Essence No. 3 : Ambre
Elie Saab (2014)

I am actually surprised by the glowing reviews for this and so I’ll be the first “Nay.” I wonder if it would be spoken of so highly is MFK’s name was not attached. I find this a fairly simple amber - unadorned, smooth, long lasting…and boring. I get tired of its very linear, resinous sweetness that veers just too close to candied heights for me to wholeheartedly endorse it.

Elie Saab's Ambre's strength and weakness is that it is perhaps the ideal amber-and-practically-nothing-but fragrance. It does amber with as much clarity and balance and beauty as it can be done, but amber is, well, almost all there is (with some nuances from ylang-ylang and patchouli to help support it, but they magnify the amber rather than obscuring it).

It's impossible to fault the tremendous care with which this has been made, though. It's as smooth as silk with an irresistible shimmer.

Amber has no smell, and even if it had one, there would be no way to perform an extraction. In perfumery, amber is a representation of the well-known golden-brown fossilized resin used in jewelry, supposed to mimic the idea of warm/conforting/soothing feeling felt when looking at it.

It is usually just an easy to blend vanilla+resin accord. While I understand the perfume houses who list it as an olfactive note for marketing scopes, I still don't understand why fragrances websites and databases keep listing an unexistant "amber" note.

Anyways, one of the main differences between the various fragrances in the "amber department" (aside of the nature of oils that can be natural or synthetic) is the nature and blend of the resin(s) used: sweet myrrh (opoponax, the one used here), bitter myrrh (myrrh), benzoin, elemi...
The other main difference (the major one in my opinion, that demonstrate the mastery of perfumery skills) is the extra "twist" added: bay leaf (Lutens Ambre Sultan), tonka+nutmeg (HdP Ambre 114)... Here, Francis Kurkdjian used ylang-ylang, giving a fresh exotic twist, just as a subtle but fantastic supporting note.

In the little note in the box, Elie Saab has the honesty to talk about "amber representation" (not a note). The pyramid here not accurate, as this fragrance has: patchouli, vanilla, labdanum, opoponax, ylang-lang, sandalwood and jasmine.

This "amber" fragrance is pretty simple and linear, but divine, like the other fragrances in the Essence collection: no fireworks, just smooth perfection.
While I am not a fan of Ambre Sultan (it's more about bay leaf than resins), here, Elie Saab Ambre n.3 plays in the same league of HdP Ambre 114, and is the older (slightly shyer but wiser) brother of MFK Grand Soir (no surprise, it's the same nose).
I wish it kept projecting well during the whole drydown, like in the opening, but aside of this minor drawback, the choice of ylang-ylang makes it a magic blend. To note also: This fragrance comes in a sober but luxurious packaging, and the bottle has a magnetic cap.
This rank on top, in front of MFK Grand soir and Ambre 114 in my amber fragrances list. Given the current prices at online discounters, it is really a no-brainer for small budgets.

Ambre n.3? No... Ambre n.1!

Perfectly unisex, 30+, best in fresh/cold evenings