This smells like church incense. All I can smell is Catholic Church. Not at all sure how anyone can recommend this?

Ambre Sultan really is a fantastic reference Amber, for those that want to familiarise themselves with this fragrance family more, but it’s so much more than that. This is easily one of the best ambers on the market even today, which is seriously impressive given how cheap it can be found online. It takes Amber into a more aromatic direction than you might expect. The Amber accord itself is very rich - heaps of dry, thick resins and powdery woods resting on just a whisper of sweet, creamy vanilla. Before this gets too warm however, this dense aromatic herbaceous-ness comes into play which is utterly sublime; what smells like bay leaf which is both dry and green, leafy and stemmy which somehow complements the antagonist notes perfectly. I adore this fragrance, it’s easily one of the best from Serge Lutens and for the price it would be insane not to own it. I’m going to thoroughly enjoy wearing this sample and will hopefully pick up a full bottle very soon. Incredible perfumery here.

If I'd never smelled Interlude Man I'd think this was the best amber ever, but it's very similar, but slightly inferior to the Amouage for me.

The first 10 minutes were almost a scrub situation for me. It was a cacophonous blur of heavy and biting herbs in resin. After 30 minutes, I started coming around on it. The unsweet vanilla does a lot to take the blend to a place that makes sense. I like the amber at this point and the warmth is very well done. Deep dry down is very pleasant but not as interesting and too much patchouli. Overall I'd find it challenging to wear this with any regularity. Agree with others that it's a little weak sillage/longevity especially given the scent profile.

I remember trying this few years ago and the power of the scent was overwhelming. It was so harsh and brash that I didn’t know when to wear it even if I loved it a lot. That time I wore quite crowd pleasing scents. I don’t like when so many (almost all) scents are diluted nowadays and they are just a shadow of their former glory. I have to admit that now Ambre Sultan is very wearable, it’s sophisticated and the notes are performing charmingly yet still opulent. Anyway it’s too bright compared to the older formulation - not only the color but the nature of the juice as well and what is, or what was, Serge Lutens dna, is gone. Almost all adjectives how to describe this are the opposite like it used to be and sorry to say but this new formula is somewhat redundant in my collection. I think I will give this one to my husband since it performs darker and denser on his skin while it still remains light enough for everyday use. Ambre Sultan is warm mix of Resins, Myrrh, Benzoin, spices, herbs and Amber with Vanilla and Patchouli which is quite hidden in the new formula. Vanilla in the new formula is more prominent than in the old one and it’s the note which makes this smell too generic. Old formula is very complex whilst the new one is linear. Some day I will try to find a very old vintage bottle just because it’s a splendid and sublime piece of history what comes to Amber scents. Thank you for reading and if you want to follow me on IG: @ninamariah_perfumes