Prada

Historically , Prada Amber was “created” by Mrs. Miuccia Prada with the help of notable perfumers in 2004, when she was seeking in her own words, “the memory of a scent she sampled as a teenager.” Mrs. Prada at sixteen would sneak into the bathroom in the house of her friend, whose mother originally owned the scent, only to smell it. She became obsessed with it. She’d go to New York to buy that perfume from the little artisanal shop on Madison Avenue called Shelley Marks , the only shop that offered it. But the shop at some point closed down—and this, for Mrs. Prada, was a disaster... So there came Prada Amber. It’s the scent she “still mostly wears today,” she admitted in an interview. It is then safe to say that Prada Amber is closest to Mrs. Prada’s heart. And to her character. Admittedly , Mrs. Prada is a reserved person. Unlike other designers who enjoy the crowd after their shows, Mrs. Prada barely reveals herself to the audience. She’s shy and nervous, elusive in interviews even. Despite that, she has driven the Prada name to the luxury fashion house it is today. In parallel, this is what Prada Amber’s scent seems to me. And to some other reviewers I read here. “It is weak,” “It does smell like a nice woman, but I cannot imagine a power woman wearing this,” some said. To me, Prada Amber doesn’t smell like a typical Miranda Priestly. But it does smell sophisticated. Its being juicy and dry makes it beautiful. It does have a staying power—lasting a decent amount of time for seven to ten hours—though sometimes it feels like it’s faded. It breaks the stereotype of a strong personality and implies that silence could mean power , while loudness could mean insecurity . Seasonally , I buy my mother her fragrances every other month or so, and for this season, I bought Prada Amber for her. Prada Amber Pour Homme Intense has been my favorite fragrance for a long time now, my signature, so maybe I wanted the same house for my mother. Christmas or Hanukah—whatever we call it—is a special occasion for most of us, so gifts should be just as special. And when I first sprayed Prada Amber, as noted by many, it reminded me of Jessica Simpson’s Fancy Nights, which I purposefully bought for comparison. Comparatively , the two fragrances resemble each other at a margin of 97 percent, a pretentious-sounding but instinct-driven figure by me. Much like identical twins sporting two different tastes. While Jessica Simpson’s Fancy Nights smells like a “dense amber the color of dark caramel,” Prada Amber is more light and airy. It smells like a “radiant amber the color of gold”—the kind that glows, or sometimes burns.

Its official name is Prada Eau de Parfum, but it ended up becoming better known as Prada Amber because of the top plate that it brings in its bottle, containing the key ingredients of the composition and the term AMBER, highlighted. It was released in 2004 and creates a lot of confusion between users and reviewers because of another (and much older) perfume called Prada by Prada, from 1990, at a time when the company only released fragrances for sale exclusively in its boutiques. Prada Amber does not have honey or ylang-ylang in its composition. And it also has no amber notes. The term comes from the olfactory family to which it pays homage: the ambery, full of oriental nuances and warm notes, as benzoin. And since I'm talking about notes, here go the ones that make this fragrance: bergamot, bitter orange, mandarin and mimosa absolute, at the top. Then, in the body of the fragrance, absolute of roses and absolute of the patchouli leaves from Indonesia. Lastly, in the base, labdanum from France, tonka bean, vanilla, sandalwood from India and benzoin resin from Siam. THE CORRECT NOTES ARE LISTED ABOVE, BUT THE PICTURES ARE DIFFERENT. The key ingredients engraved on the top plate are not idle there. The company argues that each of them reflects one dimension of the fragrance: the resin of labdanum is precious, the patchouli leaves are addictive, the benzoin is profound and the Indian sandalwood is pure. On the skin, Prada Amber is much more unisex than exclusively female. In fact, I dare say it would be an excellent version for the classic Le Male or, better yet, a feminine facet for the delicious Body Kouros. From the moment it touches the skin, it is exotic and sensual. The bitter orange cuts off any attempt to become a sickly gourmand. And this mix of something silky and bitter often scare many women. The patchouli is the star of the composition and manages to convey earthy and chocolate nuances, all at once. But none of this would have reason to exist without the milky aspect of sandalwood, which leaves the fragrance almondy and smooth. In the end, throw it all on a vanilla base and you'll understand the power of Prada Amber, which projects very well, but tends to cause a certain fatigue. The person wearing it may not feel it anymore, but it is there, projecting a lot. The lasting is also wonderful! In 2005, the company released an even more intense version and in 2006 the famous male version. Next time you think that all Prada fragrance is light, elegant and soapy, remember this review and think of experimenting on your skin. You might be surprised, just like me.

