Discussion of all things Amber

[parrot_suspect]

My question is....is there a good scent that blends amber, musk, vanilla and dragons blood? (the dragons blood doesn't need to be there.....but it works well on me.) I adore musky/amber/vanilla smells! (maybe some sandalwood, though it sometimes gets a bit soapy).

 

If you can find it, since it was a recent LE, I think you'd love Bakeneko. I don't think it has Dragon's Blood but it has the other notes.

 

And do give the "usual suspects" a try -- O, Bastet, the Lion. They are all warm and lovely.

[portalkat]

I'm a NOOB (as in...haven't even gotten my first order yet, noob!) But I'm also a huge amber fan.....so this thread is of great interest to me.

 

My question is....is there a good scent that blends amber, musk, vanilla and dragons blood? (the dragons blood doesn't need to be there.....but it works well on me.) I adore musky/amber/vanilla smells! (maybe some sandalwood, though it sometimes gets a bit soapy).

 

Anything warm and not too floral!

I did a search for amber on the lab site and the results are here.

Blood Amber from Bewitching Brews category sounds good for you and then, of course, there is O from Love Potions. Hmmm, maybe the Lion, too.

[forspecial_plate]

I'm a NOOB (as in...haven't even gotten my first order yet, noob!) But I'm also a huge amber fan.....so this thread is of great interest to me.

 

My question is....is there a good scent that blends amber, musk, vanilla and dragons blood? (the dragons blood doesn't need to be there.....but it works well on me.) I adore musky/amber/vanilla smells! (maybe some sandalwood, though it sometimes gets a bit soapy).

 

Anything warm and not too floral!

 

You might want to try The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed With the Sun. It's in the Salon section. Here are the notes: "Daemonorops [which is dragon's blood, I think], vanilla, Indian sandalwood, Mexican copal, hyssop, muguet, sweet pea, amber, hazelwood, galbanum, hiba wood, and orchid." It's a very warm, golden amber scent. I can definitely pick out the dragon's blood. It's also slightly nutty. On my skin the florals didn't stand out much, but some people do amp sweet pea so that could be a problem.

 

You would have to buy a whole bottle, buy the Exhibit II set of Salon imps (they only come as a set), or find a decant (which is what I did). Hope that helps! : )

 

Edit: okay, I re-read the reviews...this could be more floral than what you're looking for. BUT...I wouldn't rule it out just because of the florals. It could surprise you.

Edited March 3, 2007 by Forspecial Plate

[bulletslc]

I'm a NOOB (as in...haven't even gotten my first order yet, noob!) But I'm also a huge amber fan.....so this thread is of great interest to me.

 

My question is....is there a good scent that blends amber, musk, vanilla and dragons blood? (the dragons blood doesn't need to be there.....but it works well on me.) I adore musky/amber/vanilla smells! (maybe some sandalwood, though it sometimes gets a bit soapy).

 

Anything warm and not too floral!

 

I've found my musk/amber/sandalwood mix!!!! FENRIS WOLF!!!!! YUM!!!!

[jarvenpa]

Fenris 'Wolf eh? (*makes note for self*) Do you find it is lasting on your skin? I love amber, and The Lion is lovely and amber-drenched but fades really quickly on me--it would be nice to have one that was strong and continued forever. Or a while.

[ivyandpeony]

Svadhinaopatika (golden amber, oude, red sandalwood, massoia bark, honey, and currant) is incredible - the sweetness of the honey and currant balance the woodiness perfectly and complement the spicy amber so well.

 

Jarvenpa, have you tried Jacob's Ladder? The '05 version resembles The Lion on me, but is much richer and it lasts forever.

[catsoap]

I love amber, and The Lion is incredible, so warm and spicy. But my other amber favorite is Hymn to Proserpine (The darkening amber of faith’s sunset, deepened by the dark fruits of Proserpine). I am astounded that no one else has recommended it. It's warm, golden yellow, slightly sweet and almost creamy. Fruits and amber blend together so beautifully

[bulletslc]

Fenris 'Wolf eh? (*makes note for self*) Do you find it is lasting on your skin? I love amber, and The Lion is lovely and amber-drenched but fades really quickly on me--it would be nice to have one that was strong and continued forever. Or a while.

It lasts a while. I think because the sandalwood creates a really good base. You have to like musk also though, because the musk is definitly very present.

[Magda]

My absolute favorite amber scent is Hymn to Proserpine (which is pure amber on me with just a tiny hint of fruit to sweeten it), followed closely by Hermia (much more subtle with a kick of pink pepper that smells like carnation to me after the drydown). Al-Azif also screams amber at me, though it's not one of the notes listed. To me, it's like Hymn to Proserpine with incense instead of fruit, and it's divine.

