I'm on the hunt for some new amber fragrances! 👃 I adore Amber Empire and Amber Malaki. Do you have any recommendations for similar scents? 🤔 Let me know your favorites! ✨

Today I went with Gissah Capri, and this is exactly the type of Middle Eastern fragrance I like when they’re not trying to simply overpower you with sweetness or oud. Capri opens very fresh with lemon, marine notes and a really noticeable ginger kick. As it settles, the sandalwood and patchouli give it more body, and then the incense, vetiver and amber start showing up underneath. That incense is important because it keeps Capri from becoming another generic aquatic freshie. I can understand the comparisons to Acqua di Giò Profumo, but I wouldn’t call Capri a straight copy. It has that same fresh, aquatic, slightly smoky idea, but Capri feels louder, spicier and distinctly more Middle Eastern in its presentation. And this thing performs. Capri has developed a reputation for unusually strong projection and sillage for a fresh fragrance, which is one of the reasons it has gotten so much attention. For me, this is a HOT-weather fragrance first, especially for Arizona. Fresh enough for the heat, but with enough incense, woods and amber underneath that it doesn’t disappear when the temperature climbs. Fresh, aquatic, gingery, woody and slightly smoky—with considerably more backbone than the typical summer blue fragrance. If you like your freshies quiet and transparent, Capri may be too much. If you want a fresh fragrance that actually announces itself, this one makes a lot more sense. Scent: 8/10 Performance: 9/10 Primary Season: Summer Secondary Spring and some Fall.

The second member of the Mancera family has landed. This was long overdue, but finally, it’s here. I think it has been reformulated very slightly because it’s less frutier than I remember, but now it smells far away from aventus-dna. A bit reminiscent of eau givree but added woods and leather.

This one surprised me. Sauvage Extrait really doesn’t come across like another typical Sauvage flanker to me. It’s much drier, darker, woodier and more resinous, with the patchouli and oud giving it a completely different character from the familiar fresh Sauvage DNA. My first thought was actually Amouage. Not that it smells exactly like a particular Amouage fragrance, but it has that same type of dense, dry, woody, slightly smoky Middle Eastern niche feel. I can especially understand the comparisons people are making to the dry oud character of Amouage Royal Tobacco. This smells much more expensive and serious than I expected from the Sauvage name. Less blue designer fragrance and more like Dior decided to take Sauvage into Amouage territory. First impression: I like this quite a bit. It may actually be one of the most interesting Sauvage releases Dior has done because it doesn’t feel like they simply turned up the concentration. They changed the personality. Definitely a cooler-weather fragrance for me, and I’m looking forward to giving it some full wearings.

Warmer day and I going with Pasha de Cartier EDT. Beautiful crisp and aromatic opening. Gentleman in a hottie. Definitely in the top of the chypre/fougere style that gives me really good performance.