Ambra Aurea
by Profumum

Profumum Ambra Aurea

Notes: grey amber absolute (from luckyscent.com)

I'm pretty sure that grey amber is not the only ingredient in Ambra Aurea. I smell an absolutely huge balsamic and leathery labdanum note that follows the fragrance from beginning to end. In fact, AA is a deep amber color which could stain if sprayed on clothing, and I suspect the color comes mostly from its high labdanum content. Along with the labdanum, I smell vanilla, woods and incense, the latter being quite metallic and smoky. Ambra Aurea is extremely rich and warm, with excellent longevity and sillage. The incense and woods give the fragrance a bit of a head shop vibe, indeed, AA reminds me of a type of premium amber incense I used to burn long ago. Despite this association, Ambra Aurea seems so incredibly luxurious with what I can only assume are high quality ingredients. The balsamic notes are well balanced with some restrained sweetness from the vanilla, and the woody, smoky notes add a smidgeon of bitterness and piquancy. Perhaps the fact that the ingredients speak for themselves is the reason why any association with hippie ambers can be forgiven. Ambra Aurea satisfies in the way that feasting on a fine meal eases hunger--it feeds both the body and the soul.

I agree with the former reviews, it´s very close to Ambre Sultan,a very warm, dense amber scent. Not sure which I prefer a the moment though.It´s pretty much Amber, and nothing more. That would be too much.
I can only wear this on cold days, it´s too heavy for me on warm days, it can get very cloying. Also, this scent last forever on me (like most of the Profumums I tried). A must try for hardcore Amber fans. Makes me wonder about Fiore d´Ambre. Still, a neutral rating for me, cause I can´t find a lot occasions to wear this.

Profumum Ambra Aurea

Amber is one of my favorite ingredients. Mainly it is because it can be used in such different ways. There is the sweet amber that is so familiar in many amber forward scents. There is a sheerer subtle amber when it is used as a compliment, and not the focus, usually adding to the warmth and depth of a scent it is used in. Then there is full-on amber in all of its glory which has an almost medicinal edge to it. The two best examples of this are Montale Blue Amber and Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan. Until now when I've wanted that blast of amber those have been my standards. Profumum released Ambra Aurea in 2007 and it has a very short note list. One note short: Grey amber. In many ways that note list does accurately capture what is going on here. Right from the moment this is sprayed on my skin I get the blast of amber that reminds some of a medicine cabinet. To me it is a strong edgy smell full of angles and planes. What I like about amber is it is a note that can be on its own because as it develops on one's skin it will take on all of the forms of amber. The hard-edges finally strip off and after a couple of hours the sweeteness of amber takes the reins and this stage stays for hours. Towards the end of the day as it is wearing off I get the sheerness of amber and it makes me want to go get something else to layer on top of it because I know it will bring out some new facet of whatever I would apply on top. Ambra Aurea is not going to replace Blue Amber as my favorite amber but it is nearly as good and that is not faint praise in my book.

Ambra Aurea is one of the few Profumum Roma scents that I actually like. It’s a very well composed amber scent that smells like real ambergris was generously used in the composition. Unfortunately, it’s not terribly groundbreaking or original as it smells very similar to Lutens’ Ambre Sultan. However, instead of the challenging herbal accords, there’s a heavy dose of powder towards the drydown (so, if you hate powdery scents, please avoid).

It’s quite tenacious with nice sillage but it doesn’t have the amazing staying power of my favourite amber scent, Blue Amber. However, if Ambre Sultan and Ambra Aurea were the only two amber scents in existence, I’d go for Ambra Aurea without a moment’s hesitation.