[ivyandpeony]

I am out of town, on vacation, so I only have 10 scents with me. I have been wearing The Emathides obsessively - OMG the amber is just incredible. This one smells like purple amber to me, if that makes sense. Now I am craving amber like crazy - just reading over this thread is making me wish I had brought The Lion and Jacob's Ladder with me!

 

However, I do have two Holy Grail ambers with me in addition to the raven ladies... Svadhinopatika and The Ecstasy of Passion. I would seriously push my own grandma out of the way to snatch a bottle of TEoP, it is so good. (The notes are bourbon vanilla, red musk, galbanum, ambergris, sweet clove, petitgrain, and golden amber, for the record.) And I think I mentioned Svad. upthread, it's drop dead gorgeous as well - golden amber, oude, red sandalwood, massoia bark, honey, and currant.

 

(I am such the victim of the LE, by the way - it seems that every time that one whiff and I am in love. (I get an insane surge of happiness when I smell an LE that I don't like.) And I don't think that LE psychology comes into it. I just have expensive taste. Say I am going to buy my husband a sweater - I look at 12 sweaters on a table at the department store and sure enough, the one I am drawn to turns out to have the most outrageous price tag. I can look at a fashion spread in a magazine - do any of you read Lucky? You know how they will do pages of nothing but shoes, all photographed from the same angle, or outfits composed of the same items, again photographed the same way? I look at them all, pick my favorite, invariably - "Oh wow! $1200 for a pair of shoes!" when I look at the small print. I go back and look for the $60 pair at that point. It's a curse!)

 

Oh, edited to add - Magda's recommendation of Hermia is such a good one. The pink pepper and amber are incredible together. I wish I had that one with me too! I miss my dog and my BPAL drawer so much! =(

[styro]

Oh man, now I really want to try The Emathides!

 

More amber chatter...a little while back, during a discussion of resins and incense, I put on every amber scent I owned all at once just to try to get a better handle on BPAL's amber note(s). I remember that one of the things I learned at the time was that amber + lavender (or possibly amber + lavender + moss?) = men's cologne, which is probably one of the most basic scent equations in perfumery, only I hadn't been aware of it before.

 

And Saint-Germain, I think, exemplifies that equation (gilded amber, hypnotic lavender, brash carnation and deep mosses): it's a very classic-men's-cologne scent, clean-lined and subtle. Trying it against Old Scratch (a lavender fougere with tonka, amber, rosewood and a whiff of diabolical patchouli), currently the only other amber-lavender scent in my collection, was fascinating: I had thought of Old Scratch as quite a masculine scent--in fact, it's the scent I layer with Dorian in order to make Dorian smell more masculine-retro-metrosexual on me--but, next to Saint-Germain, Old Scratch smells positively girly...sugar-candied and floral, drying down to a powdery rosy-lavender, very Crabtree & Evelyn but with depth, and with the amber aspect of the scent very muted in comparison to SG.

 

Off to compare more amber scents! (I'm really looking forward to trying my black ambers versus my white and grey ones. *g*)

[phantasmmysteria]

Nobody's said it yet... I love... Aglaea.

 

I second that!

 

I find golden amber to be the closest to a skin scent that you mentioned, which is what is in Aglaea (along with a nice mix of peach).

[aine]

Jarvenpa, have you tried Jacob's Ladder? The '05 version resembles The Lion on me, but is much richer and it lasts forever.

 

So true! For me, Jacob's Ladder 05 is the King of amber scents - true rich amber, big throw and so longlasting. The Lion is another of my favourite BPAL ambers and I can definitely see the similarity.

[khiseer]

golden amber hates me but i seem to be having a good relationship with black amber... When reading scent descriptions that just say amber i have to be pretty wary or i will end up smelling like just rusting metal

[gwynhwyfar]

I love amber and I love aged amber.

 

Let's see ... Some of my favorite sources of BPAL amber happiness ...

 

Mouse's Long and Sad Tale. Oh, yes. Happiness in a bottle and when mine ages, I'll be even happier.

 

Hollywood Babylon. Once this gets a little old, it's even better. Amber and fruits and musk. *swoons*

 

The Haunted Palace. It's hard not to love amber, rose, vanilla and musk.

 

Hunger Moon. This is one of the top for me and one of my top 'why didn't I get more bottles of this?!?'

 

Lotus Moon. Amber and lotus, yes, please.

 

BrisingAmen. I love the name, but I also love the amber and carnation that really comes out in this when it's on my skin.

