When I received the bottle of Six Scents Amber the top of the box had a reversed clock face on it. When you go to the website dedicated to this fragrance the first image is the same clock face with a second hand ticking backward. It conveys an idea that this particular perfume is something from a time in the past. This is particularly surprising coming from Six Scents the fragrance line by Joseph Quartana.

 

 

Six Scents has been known for their three series of six fragrances matching emerging fashion designers with perfumers to create signature scents. The latest one of these, Six Scents Series Three, just won a 2011 FiFi Award for Best Indie Perfume. Those fragrances all have a very modern feel to them. Amber was made for the Arnhem Mode Biennale 2011 and was exclusively debuted there. The Arnhem Mode Biennale is a contemporary exhibition of fashion and the theme for this year was, Amber.  Based on these two influences I expected Amber to be something forward thinking. Instead Six Scents Amber feels like a fragrance that could have come from decades ago.

 

 

 

 

The perfumer behind Amber is Darryl Do of Delbia Do and Mr. Do chose an interesting group of notes; sandalwood, leather, amber, and violet leaf. Mr. Do chooses to turn loose all of those notes and allow them to combine with no restraints. This unfettered style of composition feels like an artifact of a different time. Just like a fine pocket watch Amber shows off every facet of its composition to allow a wearer to truly enjoy it.

 

 

Mr. Do opens Amber up with a strong birch tar-like leather note. For those of you who enjoy a clearly delineated leather accord you will enjoy the opening moments of Amber. After a bit of time, a fully rounded sandalwood arrives and the sweetness of that note rounds off some of the rougher edges of the leather. Violet leaf adds a metallic vein through the middle of these two powerful notes and it adds a contrast that feels appropriate.

Finally the titular note arrives in the base and it is an amber which glows with warmth and power. It really finishes Amber in the right place. One final note if you look at the press release there is supposedly a green melon note here. I’ve worn this quite a few times and it never showed up on my skin. I often have a problem with melon in my fragrance and, thankfully for me, it doesn’t show up here.

Amber has excellent longevity and above average sillage.

If you are someone for who their fragrance should be an unobtrusive accessory, Amber will most likely not be something you will be excited about. If you are someone, like me, who enjoy older powerhouse fragrances Amber is something that should very much appeal to you. By making a contemporary perfume which feels like something from the past ,Six Scents and Darryl Do have created something special.

Disclosure: This review was based on a bottle provided by Six Scents.

Thanks to Joseph Quartana and Six Scents we have a  100ml bottle of Amber to giveaway to one commenter. To be eligible leave a comment telling us what your favorite hour of the day is or if you could go back  or forward to a  different time period when would it be . Draw closes on July 18, 2011.

–Mark Behnke, Managing Editor   

Art direction: Michelyn Camen Editor-In Chief