Amber Alive

This fragrance is without a doubt the closest you can get to the original Drakkar Noir experience, but improved for today. It is not a 100% 1:1 clone. The addition of amber in the base and a touch more lemon in the opening makes it slightly different, and in my opinion, it works in its favor. It feels more modern, more premium, and more enjoyable overall. The opening is bold and sharp, projecting very heavily for the first 2 hours. From hour 3-4 the projection is moderate, tapering to lighter projection around hour 5, and by 7-8 hours it sits closer to a skin scent. Even then it still leaves a subtle trail if someone walks close by. The base note is beautiful, slightly rounder than Drakkar Noir, and the amber gives it warmth and depth. It’s familiar yet refined, with enough complexity to feel timeless without being trendy. Longevity on skin is solid, giving me 7 hours minimum unmacerated, and probably longer after a month or two of maceration. On clothes, it lasts like a champ, easily 48 hours, and you can catch faint traces even up to 72 hours if you get close. This perfume was made to be noticed, yet it never becomes overbearing. The type of person who will wear this best is specific. If you are 25 and above, especially taller or rugged, you can pull this off effortlessly. I think it appeals even more to men 35 and older, but younger guys with the right style and confidence can make it work. This fragrance is bold without being abrasive, masculine without trying too hard, and confident without asking for permission. Unlike many modern fragrances that feel safe or designed for mass appeal, this is self-assured, the kind of scent that commands attention without forcing it. It smells like an anti-hero from an 80s movie, leather jacket, Doberman, and all. The Fragrantica context is worth noting. There are around 21 reviews, but nearly half are full-text reviews. That is unusual and important. Everyone who bought this fragrance sought a Drakkar Noir-style scent. No one bought it blindly or as a gift. They were looking for something specific, and this delivers. I liked it so much that I bought a backup bottle immediately. That speaks volumes about how strong a performer this fragrance is. It works in any season. You can wear it indoors or outdoors. Outdoors it shines. Indoors, careful spray management helps keep it from overwhelming smaller spaces. It is not a generic office fragrance. It makes its presence known in the first two hours and stays noticeable on clothes for days. If you are searching for Drakkar Noir but want something longer-lasting, more refined, and modernized, this is it. You do not need the original unless you want it for nostalgia or collection purposes. This fragrance delivers premiumness, longevity, and the confident character of a classic aromatic fougere without compromise. For anyone who owns their confidence, does not ask for validation, and wants a timeless masculine scent that stands out, this is the perfume to wear. No regrets, high reward, and worth every penny. This is a statement fragrance that will turn heads, and once you experience it, it is hard to go back to anything else in this style.

I agree to the reviews below me. This is pretty much vintage Drakkar Noir rebottled - not the watery, diluted swill that is currently marketed as "Drakkar Noir". This is the real deal. I've said in most of my other reviews that I'm a huge fanboy of 80s scents, particularly powerhouses. Unfortunately, a lot of them have been reformulated/diluted. In my mind, Kouros and Drakkar Noir are probably the biggest victims. That's why I look into middle eastern clones. Rasisi is a very good house and this release has definitely flown under the radar. It's a hidden gem. I received my bottle today (I actually bought three as they were like $30 each...the glowing reviews here and on Reddit sold me). I applied three sprays to my neck area and was immediately greeted with Drakkar Noir, only more intense. I knew then I'd made a wise decision. My GF snuggled in and we watched a movie. She said a few times "you smell good. I like this one". She bought me a bottle of current Drakkar Noir a few months ago. She agreed that this (Amber Alive) is *very* similar and a lot more potent. During the movie, I got pleasant wafts for the next 2.5 hours. At present, it's been about 5 hours since application and I can still smell it on my shirt. You cannot say the same for current Drakkar Noir. I think this will only improve with time. Definitely pick this up if you're after the scent profile and performance of vintage Drakkar Noir. Don't throw hundreds of $$$ away on a vintage Drakkar bottle when you can pick this up for like $30. You can literally tell people you're wearing vintage Drakkar Noir and they'll believe you. You wear the scent, not the bottle. EDIT: I've had great success layering this with a few swipes of Al Rehab's Dakar oil. The scent profiles of both are very similar. The two, when used in unison, equal "beast mode".

This is Drakkar Noir from the 1990's... Not the watered down garbage that they call Drakkar Noir that they are calling it today. Good longevity and projection is very good, as I would have expected from Rasasi. I have a few bottles of the modernized Drakkar Noir, and I don't wear it much because it becomes a faint skin scent in an hour, and it's such a letdown. I would say this is 35+ for an age range, as it is rather mature. Women seem to love this frag, as when I wear the regular Drakkar Noir, I get compliments from it until this day. This one needs more love, as Drakkar Noir is a timeless classic, and this modernizes and improves on performance in a big way. 8 out of 10.