 

Coyote. This smells JUST like an incense that I fell in love with ages ago and then could never again find.

 

Jacob's Ladder, both versions, though I like the one that's aged better than the newer bottle. I'm hoping that it returns this year so I can add to the growing stash of it.

 

O, after it's aged. Aged amber, honey and vanilla, deliciousness incarnate.

[styro]

For me, Jacob's Ladder 05 is the King of amber scents - true rich amber, big throw and so longlasting.

 

I tend to think of Jacob's Ladder 05 as my archetypal or reference amber as well (though I know that its goldenness owes a lot to the other resins in the scent). Wearing it again recently, I was surprised to find that it wasn't as all-caps GOLDEN to my nose as I'd always thought of it before--it seems mellower now, leaning more towards the benzoin/tonka than the rockrose.

 

I've been trying on my amber scents again, trying to get a feeling for this note. I started with Brisingamen, with its "five ambers" and Aglaea, with its "three golden ambers": it sounds like these should both be pretty darned ambery, right?--and yet, when I first sniffed them, I was completely distracted by the myrtle, especially in Brisingamen (I'd never smelled myrtle before, and I was really taken with its chilly herbal freshness). Testing them again now, I still don't read them as primarily "amber" scents, at least not at first: with Aglaea, the peach is most evident right off the bat, with just a breath of a chill from the myrtle, and there's an interesting interplay between that faint chilliness and the warmth of the peach and amber. In Brisingamen, that myrtle/amber interplay is even more pronounced--Brisingamen is primarily about the myrtle to me, with a hint of spiciness that must be the carnation. As Aglaea dries down, I do get a more ambery impression from it, as the peach aspect of the scent blends into an overall goldenness (as with Jacob's Ladder, I wonder how much of my impression of "amberiness" here is owing to other notes in the scent).

 

Trying on some specific subsets of my amber scents...

 

Egyptian Amber (Pumpkin Queen, Snake Charmer): Comparing these to a few golden-amber or unspecified-amber scents, the Egyptian-amber scents did come across as richer, smoother, and darker to my nose, from topnote to late drydown.

 

Black / Grey / White Amber (Titus Andronicus, Verdandi / Lyonesse / 51: Though the black-amber Titus Andronicus and Verdandi don't strike me as particularly "dark" scents on their own, there is a definite darkness to them in comparison to the grey-amber Lyonesse and the (even lighter) white-amber 51. Lyonesse is the scent that strikes me as the most "ambery" of the four, and Titus Andronicus is the revelation in this comparison--I've always thought of it as simply an orangey version of Haunted, but there's definitely more going on in this scent. In Haunted, the "soft golden" amber is almost completely overwhelmed for me by the powderiness of the black musk, but in Titus, the black amber is holding its own against the black musk, and there's much more depth and complexity apparent from the other notes.

 

Sheer / White Amber (Manhattan, 51): If I hadn't been going through my amber scents, I never would have thought of comparing Manhattan and 51, but there's actually a remarkable sort of family resemblance between them--they both have bright citrus playing against a woody base, with that pale amber in the background. Manhattan (which I find myself thinking of in the context of the Manhattan Project in this comparison *g*) is very much the smoother of the two, with 51 quite sharp and nostril-stinging by contrast--I think something in 51 sets off my allergies, actually. And, while I think of these as light scents, their smoothness and prickliness are both still very detectable on my skin over twelve hours late.

 

And I realize I haven't said anything about my favourite amber in all the above, so I'll end with a plug for the ever-wonderful Sin, which gives me my cinnamon fix without burning my skin!

Edited October 2, 2007 by styro

[oceandreamer001]

The scents I think of when I think Amber are: House of Mirrors and The Emathides. I get a warm, lovely amber from both of these. Do others get that, or is it just my weird skin?

[TereFaerie]

I'm currently loving Tamora, it is just ambery enough to be sexy, with a touch of sandalwood.

 

It is supposed to have a hint of peach, but I don't smell it.

[XOMom]

I too adore all thing amber. I have tried some of the scents listed here (O, Brisingamen, and currently wearing Bastet) and made notes for lots more that I need to try.

I know that it's not listed as an ingredient in Snake Oil- but I REALLY get amber from it. Anyone else, or is it just me?

[ivyandpeony]

Random comments on the scents people have brought up in the last handful or so of posts...

 

I wish I didn't get the peach in Tamora, I think it's what keeps Tamora from working on me. Peach wants to turn sharp and unpleasant on me 90% of the time. *shakes fist in peach's general direction* But I can wear Aglaea, which really surprised me! Possibly the only peach scent that works on me. I am sure the other components in each blend bear on that too. But at least peach doesn't ruin two gorgeous amber scents for me.

