Âme Sombre Grade 1

Ame Sombre is my favorite take on the Frankincense theme. Supposedly inspired by the legendary attar from Amouage, Tribute, which I have not tried, and I'm not sure I want to since I can't imagine anything better than this. And since Amouage was always sort of mediocre to me, I'll probably never hunt it down. When I can just get more of this. Ame Sombre strikes me as a highly spiritual blend in which Rose and Frankincense dominate. On paper, it looks redundant, something that has been done before. But it is unlike anything that I've tried. The balance and the way the ingredients work together, it is supreme. Clouds of frankincense wafting from the thurible, lush, sweet rose petals on top of clean, warm, and slightly mineral ambergris. I can't detect much oud in here, it is not a prominent note. The saffron is a major player as well, especially for the first half of the perfume. It is a light attar compared to others in the line. It wears delicately around yourself. Like fumigating your clothes with bakhoor. Every note is in tune. There's no moment when I sense a lack of harmony in this. The smoke is soft and ethereal, never intrusive, the rose is lush and sweet but never jammy, and the ambergris is crystalline and warm, only embracing the blend in a warm veil. Elegant, mysterious, and poised. A triumphant attar and one of my favorites from the house. IG:@memory.of.scents

This is back to what I consider more traditional attar business in the shape of a very acomplished fragrance with nice oud pungency right out of the gate, but it's immediately mellowed and clearly not supposed to dominate the composition. What does is the fizz of frankinsence, a syrupy amber and a beewax/honied, sweet rose and more than a twang of saffron. It's gorgeous let's face it, gets even nicer too as it dries down. I'm not taking nothing away from the composition but it's lots of opulent things, chiming in to give an experience that is satisfying but not highly original. Frankly who cares, all these materials are the finest in the world, coming together to make something special and Pasha's track record for making some of the most innovative and original oils out there, packing in tonnes of complexity, is well documented. This path is more trodden but he still does it with a huge dose of panache. I love it.

Imperial frankincense. I have never smelled Tribute attar and I am new to the attar esthetic of perfumery. I am a hard-core frankincense lover and this feels like an exaltation of the scent where all the other perfume notes are there to bring out the best of the incense that is present beginning to end. I don't get "church". There is too much woodiness and jaminess. It feels regal and primordial, accross cultures and time. My favorite so far from the Sultan Pasha sample collection. There is something reminiscent of Papillon Annubis, which I also love. They both have a strong frankincense note with leather and jasmine nuance, but they are distinct in vibe and other notes. Annubis is east Asian temples for me, while Ame Sombre is decidedly middle eastern. Both possess spiritual strength, but Ame Sombre also has a sensuality to it.

This was my first attar of Sultan Pasha, (with the amazing Ensar Rose), love at first sniff, I couldn't avoid buying it ! On me Ame Sombre oud infusion is a refined smoky scent with rose and tabac, I can see the patchouli at the beginning and delicious saffran and honey, hours later I'm wrapped with a resinous woody incens. It last hours and hours and I can even smell it the next day in a very subtle way. I like it in cold winter and whenever I need to feel calm.

Another one I didn’t like. This is a incense amber rose attar but the amber is very overpowering doesn’t feel well blended quite harsh. Also gives off a vibe from a antique shop, something like a old bit of furniture. If thats your thing maybe you will enjoy this but me personally i dont want to smell like old furniture. Performance was around 6 hours with no sillage