Colonia Ambra
Acqua di Parma (2015)

Ambra's aggressively modern (read: openly synthetic) take on rose-ambergris seems to be a bit love-it-or-hate-it among perfume enthusiasts, but I find it to be a fairly compelling take on the theme.

There may or may not be a hint of the real deal here, but Ambra's "ambergris" is mostly represented through a heavy dose of ambergris ollifac. The structure suggests ambergris' salty, musky, breathy facets while maintaining a clean, cool, streamlined feel. Real ambergris has some weight to it, whereas this is ambergris by way of a cool breeze, making it perfect for warm weather.

It's not a cheerful ambergris. In fact, it's aloof, albeit placid in a way that some might find comforting. Rounding it out is some sandalwood, patchouli, along with some abstract smokiness from the cypriol and labdanum, which gives it some shared DNA with others in this line (especially Oud).

I was expecting a soft amber from the name. I discovered it’s ambergris and was a bit disappointed. And, mostly, it’s a bitter leather that’s predominant. Performances are good.

On application, CA betrays a definite sense of the house style of AdP, at least in their brown-bottled offerings. This is something like a powdery, hesperic-woody accord, that is a little on the synthetic side - but rather good synthetic, and hard to mistake once you've had a bit of practice.

Beyond that, I have to agree with reviewers here who see little concerning amber present. CA gives off a strong rose note and is pleasant in a dark kind of way. But as it doesn't go anywhere, as the Oud and Leather variants do so well, it has a slightly unfinished vibe about it. It receives a neutral rather than positive rating because it certainly suffers by comparison with the terrific stablemates mentioned.

To me, this is more of a medicinal rose-oud scent than any woody-ambergris thing I've smelled. I find the opening very abrasive and harsh, but I'm also not a big fan of rose-ouds. Smells better in the drydown with more pleasant woody notes but it's just too heavy, feminine, and mature for me overall.

Strong projection and all-day longevity.

Quite repulsive. You know when you're at a perfume counter and you pick up a test strip, but sniff it to make sure it hasn't been used yet? Well this smells like one of those used test strips, but has been used with about 5 different scents.

3/10

ADP Colonia Ambra is a dark warm woodsy, deep smelling amber fragrance that instantly brings to mind old fashioned values of days gone by, set in darkened wooden rooms, warm tobacco smoke in the back, salty and waxed old fabrics; a Remembrandt painted darkness complicated with organic hidden details shielded from light fading into old darkness. The amber smells orange immediately upon sniffing, not citrus, but an orange oil tone to the labdanum amber which might be an old fashioned ambergris if it weren't made leafy and dry with woods and nagarmotha for an old but respectable patina. A strong labdanum base aroma that has a hint of tobacco without really going smokey at all drifts in the backdrop. For likeability this fragrance rates a 3 of 5 stars by my taste. After so many exceptional fragrances (Oud, Leather, Essenza), Aqua di Parma Colonia has produced a very average creation that does little to showcase new art in perfumery, and in particular amber, but lays solid claim to an old world amber portrait that is without fault except for lacking anything new or exciting.