 

I love Old Scratch and that poor bottle gets neglected I am glad you mentioned it, styro! I bet it's aged a bit and is probably even nicer now. There are several blends I have where lavender serves as more of a glue to hold things together, or to add a little brightness, and I don't really notice it. The Emathides is one, Old Scratch is another and you know what the third one is... Dolce Stil Nuovo. Which has golden amber. I'm really developing an appreciation for the lavender-amber combination now and I don't find those three perfumes to be stereotypically masculine at all. I don't know that I would recommend OS or DSN to someone who was clamoring for a scent that was really heavy on amber, though.

 

I was so excited when Brisingamen went live (I think I can even remember it, was it with the first Pink Moon update?) I immediately ordered a bottle. The strangest thing happens with it, and with Bastet too. I cannot smell either one of these perfumes on me. I smell a little fragrance in the bottle, but I apply some to see how it works on my skin, and wow, it's just a big bunch of nothing. I have heard of this happening to other people with random scents, so I am not shocked or horrified or anything, it was just very weird when it actually happened to me. I have received frimps of both here and there over the past two years or so, tried them again, no dice.

 

I think the spiciness of Snake Oil is reminiscent of pure amber. But it seems to dry down differently on me than blends that I know contain amber. I have to admit, I do not have one of those noses that knows all.

 

Then there are some amber-containing blends that don't smell like amber on me at all. Mouse's Long & Sad Tale is all sweet pea and vanilla on me for hours and hours, 51 is white floral-fruity notes for hours, Lyonesse lets the vanilla talk the most, Verdandi is all apples. I love them though and I am sure the amber is part of what gives them so much staying power, depth and sweetness.

[lookingglass]

I, too, find Snake Oil ambery. I don't know if there is any actual amber in there, but ambers are often composites with patchouli, vanilla, and spices. I think SO fits that bill!

 

Three Gorgons...OMG. I always get complements when I wear it. Amber and pepper...mmmm!

 

Amber just smells like warm, glowing skin but better to me. Definately a favorite note!

[styro]

I wish I didn't get the peach in Tamora, I think it's what keeps Tamora from working on me. Peach wants to turn sharp and unpleasant on me 90% of the time. *shakes fist in peach's general direction* But I can wear Aglaea, which really surprised me!

 

Same here! (And Tamora gets such raves--I really wanted to like it!)

 

There are several blends I have where lavender serves as more of a glue to hold things together, or to add a little brightness, and I don't really notice it. The Emathides is one, Old Scratch is another and you know what the third one is... Dolce Stil Nuovo. Which has golden amber. I'm really developing an appreciation for the lavender-amber combination now and I don't find those three perfumes to be stereotypically masculine at all.

 

Hmm...maybe it's just my skin, then. I do keep scents topnote-y for a looong time, so perhaps I'm getting a prolonged version of the initial cologne-y phase that certain scents are described as having. I did order The Emathides based on your rec, so I'm looking forward to seeing how that one works out.

[ivyandpeony]

Bumping this thread because I wore Jacob's Ladder all weekend - amber lovers who don't have it in their possession need to go order bottles. Right now! I'll wait for you...

 

I'm still working on my original bottle which is the 2005 version, although I only have about an imp left in it. It has aged (and aged well) but it's not dramatically different from what it was originally, just richer. I have another bottle of 2005 waiting for me, but I definitely am going to grab a new one while the Yules are around so I know I will have more in the stash for when that's gone.

 

We've talked about Jacob's Ladder being similar to The Lion in the LE-GC comparison thread so I thought I'd do a side-to-side sniff test and report. They are very similar (my bottle of The Lion is pretty aged too, it's an old cobalt one). I find Jacob's Ladder to be more complex, maybe because of the multiple resins, and it has more throw and staying power. I love both of them though.

[alicia_stardust]

Hey! I've been wearing Jacob's Ladder all weekend, too. It is truly the most divine amber I have come across in all of BPAL. Something about it is so rich and glowing and something about it is so tangible. It brings to mind those sticky little rock nuggets of golden amber that I used to play with when I made my own incense.

 

I have a 2005, a 2006, and now a 2008. It definitely ages well. =)

[blacklacestatic]

Okay I'm an amber obsessive, and somehow I didn't put Jacob's Ladder in my last order. I think I just got too excited over Gelt ( chocolate is a love too). I'm dying for the next update so I can add a bottle to my next order. I keep thinking about it, and then I see your posts about it! Don't let me forget next time!