Obviously, I have not reviewed this one yet. I bought it a couple of years ago, when it was on sale for a very low price. It seems like my favourite saleswoman in that shop has just about the same taste as I do, and then she is always very nice and friendly as well. She has given me many very good tips over the years. She said that not all seem to like this fragrance, but she does. And I did. Even though, if it had not been for the very good price at that time, I might not have discovered how beautiful it is! And then, it actually took some time for me to really get to know it. I still was a little bit hesitant at first, couldn’t find out if I liked it a lot or just a little bit. The first period of time, I used to layer it with a natural ginger perfume I bought at the same time(100 Bon The & Gingembre), which I still sometimes do, and that combination is lovely. But with time, I realized just how absolutely gorgeous Prada Amber is on its very own. I tend to like, love and hunt after many older perfumes, classic beauties or a little weirder ones, but I also love many modern perfumes. Someone in the line called this a modern classic. And I totally agree! It does not feel dated at all. If anything, it reminds me of the 60:s(when I was a small child) - and the way I look at the 60:s, it is The First Modern Decade. Everything was so sleek and cool, so elegant, but with a humourous twist, somehow. I still use some clothes from the 60:s, that my mother, grandmother and sisters used to have, and I tell you, that they are good quality, and always come back to fashion. I always get compliments when I wear these clothes. And this fragrance is really like that. A modern classic yes, or a westernized oriental. So: it has come to my conclusion, that I LOVE this Perfume! ❤️ Not many fragrances are worthy the name Perfume for me. (Yeah yeah, I KNOW that the terms mean they are different concentrations, that’s what it is. But from me: this is an Honorable Mention Title.😌😉☺️). HOPE it will never be discontinued for lack of popularity!😱🤭😶 Must get a back-up bottle some time soon.

I love this. Well-crafted, balanced throughout its layers, and long lasting- though its final hours offer no throw, lying close to the skin instead. Exactly where I want it. For me, it wears well year-round, so long as not over sprayed. A dark citrus twinge blooms in the 95 degree, 100% humidity-filled summers here in my neck of the woods. In the winter, its amber, spice, & vanilla radiate a warmth that never veers into potpourri territory. I bounce mercilessly from fragrance to fragrance, but always return to Prada, especially when I want patchouli and amber delivered subtly. With regards to the Jessica Simpson Fancy Nights comparison; absolutely similar. I have & enjoy them both. But, to me, Prada captures the feeling of being inside a beautiful, deep forest. Its floor is a carpet of dew-drenched, patchouli-laced moss, intermingled with damp earth and fallen trees. JS' Fancy Nights is much drier than Prada to my nose. Instead of traveling deep into the forest and hovering an inch above the ground, FN is content to stay at the forest's edge, where the first few feet of earth and trees are still within reach of sunlight and wind. The papyrus and resulting dryness in FN amps up the bergamot, citrus, in a way that is absent on my skin with Prada. My preference depends on mood. FN is quite full-throttle. Prada is subtle, subterranean in comparison. Only ~5 of the fragrances in my collection do I become anxious as the levels drop low in their bottles, that I refuse to be without, and Prada is 1 of the 5. ❤️ EDIT: Should be sold with a Gremlins-like warning label: Morphs into a monster without proper care. This one is heavy on natural essences, sparse on synthetics and preservatives. Stable it is not. Time, oxygen, light and heat are its mortal enemies. More susceptible to them than any other fragrance I've come across. I've learned never to order it online during the summer. It never survives the trip. There is no mistaking when PA turns. Acrid and sour and a terrible shame. Just something to consider before buying: Requires TLC.

I had this curiosity about this fragrance and how people say this smells like coromandel, strange enough I didn't even have or smelled coromandel before. I live in a small city where we have limited offline access to big name fragrance, there was nowhere for me to sniff it except blind buy or buying decants. So I blind bought these two together. 100ml Prada Amber pour femme and a vial of Coromandel because I found a legit seller selling these in that variant. Tested both on paper strips and on skin. Let's just say, I don't know what to say hahaha...I think I got the new batch of Prada Amber, some commented it has been reformulated, because it sure doesn't smell like Coromandel, the older formulation maybe the same. On skin, yes I can see where the comparison comes from, it does smell a bit like Coromandel but Prada Amber is very very faint, to be fair, I only put 1 spray of both on each of my hands and I think if I sprayed more they could smell not really the same but at least a bit. Coromandel is very potent and Prada Amber is very faint. Both are beautiful fragrance on its own. If I don't compare this to Coromandel, this is actually a good fragrance. I don't know why Fragrantica change the name from Prada Amber to Prada Prada, I have been stalking this perfume since it was named Prada Amber on Fragrantica. My bottle looks exactly like the picture shared here and on the metal plaque, it's labeled as Amber. Prada Amber. Update: So I did another test, today I sprayed Prada Amber more, 5 sprays on my left hand and 1 spray of Coromandel on my right hand. The opening, it doesn’t smell like Coromandel at all, totally different scent. I carried on with my day and then the magic happened, an hour later...dang it’s Coromandel 2.0 😂😂😂. Now I get it, you need to overspray a bit to get the potent scent the Coromandel is. Aha..yes, Coromandel does smell like Prada Amber on steroid, because Prada Amber came out before Coromandel