sandalwood" note also in Vanilla Woods, Commodity's Book, Santal 33, etcetera. I HATE that they put no warning anywhere that they use this pickle scent! It feels like a snub against those of us genetically designed to identify methyl laitone as dill.

smells like evil pickle juice.

I don't understand the reviews below. This is seriously good. I would say this is a clone of Le Labo Santal 33 It's a dark fragrance, spicy very manly but could also be worn by a woman, maybe Gothic style. The main prominent notes to my nose are the elemi resin, very strong, the cedar wood and the sandalwood. Probably my favorite from the orientica line. This is a very classy scent, like black suit black tie Follow me on Instagram @mr.fragrance.paris

I'll keep it short: the clearest thing I get from this scent (which i think most people would smell the same) is the smell of freshly cut, spicy wood in a lumber workshop. It smells like that from start to finish. But at the opening, there's also a menthol note like Salonpas that I really don’t like. But after that it smell good. Last long 8hs on skin.

La tengo reconozco que compré con el comentario de ser el mejor dupe de Santal 33. Su salida es dura, poderosa, estridente pero su secado es una maravillosa armonía de maderas y flores blancas, es su secado lo que me encanta y su duración modo bestia. Dura proyecta y dura y proyecta hasta el infinito. Mejor probar antes de comprar.

The best and highest quality alternative to Santal 33. Lasts a lot and gets compliments.