Black Amber ( Perfume Oil ) by Michele Bergman

Dark and Light Tunisian Amber, Vanilla, Patchouli.

This particular fragrance pushes the WOW factor button in me. Marketed as shared, Black Amber leans more feminine due to the powdery quality in this rendition of amber and once merged with vanilla, it seems destined for the feminine arena.

In spite of that and it also being fairly linear, Black Amber is so substantial that there's no doubt I would wear this in the cold months or use it as a base. Sillage and longevity is of absolutely no concern here. This is some concentrated juice and truly a little goes a long way.

Black Amber opens with a dense amber accord that possesses a halo of powder. The amber is sweet, but not overtly so. There's also resin in the mix, but it stays close to the skin while the powdery amber soaks up the spotlight.

During what would normally be the heart accord, a patchouli begins to manifest itself in increments. At first, it adorns itself with woodiness and by the base and drydown, it unveils its earthy nature. I won't go as far as to say it hippie, but it's gritty, slightly dirty and all the while maintaining a cedar-like quality.

The patchouli is tuned to be noticeable, but the sweet amber and oncoming vanilla temper its nature. The woody aspect here reminds me of Bois 1920 Real Patchouly, but the patchouli note isn't as prominent as that. Black Amber is attenuated with amber pitted against patchouli. Sweet versus earth. Powder versus wood. All the while an undercurrent of vanilla has a hand on each.

Once Black Amber settles into the drydown stage, it does become more of an androgynous scent. The patchouli being more prominent at this time is responsible for that. The powdery quality has also subsided enough to allow some resin to bleed through as well. This proves to be my favorite part of the wearings.

Black Amber is expensive and retailing at $120 for half an ounce. That's $8 per ml. but the sillage and longevity for very small amounts makes up for it. This is self indulgence personified and if you're partial to ambery patch with a vanilla base, then you really need to try this.

This happens to be the first Michele Bergman release I have tried and if her others are this rich, I'll make it a point to try them as well. Thumbs up from Aromi for Black Amber with a recommendation to sample.

Comments

Black Suede by Avon

Nutmeg, Clove, Amber, Musk, Moss, Wood Notes. Yes.........I am reviewing one of the Rodney Dangerfield's of fragrance. Black Suede has been gracing medicine cabinets, for better or worse, since 1980 my friends. If you're expecting me to inform you ( like others may have already ) that Black Suede is a nasty scrubber, you will be disappointed. On the other hand, if you're expecting a glowing review claiming it's a diamond in the rough, you won't hear that from me either. I will say though that Black Suede doesn't deserve the hate it's received and most of that is due to snobbery aimed at Avon products in general. I kid you not when I state that a close relative to this fragrance is Cacharel Pour L'Homme. The array of spice in both ensure comparison, but the "smoother" of the two is Black Suede due to its implementation of Amber. While wearing Black Suede, one can detect a hint of "drugstore". That quality doesn't manife...

Oriental Lounge by The Different Company

Bergamot, Curry Leaf, Pepper, Red Rose, Tonka Bean, Labdanum, Satinwood. I suppose the first thing I noticed about Oriental Lounge is that as a man, this is a bit of a stretch to pull off. Since the core of Oriental Lounge is a powdery tonka and amber duo, it really does lean a bit too far feminine for me to wear. However, it would smell just as lovely on a woman and more appropriate as well. I bring this up simply because it's marketed as shared. I was wondering about the curry leaf. Actually, this "note" brought nothing to the table with the exception of possibly enhancing the pepper note just a bit. Even so, the pepper note itself was low key ( at least on me ) and both blended nicely with the citrus opening. From the onset of Oriental Lounge, it's unmistakable that this fragrance is.......well.....an oriental. From other opinions, I read some gripes about longevity, but it lasts on me quite awhile. This fragrance is uncomplicated and without much movemen...

Chanel copying Guerlain. Why?

Last month, I had the pleasure of trying Comète by Chanel, the latest addition to their prestigious Les Exclusifs line. This fragrance follows the release of Le Lion in 2020, another standout in the same collection. Like Le Lion , Comète is a beautiful perfume that captures the essence of Chanel’s refined elegance. However, both fragrances bear a striking resemblance to classic creations by Guerlain, leading me to ponder the direction Chanel is taking. Chanel has a great fragrance history. Not as hallowed and old as Guerlain but for past three decades it has far outshone Guerlain. In my view, no other perfume house has come close to Chanel’s excellence in this century. This makes their recent approach of echoing Guerlain classics somewhat perplexing. Have they run out of fresh ideas? Is Roger Dove at the helm of their fragrance division, or have they perhaps...

Il Mondo di Odore

Search This Blog