Actually, I just wanted a nice autumn scent with roses and patchouli. In the meantime it has grown to four. Patchouli by Alyssa Ashley disappointed me because it smells too little like Patchouli. I liked Perles de Lalique and Patchouli N' Roses from Reminiscence much better already. Somehow I found Ambraliquida from L'Erbolario. I wanted that too, of course. Just because I liked the pack with the colorful autumn leaves so much.
I usually test a perfume before I buy it. However, this was not possible with Ambraliquida. Unless I had visited the small L'Erbolario Shop in the Döblinger Hauptstraße in Vienna-Döbling. But he's not exactly around the corner from me. I live in Vienna-Mariahilf.
Products from L'Erbolario are not easy to come by online. But recently, one thing came after another. An Austrian shipping company with the original name shöpping.at offered € 10 discount for first time customers. And that's exactly where Ambraliquida was available. I didn't think long and hard and risked a blind purchase.
Ambraliquida is my first fragrance from L'Erbolario, an Italian brand that sells animal-free, vegan natural cosmetics.
The price of the perfume ranges between € 35 and € 40 for 50 ml, which, as I have noticed here, is often regarded as cheap. I don't see it that way, considering that I recently paid € 80,29 for 100 ml Hermès Un Jardin Sur Le Toit EdT, whereby Hermès certainly belongs to the expensive and well-known luxury brands.
L'Erbolario is an Italian brand whose name derives from "erborare", "collecting herbs". The company, headquartered in Lodi near Milan, has been in existence since 1978 and is dedicated to the environmentally friendly production of innovative phytocosmetics that are sold worldwide. Phytocosmetics does not use preservatives such as parabens or other artificial additives such as silicone.
L'Erbolario obviously attaches great importance to attractively designed packaging. I like that one. You don't just buy perfume with your nose, as you know.
What I also like is the fact that there are many fragrances from absinthe, violet, iris and lavender to lily of the valley, tea and lime tree, as well as body care products. Ambraliquida is a bath and shower gel for sensitive skin, a moisturising body cream, a soap for dry skin and a room fragrance (reed diffuser).
The EdP is unisex, which is also indicated by the simple dark brown iced glass bottle.
The fragrance is described as warm, spicy, powdery, mossy, balsamic and woody with vanilla chords - in a word: oriental. Somewhere I read as a description of the manufacturer: a perfume like autumn leaves in orange, gold and red. This means that the scents of EdP are based on the colours of autumn leaves.
I can confirm that impression. My first thought while sniffing at the freshly sprayed scent was: How to open a box found after a long time on which autumn is written
And how does autumn smell? I would say, first of all, very powdery and sweet. Straw flowers, candied fruit, a walk through an evening Advent market, with artistically designed wooden toys, candy floss and Rahat Lokum with rose aroma.
The powdery sweetness fascinates me immediately because it is surprisingly "unflowery". A rose that subordinates itself to patchouli, sandalwood, cedar and vanilla? That's rare. But you can feel a lot of nature in this fragrance: a forest in autumn, colourful, partly already musty leaves, damp earth, mosses, woods, something like the secret of transience - but a transience in beauty: mild, gentle, lovely, somehow familiar - like a country you once travelled through.
The smell makes me want to sniff it again and again. Rose? I'm getting insecure. More like geranium. I recognize the sweet, flowery scent - it resembles that of the rose, but is a little more delicate and discreet, I think. That's why he doesn't have to play the leading role. I once had it in my fragrance lamp as an aromatic oil. It is said to have a harmonizing, stimulating effect. It should work well against stress and relieve pain when grieving and saying goodbye.
On the fragrance journey towards the end of the top note it gradually becomes gourmandig, seems to me. Vanilla seemed to be present from the beginning. Now associations like candied fruit, Turkish Rahat Lokum and cotton candy come into play. Or, to put it another way: a happy end that stays long, because the durability of the EdP is very good at least on my skin.
Although - or just because - so much nature is contained, I find the fragrance "trendy". But he also has something that makes him seem ancient to me. Anyway, I can well imagine that this balsamic Oriental already had his fans in ancient Egypt. Maybe it is the Labdanum in the base note that brings me to this idea. Labdanum is the resin of the cistus, a beautiful flowering plant whose flowers are fragranceless. But the scent of its resin has always enchanted. They used it for smoking, for example. The honey-like, soft scent, which reminds me a little of incense, should not only help us to find ourselves again. If one believes the doctrine of medicinal herbs, it can also heal old wounds of mental nature, calm and last but not least inhibit the growth of bacteria. And yes, Labdanum was actually already used in ancient Egypt for religious rituals, Doctor Google knows. So I was right with my association.
All in all, I feel the restrained sweetness and powdery spiciness that make this fragrance so appealing to me, like a touch of cheerfulness. Especially on cooler days I feel comfortable with this fragrance. It is a good companion for nature walks and all outdoor activities. And a cheering and cheerleader who also warms you up in the cold season and whispers to you: Everything will be fine ... No, everything IS fine. - Without artificiality or kitsch.
Its naturalness makes the fragrance likeable and endearing. He may not be for the opera ball, no statement perfume, no femmes fatales, diva or sexy vamp. It doesn't seem to fit Business Ladys either. I feel he's a friend. Or as a friend who you like to meet, with whom you can be as you are, with whom you can have fun and laugh, but who is not superficial.
I have owned the fragrance since the beginning of November and have worn it many times because it suits so much, both privately and professionally. It accompanies you to the shopping, to the city stroll, with visits of friends, in the café, in the park, to the shop window looking, to the sport andandand.
The fragrance has something soft, cuddly - I always look forward to finding it in scarves, where it stays for a very long time. But it is also powerful and intense, warming, almost protective.
If you are still looking for an Oriental to accompany you through autumn, you should try Ambraliquida.