Amber Absolute (2007)
by Tom Ford

Good God this is what it's all about. Amber Absolute is a fragrance which humbles the eager fragrance lover in me: it makes me pause and realize the true artistry involved in creating these wearable masterpieces. It opens with a thick, rich, mapley, buttery impression which is fantastically countered with a large dose of peppery incense. Eventually the rich sweetness gives way to sumptous woods and more incense.

Amber Absolute brings me to a dark underground crypt, a stone passageway lit with black wrought iron lanterns, the only light coming from the eerie glow of the dancing red and orange flames cast againt the walls. It's melancholic but warm, hence the imagery of the glow of a fire in a pitch black room. It's a gorgeous study of the contrast between the richness and luxuriousness of sweet and resinous amber, vanilla, and labdanum and the burning pepper and wood scent of incense. In a word, Amber Absolute is breathtaking.

I'm an amber fan, but I prefer my ambers dry and powdery like desert sand. This is more of a syrupy, resinous amber. It even reminds me of pine, pine sweetened with vanilla! Don't get me wrong, it's still an easily recognizable amber scent, it's just a certain type of amber, and not my favourite type. It feels a bit too thick and "gooey" for me, gourmandy with some rather sharp wood notes thrown in. A bit unsophisticated, to tell you the truth.

Beautiful - this is as close to a perfect amber as I've found. Amber Absolute is heavy on the labdanum and incense (an African incense, according to the lady at the counter), with a soft, but not powdery, vanillic base tying everything together. There's sandalwood in there along with some other resins I don't recognise, and it's soft and melting on the skin. There's also a feeling of delicious gummed paper (admit it; you love licking envelopes too!) and an echo of the caramel in Dzing! in the middle notes.

This on me is a wonderful 'skin' fragrance. It's expensive, but I'm hooked - I'm driving the 70 miles to buy a bottle as soon as my next paycheck comes in.