House of Matriarch – Ambre Vie

Ambre Vie is an oriental amber-based offering from the House of Matriarch.  Initially created in 2012, vintage bottles will begin shipping on February 20, 2018. 

Before I get into the nuts and bolts of this review, I want to touch briefly on my thoughts about the perfumer, Christi Meshell and her approach to perfumery in general.  Meshell is one of those perfumers that in my opinion has a unique knack of taking multiple, complex notes and seamlessly blending them into a fragrance where the sum is even greater than all the multiple parts.  In the instance of Ambre Vie, it is said that, “More than one hundred different aromatics comprise this silky amber perfume.”  Often combining certain notes and certainly in the numerical quantity Meshell does them in can go terribly, horribly wrong.  I don’t know what her secret is, magic perhaps, but experiencing her fragrances is truly a joy.

On me, Ambre Vie feels like a floral, slightly gourmand twist on the business side of amber.  It is not the typically marketed interpretation of the resinous note.  Ambre Vie opens with a lovely, lightly spiced floral amber.  The floral echoes a soft, light mimosa.  The amber has a richness to it but not in a dark, sticky way.  Instead, the amber feels flowing, almost creamy, and light. 

As Ambre Vie continues to wear, the florals and amber continue to develop.  There is a clarity in the note progression; if you could taste the fragrance it would slip like butter across your tongue.  A base of musk comes forward and creates a fuzzy clean warmth.  There is a sweet coziness to Ambre Vie that is not typical for an amber scent.  Toward the very end of wear on me, I get a touch of a powdery note that does not go into the realm of baby powder; it simply conveys a softness.

Ambre Vie wears on me with a light to skin scent projection for roughly 11 – 12 hours.

Notes: Ambreine (labdanum), Dragon’s Blood, Mimosa, Davana (artemisia), Costus, Amber, Natural Musk

Perfumer: Christi Meshell

CRUELTY FREE

VEGAN

100% NATURAL