Ambre Sultan (1993)
by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

Maybe my nose is out of whack. I don't get a big oriental experience here. The thing that this fragrance has going for it is the way it puts on the brakes. It starts out a pretty citrus vanilla and ends up a soft amber. Very understated, very unisex. Not too elegant, not too beautiful. This is a transparent fragrance for people who don't like orientals but want to wear one anyway. PS I am trying to like this one, but I cannot get through the camphor. This reminds me of being sick!

Ambre Sultan by Serge Lutens was one of my first fragrances I had a strong emotional response to; the first time I smelled it.

The name sounded a little silly to me. Ambre Sultan. Camels, sabers and stereotypical Middle Eastern images popped into my head. I’ve never actually traveled to the Middle East…so what did these images smell like?

Luckily, I stumbled upon the entire Serge Lutens line at the Tomas Maier boutique in Miami Beach (I stopped in during my lunch hour). The tall and thin rectangular bottle fit perfectly in my hand. The amber colored juice is the shade of hot chai tea and almost begs to be held up to the light.

The first impression the amber reminded me of was ‘Youth Dew’ by Estee Lauder (a family friend wore it when I was growing up). Whereas YD takes the amber and ‘oriental-izes’ it, this amber accord is more spicy (less sweet), dry and deeply resinous. The top notes of coriander, myrtle and something that registers as rosemary diffuse almost immediately onto skin and into the air and create a small, circular private space of dried aromatics and spices - resting atop a salty amber base. Perhaps it is the herbs (oregano and bay leaf) that lead my nose to perceive a swirling (almost windy) combination of notes. Therein, for a few minutes, the olfactory sensation is one of an open, large area in the outdoors. Suffused with scents.

The middle and base notes of AS merge into one distinct destination: warm and muted patchouli, a coal (or mineral prominent) spice accord and a faint vanilla and amber mixture. All bone-dry. It is the skillfully blended dryness of AS that allows me to wear it easily in warm Summer weather. A slightly higher body temperature (even a light perspiration) wear extremely well with this scent.

The scent’s longevity varies from person to person – on me, it averages about 5 – 6 hours. I’ve found the scent of AS clings to my undershirts well after the scent has left my skin.

Oh yes – that emotional reaction I mentioned above. It was completely unexpected and yet oddly welcoming. Perhaps the feeling could be best described as: unexpected joy. A quick lunch hour shopping trip suddenly evolved into a raw, lonely landscape. There I was. Lost in it. Where was I?

Here, is where I was:

I was walking down a narrow dirty street. I am lost. It is hot outside and I am sweating. I need to find a phone. The street is lined with children, apartment buildings and small shops. The doors of the shops are open and as I walk I tread carefully, afraid someone exiting a doorway will run right into me. I pass by a particular small shop, with a yellow faded door. Inside the door I see baskets of dried spice leaves, incense sticks and resins. The shopkeeper smiles, he is smoking a sweet smelling, hand rolled cigarette. I stop walking. Peeking my head into the dark doorway (my eyes adjusting to the darkness) a tangy, salty and very thick amber scent fills my nose.

Naturally, I walk right in.

A complex spicy opening with an ambery drydown. Sweet, but not excessively so and very pleasant for the duration. About 8 hours into my first wearing, I said to myself, “Is that patchouli I smell?” I looked up the notes, and yes, there is patchouli. The latter parts of the drydown remind me of Mazzolari’s Patchouli, a bit tempered compared to Mazzolari’s beast, and I am quite fond of it. Apply sparingly as this is quite potent.

This won't be a popular position to take, but I haven't liked a Serge Lutens fragrance to date, out of about half a dozen samples I have accumulated. Ambre Sultan is no exception. In a word, they are all too subtle (limited silage), offer poor duration (Ambre Sultan is a bit better than others in this regard), too sweet, and too gourmand. In each of them, there's some combination of gingerbread (or, stale ginger root), cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla, powder, and ambergris. All cloying stuff, and as it turns out, I despise cinnamon notes in fragrances, across the board, which doesn't help. Ambre Sultan IS a well-constructed, subtle and natural fragrance, but is totally, unwaveringly dull. Also not designed for those who don't like wearing food on their wrists & neck. Save a boatload of money and just put two gingerbread men doused with vanilla extract in your pocket.

Ambre sultan comes off as harsh throughout. In comparison, I much prefer L'air du desert marocain. After sampling both of these, I decided on a bottle of the Tauer.

A somewhat harsh smoky amber with a bit of vanilla but it still smells nice and has alot of character. Gorgeous and rich smelling, its not toned down like L'Artisan or MPG Amber. This is my favorite amber scent. Be very very careful with the sprays, 2 on the neck peroid, any more and it will be offensive. One of the best Serge Lutens IMO.