Ambra Aurea

First realised in 1998, ‘Ambra Aurea’ is a mysterious amber with lively spices, smoky incense and a mystical myrrh.

This has an ancient charm, as the myrrh brings a sacred reverence to the scent. With myrrh being such a revered commodity, it’s simply just a gum resin tapped from trees. But 3700 years ago, it was believed that the smoking incense from myrrh was the only thing that could cross the barrier between Earth and Heaven. Myrrh evokes the Hebrew and Egyptian funeral rites and brings to mind the act of maintaining the tomb of ancestors, by anointing with some drops of myrrh. In ‘Ambra Aurea’ the myrrh is resinous, dark, smouldering and bitter-sweet as it smokes with its sticky, rich sap. It’s certainly a duel companion to the amber. This same amber base appears again in Profumum Roma’s ‘Patchouly’ but ‘Ambra Aurea’ it’s more sultry, smoky and chewy. It also really reminds me of Kuuma Made’s ‘Amber Paste’ which is a budget, health food store fragrance, but it’s tremendously thick in its resinous consistency and depth of scent. Remember that amber isn’t the scent of fossilised tree resin, amber is an olfactory abstract creation, built around a blend of sweet velvety vanilla, resinous and chewy benzoin and the woody warmth of labdanum. Don’t think you’re smelling fossils for one minute – for that would be even less renewable than sandalwood. The “amber” used here is hazy, plush, sweet ‘n’ salty, exotic and golden like autumn leaves. It’s almost edible in its chewy salted caramel deliciousness. The dry-down reveals a musky, honeycombed beeswax base.

Of all of the amber fragrances I’ve experienced (and I went through a heavy stage of being amber obsessed) ‘Ambra Aurea’ is the best by far. If you’re an amber lover, look no further than ‘Ambra Aurea’ as she’s the (semi-precious) jewel in the crown. At £225 for 100ml, it’s highly concentrated and the most exquisite amber of warm, smoky, salted golden caramel antiquity.

NOTES – Amber, Incense, Myrrh