Ambre sultan Serge Lutens 1993

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8.1 / 10 633 Ratings

Ambre sultan is a popular perfume by Serge Lutens for women and men and was released in 1993. The scent is oriental-spicy. The longevity is above-average. It is still in production. Pronunciation

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Perfumers

Christopher Sheldrake, Serge Lutens

Fragrance Notes

Amber, Angelica root, Benzoin, Coriander, Labdanum, Bay leaf, Myrtle, Oregano, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Styrax, Tolu balm, Vanilla

Ratings

Scent

8.1 (633 Ratings)

Longevity

8.7 (479 Ratings)

Sillage

8.0 (455 Ratings)

Bottle

7.7 (421 Ratings)

Submitted by Kankuro, last update on 13.09.2020.

Interesting Facts

Ambre sultan was additionally released in 2000 as a limited edition "Noël 2000" of 500 bottles. In 2006 the bottle collection "Les Fauves Royaux" followed, attaching the design Tigre to the scent.

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Reviews

06/09/2020

8
Scent 8
Longevity 8
Sillage

DarkWinterCS

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DarkWinterCS

Helpful Review 4

My second Lutens - may a little wildcat still be his Lord Sultan ?

Ambre Sultan is a much more difficult case than I had first suspected. For as the absolute bomb of the Orient mentioned by name, he does not only show the Orient, but also the animals which the Sultan has crammed together as objects of prestige in his empire.
My nose seems to be playing some kind of trick on me, because my brain makes some kind of scent connections here, which I can't explain to myself and which sound completely abstruse to me.

But from the beginning, because next to Chergui this scent was quickly on my wish list for testing. If a fragrance is titled "THE" oriental fragrance, then as a fan of this direction you immediately become aware of it and wish for a sample under your nose. I can anticipate it, this scent is definitely different and on the borderline where I can't classify whether this scent is positive or negative on my mind.

Especially the first hour it is a rollercoaster ride of feelings and smells. Amber, spice and vanilla are permanent companions on my skin throughout the entire development of the fragrance. A good basis, but the fragrance as a unique selling point is not enough. Because there are scent chords that are combined crazy in my nose.
So I hear a kind of sweet and sour jelly babies at the beginning, then in the next moment a kind of menthol, which then develops further in the direction of herbal bobbins.

This slightly sour note remains on my skin for a long time, but I cannot classify it exactly. It has some trace of animalism, something slightly urine-like, but which does not disturb excessively. It's there, you hear it, but wouldn't say it doesn't fit. Although over time it recedes further into the background
All the notes I have heard in this fragrance somehow fit together. Each note has its place in the whole construct and builds on each other. Unfortunately, I have a similar problem as with the Chergui, because the one on my skin is getting too ordinary and too mainstream. These great oriental spices remain and also this light animalism, but not so that it comes out of itself
The shelf life is quite good, but somehow many notes fade after a certain time, so that he then oscillates mainly between vanilla, sandalwood and spice.
Monstrous is just the Sillage at the beginning. Because here a whole room is redecorated into a tent of the Sultan and can definitely be a nuisance with this slight acidity. It is therefore 100% suitable for everyday use, but it quickly becomes softer.

1 Replies

04/05/2020

8.5
Scent 8
Longevity 7
Sillage 7
Bottle

Camey5000

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Camey5000

Top Review 16

My Amber Number 25

Serge Lutens - Ambre sultan
.

We crossed Borneo, Kalimantan and Saravak and went to visit Brunei. With the sultan. Perhaps the richest man in the world
During a spontaneously warm amber reception, we are served from a mysterious elongated bottle of fragrance. Welcome. Something Bruneian? With the irritating fertility of tropical nights
The elixir of the sultan.

The scent of wood, leaves and herbs from the nearby, rustic forest - nothing of the teak plantations in monoculture - envelops us with a great flap of wings. We notice laurel, woody coriander seeds and bitter coriander leaves. Oregano and green sourness fill an unconventional soup glory. Narrow strawberry animalism rounds off.

And we smell amber again. More of a hunch. Very low-key. And as they tell us, angelica. Almost dirty wood. Jungle. The composition is green, spicy and slightly acidic. With a touch of bitterness. Wood dark, moist. Not dusty, not dry, not light. Unsweet.

A "green" amber, which has a fragrance that is very different from cuddly, warm, soft scents. But sandalwood, delicate honey, labdanum and vanilla flatter together to create a long-lasting fragrance. To individual beastliness.

