Tuesday, March 20, 2012

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



2 comments:

  1. Sounds delicious! My only complaint about the hermessences was that they were too synthetic somehow. I was expecting a more natural smell.

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  2. Absolutely delicious. I just can't get enough. Hmm...Poivre Samarcande, in my opinion, is one of the more natural smelling fragrances in addition to Ambre Narguile. But I agree with you..the rest of the line has a synthetic vibe that I just cannot tolerate. Maybe that's why I love Ambre so much!

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