Sonoma Scent Studio's Ambre Noir

By -
If Ambre Noir is any indicator, I may be forced to explore this House thoroughly in the future. Galamb supplied me recently with some excellent "smellies" ( as he likes to call them) and Ambre Noir was among the numerous samples he generously sent me. Thanks again bro.....

My first aesthetic impression is of DSH ....due to bottle sizes and the overall size of the house itself. The site gives me that cozy, niche house feel with high expectations. I have a proclivity for scents with some gravitas that come in 15 and 30ml bottles. I only wish more niche did the same.

On me, Ambre Noir is exactly that. This is an amber with some very nice guests invited to the party. Not overtly heavy, nor too dark, Noir's rendition of amber would work on both genders and opens with an mildly herbaceous amber that also gives a nod to anamalics. The Olibanum and castoreum work very well astride the labdanum and the result is a thickened, golden amber that has enough balls to be macho, yet never goes testosterone on the wearer. This is a pretty good balance and I tip my hat to Laurie Erickson.

The listed rose, patchouli, vetiver, cedarwood and clove are extremely well proportioned and blended. They seem to add density to the overall composition more than anything else....and it works splendidly. I am persuaded to like Ambre Noir very much and if Laurie Erickson's other creations are as adept as this one, this house is a winner.

Comments

  1. SugandarajaMay 31, 2010 at 11:50 PM

    Definitely agree about the sizing policy. Most small niche houses are catering to fragrance fans, who tend to have more than a few bottles in their collection, and aren't going to be going through 100ml in a hurry. I buy 30ml/15ml whenever I can.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJuly 30, 2010 at 9:12 PM

    Labdanum Lass here. (okay, a geeky DC Comics-esque ref here but...when I'm not Labdanum Lass I'm Vetiver Vixen) I think that SSS is going to be seeing a bit of business from me in the future!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mara DraffnonFebruary 1, 2016 at 1:21 AM

    Ambre Noir sounds amazing... I just discovered SSS and I'm so glad they make smaller bottles ! I think I'll get Tabac Aurea and Nostalgie as well !

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Voile Blanc by Traveller Limited

By -
Image
Cedarwood, Frankincense, Leather, Musk, Thyme, Voile Blanc is yet another Arabian style sample sent to me, courtesy of CoutureGuru. As his review attests, it is distributed in a different fashion than your conventional "houses". Just the fact that a merchant can have a quality, duty-free scent created and marketed to a target audience is impressive. Too bad it isn't readily available through the normal means of purchase as Voile Blanc is well done and "adjusted" to suit palettes other than local. I say that because the west, as a whole, seems to favor "subtle yet substantial" over ostentatious. The opening of Voile Blanc is a leathery presentation accented with Incense and Woods. It's vibrant without being startling and you can tell in the first few minutes that this will come in with a smooth landing. There's nothing complicated here as the intro continues on its way until volume and presence dissipate enough to signal heart, then base
Read more

Will Miss You Dave

By -
Image
Sad news folks. After battle with cancer David passed away earlier this month. He was a great friend and a guide and I will miss him. He loved fragrances, especially vintages and even at the very end all he talked about was fragrances - the batch variations of Lapidus, difference between Opium PH EDP vs EDT, and the sorry state of current perfumes. The only other thing that made him happy was his music. He was a guitarist and if you are interested, you can check out his songs on youtube . He was at peace with himself at the end. In his own words -   I'm in a good place bro. I've always believed in the saying "Don't get caught dead without Christ" Rest in peace bro and keep smelling awesome.    
Read more

Unpublished Reviews

By -
 I have been meaning to post more here but just have not been able to. I think it is the fear of not coming close to what Dave did here. I will have to cross that bridge soon. In the meantime, please enjoy these last few reviews that Dave was working on. They were written in 2021. Some were posted and then taken off the blog. These are the reviews of the Yellowstone Parfums line. I heard about this line in 2021. The smell description and artwork reminded me of Dave. I thought he was the person behind it and so I got a sample set.  It turned out that, while he was not the nose behind it, he was involved. Helping his friend with this venture. Unfortunately, I don't think the Yellowstone Parfums are in business anymore. 
Read more