Fragrance Review and Exciting News: Ambre Narguile

Exciting news first:  Officially going to be a surgeon!!!! I am pretty excited as not only will my dreams come true, but I am also 1/7th on my way to becoming a plastic and reconstructive surgeon! And with this much needed excitement, I decided to celebrate this past weekend, in beautiful South Beach where I am currently located until April 6th. An epic weekend....bottles, rooftops, NFL superstars, a bunch of future doctors, and beautiful people all round enveloped by the salty breeze of the Atlantic and kissed by the sun. On a night at the Delano Hotel last night to conclude my buddy's short lived, but monumental, vacation, I decided to take advantage of the cool summer night by casting a spell around myself with the enchanting, Ambre Narguile.

Boy did this Mofo do damage. I warn thee...this will seem like hype as Ambre Narguile is one of my favorite compositions of all time. Please do not take this as fragrance hype...because in the end, this fragrance truly is powerful in ways unimaginable...to name a few, this is not only an art piece, but a masterpiece, and quintessential representation of what a spicy oriental should be. This is a fragrance that will conjure up memories...and if no such memories exist to any individual, then that person will truly be overwhelmed by the depths of their imagination he or she is able to reach on the magic carpet that is, Ambre Narguile

On with the review...

Initial blast may be summed up in four words: a  Sweet, Spicy, Tobacco, Booze.

Let's break it down:

The Sweet: Honey..the vanilla tinged honey is done so well here, compliment every accord this fragrance has to offer. The sweetness is not only tolerable, but very transparent and airy and elegant. The apple notes are there..I believe this is more of an Apple Cider'ish note, rather than a apple pie..as warm apple pie would remind me of an extremely sweet but creamy feel...Ambre Narguile is far too transparent and light to be deemed as such.

The Spicy: Ginger, grilled sesame...in indian cooking, we use these so often that I see how well Jean Claude Ellena, the mastermind behind Hermes fragrances (and many more)..was able to blend the spices in a way that it lingers...yes..lingers..the spices truly amplify the fact that the tobacco in hookahs, or narguiles (water pipes through which tobacco is smoked from in middle eastern countries...and party schools in the US) are crafted with spices and flavors...having smoked hookah in the past I can truly say that Ellena did a phenomenal job of capturing the actual scent of the tobacco as you unwrap it after taking it out of its colorful box (namely, Green Apple Tobacco).

Tobacco: The tobacco is well done here..extremely light and fragrant..not a dark tobacco as in a Tom Ford or Kilian Concoction...To me, this is the best tobacco on the market. I love it! It is a light but present tobacco and certainly gives a comfortable smell. Tobacco can be unappealing to many and I am not a fan of tobacco in any form (except for the tobacco in the dry down of the Original D&G Pour Homme, the one that fornicates with juniper in Versace The Dreamer). But Ambre Narguile has set a new standard for me, honestly, because the use of "shisha" type tobacco is something new to the game and exerts beauty and comfort. If all tobacco gave the sensation that Ambre Narguile then that's a crap load more Lung Cancer in the world! (but thank god only Hermes carries the recipe for this potion).

Booze: Ahh the underlying blast of booziness that remains throughout the entirety of Ambre Narguile's long and luscious life on some lucky skin (or garment)....I get a similar boozy vibe to Frapin 1270 but much lighter. For those who have not tried Frapin, this booziness can be described as very luxurious...imagine the taste of a very expensive sweet wine..

So, spread some resinous Amber and luxurious sweet wine in a pot.
Let this simmer. Throw spices into the mix.
Open up a box of tobacco while that mixes...ahh hell, why not, just throw in some of the tobacco into the pot!
Toss some fresh apples that were glazed in honey overnight.

Let this simmer....give it about 30 minutes.
Let the aroma overwhelm you.

You'll never want to leave.

