Reviews: Nocturne Alchemy's Royal Amber
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scent_junkiesRising from my death sick bed to post a perfume review or two.
So Nocturne Alchemy has introduced a new general catalog line called Royal Amber. It wasn't easy to order samples when I really wanted to just order them all in 5ml bottles. Okay, well not all of them, just five of six.
Um...okay. NA's descriptions up there with BPAL's for sheer WTFery, but I do love their stuff. This is a gorgeous amber with a little hint of smoky wood under it, perhaps it's those aromatic scrublands? It's actually well named; it's a tad more "masculine"* than most amber blends. Like most of NA's ambers, this doesn't go all powdery, nor does it morph much. I like it a lot; it's not as sweet as a lot of amber blends and the smoky note is really nice.
Huh? What does that even mean? Anyway, this is almost pure honey out of the vial; I can hardly smell any of the amber at first. It's a really lovely honey and I can catch a hint of the incense note, but the amber is lost under all the sweetness. Sadly, after time, the amber never does show up. I've got some other NA LE honey blends so I probably won't buy a full bottle of this, but if you're looking for a gorgeous honey, this is it.
Whatever.... Right off this is a fabulous amber vanilla, but right out of the vial I'm not getting much of the Kyphi** except a little hint of honey. It does morph into something really interesting after a little while; I'm still getting the amber and vanilla, but there's a sort of thick (I know, but that's the best I can do) scent under it that I suspect is the Kyphi blend. It's almost too much for me; it's really rich and almost a little sickly sweet. I might actually like this more as an incense than a perfume.
Holy crap, they weren't kidding about the patchouli! There is some amber under this but mostly it's patchouli and a dry note from vetiver. After a little while, it blends a little and you do get more of the amber, but this is still pretty damn earthy. I find myself wondering what this would be like if I bought a bottle and let it sit for a few years to let the patchouli age. As it is, it's a bit much even for me and I know Nancy would hate it.
IDEK Anyway...this is a pretty amber with a faint touch of sandalwood. I'm not getting the reed or papyrus, unless they're adding the slightly sweet almost aquatic note. This is the lightest of the bunch, very springlike and not heavy at all.
So that's the Royal Ambers. I kind of wish I'd gone ahead and gotten a sample of Prince just to have the whole bunch. On the other hand, it's a damn good thing I got all these as samples, because of all of them the only two I really want in full bottles are Pharoh and Priestess.
Also, I want to say that the turnaround on the order was fantastic--less than a week.
*scare quotes used because I don't really like the idea of gendering perfumes
** There are dozens of recipes for Kyphi incense; the common ingredients to all of them are honey, wine and raisins.
So Nocturne Alchemy has introduced a new general catalog line called Royal Amber. It wasn't easy to order samples when I really wanted to just order them all in 5ml bottles. Okay, well not all of them, just five of six.
Pharaoh Amber -- Pharaoh Amber is a perfume created from Amber Resin transformed over time in the lab into a beautiful enhancing Royal Amber oil experience, Aromatic scrublands of the Nile create an atmosphere around the amber as the sun light dances on the water of the River Nile. Using the base of the Amber described above the resin has been turned into resin from ancient recipes and then turned back into perfume oil diluting nothing and inspiring this scent to be made and created for Pharaoh. A true resin perfume oil - please shake before each application.
Um...okay. NA's descriptions up there with BPAL's for sheer WTFery, but I do love their stuff. This is a gorgeous amber with a little hint of smoky wood under it, perhaps it's those aromatic scrublands? It's actually well named; it's a tad more "masculine"* than most amber blends. Like most of NA's ambers, this doesn't go all powdery, nor does it morph much. I like it a lot; it's not as sweet as a lot of amber blends and the smoky note is really nice.
Queen Amber Food for a Queen - scent for Royalty. Egyptian Honey Incense warms the Amber glow of scent in an indelicate sense of chins held high, Golden Crowns shining in the sun, jewels of lazuli and gold sparkling to the heavens and on her wrists and behind her ears the gossamer of delicious honey and amber elixir drawing all cavalier suitors near all under the watchful eye of a jealous Pharaoh. Beguile the senses and set standards above everyone else.
Huh? What does that even mean? Anyway, this is almost pure honey out of the vial; I can hardly smell any of the amber at first. It's a really lovely honey and I can catch a hint of the incense note, but the amber is lost under all the sweetness. Sadly, after time, the amber never does show up. I've got some other NA LE honey blends so I probably won't buy a full bottle of this, but if you're looking for a gorgeous honey, this is it.
Princess Amber The Princess Nefertiti is said to have Loved the Scent of Ancient Kyphi both perfume and wine. Here we have taken our exquisitely blended Sacred Kyphi and enraptured it with the silk of very radiant baby vanilla beans and taken the Amber base created for this line and what has become of the scent is an alluring and enchanting perfume for the Royal within.
Whatever.... Right off this is a fabulous amber vanilla, but right out of the vial I'm not getting much of the Kyphi** except a little hint of honey. It does morph into something really interesting after a little while; I'm still getting the amber and vanilla, but there's a sort of thick (I know, but that's the best I can do) scent under it that I suspect is the Kyphi blend. It's almost too much for me; it's really rich and almost a little sickly sweet. I might actually like this more as an incense than a perfume.
High Priest Amber -- The High Priest is said to only have used the most expensive and most exotic of ingredients when blending perfume oils for his Pharaoh and Queen. In this High Priest Amber we have divulged in this same notion that only the most exquisite components be a part of this blend. Adding the Amber component blended for this collection to the beauty of Black Patchouli distilled in an iron vessel to produce the darkest patchouli earth scent, Amber, White Vetiver and Gold Cardamom. An offering only for Pharaoh and Queen, BA and KA.
Holy crap, they weren't kidding about the patchouli! There is some amber under this but mostly it's patchouli and a dry note from vetiver. After a little while, it blends a little and you do get more of the amber, but this is still pretty damn earthy. I find myself wondering what this would be like if I bought a bottle and let it sit for a few years to let the patchouli age. As it is, it's a bit much even for me and I know Nancy would hate it.
Priestess Amber Priestess to Hathor, ISIS, Bastet, Sekhmet, and on... combining the true essence of the female embodiment with the true absolute components of Arabian, Egyptian, Indian and Russian Sandalwood, held like a baby in the womb of the Amber blend created for this scent and a touch of Nile Reed and Papyrus Pure Oil.
IDEK Anyway...this is a pretty amber with a faint touch of sandalwood. I'm not getting the reed or papyrus, unless they're adding the slightly sweet almost aquatic note. This is the lightest of the bunch, very springlike and not heavy at all.
So that's the Royal Ambers. I kind of wish I'd gone ahead and gotten a sample of Prince just to have the whole bunch. On the other hand, it's a damn good thing I got all these as samples, because of all of them the only two I really want in full bottles are Pharoh and Priestess.
Also, I want to say that the turnaround on the order was fantastic--less than a week.
*scare quotes used because I don't really like the idea of gendering perfumes
** There are dozens of recipes for Kyphi incense; the common ingredients to all of them are honey, wine and raisins.
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Date: 2014-03-05 09:37 am (UTC)