Ambre Sultan

This to me will always be the paragon of ambers. In 2008, I wandered into Barney's in Copley Square Boston and discovered the wide world of high-end and niche fragrance (before I believe "niche" was even really a descriptor) and was struck by their Serge Lutens counter and its display of understated, elegant and somewhat austere bottles. I was really immediately drawn in by the dense and complex scents, otherworldly and enchanting to me at the time. The saleswoman offered me samples of three: Chergui, Arabie, and Ambre Sultan. I was smitten with all three and went on my way, using these small atomizers sparingly so as to relish them. Shortly thereafter, I flirted with fragrance buying, having purchased a handful of others in the next year or two (a couple of which were somewhat regrettable decisions in retrospect: Bond No. 9 Coney Island, yikes). However, curiously enough, I never bought a full bottle of any Serge Lutens. My collection only grew to about may 10 or so bottles at one point and I then started to direct my attention elsewhere. Fast forward about seven years later, and the art of perfume making caught my attention after purchasing a few bottles of essential oil to diffuse. I continued pretty consistently but have never taken to another level, due to fear and anxiety of the sheer dedication and amount of money that must be invested to start a fragrance line and a small business in general (I am feeling more and more confident as of late, stay tuned). This has led, however, to much deeper appreciation for fragrance and scent, studying hundreds of natural materials and aromachems, learning from mentors in the fragrance community, collecting and educating myself through fragrance composition books, studying the history of perfume, and then came 2020. 2020, the year of horror, disbelief, anger, tragedy, and sadness in multitudes: I will leave it at that. What would preoccupy me during all this difficult stuff? Somehow, 2020 was also the year that out of nowhere, I decided, why not buy a few full bottles of some fragrances that I love and appreciate (a few he says, a FEW). I caught the full bottle bug, as it were, and I am just now trying to reign it in—and it hasn't even been a full calendar year! I finally purchased bottles of Chergui, Arabie, and Ambre Sultan, twelve or so years later (and I didn't stop there as far as Serge Lutens is concerned, no doubt). So I sit here, with it sprayed on the interior on my forearm, and I periodically sniff through each stage of its development and big love is still there. That opening is rapturous bliss, warm, sweet and resinous, then in the dry down, the oregano, bay leaf, angelica, and myrtle, these are what sing on my skin in the most wonderfully peculiar manner; ahhhh...this is what got me hooked, this left field of herbal melange with animalic undertones. Then it dries in time to a dry myrrh and somber, dusty labdanum, with an outline of benzoin and vanilla; mythical, even transcendental to my nose. What I've learned in my full bottle journey this year is sometimes you go back "home" to what initiated that spark, what ignites that passion, drives one's desire and is a reminder of what is essential, These are indulgences of what are sensory and sensual, after all. Will I continue to acquire more? Yes, but one most slow down and eventually stop somewhere—it has already surpassed what could be considered practical or even dare I say healthy (I've been a voracious collector at heart since I was single-digit aged). I do think, however, that if I had to stop here, I'd be happy that I finally have a bottle of my Ambre Sultan.

