Scentzilla!

L’Artisan’s L’Eau d’Ambre is perhaps one of the easiest amber themed fragrances to wear. It’s clean for an amber, almost soapy even, with vanilla tucked into the amber for a softening but not sugary effect. Light green touches, presumably from geranium listed on L’Artisan’s site, provide a delicate impression of spice. Something about its sophisticated simplicity speaks of elegance to me. L’Eau d’Ambre feels light but not unsubstantial, which makes it a great choice for oriental fragrance lovers in the spring. I think it fares rather well in the warming weather of the season.

Molinard’s Les Scenteurs Ambre would seem upon a glance of the notes to be heavy, with opoponax, vanilla, musk, and patchouli at the base of the scent. However, the top citrus and lavender notes keep the composition bright and refreshing. The aroma itself falls deeply into the darker elements while never turning thick and overpowering. I even wore this fragrance during the dog days of August and it worked remarkably for me. In fact, it works better for me the warmer the weather is - I don’t even care for this one in winter! The staying power, even with these notes that usually stick to me like glue, is not great, however the bottle is well sized for frequent reapplication, and it’s not unreasonably priced for that.

I Profumi di Firenze’s Ambra del Nepal demonstrates how something quite basic in concept can attain greatness when it’s done flawlessly. Ambra del Nepal is a concoction of vanilla and amber that carries as effortlessly on the skin as a dandelion seed in the breeze. I am frequently told by those who catch a whiff of my sillage that they smell cedar, too. Staying power for any of the IPdF’s I’ve tried is not long, sadly, but this one is better than their others. I adore it, and even people who normally shy away from amber perfumes have found themselves falling in love with this fragrance when I insisted they needed to try it on. If you only try one amber out of these three, this is the one to spoil your nose rotten with. It’s worth every last penny.

These are just a few of the ambers I thought of that would be appropriate for the warm days of spring, and I am sure there are a ton of others. Please, if you will, share some of your favorite amber or oriental fragrances for the season!

If the i Profumi di Firenze line has any signature quality, it is one of freshness. Spezie de Medici is no exception.

At the first spray, the overwhelming sensation I have is of home-squeezed orange juice with a melange of spiciness at its core. Perhaps as a consequence, Spezie suffers from a case of potpourri-itis. But its staunch spice also makes for one of the more invigorating fragrances I’ve tried.

Newly sliced ginger root is the defining note here. Clove then cinnamon jump into the ruction, and there’s a decidedly dry kick of cayenne pepper laying into the ginger. The sweet piquancy of cardamom appears only briefly on me, and I can’t say it leaves much of an impression on me in the face of the brasher spices making up this eau de parfum.

Spezie de Medici is an awakening fragrance that energizes me in the same way listening to loud guitar-blasting music does early in the morning. What I find in this scent is the same “get up and at ‘em” that’s in Ted Leo + The Pharmacists’ The Angels’ Share. Click player below to hear a clip of roughly the first minute of The Angels’ Share.

Spezie is not a scent I would recommend to anyone who doesn’t already know for a fact that they enjoy spicy perfumes, nor is it one I’d suggest for those who find potpourri allusions unsavory in wear. It is, however, a must-try for ginger lovers, and I feel it makes a happy autumnal fragrance choice.

Image at top left of 1948-C by Clyfford Still, from http://hirshhorn.si.edu. Ted Leo’s The Angels’ Share can be found on his new album Shake the Sheets, and can be bought through Djangos or directly from http://tedleo.com.