Photot- Wikimedia - Marrakech, Morocco, April 2013 by calflier001
Look up the word ‘sultan’ in Wikipedia and you’ll find this:
Sultan (Arabic) is a noble title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership" and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة sulṭah, meaning "authority" or "power". Among those modern hereditary rulers who wish to emphasize their secular authority under the rule of law, the term is gradually being replaced by king (i.e., malik in Arabic).
And without a doubt, Ambre Sultan is the king of amber fragrances.
Launched by Serge Lutens in 2000, Ambre Sultan has become an iconic amber fragrance and one of his most famous scents.
Lutens lives in Morocco and it was his explorations of the markets of Marrakech – poking around shops, picking through spice drawers and jars – that inspired Ambre Sultan. As he says on his website: The point of departure was a scented wax, found in a souk and long forgotten in a wooden box. The amber only became sultanesque after I reworked the composition using cistus, an herb that sticks to the fingers like tar, then added an overtone that nobody had ever dreamed of: vanilla. Why? Because vanilla is sticky, too, and it clung to my memory.
Let me tell you something, after smelling Ambre Sultan, the memory of it clung to my soul.
It opens with amber - rich, dark and pungent. The amber undulates right into your psyche, lowers your resistance and opens you up to the possibility of, well, anything. On me, I don’t get stages so much as I get an experience. The amber stays strong and heavy as dried herbs – coriander, oregano, bay leaf - dance around it. These herbs have been dried the sun - you can smell the sun’s warmth on them. Then there’s myrtle. Mrytle roots and bark are used to treat Turkish leather so it belongs here giving an herbal, floral note to the amber. There’s a delicious bitter note floating around too, from myrhh softly tempered by the juniper aspect of fragrant angelica root. Sandalwood, patchouli, benzoin sway around the amber and all of it is sweetened by vanilla.
The drydown is a deep, opulent and narcotic and while the amber is heavy and full it never feels weighty, just creamy.
Once you smell Ambre Sultan you’ll want to live in its kingdom.
Ambre Sultan is listed in our Decant Store. Decants are $6.00 for 1 ml.