Ambre Topkapi / PB (2006)
by MDCI

A tenuous thumbs up for this one. It is fresh, with just a hint of a "BO" note just after the opening, but nothing offensive at all like some others (maybe the cardamom?). The strange thing is while I get a bit of amber, I do not get a whole lot... Projection is below average and longevity is about average. Overall a B minus from me. Relatively good scent at a relatively expensive price with much better values available.

11th September, 2011.

Clearly the fragrance name is misleading and I reckon, responsible for many of the negative reviews. AMBRE TOPKAPI is a quiet and dignified scent - perfect for the man who is uncomfortable about wearing fragrances. It smells clean, mildly soapy with herbal nuances and a glimmer of warmth in the base. Very nice indeed!

Unfortunately it is much too reserved for fragrance afficionados, underwhelming even to fans of the subtler styles. It busts the wallet without adding anything groundbreaking and the only longevity I can talk about is the mortgage repayment on a full MDCI bottle.

17th April, 2011.

A translucent and fluid amber, heavy on ambergris with smoke, spices and a juicy apple note that almost goes under the radar. No powder or heavy amber here - just smokey yet transparent amber. A little bit generic in style, but a great fragrance overall; if you don't expect an amber fragrance, you'll appreciate it more. The ingredients are rather synthetic for such an expensive fragrance, but Pierre Bourdon has succeeded in combining them in a way that gives Ambre Topkapi the feel of an aged scotch whiskey. A fragrance for a cultured and experienced man who has seen it all.

8.25/10

18th November, 2009.

While I completely agree with the first reviewer that this scent does not live up to it's name, I will say that it is the best scent, bar none, that this novice has smelled thus far. I wish I had the fragrance vocabulary to do this review justice, but bear with me and hopefully I can get some of my thoughts across. First of all, on me at least, this is a very simple scent. It doesn't change much from the first spritz through to the dry down. While I do pick up the amber in it, I think I could most certainly smell some of the other notes listed to a similar degree (namely sandalwood, lavender, tea and vanilla). It's a laid back clean and fresh, not a lot of zip to it, but spicy enough to stay masculine. Though I'm not a good judge of sillage, I did receive a fair number of complements wearing only a dab or two to the office. It lasted through an entire working day, which is rare for me except in the case of powerful synthetics. I look forward to reading more reviews of this one over time to see what the general consensus is, and if there is anything similar I should check out.

23rd June, 2009.

I hesitate to call this an amber because the amber note is so very light. This is not necessarily a bad thing though, the overall effect is very pleasant: an amber that's warm and fresh at the same time. Too bad it has ZERO projection. Spraying on huge amounts helps, but at $235 for 60ml, that is an expensive endeavor. I'm giving it a neutral thumb because it is a nice, inoffensive fragrance, but as far as value for the money, it's thumbs down all the way. If it's amber you're looking for, there are many better alternatives, the aforementioned SL Ambre Sultan comes to mind as well as Tom Ford's Amber Absolute.

6th May, 2009.

Appealing flowers and greenery above the caramel. There’s a good pivoting in this between the syrupy and the verdant-ethereal, even if that pivot does all come out of a vat marked DIHYDROMYRCENOL. I love dihydromyrcenol and am going to form a league for its defence. Very much in the vein of Bourdon's Great Inca Priestesses, a fruitbasket carried on the head of someone drenched in fake tan, this one has a bit more spine because of the glints of ginger and spice. Grows more fey as it ages, the rascal. A masculine it is not. So ?

3rd May, 2009.