Quick Update
I think Champagne de Bois is done, but I’m still working on Ambre Noir and Sienna Musk. My motivation for changing Ambre Noir was to decrease one of the stronger woodsy/leathery notes in it and smooth it out a bit, making the base a little less labdanum dominant. I’m also trying a little more of the smoke note and less rose. I don’t want it overtly smoky like Fireside, so I don’t want to use birch tar, just a softer subtle smokiness from the agar and some other incensy ingredients. It was over 100 degrees here today, very hot, and not the best day to be testing versions of Ambre Noir!
The edp boxes are here and I’m slowly taking new pictures of the bottles with boxes and putting them on the individual fragrance pages. I’ll try to post a photo of the new optional parfum caps for the half oz bottles soon too and add those to the site.
I also need to ship more orders overseas in the next day or two; I’ve been really pleased so far how quickly shipments get to Europe. But the postal system can still be mysterious: oddly, packages seem to get to New York faster than southern Cal…
Ooh, if it’s the tweaked sample you sent, I WANT this, LOL! It’s absolutely beautiful.
Sooooo…does your tweaked Ambre Noir have any cumin in it? I tend to either love or hate amber fragrances and I think it’s the cumin in many of them that does me in. Something in the combination seems to latch onto my skin and amplify and amplify and amplify and…well, you get the picture, I’m sure. Others that don’t have it smell lovely on me…
Yes, you got the final Champagne. So glad you like it! I’ve had wonderful feedback from testers so I think it’s done. I like it too. I cut the cedar, made the base sandal-dominant, and rebalanced the aldehydes in favor of one that works best in this. This version has more focus and is smoother and prettier to me.
No cumin in Ambre Noir. No spices yet as a matter of fact, though I was thinking of trying a touch of clove. It has a little dark smoky agar note that I like and a woodsy/leathery item that I like but want to soften. I was playing with a fun smoky tabac accord yesterday and have a version that has a neat smoky effect but needs the amber pumped up. Also have a very dark boozy amber version and if I could put the two together it’d be cool. I’m taking out the rose for now and at the end I’ll decide if I want to put it back in.
I actually like a touch of cumin in some scents but I don’t use it much in scents for others because it can be so problematic for people. It seems best in custom scents when I know someone likes it. Funny, I like a little cumin in perfume here and there but am not fond of it in cooking (some other people feel just the opposite!).
The sample of Ambre Noir you sent me was very nice, but I think I like the one with more labdanum. Of course, that’s just my preference. I just got a bottle of DK Labdanum essence edt and I am enjoying it greatly, especially in the warm weather.
I would like to try the “very dark boozy amber version” mixed with the tabac accord out of curiousity. For some reason I would think this might smell similiar to Tom Ford’s Tabac Vanille. I get amber, vanilla bourbon, and tabac from that scent, mixed with a hint of cinnamon. Of course, this type of scent would work better in cool weather.
That’s what I’m trying now, to add the tabac accord to the dark amber accord without overtaking the amber. I’ve not smelled TF Tabac Vanille because it sounded too sweet for me, but I should probably sniff it sometime. I liked his Amber Absolute with its very smoky notes.
I’d rather be working on Ambre Noir in fall for sure, but I’m doing it now so I can get it back on the list. I have a summery Gardenia Musk that I can’t wait to work on again.