Ambre Russe

An amber for people who don't care for ambers. Me! There are three reasons why Ambre Russe sticks out in my mind when recalling ambers of the last few decades that I believe are very good and quite unique. The first is the way this perfume opens, which I will get to in a second. The second is that it is indeed an amber, but the facets of amber that are hard for me to like after being worn out by them over many years, namely the sweet vanillic balsams, are not as thick and impenetrable as they are in most ambers. The third is the texture of the perfume, which Marc-Antoine Corticchiato achieves in that most lovely and classical of perfume styles of being very rich but with a swirling and airy quality that sits very lightly on your skin. The second and third points go hand-in-hand, and more on those later. So, first, what does it smell like. Parfum d'Empire and Corticchiato tell you right from the start they mean to do something different, and the opening is about as direct of a statement as you can receive to this intention. The mixture of rooty and potato-ey vodka, the effervescence of champagne's white grapes stripped of all sweetness, seed spices and red tea is... well... you're either going to love it or you're going to hate it. For me, it was instant love. It is intoxicating. Which, I suppose, is appropriate given how boozy it is. It's so boozy, funky, and dry that it comes across as downright rude; my eyebrows went up as soon as it went through my nostrils. Imagine talking to a wealthy, well-dressed, very charming and eloquent gentleman but something is off about him; his appearance and demeanor are alluring, but then he steps one foot closer to you, you get a big whiff of his large liquid lunch of clear liquor and you realize he's quite drunk. Now you're not sure whether to keep talking to him, or gracefully exit. He seems harmless, and even intriguing, but he's a loose cannon so your guard is up. Fortunately for those whose flight response is their modus operandi, this opening doesn't last that long, but I have to admit I wanted to keep smelling it for hours. It was beyond intriguing, maybe, partly, because it's also a bit off-putting. Unlike the hot breath of a drunk well-dressed Russian oligarch though, the opening is very smooth, suave, dry, and seamless... but to call it inviting would be a slight misstep. As I said, this (unfortunately) fades very quickly and goes immediately to an amber base. Far more familiar and comfortable than the opening, the amber hits all of the "correct" notes in the standard amber melody with a couple of very nice flourishes and a classical texture. There are plenty of typical balsams and the dose of sweetened vanilla, but - thank you very much, Mr. Corticchiato - he doesn't shy away from incense smoke. Ambers should have a smokey element to them, but not many do anymore. Ambre Russe makes sure it's there, but without clubbing you over the head with it, like you've just walked into an old church where they burn pounds of the stuff. Lurking a bit in the background of the amber is a touch of leather as well. It's a soft, well-worn and gentle leather, not a new, freshly-tanned, animalic leather. Later on in the dry down the incense is all that remains and takes the forefront, quietly and calmly leaving a cold and smokey trail of frankincense for you to follow. Top marks for the amber tweaking, but what I like about it the most is that texture: it manages to be rich, vanillic, slightly sweet, balsamic, earthy, animalic, smokey and a bit leathery, but never does it feel like it's crowding your olfactive center or sitting on your skin like spilled paint. This texture is so light that this could actually be an amber you could wear during the summer - shocking! 21st century perfume houses, take a lesson from Ambre Russe, please. Ambers can be light, airy, breathable, penetrable and swirling like a warm cloud, while also being rich. Quit giving us ambers that are like a massive fart in an elevator. I said at the beginning this is an amber for people who don't care for ambers. I'm being fatuous but I also think there is a valid point to be made along those lines. Why I find Ambre Russe to be great is that it does an exemplary job of bridging the modernity, novelty, and challenging aspects we hope to get from new age niche perfumery with the sensibilities, craftsmanship, and familiarity of classic styles. It's a different, fresh, and most welcome take on a very old genre that is expertly composed. Superb.

