Ambre Russe (2005)
by Parfum d'Empire

If most ambers came dressed like this one, I’d have no problem with them. This is sassy, bursting with energy and exuberance, and offers the wearer a buffet – or should that be orgy? – of olfactory delights. Wonderful booze, wood and leather notes dart around a voluptuous central theme that seems equal parts dates and other dried fruits, benzoin and ambergris; the spicing is light and similarly kinetic, displaying a deft touch. There’s a sultry, skin-like saltiness about it that I find irresistible. When I wear it, half of me goes ‘yum’ and half ‘mmmm’ – this is both tasty and sexy; that’s two hungers addressed in one fume.
Ok, it probably wears better in colder weather, but that’s not really a drawback for those of us who rely on more than one perfume all year round. Fantastic.

When I first put this on, I was trying to work out what this particular note was that was teasing my nose. Then I looked at the notes and realized what it was: vodka, with a herby note. I got to sample a beautiful gin on Christmas Eve – it’s a deep petrol blue in the bottle and in the glass, but when a tiny splash of soda water is added, it turns a gorgeous violet colour. This reminds me of that – the alcoholic tang of the gin but with a yummy fresh herbal/floral note. It’s warm and smoky thanks to the amber and incense and leather, but the spices lift it and give it a lovely kick. Sadly, longevity isn’t great, on me at least – barely two hours. Glad I got to try it though. While it lasts, it's lovely.

Ambre Russe is a perfume of (sadly) unknown niche house Parfum d’Empire. Its founder and “main nose” of the brand is Marc Antoine Corticchiato, perfumer dedicated to the extraction of scented oils from natural materials. Aside from growing raw materials on Madagascar and creating inspiring and descriptive perfumes, he is also a lecturer at prestigious Ecole Internationale de Parfumerie de Versailles (ISIPCA).

One of the things I particularly like with Parfum d’Empire is the way they use natural materials. Although it is well known that synthetic aromachemicals are considered the skeleton of the perfumes while natural ones are the “meat,” the skill and knowledge of MA Corticchiato give the impression that every perfume is 100% natural. Although that is not possible or appealing to anyone, except maybe an isolated bunch of hippies drenched in patchouli, MA knows his stuff. The doom of most niche perfumer is for them to sometimes fool around. But not our hero. He knows his goal and that is creating perfumes inspired by the scents of great empires through history. And he’s doing a hell of a good job at it!

Just like the name says, Ambre Russe is an ode to amber. This is the most sensual, most eatable, most erotic amber there, and certainly my favorite. One can say it is hyperthrophied but I think is just apostrophized. The expansive sensuality of amber in Ambre Russe would be too much, over the top if you want, it the amber wasn’t given the soul in form of frankincense. Passion without the spirit is empty, like perfumes a la Scandal by Jean Paul Gaultier or Aoud by Roja Dove. But you don’t have to worry about that with Ambre Russe. The combination of leather, Russian tea, spices and amber…this divine, sensual amber will not leave a void but will intoxicate the senses and seduce the mind. Another advantage of this perfume is its paradigm linearity that could teach a lesson or two (or thousands) to many. What you sense at the beginning is what you will smell the entire day…Yes, its longevity is extraordinary. The perfume lingers and lingers even when all Duracell batteries, guaranas and African plums in the world give in. And the satisfaction is 100% guaranteed. The reason for low birth rate in this country in my oppinion is not the bad economic situation but because they are not importing Ambre Russe anymore.

Review of earlier styled bottle:

Ambre Russe by Parfum d'Empire is perhaps one of the most convincing and innovative amber fragrances in one's experience. It is a smoky, boozy amber, with the boozy aspects having been handled with a deft touch. There is the unmistakable sparkling opening alluding to champagne, laced with vodka, and a light touch of spice. There is soon a leathery aspect from the birch, and a remarkable note of smoky black tea develops. The amber grows in parallel, and wraps a warm, comforting shawl around the other elements.

Ambre Russe wears with an airy, persistent sillage and has excellent duration on skin. It balances its diverse elements to create a consistent, compelling composition that ranks among the best amber fragrances. Ambre Russe is highly evocative. It is unique, yet never sacrifices beauty or wearability. This is one of those rare cases where concept and execution are of the highest order.

4/5

Review of current version:

To clarify, I owned a bottle of the earlier version. I recently tried a sample from a trusted source. To my disappointment, this was more powerful but less nuanced, more spicy, and all the boozy, leathery notes meshed together with amber into a single thick accord that is less ingenious and more clunky and cluttered, and absolutely none of the wonderful black tea note.

I sincerely hope it was the sample, but please try before you buy.

3/5 (neutral)

Stardate 20170723:

Indian spice rack in benzoin shop.
Starts with a burst of spices - whiff you get when you walk in a spice shop.
As the time goes by the amber starts shining through and takes over spices. This is the best phase of this fragrance. The top is a bit to dry and spicy for me. I wish they had more amber up top.
This probably should have been called Amber Bengale and the other Fougere Russe.