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Carlitos01
Top Review
9
It all started with the Three Wise Men
2020 years ago, the Three Wise Men offered Gold, Incense, and Myrrh to the infant god-king. What could a child who had just been born do with gold, frankincense, and myrrh? Apart from the indisputable value of gold, what would a poor family in Nazareth want with the other two offerings? At that time, the Holy Family would certainly have needed more than something other than incense and myrrh, and even gold could not be immediately useful to them. According to the mentality in force at that time in the East, they represented the recognition of a person as God and King: that is, they were an act of submission. They meant that from that moment on, donors belonged to the sovereign and recognized his authority. Gold, evidently, marked the position of a king; the incense was used as a sacrifice to God; myrrh finally embalmed the bodies of the dead. Christ was recognized as king with gold, confirmed as God with incense, and remembered as a mortal with myrrh.
Aromatic ingredients such as incense and myrrh, but also several other resins and balms, have impressed and marked our senses for many centuries. Today it was enough for me to look at the purple bottle of Molinard Ambre, to imagine balsamic notes with a deep, warm, and balanced amber. I didn't hesitate and choose it as my scent of the day.
Ambre opens with a fresh top of herbaceous and floral fougere, and with a nuance of a tarred, spicy, and leathery effect. If there are citrus notes in this opening they are completely overwhelmed by fougéres and spices.
Evolution then gives us resins and balms. Amber, incense, and labdanum are now installed in a pronounced, persistent, and slightly sweet manner. This warmth and velvety sweetness reveal the fragrance's DNA.
When the resinous and balsamic phase becomes a little calmer, the final phase of the last 3 or 4 hours of drydown becomes evident, with a light musk, milky and soft sandalwood, as well as an almond sweet tonka bean.
The perfume is soft but remarkably resinous in a very attractive way. The slight sweetness rounds it off and makes it very seductive.
I tried to make a layer with a light initial spray from Tom Ford Noir de Noir and the result was very good due to the slight increase of a wooden note, oud in this case. I also rehearsed an initial spray of Caron Pour Un Homme and the result was a fougere opening that was more energetic, and also very pleasant.
Let me frame this resinous symphony in numbers.
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Opening: 9.0 (herbs and florals en an ambery frame)
DryDown: 10.0 (divine resinous and balsamic with sweet almond and tonka touch)
Longevity: 7.0 (3 good sprays can last up to 6~7 hours)
Sillage: 7.0 (up to 5 feet at its peak with 3 sprays; projects for 2.0 hours)
Uniqueness: 8.5 (It has its own DNA but somewhat similar to some other very good amber scents)
Wearability: 8.5 (A three-season fragrance for outdoors or indoors, day or night; avoid the hot summer days)
Versatility: 8.5 (A very easy to wear balsamic unisex fragrance; forget sports and seaside)
Compliments: 8.5 (You will smell good to everybody and some people will judge it very alluring)
Quality: 9.0 (above-average quality ingredients, good flask, nice sprayer; I take 1 point for the just average performance)
Presentation: 8.0 (nice presentation; the color purple bottle does not please everybody)
Price: 9.0 (EdP 100 ml non tester for € 28.00 on sale + shipping; usual price: €45.00)
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Overall rating: 8.45 / 10.00
- between 7 and 8 = above average;
- between 8 and 9 = recommended;
- greater than 9 = do not miss;
Recommendation: This is a very good amber fragrance and a very good value for money choice due to its intrinsic quality. The average performance may be overcome by a couple of sprays on the clothes. As far as I'm concerned it's a must-have for me.
Music: Giuseppe Verdi - "Nabucco - Hebrew Slaves Chorus"
Top Notes
Orange
Lemon
Bergamot
Lavender
Heart Notes
Frankincense
Benzoin
Clove
Geranium
Labdanum
Opoponax
Base Notes
Patchouli
Vanilla
Musk
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Finerthings8
Carlitos01
Darkbeat
