Reviews of Amber Absolute (2007)
by Tom Ford

This is one of the best and richest ambers I've tried. It's got the perfect amount of sharpness, and dries down to a magnificent, warm amber scent. It lasts and lasts and is pretty powerful so a little goes a long way. If you take the medicinal herbs from Ambre Sultan and add some extra warmth to the base, you'll have something close to Amber Absolute.

On first application I wasn't too thrilled with Amber Absolute.... too sweet, too syrupy. Luckily I've learned that making judgment calls on one wear is a rookie mistake!

On second wear I put two diffuse sprays on the back of my hand and went to work. The beginning was the same story - sweet, vanilla amber so thick it could be syrup. However, I soon noticed at work that the most wonderful aroma was wafting in front of me, right over my keyboard. At first I forgot the AA was on my hand and thought it was my scent of the day (Egoiste). I then remembered I had sprayed the AA and found that the two sprays on my hand were giving off the most lovely, resinous incense-like sillage. These dark notes are balanced perfectly with vanilla and amber. Never quite gourmand, Amber Absolute is rich and inviting, with terrific sillage and longevity.

Thumbs UP, and on my 'purchase someday' list!

This is a really clever fragrance. All the private collection are marketed as unisex, but in my experience, this one smells either very masculine or very feminine according to the wearer's skin- i.e- not unisex but one or the other as opposed to a fence-sitter. Not an every day at the office type of thing, but could be worn day or night. It has great subtlety in a very distinctive manner. A great blend of amber with wood, a dry / sweet balance with great lasting power. A refreshing detour from the mainstream "ozonic note, low-carbon-footprint, inoffensive, Walmart, boil-in-the-bag " rubbish. Whilst this might be twice as expensive as a bottle of "everyman's juice", do not be put off. It's easy to know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Check it out!

Nthny could not have put this any better. This incense is extraordinary and most certainly conjures up some very interesting imagery. I do not regret getting this at all and will be wearing it VERY often. NICE! A HUGE THUMBS UP! :-)

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.

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.