WHAT I SMELL: Hay and patchouli…its earthy and quickly comes off a bit hippieish with the patchouli which is front and center. Funny, I’m not getting any amber and I’m not getting any Iris, just patchouli! Continuing on, the patchouli becomes even more earthy and bears an almost mushroom like quality, like that of the dirt that is still on a pack of mushrooms in the grocery store. I would venture to say this works better in the winter. I’m afraid to go out in the 95 degree humidity and sun today with this on because I believe the patchouli would explode. Inside in the air conditioning it is kept in line. After about 45 minutes, the amber starts to creep in a bit. This is not a warm golden amber, but instead a more pensive and subdued warmth that may be dried out by the inclusion of a bit of myrrh. It’s only until after a couple of hours that the iris starts to reveal itself in a very light and incandescent way. Ambra e Iris ends up soft, light and pretty. I just wish that it didn’t take so long to get there.
Ambra e Iris Notes:
Top notes: Patchouli
Heart: Grey Amber
Base notes: Florentine Iris and Myrrh
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: My church basement circa 1975…a mixture of oil, polyester, guitars and felt banners.
THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE AMBRA e IRIS: earthy, grounded, patch-bombish
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT AMBRA e IRIS: Il Mondo di Odore, (I couldn’t find any other reviews!)
BOTTOM LINE: I like where Ambra e Iris ends up but the journey there is a long one. The first few hours for me were just a bit too earthy for my liking. Actually, this shouldn’t be named Ambra e Iris, it should be named Ambra e Patchouli!
- Bone Rating: 3 out of 5 possible bones
- Scent: Oriental Woody
- Classification: Unisex
- Expense: $80 for 50ml Extrait
July 16, 2013 at 7:12 am
It sounds very intriguing indeed from the way you describe it. Is it new? Where did you smell it?
I love patchouli, and iris and amber as well.
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July 16, 2013 at 7:11 pm
I’m not sure how long the house has been in existence, but I was first introduced to them from a local store where they carried a line of their home fragrances. I purchased a couple of their diffuser sets and immediately fell in love. The home fragrances were just so rich and complex. Since then I have purchase probably 4 or 5 diffusers. Recently I found this fragrance on eBay for a great deal and thought that I would go for it. I like it, but I’m not in love with it… well, at least not yet. But it was a fun purchase and to be honest, their personal fragrances aren’t that expensive but I am not familiar with the others. You can check them out here: http://en.drvranjes.it/
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July 16, 2013 at 8:17 pm
I love their home fragrances as well, and wore the lavender and thyme as a perfume for a while; don’t they do a really good pomegranatey thing as well? In Tokyo the poshest most expensive home furnishing shops stock their diffusers. But never the perfumes…
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July 16, 2013 at 9:02 pm
They do have a great pomegranate home fragrance. For a while back you could find their home fragrances on closeout on the web. I bought the east and west compass fragrances in the original formula which were heaven. They have since been reformulated and they aren’t quick as exquisite. Funny, even the home fragrances get reformulated!
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July 16, 2013 at 9:08 pm
WHY? Must everything be cheapened?
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July 16, 2013 at 9:11 pm
Pure economics my friend. The bottom line is always the almighty dollar!
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July 16, 2013 at 1:49 pm
Let the choir sing. Quite a find.
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July 16, 2013 at 7:11 pm
I love a good bargain on a fun find for sure. I really want to try the others in the line now!
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July 16, 2013 at 6:41 pm
Dearest Hound
Call me perverse but I rather love the sound of this… I’m all too happy with a bit of hippie hay and unwashed patchouli, as long as it doesn’t hang around too long.
By the way, I’m loving those maxi dresses.
Yours ever
The Perfumed Dandy
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July 16, 2013 at 7:12 pm
That is the nice thing about this, is that hippie smell is only hinted of and doesn’t dominate the fragrance… as for those maxis; let’s hope they never come back in style!!!!!
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July 16, 2013 at 7:19 pm
Dearest Hound
Too late, the last three summer seasons here in London have seen maxis galore on the streets.
What goes around comes around.
Yours ever
The Perfumed Dandy
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July 16, 2013 at 10:09 pm
When the moon is in the seventh house and Jupiter aligns with Mars and love will rule the planets and Patchouli will guide the stars! It sounds sooo much like what my dorm smelled like at Humboldt State University in 1975. While all the kids wore Patchouli I was wearing Chanel For Men.
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July 17, 2013 at 8:02 pm
You must have been a child prodigy…weren’t you 8 years old in 1975??!! 🙂
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July 17, 2013 at 9:29 pm
Plus a few I am afraid… LOL
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