Amber special class
.
8.0 / 7.0 / 7.0 / 7.0

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15 Replies

03/09/2020

8
Scent 8
Longevity 7
Sillage 9
Bottle

Ovaissaleem
56 Reviews

Ovaissaleem

Sultan

Notes to my nose Coriander, Bay Leaf, Patchouli, Resins, Sandalwood, Amber and Vanilla

Smoky Resins combined with spices make this a magical scent. If you love Amber like i do, you will definitely love this one but Amber Absolute by Tom Ford is still my favorite.

06/13/2019

8.5
Scent 8
Longevity

MossGreen

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MossGreen

Top Review 11

Warm and spicy perfection

It doesn't often happen to me that a perfume goes on my wish list within the first few minutes after application, and is also not drained again over the entire course of wearing it.
This is where it happened.

For me Ambre Sultan is just harmonious from the first moment on, wonderfully pleasant and simply fitting.
He actually starts out the way he's supposed to stay... sort of straight to the drydown. Nothing that has to sort itself out, no disharmonies, bursting peaks, fluctuations or tarnishing, and all this without being boring.

The scent comes to the skin and is there, in a balanced perfection for me.
Warm-spicy-soft.
Like many spice orientals of this hit (I think of "Taklamakan" or "Larmes du Desert") he uses a spiciness that inevitably makes you think of warm, golden sand, but doesn't look dry or dusty, but rather tries to reflect a kind of noble fertility.
Fully aromatic, without being overloaded or difficult to work with.
The resins (Benzoe and Labdanum belong to my favorites meanwhile) provide the slightly sweetish depth and spices (Here Koreander and Oregano, which clearly perceptibly weave through the course) lift it up again and make sure that the scent does not sink one-dimensionally hard, as it is unfortunately often the case with many less thoughtfully composed Orientals.

A complex composition that doesn't need to hide. I think vanilla at the base is a good choice. I don't take it as such, but the fragrance remains pleasantly soft despite the spice and resin charge and almost a little creamy towards the end.

I must say, he did not take my breath away, as Bois D´ascèse did before him, for example, but he overwhelmed me in his gentleness and coherence in a different way.
He shows himself to me as a reliable companion, on whom I can count, of whom I know who he is.
No hidden facets, massive surprises or secret changeability.
It fascinates me by an all-embracing rounded smell picture and no single corner, edge or note disturbs me also only a short moment long.
No fragrance has created that before him.

The durability is a dream for me. It doesn't stick to me for ages, like other fragrances do to me, which often gets on my nerves, but it doesn't blow away after a few hours to a light breeze.
I'd estimate it at 8-9 hours.

Many thanks to Hildchen for the completely unexpected Pröbchen, which will become a bottle at the next opportunity.

4 Replies

05/22/2019

10
Scent 8
Longevity 8
Sillage 9
Bottle

Kleannor

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Kleannor

Helpful Review 6

Where my nose takes me

That scents can be like that!

I haven't been in the fragrance world that long. Designer scents were all I knew. Through the intensive occupation with the art of smell since half a year, I got to know so many scents and names. Among them the house of Luten.

I remember half a year ago when I first contacted Ambre Sultan in a perfumery, I still turned up my nose, but at that time I was always drawn to the small magical strip of paper. Now, after buying a small bottle, the warm spiciness of this fragrance envelops and fills me. I'm not ready to smell single ingredients yet: But to look forward to a fragrance in the evening that you can spray on in the morning is pure luck.

And there's still so much to smell. Where may my nose lead me to?

2 Replies

04/23/2019

9.5
Scent 9
Longevity 7
Sillage 8
Bottle

Pepdal
181 Reviews

Pepdal

Ambre Sultan - Review

One of the very first Lutens I ever smelled along with Chergui. It left an impression on me then which wasn't necessarily a positive one, but a few years later I feel I know it well enough to review. Please watch my video review and comment of your experience with this fragrance

02/11/2019

7.5
Scent 8
Longevity 8
Sillage 7
Bottle

DerDefcon

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DerDefcon

Helpful Review 7

Do I like him or don't I like him?

I came across Serge Lutens more by chance when I was looking for an alternative to Valentino Uomo Intense and just looked around a bit away from the iris scents. In a large department store, an entire area within the perfume segment was dedicated to this brand. So I started my mobile phone, walked wildly through the building to finally have a reception and do some research at Parfumo, only to run back again afterwards and remember the correct brand name. It's "Serge Lutens," not "Sergei Lutens," manomaniac.

Well, a little browsing at Parfumo, looking at the scents of various products of this brand and then after a little reading session I became aware of the Sultan here. I have to admit right at the start that I couldn't smell every single note here. I'm still too fresh in the perfume world for that. But let's get started.