وااای از این عطر! معرکه هستش. بوی تاپ نوتش خیلی جالبه. شامپاین و ودکا. ولی تاپ نوتش 5 دقیقه بیشتر طول نمیکشه. نمیتونم این عطر رو توصیفش کنم؛ فقط آدم باید تستش کنه که متوجه بشه که کهربا در کنار نتهای الکلی که توسط یه برند معتبر فرموله شده؛ چه شاهکاری میتونه ایجاد کنه. این عطر بنظر من در گروه خوراکی قرار داره. واقعا طوری هستش که دوست داری موضعی که عطر زدین رو بخورین!! شیرینی این عطر شاهکاره. نه زیاده که دلو بزنه و نه اینکه شیرینی اش خیلی کم باشه. این عطر به هیچ عنوان تلخ نیست. حالت دودی در این عطر ملایم هست و کهربا بیشتر خودنمایی میکنه تا نت دودی نام گذاری این عطر بسیار هوشمندانه هست. Ambre که همان کهربا هستش در تمام مراحل عمر عطر عشوه گری میکنه. Russe هم که یعنی روسی و اشاره به تاریخچه ی ساخت عطر داره که این عطر رو مارک آنتونی برای شکوه و عظمت حکومت تزار روس طراحی کرده (شاید هم منظور از کلمه ی روسی در نام گذاری عطر؛ ودکای روسی بوده که در این عطر مشهوده) ا توضیح اضافه در زمان استفاده در فصل سرد سال: در ابتدای کار و تا 5 دقیقه بوی الکلی مشهودی داره و به محض از بین رفتن بوی تاپ نت عطر؛ عطر به مرحله نتهای میانی میره که بوی کلی عطر کهربایی هست که در واقع بستر کار رو تشکیل میده و در حالی هست که رگه های تلخی جزیی هم قابل رد یابیه و در کنارش بوی تیز ادویه ای لبه های تیزی رو در عطر ایجاد میکنه که در صد کوچکی از کل اثر بویایی رو در بازه زمانی نتهای میانی شامل میشه. با گذشت زمان و پس از حدود سه ربع؛ اون بوی تیز ولبه دار ادویه ای هم از بین میره و عطر به سمت کهربایی و الکلی متمایل میشه. به شخصه از بوی عطر در مرحله نتهای پایانی خیلی لذت میبرم و نت آغازین رو خیلی ضعیف میدونم که میتونه عامل منفی هم در خرید عطر برای افراد مبتدی که فقط عطر رو با بوییدن نتهای آغازینش میخرن باشه. نت میانی هم بنظرم اگه اون لبه های تیزی ادویه ای رو نداشت بهتر بود ----------------------------------------------------------- This is a wonderful perfume! I think that it is classified as gourmand, not Oriental spicy. If you like sweet perfume, you love this one. This perfume have a controlled sweet note, and isn't so sweet. Marc Antonie was designed this perfume and It evokes the splendor of the court of the last Tsar of Russia. At the First, Alcoholic scent is so dominant, but after 5 minute this scent was vanished and Amber was fade in. In this step spicy notes become detectable. Imagine an ocean of mild sweet notes that some boats is in this ocean that are bitter scent and the nose of these boats is spices... Ambre Russe is in this point of view in middle notes. Finally, base notes was come after about 50 minute. In this step, spices were gone and you can detect amber and alcoholic notes together. I think that top notes isn't good, so this character is a bad factor for buying this perfumes by beginners. But the best scent is coming after 50 minute...

