Ambre Russe (2005)
by Parfum d'Empire

The opening of fruity booze is rather aromatic and slightly fizzy (small dose of aldehyde for the champagne note?). It might be over the top but it's only the opening note. What this really gets down to is a fantastically made leather and amber scent. I love the middle though, with coriander and the woodsy incense. Opulent and luxurious.. good stuff and definitely for leather and/or amber fans who are looking for a rich, deep and soft amber with slight smoky qualities.

opening accord, which is also the signature accord of this scent is dry, hazy brown in texture with a boozy tinge. The brown texture smells like one has "grated" dried coriander leaves and cumin in hand and smelling them upclose. it has that kind of bite, as in one can feel the tingling sensation in nose as if one were smelling freshly grated (dried) spices. to this add sweet powdery notes of Tea..one is reminded of L'Artisan classic Tea for two for a moment with the way Tea is executed...by mid accords supple notes of saddle leather along with precious amber glow. this accord persists thruout only turning smoky and powdery towards the base. this is one of the best offerings by PdE and easily one of the best Amber based scent out there. whats more is the luxurious transitions all brown in texture but totally different essences; spices in begining with booze, then leather, then Amber.
One might feel repelled by it at first, but give it a wear as an sotd and chances are you will be enchanted by the way it performs on skin and the sillage it exudes. piece of art i'd say.

Opulence in a fragrance. Everything about this is luxuriant, rich, and over the top, and I just love it - it's my favorite amber.

The opening accords are lightly spicy and boozy, richly sweet, and very strong. Dessert wine; honeyed tea; hot apple cider - I find it difficult pin-point just what analogy can convey the effect. It is quite a complex fragrance and almost assaults you for the first little with its heady bouquet, but it's neither harsh nor garish. In the heart, a heavily animalic amber emerges, still sweet but now thickly musky and touch dirty at that. As it develops, the amber turns dark and faintly smoky towards the base.

The sillage and longevity are both very good on me, as ambers in general tend to be.

I can't get over the boozy opening. It is certainly a unique way to introduce amber. Ambre Sultan uses spice, Ambre Precieux uses woods, and Blue Amber sweetens it further with vanilla, and I can enjoy all of them. This ambre however I can only appreciate not love. Neutral for originality.

The opening’s too boozy for my tastes, with the amber drydown being far too subtle on my skin. Admittedly, it’s a high-quality creation but it's certainly not for me.

[Original submission date: 10 April 2008]

please excuse me for a moment as it is very hard to type with both wrists buried in my face... this is so deriliously sexy it is taking me a minute to collect my thoughts... I cannot fathom how this is labeled or even marketed to les femmes, because it is unisex at best, and although I would love to smell this on a female it has a decidedly masculine characteristic (not quite a magnum p.i. moustache but definately some chest hair)... The topnotes are an effervescent burst of booze and savory herbs (although cinnamon is in the notes I get more of a clove/mace astringency). The heart of the beast pushes forth within a few moments with a very dry cumin pushing the coriander to the back burner (thank god) with the smoky notes of unbrewed tea leaves providing a beautiful contrast to the descending salty booze and ascending incense. I do not honestly know what grey amber signifies but lord does it begin to make a pronounced entry very early on in the drydown... Tactile and syrupy, it rounds out the bitterness and tang of the early notes while creating a luminous base for the incense to rest upon for the rest of the 8+ hours of wearing. I swear that I get a pretty decent helping of sandalwood somewhere in the end result, as after about 4 hours I am immediately reminded of my MPG angel Santal Noble... as this is my first foray into the offerings of Parfum d'Empire I cannot vouch for the entire line, but this has got to be one of the sexiest amber scents I've had the fortune to try. Luckily I've got another 3 or 4 wearings out of my decant, but I'm going to save those for "business time"
Thumbs up for the nasal erection