The prelude is very spicy woody. That makes the scent pretty dark and a little dirty. But it all changes pretty quickly and the one I've been eagerly awaiting gets through - the vanilla, I just love it when it's skillfully used on perfumes.
The wood, the spice and the dark are now accompanied by the sweetness of vanilla and pleasantly contrasted. So this fragrance almost already has - true fans of gourmand fragrances will now cry out loud - a slightly gourmand note.
So the vanilla was already present - very good. She may now please present herself even more splendidly. Wood and spice are dominant enough. So come on, my vanilla. There's a little more to it, isn't there? No? Not at all? Too bad.
In my eyes the vanilla should have pressed itself a little further into the foreground. Fear that it will provide too much sweetness would be unfounded, because the woody spicy one, which my vanilla would have shown the limits of at any time, is definitely strong enough. So personally, she's not sweet enough for me. It's really just a little bit missing and I would have found a candidate for next winter that stands out from the whole cinnamon vanilla tonka bean brew of some designer brands.

Conclusion: If you like vanilla, but don't want it too much and are a friend of wood and strong spices, you'll find the right choice here. The durability is in a good range, but should be a bit better, considering that we are already moving a bit higher here. It is the same with the Sillage

5 Replies

01/21/2019

8
Scent 9
Longevity 8
Sillage 7.5
Bottle

Taurus1967
3 Reviews

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Taurus1967

Top Review 14

Sultan of Swing

Serge Lutens hasn't really warmed me up yet. Many of his creations are somehow too floral-heavy for me. Fortunately, this is by no means the case with all of his fragrances.

Ambre Sultan puts more emphasis on oriental spice with soft resinous tones.

The heavy Amber plays a big role here and combines excellently with the slightly chocolate-spotted benzoin - a classic mixture with which you can't do much wrong in principle, because it's cuddly and round.

But Monsieur Lutens doesn't make it that easy for us. In between there are more and more dry to dusty notes, possibly coming from oregano. At least I can see in my mind's eye these rather dry leaves as they are sprinkled over the hot pizza from the oven. But in addition I see a small cloud of wood dust ...

This unfortunately slows down the suppleness of Ambre Sultan a bit,
which is a real pity in itself.
However, the dustiness is only temporary and after some time the eau de parfum becomes as oriental as it was thought.

OK - you can wear it and I like it quite a lot, even if I would have preferred to do without the dry dustiness. But that's exactly what makes the character of Ambre Sultan so special, that he doesn't predictably exude his aura, but gets some rough edges.

And so the sultan swings along with some vanilla as a small conciliatory compensation until the long lasting drydown. Still, I guess I'll have to wait for my favorite Lutens, if there is one.

6 Replies

01/11/2016

8.5
Scent 8
Longevity 7
Sillage

Karenin
36 Reviews

Karenin

Top Review 7

Ambre Sultan by Serge Lutens

I typically approach perfumes with a reputation with some trepidation as I'm not certain to what extent their reputation is deserved. “Amber Sultan” from Serge Lutens is a perfect example to illustrate this point. I adore amber-centred scents, which, of course, does not mean I love a fragrance only because it contains this note. However pleasant amber may be to my nose, I only take to an amber fragrance if it manages to grab my attention or intrigues me somehow.

The head of “Ambre Sultan” plays an intensively herbal and aromatic overture, thanks to the presence of bay leaf, oregano and coriander. Nevertheless, there's no trace of freshness; on the contrary, the herbal trio produces a dense aroma, indicating which path the fragrance is going to take next. After the herbal introduction, the resinous stage begins. The resins enrich the perfume with thickness as well as sweetness. Without further ado, the resinous curtain slowly rises to reveal the focal note of the composition. The amber in “Ambre Sultan” rests on a silky, vanillic cushion and is of a truly superior quality. It enwraps its wearer in the most exquisite olfactory veil of sensuality.

What makes “Ambre Sultan” so fascinating to me is that every time I spray it on, it feels like I'm embarking on an adventurous treasure hunt. First, there's a quick flight over a herbal garden, then a plunge into a thick, resinous syrup before finally reaching the gold in the form of the purest amber. Together with “Ambre Russe” by Parfum d'Empire, “Ambre Sultan” is an undisputed masterpiece among amber-centred fragrances. Absolutely divine!

11/12/2015

GMK
30 Reviews

GMK

wanted to love it but.....

Someday I'll learn to love these Ambre dominant fragrances, I really really wanted to like it but, to me its nothing more than a refined , easy to wear and lighter Ambre Absolue which can only be enjoyed in a cold weather , Unfortunately the climate of my city doesn't allow me to wear in any setting. I'll wait for the suitable season to give it another try.

Show all reviews (23)