I obtained my sample of Ambre Russe in a sample set of Parfum d'Empire's 13 fragrances which I ordered online for approx 22 euros (I can't recall the exact figure). They were delivered to me in Australia within a fortnight. Ambre Russe stands out as my favourite in the range so far. It also stands out in the long line of amber fragrances I've sampled over the past 6 weeks. I've tried L'Artisan's L'eau d'Ambre, Brecourt's Ambre Noir, Etro's Ambra, Juliette has a Gun's Calamity J., Lutens' Ambre Sultan and Anick Goutal's Ambre Fetiche. In terms of sillage, Ambre Russe, alongside L'eau d'Ambre and Calamity J, is unusual in that it has a lasting moderate sillage - in comparison to most of the amber frags I've tried, which seem on the whole to wear close to the skin after the first half-hour or so. But, whereas L'eau d'A's sillage is snuggly-powdery- vanilla, and CJ's is dominated by iris, AR's is like the fumes rising from a warm brandy balloon.... and it continues to project for hours. AR opens with a smokiness which is aromatic without the acrid dryness of Ambre Fetiche, and this smokiness soon fades to a soft, warm incense blending well with the spices to become one among several well-balanced facets of the fragrance. Hints of soft powderiness occasionally emerge through the moist, warmly comforting, boozy sweetness, and the resin/benzoin/labdanum lend depth in a satisfying counterpoint to the always gentle sweetness. I also find this counterpoint of subtle sweetness and resin in Ambre Sultan, which shares good longevity with AR but wears very close to the skin on me. The "booziness" of Ambre Russe doesn't dominate the other elements, but it is always there, even 2 days later on the sleeve of the woolly jumper I wore last time I tested it. For me, this presents a dilemma, I've fallen for Ambre Russe... but I fear that if I wear it to work my colleagues might start tactfully asking about my drinking habits. So, Ambre Russe will have to remain a weekend and evening fragrance for me - though my date might suspect me of being a secret tippler! :) Ambre Russe is likely to become a favourite winter-comfort fragrance for me.

I first sampled Ambre Russe a long time ago. I remember loving it from first sniff and I immediately got online to look for a bottle. Unfortunately, it had been pulled and I could not get one. I was so disappointed. Imagine my surprise getting on Lucky Scent and finding Ambre Russe in stock once more. I immediately bought a bottle but held out on buying more than one in case my "taste" had changed. I pulled it out of the box, put on 2 sprays and I'll go through my review based upon my testing. The Smell: On that first spritz, you get slammed with spices, booze, and leather. The amber is held back and the leather and spices are front and center. It hangs around for a long time until it hits the mid. Now we get the amber which is soft, not overpowering, and still intermingled with the spices and leather. The "abrasiveness" of the coriander has been significantly reduced. The drydown is that beautiful amber with some incense to finish. All of this said, the opening is SUPER harsh for some people. I remember when I first sprayed it after getting it out of the box, it hit me in the nose pretty hard. I second-guessed myself on if I really sprayed on Ambre Russe instead of something else. The drydown is worth it though. So worth it. 9/10 Price: $115 for 50 mL ($2.30 per mL). Not bad at all! 9/10 Strength: I'll put Ambre Russe at about an 8/10. It can hold it's own in the elements and sticks around for a while (especially on clothes). If you wear it in the heat, bump the rating up +1. 8/10 (9/10 in the heat) Versatility: Ambre Russe, in my opinion, is a night-time scent. If you're going out, this is highly recommended. It's also a cooler weather type of scent (fall/winter). Wearing it in warm weather is not recommended. It's potent enough without the heat helping. It's definitely worth a sample. If you're an amber lover, this one is a good addition for sure. If you like booziness, amber, and leather, say no more. This one will do it for sure.

You know once in awhile something like this comes along in the samples I order and just blows my socks off leaving me speechless. Wow. This fights my number one Amber fragrance, newest tom ford Amber absolute for the number one spot. This scent is not linear, it has different stages and all are phenomenal. I'm in love with this stuff. It's such a beautiful Amber that unfolds on the skin. It's not like Amber absolute, it's a boozy soft Amber. After the dry down I get a sweet tobacco leather base that comes through. It's not linear. It has great longevity and projection. On basenotes, it shows it as being feminine. No. If anything I find it to be more masculine but will agree to put it right down the middle as unisex. This is one of them fragrances where it is very very very pleasing to smell and you will catch yourself smelling your wrist over and over, a intoxicatingly pleasing aroma that's borderline addictive. Scent 9.5/10 Longevity 9/10 Projection 9/10 Quality 9/10 Originality 10/10 Overall 9.5/10 The price point is great for a 100ml right around $135 shipped so I am going to say this is a safe blind buy if you appreciate boozy and Amber accords. Very sexy. I would say this shines best in cool to cold weather. Great night on the town scent dressed up or dressed casually nice. Age 25-50 honestly very versatile for what it is. I find this scent gets better each time I reach for it. When I got it as a sample at first I wasn't sure about it bc I have TF Amber absolute on the "throne" and compare all ambers to that as its my #1 Amber of all time.