Armani Privé Ambre Soie (2004)
by Giorgio Armani

ln the opening l get the anise note, which stays all the way through, along with patchouli. lt quickly becomes gourmandish, without ever becoming too sweet. Ginger & a praline-type note give it a very biscuit-like quality, which is quite delicious yet elegant. lt gets nuttier as it dries down, fading to a skin scent after 3 hours, & there's a little smokiness in the base.
This doesn't give the impression of being an amber fragrance in the usual sense, being neither piney & resinous nor densely sweet & vanillary. l would say it's more of a gourmand, classy enough to be taken seriously at the office. l expected better longevity, given it's high price, but l will be decanting my sample into a spray vial & giving it another chance.

30th January, 2012.

It’s a spicy amber with a definite patchouli element. The sweet spices – I get mainly anise, cinnamon, and a clovey carnation – are quite translucently presented and they seem to shadow the stronger amber foundation with supporting patchouli and cedar: It’s quite a nice effect. The whole fragrance is light, and has meager sillage. I rather like the lightness, the translucency of Armani Privé Ambre Soie, but I have a difficult time wrapping my mind about this being a super premium fragrance. I’m afraid that it just doesn’t exhibit the uniqueness, the creativity that it should for that category – a nice fragrance, nevertheless.

4th December, 2010.

Ambre Soie is not only my favorite of the Armani Privé fragrances, but also my favorite amber. The anise note appeals to me particularly and distinguishes it from other amber perfumes I have smelled. It lacks the food associations of Ambre Narguilé and the heavy vanilla of Ambre Sultan, qualities which make those two less appealing to me. Although Ambre Soie is expensive, a little goes a long way. I will probably never need a second bottle as I do not wear it often compared to my soliflores, but if something happened to this bottle, I would definitely replace it. Thumbs up!

9th June, 2010.

Herbal amber. Clove and cinnamon really comes out at first and gets to be ginger cedarwoods towards the end. The amber is just the stuff that binds all this together. Gourmandish and almost like a cinnamon and praline confectionery with cloves added.

1st November, 2009.

I enjoy amber fragrances very much and to me, Ambre Soie is very different from any I've tried so far. On me, Ambre Soie starts off deliciously gourmand, with an almost boozy oatmeal cookie effect, complete with raisins, cinnamon and a hint of anise and clove. The spices in Ambre Soie are rendered so seemlessly, so dense and finely ground into a luxuriously silky "powder", that they create an indistinguishable bond with the amber so as to make it impossible for me to discern one from the other. Linear, lasts several hours, and I assume based on compliments received that it projects fairly well. I received this during the whole discount store Armani Prive sale madness and for that reason, I occasionally overlook it, but it is really an incredibly gorgeous, luxuriously textured fragrance.

5th October, 2009.

Its a pretty nice sweet amber but there is a slight tart note maybe clove as another suggested that kinda kills it for me. I prefer SL Ambre Sultan though this isn't a bad amber.

24th June, 2009.