1990s Drakkar Noir, little modern twist. Very very mature and masculine. 40 plus will like it I think, under that it may feel outdated. Potent stuff, happy to have it in collection. Came back to add more after wearing a few times. This is definitely a more 'manly' fragrance than most of what you will see now days. I love all different types of fragrances but lately I've been drawn to that super hard edge of fragrances. This is good stuff, long lasting and has a great push. Harder to find now, better than current DK noir versions too.

This fragrance needs more love. I know there are Drakkar Noir lovers out there, and this blows it out of the water. I let this macerate for a month or so, and the performance has improved greatly... not that it was a slouch. This lasts all day with a nice scent bubble that you pick up constantly. If they discontinue this, it will be a shame, as Drakkar Noir performance is terrible, and I would pick this every day, and twice on Sunday.

In total agreement with the reviews here. A modernized interpretation of Drakkar Noir. With a twist. And it is really, really good stuff....especially when you factor in the price point. Longevity and projection are very good, and on first wearing my wife passed me, stopped, and said 'Woah!...Whatever you have on is really nice!'. That is really all I need from a fragrance these days.

Super masculine woody fresh scent, I’ve been told it smells like gasoline in the best way. I see this with two different vibes/outfits: 1. A suit. It’s clean enough to be mass appealing and spicy enough to be unique 2. Leather jacket. Mature bad boy, rough and rugged but still fresh enough to be clean It’s not my personal choice of scent, but it is undeniably a sexy one.

It is just a lovely fragrance. Blind bought it and I have never looked back. Performance is 7-9 hours and silage is about 3 to 6 feet. The amber rose and leather create this lovely bubble around you and everyone asked me what I was wearing. I would say 25+ should wear this, but anyone can pull this off. Definitely male perfume. Its normally about $20 its a no brainer.

Very underrated gem. I don't know why no body talks about it . Great work by Rasasi for launching a barbershop scent while other houses are busy releasing only sweet nutty chocolaty , iris scents . Its a great clone of Drakkar noir and it performs well too . Guess i will never buy the poor performing Drakkar noir again .

Kullanımı keyifli aslında 40 yaş üstü için daha ideal bir koku. Kalıcılık ve yayılımı tatmin edici seviyede bir koku. Berbershop kokusu deselerde bence daha fazlasını sunuyor karakter olarak

Smells so good 😊. This fragrance is a safe blind buy 100%. 🤩

The notes of Amber Alive suggest that it is an 80s style masculine scent, so it is. It is similar to Guy Laroche's "Drakkar Noir" (I have), but with more longevity and projection. The opening has a stronger lemon citrus note with green aromatics and lavender. In the dry down, it gets really close to DN; perhaps with a tad more amber.

Smells great, very classic barbershop scent, better than the current Drakkar Noir, but it's stroooong. Longevity is mediocre, I'd say 5-6 hours (with being unable to smell it on myself after 3~ hours), compared to the 7-8 hours I get out One Man Show Emerald Edition, 7-9 hours of Drakkar Bleu, or 10+ hours of Drakkar Intense. Too pungent to reapply or use more than 2-3 sprays, the same issue I have with most Middle Eastern dupes. Blast you in the face for 2 hours, then a skin scent. Atomizer is also garbage. It's either in a state of not being pressed, or being completely pressed like a switch. That makes it hard to control the amount you spray so I hope you know exactly how it sprays because you can't press quickly for a small spray. I'd rate it a like if it weren't for the atomizer. Factoring in the noxious opening but mediocre longevity, and the smell which I do like a lot, I'd only give it a 6.5/10, and I feel that's a bit generous.

First off I was born in the 70's and I know Drakkar, very well. Also, I don't ever come on here and leave a review. However, I had to. This fragrance is a horrible, synthetic mess. Again, what an absolute catastrophe of a horrible, synthetic mess. My God. Save your money, seriously.

Alright, I’m sure this will upset a few folks, but I don’t care. Time for some real talk. This is not vintage Drakkar Noir. This is Drakkar Noir done with “spiky” superambers instead of lavender, iso e super, and moss. For the style of fragrance, I think Houbigant’s Duc de Vervins EdP does a better of job of modernising Drakkar Noir, and it does it without relying on harsh, cheap synthetics. I’m not demonising synthetics here, but the dry down really does have a lingering “chemicalness” about it. My partner was asking if I was using super glue or a leather cleaner hours later. It’s not shockingly bad, but the superambers really take over on the dry-down and make me a sneeze a lot. It’s synthetic, it’s a clone house creation, and it precisely smells like that.