10/10

Fragrance Review: My Top Three Fragrances

So I have decided to do a little blog about my top three favorite fragrances of all time. These are fragrances that I just absolutely adore and would probably cut myself if they ever discontinued. Okay I'm exaggerating. I would probably hang myself instead...

Jokes aside..these are three fragrances that are perfect (in my opinion). Collectively, the three represent categories: 1. My go to scent (the one out of the three I would call my signature...and neither of the three, by the way, is Sweet Redemption by Kilian, which is my signature scent).  2. The fragrance I wear when I am tired of the scent that reflects category 1 but is beautiful and an everlasting attestation to why I love the art of smell.   3.  The fragrance I wear when I want to be different...unique...and mysterious...while still maintaining flawlessness in design.

And without further adieu...I present to you, my top three fragrances:


1. The Signature:   New Haarlem by Bond No. 9
Bond No. 9 truly outdid itself with this one. Composed by Maurice Roucel, NH is a sweet oriental brew revolving around coffee, sweetened with vanilla and tonka, made fresh by bergamot and lavendar, and grounded by woods and patchouli. This is a heavenly concoction. Those who like to wear fragrances for themselves will enjoy this because it is a heavenly smell. It smells delicious...like a dessert. I do have a full review on this so I won't get into details, but the drydown is just glorious. The fragrance projects well, but starts to project even stronger as it dries down, which in my opinion, is perfection since the drydown is my favorite part (smells like a sweet, french vanilla cafe, with very faint coffee, but creamy and honeyed patchouli and tonka bean melange). I love it because it is airy, versatile, and long lasting. The sillage is gorgeous and is complimented nearly everytime I wear it (which is very often). I still wear this in the heat, with one or two light sprays, and catching whiffs of NH is heaven for my olfactory sins.

2.  The Signature Replacement:  Terre D'Hermes Pure Parfum by Hermes
Composed by in-house Hermes perfumer and all time great nose, Jean-Claude Ellena, Terre D'Hermes Pure Parfum takes the original EDT version one step up the ladder and a rocket ship even further. The earthiness of the original is stronger in this, but so is sweetness, and the ruggedness. The EDT mellows out in the citrus department over time, where as the EDP, the citrus becomes stronger as the hours pass. This is personification in a bottle...the sweetness represents a gentleman...the type to pull your chair out, hold your door, and tell you how ravishing you look even though all this is taking place pre-shower, pre-makeup, but immediately post-waking. The ruggedness reflects side B of this unassuming man who will handle business when need be. This is a man who will stop on his way to Graceland to take off his shirt and fix all four of a young lady's tires, to expect only a bottle of water in payment...but instead finds himself engaged in some guilt-free passion in the back of that newly grounded vehicle. He is not afraid to get dirty....if need be.


3. The Unique Scent: Ambre Narguile 
Yes it smells like apple...but not apple pie..nope. More like Apple Cider. But a very light, delicious, transparent and smokey apple cider...yet very intriguing. This is the fragrance I spray on when I want to wear something different, daring, and not reminiscent of your average "cologne." I wear this when I want to feel mysterious. I wear this when I go out, wearing a black v-neck, black jeans, black boots, and my hair pushed back. I also wear this when I want to feel comforted and cozy despite the chaos and debauchery around me in NYC. This is a fragrance that truly captures the smell of flavored shisha tobacco but done in a very sweet and tolerable fashion to eventually intoxicate any nose that should fall under its spell. This is a magical scent and very unisex. The dry down is a gorgeous olfactory trip that can reminds me of a bakery where the dominant aroma is that of an apple cinnamon tart (I barely get tobacco in the dry down). Truly unique, mystical, and has an enigmatic personality for any man who wears this. I think women who wear this are bewitching yet inviting, and seductive nonetheless.



So there you have it. My top three fragrance that I cannot live without. These are fragrances I will always come back to.  Even my signature, Sweet Redemption by Kilian, as much as I love this scent, I feel as if I do not have such a pious relationship with it as much as I do with the above mentioned.