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Ambra di Venezia EDP by Montgomery Taylor

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Bergamot, Lime, Tangerine.
Jasmine, Narcissus, Mango.
Sandalwood.

Apparently Montgomery Taylor makes each flacon in New York personally and he honed this skill in Venice. Each one is one of a kind, hand blown and numbered. That is pretty cool if you're into that aspect of collecting and appreciate a personal touch.

Me? Not so much. Don't get me wrong. I like well made bottles for functionality and that's about as far as it goes for me. I'm more interested in the fragrance itself.

Ambra di Venezia EDP is a floral bouquet of the tenacious variety. Rayda Vega created this in 1998 and there's no doubt he had the feminine persuasion in mind when this was on the drawing board. The inspiration is supposedly derived from Montgomery traversing the waterways and his walks to and fro the furnace where the glass was being blown by artisans. The result of this experience is Ambra di Venezia as seen through Montgomery's eyes and interpreted by Vega's nose.

The citrus in the opening of Ambra di Venezia is borderline sharp. When merged minutes later with the floral components, it takes on that "in the back of your throat" quality when smelled up close. I admit to not being a fan of this aspect in any fragrance, so to remedy this, I smell it 6 inches from my nose and the world is good again. It simply is a bit caustic smelled with nose to skin.

The florals waste no time in taking charge here. On my skin, a determined jasmine that's just a bit dry comes to the fore and it also exhibits some violet aspects. This, along with remnants of the citric opening, have real presence for about 30 minutes.

Once the heart accord begins to subside, the sandalwood slowly emerges and tones down the floral intensity. Ambra di Venezia never evolves beyond a feminine composition on me. I could not pull this off and even with the augmentation of sandal, it stays in the feminine arena.

The base and drydown of Ambra di Venezia is a pleasant jasmine and sandalwood that still retain some violet qualities. The sillage and longevity will satisfy even the most critical enthusiasts and the wearings lasted an extremely long time on my skin. Thumbs up from Aromi for Ambra di Venezia and a strong recommendation to sample in lieu of a blind purchase. I like it, but love is out of the question.
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  1. sherapopMarch 8, 2012 at 2:40 PM

    Thanks so much, Aromi. I have been curious about this perfume for quite some time. So really it's not an amber perfume at all? Fascinating.

    ReplyDelete

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