Ambré
Baldessarini (2007)

The opening expresses citrus fruits, with the red apples finding equal partners in a mandarin and whiffs of tangelos. Bright and fresh.

This fresh start is soon overshadowed by a darker floral notion, mainly a violet that is well done, and is also developing some of the greenness of the violet leaves.

Soon the pièce the résistance of this olfactory composition arises: a whisky impression that is a tad bland, but contributes a boozy foundation to a leather note constitute the centrepiece of the development now. It is a leather that is not very dark, not particularly smoky and without any hints of a gasoline characteristic à la Knize Ten. Still, it is quite a rich leather, like a fairly new leather coat.

I get moderate sillage, excellent projection and seven hours of longevity on my skin.

A lovely scent for the warmer transitional spring and autumn days, that is made of high-quality ingredients. It exudes quiet and friendly confidence. 3.5/5.

A wonderful smelling warm scent with a very mature feel and tone. The apple on top is prominent when first sprayed but the scent turns into a very classy spice and leather combo with a slightly sweet tobacco/leather undertone.

Longevity and sillage leave a lot to be desired though. I can get around 3-4 hours out of it with around 5 sprays and sillage reduces drastically after the first hour and half.

Still, if the price is right and you like the notes, definitely give this one a go. The smell is charming enough to warrant a purchase.

Longevity: 3-4 hours
Sillage: Moderate to low

Let Hugo Vanille,
This near-amberless amber,
Bend your mind a bit.

Very sweet, quite cloying, but also quite addictive. The apple notes dominate at first - reminds me a bit of Boss Bottled, fairly synthetic. The Whisky note is interesting, it's sort of a sweet almost caramel smell, but also slightly woody. This doesn't really do it for me, but it was a good buy at £20.

On smell alone, thumbs up. The projection isn't big enough for me but could be a winner for others as it should be excellent for work or close quarters.

After the fruity, fresh opening that lasts for 5-10 minutes, this calms down fast into a skin scent. Drydown lasts for hours, maybe 6-7 hours.

Of all the fragrances I've tried, this is the only fragrance that I could recognize and agree with the notes listed, all the way throughout the drydown progression. It really does go from fruity to floral violet and then leather/whiskey. By the end, it all combines to have almost a tea-like smell.

Really nice scent!

Starts out smelling almost exactly like Hugo Boss Bottled #6, with the apple and orange note in the head. Over time, the fragrance gives way to a spicy, warm heart of the lavender touched by the unconventional whiskey base note. Leather is not very noticeable initially, but soon slips in casually and unoffensively.

Baldessarini Ambré is a nice citrus-amber scent that was quite pleasant to explore; as a huge Boss Bottled #6 fan, I can deem this a sort of flanker of that wonderful fragrance.