A lot of Serge Lutens perfumes are criticized for essentially being bases sold as complete perfumes. This is completely correct, particularly in the case of Ambre Sultan. However, do not let that lead you to a conclusion that Ambre Sultan, or others, are anything less than stellar. At the time this was released it was far from being a typical amber, but here we are, more than 30 years later, and many perfumers and critics consider it a template amber - the gold standard, the bar for ambers of this century as opposed to the classic ambers of the Shalimar style. The primary reason for this is Ambre Sultan's shocking bitter and dry qualities, and its incredible execution. Firstly, there are green and herbal top notes that are so strikingly dry and aromatic you can almost taste the bitter chlorophyll. But just as soon as you smell it, it is completely gone (part of the argument for this being a base rather than a complete perfume in the classical sense; you could be excused for not noticing the herbs if you don't take a whiff of the perfume immediately after application). What comes next is what you get for the remaining life of the fragrance: the standard balsams, benzoin, vanilla and tonka, patchouli, and incense. People have gone on and on about Ambre Sultan over the years, so I'll keep this next part brief. There are two things, to my nose, that make it special, part of which I've already touched on: the first is the perfect execution. Not near perfect; as far as I can tell, it is perfect. Every single note is singing at the perfect pitch and volume. Their voices sustain the notes in perfect clarity to an even lifespan with each other. It is rich without being cloying, overly dense, or suffocating - managing to present its decadent richness with seductive diffusiveness and breathability. Keeping to the theme presented by the bitter green herbs, the amber notes are equally dry to the point of almost being bitter. For example, the vanilla note as I perceive it is not a baking extract sweetened with sugar, it's more like the bitter and dry oils squeezed directly from the vanilla bean onto my skin. The second reason why it is special to me is the incense note, that gorgeous resinous myrrh smoke that runs throughout every seam and crack of the other amber notes. I get this exact image of cold dry tendrils of silken gray smoke weaving their way through door locks, gently sweeping across a room by the brush of an imperceptible breeze, hovering weightless in the air without any texture as you walk through it. It fills-in the perfume with beautiful smoothness and elegance. Is this my favorite amber? Tricky question since ambers are probably my least favorite genre of perfumes. But yes, I would have to say that it is, in what is the "new classic" style. Ambre Russe by Parfum d'Empire is a lot more interesting, and probably my favorite "new" amber, but it was given permission for existence by Ambre Sultan. Nearly all modern ambers who try to twist this classic genre owe many of their ideas and permissions to Ambre Sultan, and for that reason it's a classic among classics.

II have not met a Amber that i remotely like or love, not that i have encountered many so as to speak. However, there is only one word i can describe when i encountered this Amber.... Love. Ambre Sultan.... This is my very first niche fragrance which i decidedly to finally take the plunge on the very same day that i encounter it. Usually i took quite a while to get the full sized bottle (the usual rite- spray some of it on the wrist and walk around for at least 1 hour and decide if i really like it, then deliberate a little on everything and anything and finally to the cashier), especially when there is no discount going on, so its the full retail price. THIS is dangerous stuff... why? I was window shopping and stumbled upon the Fragrance section which is sort of hidden in the inner part of the Mall and i was actually there to check out the Burberry Makeup collection, it was never my intention to part with my money for anything apart from that. Until, the moment i stepped into the Fragrance section and was drawn to the Serge Lutens Fragrance display whereby i reached out for the bottle with amber gold that struck my eyes...... Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan. The liquid amber. At the first whiff, it hits on me strongly and i was taken aback by the force of the fragrance. It was really potent, nothing that i ever had in my stash or came across. I wasn't put off by it, but rather i was surprised by it and wasn't thinking of purchasing it at all, until i continued with my mission of checking out Burberry's makeup collection. As i continued my shopping, i began to notice the potent thick spicy and maybe a little woody scent began to work its magic on my wrist.....it began to have a certain sweetness to it, a hint of vanilla to me while retaining its spicy character. The fragrance smells warm and luxurious for most part and then it further evolved into a scent that i associate with things vintage (for instance a lit fireplace library with tall wooden bookshelves and a old leather armchair). The amber gold liquid developed into a being with a subtle tone of spiciness with a hint of wood and vanilla, very warm and cozy, something i would reach out for if i were ever left in the cold. It does have a middle eastern element (from the name to the colour of the fragrance, everything) which i find it most acceptable and certainly wearable to me even in this humid and hot weather, which it lasts a good 8 hours at least on me. This is certainly one of the most complex fragrance i have ever worn and owned and yes, it opened my "nose" to the world of niche perfumery (which can only mean more additions to my stash and wearing the precious liquid amber carefully) and the Ambers. Note: I do not possess any technical knowledge or sophistated vocabulary to "flower"my review about it so i am going to describe it the best i can with my layman understanding of it.

Some fragrances require you to commit to them and Ambre Sultan is definitely one of those. It is one of the references for amber in modern perfumery which is interesting in itself because it is in many ways a very old school style fragrance with a very traditional feel, blended in a quintessentially European style. The first thing you notice when you spray it is how deep and rich it is which is to be expected from an amber fragrance, but also how aromatic and dry greeny it is, which is not. I sprayed it yesterday and my partner raised an eyebrow and said "you smell like old school money". She's right. This is a complex and quite heavy scent that focuses on the relationship between a gorgeously rich amber note and a lineup of green herbs and some spices that are heavier and more stringent than you expect. You have bayleaf, basil, oregano, coriander and I think some cumin that smell like my kitchen but in a really nice way. It is uncompromising at first but the aromatics aren't medicinally difficult and this never feels synthetic. The amber is apparent in the head, heart and base of this fragrance and is very much a showcase of its sweetness and resinous texture. In the base it takes on this wonderfully hedonistic, quite indulgent feel with a generous double measure of vanillic benzoin, that seems almost to counterpoint the greener, slightly herbal Tuscan kitchen vibe opening. That sees Ambre Sultan go sweeter and richer in the drydown and I personally find that the most enjoyable part of wearing this. Deconstructing this fragrance by note sort of misses the point though. It is very much a vibe; this one is all about how it feels to wear it. You do need to be a confident sort of person to carry it off and it is most certainly not a casual wear, or indeed I would say a very regular reach. This is a special occasion thing for moments where you want refined but powerful individuality and in that sense is classically Serge Lutens and quintessentially Christopher Sheldrake. They do not really do daily wearers in any classic interpretation of that term anyway, and have made creative and delicate top end niche perfumery a bit of a hallmark. Ambre Sultan is most definitely that. As with all the others of this wonderful house that I own, I love smelling it from the bottle for absolutely no reason at all, almost as much as wearing it. Layering Suggestion: A base layer for Spiriteuse Double Vanilla by Guerlain. Trust me. It is one of my all time favourite layering combos. Three Word Summary: Resinous, Herby Amber Scent - 7/10 Drydown - 9/10 Sillage - 8/10 Bottle/packaging - 7/10 Performance - 8/10 39/50

This is what i would refer to as quintessential niche perfumery. It is bold, it doesn't pull back punches with the notes, it's unapologetic with the direction it goes with, it's not afraid to turn some people off - even the most experimental and brave designer perfumes will compromise at least partially. Ambre Sultan - when people say "herbal and spicy" this is what it means. It's like huffing straight from a bag with mixed herbs and spices in the openings, and at the bottom of the bag there are freshly scraped off a tree trunk resins, that give it warm balsamic smoothness as it is drying down. The words cannot truly convey how realistic the feeling of all described above is.. there is not a hint of artificiality here. With that scent profile, one would imagine this would last a week on skin, but as it is the case with all scents that do not utilize synthetic aroma chemicals, this is not the case - i would say it has moderate projection and longevity on skin, but the drydown can linger as a skin scent at least for 24h. Overall, this is a classic niche scent. And by the very definition of the word "niche" it is not to everyone's taste, but i wouldn't call it "polarizing" or anything. Its niche in the sense that the noses trained on designer perfumery will be initially put off by how much the scent doesn't care to be safe or mass pleasing. In the same vein as the tastebuds accustomed to drinking supermarket quality whisky such as Johnny blue label or Royal Salute in a big tumbler with ice, are shocked when tasting neat unchill filtered, naturally colored cask strength quality Single Malt for the first time - "what the F*** is this? This burns, this is undrinkable!" but given time and experience, they start to appreciate the details, the quality, the natural feeling, the taste and aroma bucket that have not being processed through the corporate mass market filters. Same thing goes with perfumery such as Serge Lutens "Ambre Sultan". This is not a 500$ "panty dropper", it's resins, herbs and spices done right. If you are into such a thing, you will be delighted to own it. 50ml testers go for 50$, so i would call it better value than 99,9% of what designer and most of the niche world can offer, especially the so called designer house "elixirs" or pseudo-niche houses like PdM.